Foveran Community Council Secretary report
If you want to place an advert in future editions of the newsletter which is published three times a year then please contact me on 01358 789761 or e mail [email protected]
Foveran Community Council looks after the interest of the residents of Newburgh, Foveran, Udny Station and Cultercullen, and everything in between.
The newsletter can be now be accessed after publication by anyone on https://foverannews.wordpress.com/electronic-news-letter/,
We act as a focal point where you can bring to our attention matters that may concern you. Elected councillors from Aberdeenshire Council normally also attend our meetings which are open to all.
A list of community councillors and scheduled meeting dates is included in the newsletter.
This newsletter would not be possible without the support of the companies who advertise in it, so please consider them when thinking of making a purchase.
The Gallowshill Sports Hub in Newburgh is available to all in our community, including Foveran, Udny Station, and Cultercullen, and offers, Amateur Football, Youth Football for both boys and Girls, as well as Netball, and Tennis.
We have planning permission for a 3G artificial pitch, now we need to find the £750K to build it, so if anyone out there can help in any way, please contact me.
Aberdeenshire Council are still considering whether to implement traffic calming in Newburgh.
Thanks to Tony Tortolano for the PAT testing Christmas lights in Newburgh, and to Martin Mackenzie, Romar, and John Duncan for the erection of them.
We were sad to hear that Bob Davis passed away in September. Bob was a regular contributor to the newsletter with his “Walk on the Wildside”
Can I suggest that you follow the NNR blog regarding the Forvie NNR, and this will give you an insight into what is happening there with regard to plants and animals. https://forvienationalnaturereserve.home.blog
Newburgh were once again the winners of the best kept medium Community in the Formartine in Bloom Competition.
Udny Station were presented with a bench by Aberdeenshire Council as the most improved village, Foveran and Cultercullen also being presented with awards.
Thanks to all those in the gardening groups in our area who keep everywhere neat and tidy, and to those who pick up the litter.
Glen Douglas
DELIVERY OF NEWSLETTERS IN UDNY STATION AREA
Due to the response earlier this year I now have sufficient volunteers to deliver the newsletter. Many thanks to all who volunteered. If anyone drops out, I will contact the volunteers whose offer I did not have to take up.
William Grant Chairman Foveran Community Council Bank House Udny Station
Foveran Community Council Members 2019-20
Chairman William Grant 01651 842791 Secretary & Treasurer Glen Douglas 01358 789761 Katrin Prager 01651 842197 Pat Smith 01358 789821 David Hancock 01651 842813 Ron Macdonald 01358 789006 Janet Jones 01358 742304 Niall Findlay 07984 131401
Editor’s Note Thank you everyone who contributed to this edition. The next newsletter will come out in April so I need your articles by the 7th of March. You can post them to me: Mrs Janet Jones, South Minnes, Newburgh. Ellon. AB41 6BB or email them to [email protected]
Thank you to Ron Macdonald for the photo on the front page.
Advertisements Newsletter advertising rates last edition 2019, and first 2 editions 2020.
Newsletter now published in Colour in A5 format with 1200 print run, hand delivered to all houses in Newburgh, Foveran, Cultercullen, Udny Station, including remote houses.
Full Page inside front cover £90.00 (booked) Full page inside (Portrait format) £80.00 ½ page back cover (landscape format) £45.00 (booked) ½ page inside (Landscape format) £40.00 ¼ page inside (Portrait format) £20.00 1/8 page inside £10.00
Advert on front cover is no longer available
Full payment required before publication
RATES ARE PER ISSUE, there are 3 issues per year
Contact details for advertising:
Glen Douglas, 23 Eider Road, Newburgh. AB41 6FD
01358 789761 [email protected]
Full Page advert should be 126mm wide x 184 mm high Half page advert should be 126 mm wide x 89 mm high Quarter page advert should be 60 mm wide x 89 mm high
And should be in any of the print standard formats
High resolution PDF with images in CMYK format at 300ppi, with fonts outlined High resolution TIFF file in CMYK format at 300ppi High resolution JPEG file in CMYK format at 300ppi
If you need help in preparing an advert, our publisher 06 Media should be able to assist you, any costs for preparing your advert are between you and 06 media.
Contact Stuart on 01651 863358 [email protected]
If our publisher has to amend your advert to meet the sizes above then we reserve the right to pass on these charges to you
Latest date for advert in Spring edition is 30th February 2020.
NEWBURGH
Newburgh & Ythan Community Trust
In August the Newburgh and Ythan Community Trust was formed. Under the umbrella of Foveran Community Council and covering the same geographical area, it aims to benefit local people and enhance the enjoyment of visitors to our part of Aberdeenshire.
At the moment we have 5 Trustees; Isobel Davidson (Chairperson), Ron Macdonald (Secretary), Glen Douglas (Treasurer), Martyn Gorman and Scott Baxter. We will hold a public meeting in the first quarter of 2020 to discuss our future plans and to obtain feedback on these and to hear other ideas from those who attend. Our hope that this will be an opportunity for anyone interested to both put forward ideas and to become members of the Trust!
We hope to take forward projects that enhance the cultural, historic and natural heritage of the area. One of the first we have in mind is improving the visitor experience at Newburgh Links which increasingly is attracting more and more people who come to view the large haul-out of Grey seals on the Forvie side of the Ythan estuary. We have completed a feasibility study looking at improving the car park, footpaths and interpretation and constructing a new all abilities path and viewing platform close to the estuary side. At the moment we are negotiating a long-term agreement with the landowners which would enable the Trust to take on the management of the area. We will present more information on this project at the public meeting planned for early in 2020.
In the meantime, if you wish to know more about the work of the Trust then please contact me on 01358789006 or email [email protected]
Ron Macdonald Secretary, Newburgh & Ythan Community Trust
NEWBURGH
Hello Everyone
Summer has been and gone, as has 'scary' Halloween and fireworks and so the year rolls on, but I hope you all enjoyed your summer and holidays if you were lucky to go away.
Newburgh SWI has had some good entertaining evenings since our restart in September. Our first speaker of the new session was Mr Colin Slessor from Thainstone Mart. Colin, a Buchan Loon, started out as a shepherd in his early working life and went into the mart in 1993. He gave a very good insight into the workings of the mart and how it has moved with the times. It plays a major role in Scotland's Agricultural Economy and has diversified over the years. He told of his appearance in the TV show The Mart.
Colin has taken part in London Marathons and tells of his determination to complete them, raising funds for cancer research Also he has taken part in 'Brave 2017' the charity fashion show for men who have been touched by cancer. Colin is a lovely man, who was easy to listen to and very entertaining. Everyone enjoyed the evening and I'm sure could have listened to Colin for longer.
A fun evening was had in October when Isobel Gregory from Pitullie brought along her large collection of hats. She had two bags full of hats of all shapes and sizes. Each hat she pulled from her bag she wore and told is a little about it. Hats ranged from a Homberg, a Davy Crocket hat, nurses’ caps from the 1950s, a tartan hat the she wore at her stall at Taste of Grampian - adding that Camilla and Dame Judi Dench have both been seen wearing identical hats - a 1970's ABBA sparkly hat and even a Fez. There was a Losoto hat brought back from South Africa, a Cub Scout cap, a 1950's child's hat and a Grace Kelly 'soup plate' hat. Other items in the bags included silk bloomers, a fox stole a rainmate, a Fair Isle scarf and many others too numerous to list. She must have worn about 60 hats. Isobel visits Care Homes to show her hats which help to trigger memories for the residents. I'm sure she will be invited back in the future to delve deeper into her bag of magic.
The Macmillan Coffee Morning was held at the end of September in the Church Hall. A big 'thankyou' goes out to all who came along for their coffee, the helpers making the coffees and serving them and those who baked and donated for the cake stall. A superb sum of over £628 was raised for this very worthwhile cause.
Our November meeting was a flower arranging evening with Janet Campbell, and I'll give details of that in the next Foveran News.
December will be our 'Evening at the Panto' which is enjoyed with great gusto.
That sums up our News for now. All that is left for me to do is to wish you all a merry and peaceful Christmas and a very happy New Year - and remember we would love to see you at a meeting sometime.
Anne Taylor. Press Secretary
Nicer Newburgh Gardening Group
At the end of September 2019, at the award presentation of Formartine in Bloom, Newburgh once again came first in the medium-sized community category (for the fifth year running).
We have excluded the links area over the bridge at the back of the village hall, from the Formartine in Bloom judging process for the last three years, as horticulturally it is not of a sufficiently high standard at the moment. We hope to remedy this over a period of time. Unfortunately, this area is infested with a weed called horse tail (or mare’s tail) which is very difficult, and time consuming to eradicate. Quite a number of the logs around the beds are now rotting and in these economic times, we consider it unreasonable to expect the council to continue to replace them, therefore this will entail some changes on bed levels to slope the beds down to the paths and thus eradicate the need for a raised edge.
Members of the group have recently been planting 2,400 more crocus, purchased this year from group funds, on the embankment on School Road, at the side of the school field. We estimate that it will only take another 1,500 corms to complete the planting to cover the whole of this embankment.
The summer bedding has now been cleared from the beds, tubs and planters, and will be replaced by a combination of polyanthus (some new provided by the Council, and some saved by the group from previous years), and orange and purple tulips. Hopefully, if the winter is kind, they will provide a good display next spring.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Nicer Newburgh Gardening Group’s funds could put it in an envelope (cheques made payable to Foveran Community Council – Nicer Newburgh Gardening Group Fund), and post it through the door of either:
• Glen Douglas (Community Council Treasurer) at 23 Eider Road • Graham Waters at 4 Mallard Road
Lynne and Graham Waters.
1ST NEWBURGH SCOUT GROUP UPDATE
URGENT APPEAL FOR BEAVER SCOUT LEADERS...
Approximately 12 years ago, Andrew Mitchell (probably prompted by his wife Christine(!), who was the Newburgh Rainbows leader at the time), phoned around a few like-minded folk with young family and suggested re-kindling the Newburgh Beaver Scout colony. Several months later, having agreed that this was a good idea and getting included in the Gordon District Scout system, Andrew kicked off the Newburgh Beaver Scout Colony (for boys & girls aged 6-8yrs) with fellow leaders Mark Kennard, Phil Astley and Danny Hawthorn. Over the coming years as the kids grew up, and with the help of parent volunteers stepping into leader roles, we were able to start a Cub Scout Pack (ages 8- 10.5yrs), then a Scout Troop (ages 10.5- 14yrs) and eventually an Explorer Scout Unit (ages 14-18yrs).
Today, all sections are thriving, running at near capacity or with waiting lists. We have approximately 80 members across the four sections from Newburgh and surrounding towns including Foveran, Collieston, Cruden Bay and Cultercullen participating in a whole range of Scouting activities on a weekly basis from team games, craft, fire-lighting, survival skills, navigation, back-woods cooking, more games, karting, water sports, archery, mountain biking, drone flying, night hikes, movie nights, community projects, and attending local, district and national camps and expeditions.
All our leaders and helpers are local volunteers and generally have kids in the Scout Group. Over the years, leaders have tended to move up the sections as their children grow up. The main exception to this is that Andrew Mitchell and Mark Kennard have stayed with the Beaver Scout Colony, running it for almost 12 years now (and they deserve a big shiny medal for this!). This really has been the success of the whole Newburgh Scout Group. Having a rock-steady foundation in the Beaver Scout age group, means the Scout Group has a through-put of enthusiastic youngsters all the way up through the other age groups.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Andrew and Mark have decided to hang up their neckers & woggles at the end of this Scouting year (June 2020), so WE ARE NOW APPEALING TO PARENTS TO COME FORWARD AND VOLUNTEER AS BEAVER SCOUT LEADERS.
If you have boys or girls between the age of 6-8 (and younger children coming through who would might join in years to come), and would like to get involved, please get in touch. No particular skills are necessary, you learn it all as you go, and there's a good training system in place with plenty of support from the other Newburgh Scout Leaders and District Coordinators. You just need a little bit of of enthusiasm (and a wee bit of patience too!).
Beaver Scouts (6-8yrs) meet in the Church Hall on a Tuesday evening 18:00 - 19:00, and do a range of scouting activities including indoor and outdoor games, craft, scavenger hunts, simple survival skills, family camps, and an annual Beaver Fun Day, all working towards the Chief Scout Bronze Award. (Leaders - Andrew Mitchell, Mark Kennard)
Cub Scouts (8-10.5yrs) meet in the Church Hall on a Tuesday evening 19:05 - 20:20, and get up to all sorts of games, fire-lighting, survival skills, trampolining, navigation, and camping activities, working towards the Chief Scout Silver Award. (Leaders - Alan McAra, Chris Proud)
Scouts (10.5-14yrs) meet in the Church Hall on Thursday evenings 18:30 - 20:30, and do even more advanced scouting activities, navigation, wide games, night hikes, survival skills, leading up to expeditions in wild country, and all working towards the Chief Scout Gold Award. (Leaders - Graham Jack, Craig Leuchars)
Explorer Scouts (14-18yrs) meet in the Church hall on Friday evenings 19:00 - 21:00, and really take control of their own programme, organising scouting and social activities, community projects, expeditions and camps for themselves and in conjunction with other local Explorer Units, all working towards the top award in Scouting, the Queens Scout Award. (Leaders - Danny Hawthorn, Phil Astley) It's really important that we get some new Beaver Leaders soon so there's time for a good hand-over with Andrew & Mark. If we don't have a Beaver Section, then there'll likely be no Cub section in a year or two, and so on....!
It's all really good fun and doesn't seem like hard work. A massive thanks to Andrew & Mark for all their years of service, and to all the leaders and parents who give up their time to make the Scout Group the success that it is. The scouts all seem to love it...and we suspect the adults love it too. If you are interested in this or helping out in any of our sections please get in touch with any of the leaders, or Danny Hawthorn - Acting Group Scout Leader 1st Newburgh Scout Group. email: [email protected] mobile: 07977 412645.
Danny Hawthorn Acting Group Scout Leader 1st Newburgh Scout Group
The Windsurf Club & Newburgh Sea GorillaZ
2019 was another really successful year for the The Windsurf Club in Newburgh. Our season finished in October 2019 so we've packed up our sails and boards until we start again in April 2020 (although we suspect various coaches and members will be out and about throughout the winter, enjoying the big wind and waves that this brings!).
The club ran its usual programme of fortnightly Newburgh Sea GorillaZ kids’ sessions on Sundays on the Ythan Estuary at Newburgh, and also ran weekly open sessions on Monday evenings up at Peterhead Marina. We had great numbers throughout the season and saw our young windsurfers improving hugely with many new members giving it a go.
We had young representatives attending race events up and down the country including the four Scottish inter-club Team15 events at Peterhead (our own event), Loch Insh, Port Edgar and Monikie; the Scottish Spring and Summer Championships at Loch Tummel and Loch Earn; the Eric Twiname National Windsurf Championships at Rutland Water, Leicestershire; the Scottish Inland Championships at St.Mary's Loch in the Borders; the Scottish Youth & Junior Championships at Dalgety Bay; and the UK National Windsurf Championships down at Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire.
It's a big commitment from the parents to get the kids along to these events, but they are all a bit of an adventure and great fun for both kids and adults. Our Newburgh Sea GorillaZ ended up coming 3rd overall in the Scottish Team15 series, behind the Loch Insh MonstArs who were 1st, and the Clyde Barracudas in 2nd, and ahead of the Port Edgar Pirates and Monikie Maniacs who came 4th & 5th. Great effort by all our windsurfers who competed at the events!
For adults, we ran a number of taster sessions throughout the season in both windsurfing and Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP) at Newburgh, Peterhead and Cruden Bay. These were really good fun and a great way to introduce adults to both these sports. We also encouraged as many parents on to the water as possible during the kids’ sessions and events...great fun. The season finished off in October with some of our coaches and a couple Sea GorillaZ heading over to Tiree in the Western Isles, (the 'Mecca' of UK windsurfing!) to catch-up with the Tiree Wave Classic, a windsurf wave-riding competition that's been running for 34 years and attracts the best professional windsurfers from the UK and beyond. Two of our Sea GorillaZ attended the youth training camp that ran alongside the competition (the BWA Future Pro's Wave Camp) and were perfecting their wave riding and freestyle skills during the week.
Finally, some great news at the end of the season, we heard from RYA Scotland in October that two of our youth members were selected for the 2019/20 Scottish Techno Team (the youth olympic race class). This involves attending a series of winter training camps around Scotland between November and March in preparation for competing for Scotland at UK competitions throughout 2020. Well done to Sam Hawthorn & Jan Witte, a great achievement for them and for our club. We've come a long way over the past few years!
Follow us on Facebook @thewindsurfclub or www.thewindsurfclub.co.uk
Registered Charity # SC006790 Newburgh Preschool
We are a Registered Charity
The children have returned from their October holidays and are full of excitement for the term ahead. We have had great fun on our outdoor learning experiences at Newburgh beach and the children have embraced the challenge. The most popular part being the roasting of marshmallows and heating our hot chocolate over a campfire, rolling down the sand dunes and hunting for buried treasure.
We have had a visit from child smile where the children were taught to correctly brush their teeth and they were delighted to take home some toothpaste and a new toothbrush. Handy hygiene has also been an important skill learned over the last few weeks.
The children were delighted to take part in helping to raise funds by painting and decorating lanterns and pumpkins which have been placed in windows of houses around the village for a treasure hunt. There was a lot of excitement from the children going round the village with an adult to find them and note the addresses to win a prize.
The staff are continuing on with their personal development which brings new teaching skills to help in the development of the children.
We are looking to revamp the outdoor area to provide different activities and have a more sensory approach. This would mean using bark and gravel to create different types of walkways and putting in a digging pit. We have approached Reach Ellon, a charity group that take on community projects to see if they are able to help us out at all. We would Also be looking for volunteers from our community if anyone is interested then please contact the Pre-School.
There are also plans to improve our kitchen area and make it more accessible to the children and increase the wet flooring area to create a free flow from indoor to outdoor play.
Thank you to everyone that is continuing to support us this year and we look forward to seeing you all at our future fundraising events in the village.
We are pleased to have healthy numbers in all our groups which run as follows: Rising 5’s Group, Monday – Friday from 8.30 am to 12 noon.
Playgroup, Mon, Wed, Thu and Friday from 12.30 pm to 5 pm 2’s Group, Tuesday 1pm to 3pm.
If you have a child who does not attend one of these groups at the moment and you would like to make enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Playgroup staff on Tel: 01358 789461. There may still be places available in some of our groups, and we welcome new applicants.
Also, if you shop on-line and do not already support a group or are looking to support another one, please remember that easyfundraising.org.uk is a great way to raise funds and does not cost you anything. Lots of retailers subscribe to this service and offer a percentage donation to your chosen cause. It’s easy to use; just remember to make purchases via the easyfundraising website and enter Newburgh Preschool in the dialogue box.
Should you require any further information please telephone the playgroup (01358 789461) or contact us on e-mail ([email protected]).
Many thanks, as always for your continued support. Newburgh Preschool Staff and Committee
……..
Bob Davis The Foveran Newsletter has lost a loyal and original writer. Bob Davis, naturalist extraordinaire, adventurer, conservationist, teacher and tireless promoter of the natural world died suddenly in September this year. His life was celebrated at a large gathering of friends and family at Haddo in October.
The Newburgh Gala
The Newburgh Gala Committee are already busy working to get next year’s gala organised. We have a date – Saturday 30th May 2020 – please save it! There are fundraising activities to organise, marquees to book and people to invite to join in the big day. We would like to invite YOU to join in the big day as the gala is for all of us in this community. I have heard it said that our village needs more things to bring people together. The gala is something that can do that! The committee has 13 people on it at the moment. That is enough to stage the gala next year (if we include gala committee members’ family & friends) but if we want to make our gala bigger and better – with events surrounding gala day like evening events on the Friday or Saturday – we need more people to make this happen. It’s not just the day itself that fosters community spirit, it’s also the process of working with others towards the big day that builds community. So if you want to get involved in any way, big or tiny, send an email to [email protected] or message on Facebook.
January 1st Family Ceilidh – one of the new fundraising events we are doing is a New Year’s Day family ceilidh. This was apparently a staple in the village calendar in years gone by, so we would like to revive the tradition! The venue is: Newburgh Public Hall, time: 7pm ‘til late. We have booked a brilliant ceilidh band called The Houlies www.thehoulies.co.uk and stovies/veggie option will be served. There will be a licensed cash bar and tickets are priced at - Adult: £12, 16 & under: £8, 5 & Under: free (includes food). Watch out for info on how to purchase tickets, and tickets will be limited so make sure you get them early!
Jane Bradford.
What is going on in Newburgh Public Hall
It's been a busy year for the Newburgh Village Public Hall! Efforts are being ramped up to raise funds to get the hall refurbished. Architects plans are already in place and the necessary building warrants have now been obtained. Some money is in place but the refurbishment will cost in the region of £300,000 so a big chunk still needs to be raised by our community. We are chipping away at this with fundraising events but are also doubling efforts to apply for grants. We will have a Just Giving page up and running soon so please look out for that. And please support the fundraising as much as you can to help future-proof and improve your hall for generations to come.
As trustees of the hall we would like to thank the community for their continued support.
Monday: Toddlers 9.30 – 11.30 Dancing 1.15 – 2.15 Guitar lessons 3 – 5 Yoga 7-8
Tuesday: Guitar lessons 3-5 WRI meetings first Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm Karate 7-9
Wednesday; Strong Classes 9.30-10.30 Bowling 7-9pm
Thursday: Dancing 3.50- 7.20 Badminton 7.30-10
Friday Strong Classes 6.30-7.30
For any information, please contact Leigh 07876656996
Hill of Fiddes Community Fund
The Hill of Fiddes Community Fund Committee meets every quarter to consider grant applications for projects within the community or that will benefit the community. Recently this has provided funding for a number of projects including:
• Refurbishment of the toilets at Udny Station Community Hall to provide additional toilet facilities and an accessible toilet. The hall is now accessible for all. • Provision of additional learning resources at Cultercullen Primary.
We have been out and about visiting previous groups who have been awarded funding. It has been lovely to meet with children from Foveran School and Cultercullen School and see the benefit of the funds they have received. If you have received funding from us and can show us the results of these donations, we would love to hear from you!
We would welcome more applications from Groups within the Foveran and Udny Station communities for projects in the area or that would be close to the area and benefit the local community. The application process is very simple - you can apply for small grants of £500 or under with no matched funding or larger sums with additional funding from other sources. Get your thinking caps on and give us a shout! If you need any more advice, are unsure if your project will qualify or would like an informal discussion about your project please contact us on [email protected]
Or you can contact Susan Watt (Chairperson) on 01651 843666 or Nicky Strachan (Secretary) on 01651 843703.
Application forms can be found on the Hill of Fiddes Community Fund website: www.hilloffiddescommunityfund.co.uk
Dates for meetings are published on the web site.
The meetings are held in Udny Station Community Centre or Cultercullen Primary at 1900 hrs. The Great Forvie Beach Craft Challenge
Every year lots of people help us clear rubbish off the beaches at Forvie, just this year for example tons of material has been collected through a series of beach clean events. This is a tremendous effort and very important as plastic, which makes up the bulk of the rubbish, if left can be a serious problem for wildlife. Seabirds or seals can get tangled in larger pieces but more of a problem are the smaller pieces which have been gradually broken down to tiny fragments by wave action. These enter the food web though filter feeders or unicellular creatures but then the plastic moves up the food chain as creatures are eaten in turn by larger ones. This can mean that animals such as seals at the top of the food chain have concentrated amounts of plastic inside them. So, it is really important for us to clear as much rubbish as possible of all sizes.
But what happens to this rubbish once it is cleared off the beach? Well it goes into landfill. But this isn’t ideal – it costs council taxpayers money and there isn’t enough land to keep burying rubbish so it isn’t sustainable in the long run. Wouldn’t it be great if this rubbish could be made into something and saves a new bit of plastic being purchased?
So, at Forvie we are challenging people to make use of beach rubbish rather than just put it in landfill. We have saved up a quantity of rubbish off the beaches that we think is suitable to be re-used and it is stored in large ton sacks by the front door of the Forvie centre. Some of this is ropes of different lengths and sizes, netting, containers etc that can be made into something useful But there are also items that can be simply re-used as they are – footballs, plastic desk in-trays, a stair bannister, even an inflatable flamingo (yes, really). Staff have already tested their craft skills and have made use of beach rubbish for buckets, a water butt, planters, netting storage in vans, mats and even a cat scratching pole.
So how about getting creative, gather some materials either from a beach near you or from the Forvie centre and get making. The only thing we ask is that you let us know what you have come up with. Maybe you are already reusing beach rubbish? If so let us know what you are creating? We want to make scavenging socially acceptable!
Please email you comments, ideas and creations to [email protected].
The best ideas and creations will feature on our new nature reserve blog Forvie NNR https://forvienationalnaturereserve.home.blog/. Why not check out the blog and find out what the latest is on the reserve?
David Pickett, Forvie NNR Nature Reserve Manager
Cultercullen and Udny Station
Udny Station Community Association
Over the summer, the Community Centre in Udny Station was overhauled, with brand new toilet facilities including an accessible toilet, baby changing station, and additional storage. The rest of the building was also given a fresh coat of paint and a spruce up to match. A thanks goes to the volunteers who gave up their time to help!
Along with the building renovation this year, we’ve had a virtual renovation as well and you can find our new website at www.UdnyStation.com. There you will be able to see details of regular groups you can join, how to block book for your group, and how to make a private booking.
With the Centre reopening, there are even more groups using the Centre on a regular basis, these include:
Udny Station Playgroup and Preschool - Week day mornings (term time) A small community group providing educational opportunities for children aged 2 - 5 living in Udny Station and the surrounding area. Funded places are available. Allsorts - Thursdays 2pm - 4pm A group that gets together every week to do various activities and raise money for charity. As the name suggests, the group consists of all sorts of people and ages. 1st Pitmedden Rainbows - Tuesdays 5.45pm - 7.15pm (term time) An exciting programme for girls aged five to seven, all about learning by doing and having fun Cultercullen SWI - Second Tuesday of the month 7.30pm Here to educate, to share, to campaign, to learn, to socialise, to build a community and of course, to have fun.
The Community Centre is also available for private hire and for community events, check out the website at UdnyStation.com or email [email protected].
The Community Centre in Udny Station is run by the Udny Station Community Association which is a registered charity (Reg. No. SC000412).
Andrew Ayton
Udny Station Amenities Group
We have had a busy year getting all the flower displays planted. Of course, behind the floral displays a lot of hard work goes on. At the beginning of the year, 14 new boxes were purchased and assembled, not an easy task in itself, trying to fit all the pieces together like a jig saw - and then of course they all had to be placed and filled with compost. We then organised a village clean up and thanks to the volunteers we managed to get bushes trimmed, grass edged, beds weeded and bark laid under the trees alongside. We cleared the existing boxes of polyanthus spring bulbs etc and potted them up for future planting. A welcome plate of soup and countless cups of tea/ coffee were provided to boost the energy needed to complete the tasks.
When we collected the summer bedding plants, we were thankful again to our loyal volunteers who helped to plant them up. Whew!!! These beautiful displays don’t happen by magic, but the end results are worth it just to see Udny Station looking beautiful all through the summer. Of course, the work never finishes with gardens and weeding and watering carried out sometimes daily.
It was all worth it though when the awards were given out by Formartine in Bloom. We picked up a Highly Commended framed certificate and to top it all off we were awarded a one-off prize of a garden bench for being the most improved community in Formartine of which we are truly very proud of achieving. At least the volunteers will have somewhere to take a rest and admire their work.
Our next phase of course is clearing all the bedding plants and planting the new spring bulb display, not to mention cleaning wrapping and storing the begonia tubers ready for next year.
I hope you all enjoyed our displays while you were passing through Udny Station. As residents we certainly did. All this is only possible with lots of help. If you can give assistance in any way, we would be most grateful. Look at our Face Book page Udny Station Residents Group for details.
Happy gardening everyone.
Eileen Andrew
Cultercullen SWRI.
On Tuesday 8th October we had a very interesting, enlightening and amusing visit from the Rev. James B. Falconer whose topic was the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Family Roof Garden with which he was totally involved from day one.
He gave us an insight into his upbringing, having been born in Banff and moving around the Scottish countryside throughout his life. It was always in his nature to help people and he did just that by introducing people to the outdoors to aid recovery from illnesses and depression. He was a Staff Nurse for a year at ARI and applied for Scottish Ministry which progressed to him becoming a Hospital Chaplain in mental health at Kingseat.
The slide show was amazing and demonstrated how he, and he alone, asked for a roof on which to build a garden and showed its construction. This project had to be charitably funded and it cost £667,000 to install the garden with the help of National Trust gardeners from all over Scotland.
One of the gardens exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show was brought up and installed on the roof (of course requiring some amendments). Her Majesty the Queen opened the roof garden in 2016 and it has been so very much appreciated by patients and their families since then. It is a place of quiet reflection and healing for so many.
The Reverend James has asked for another roof space to create a Staff garden for which he is currently raising funds. He needs (just to cover costs) £240,000. + VAT.
His slide show and talk were very illuminating, informative and, at times, very amusing with his naturally funny sense of humour. He is indeed a remarkable man. He was well applauded and thanked by us all.
COMPETITIONS:
Pot Plant: 1st Liz Webster 2nd Helen Thain 3rd Moreen Alexander
Tray Bakes: 1st Eileen Andrew 2nd Moreen Alexander Flower of the Month: 1st Moreen Alexander 2nd Helen Thain 3rd Sandy Steward
The tea was provided by myself and I think it went down well (well nobody's died)! Please come and join us at the Community Centre, Udny Station on the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm, you will be made very welcome.
Sandy Steward Press Secretary
The Art Class
For our last art lesson, we were asked to bring some autumn foliage, fruits, flowers and berries, to make up a still life. This was so we could make our ‘masterpieces’ (ha ha) in pastels.
As I was collecting my contribution, I realise that I had a huge choice in the garden. I don’t know if it is just this season or ‘the norm’, but the choice was amazing. I have plants that are still flowering and have been for over a month. The Rudbeckia goldstrum is still looking fabulous after being in flower since the beginning of September, as are the Nerines. I still have two different colours of Aconitum in flower, and there is a fancy Crocosmia still supporting its month long, peachy coloured flowers. The wall is covered by a mass of yellow from the late flowering Clematis tangutica and I have a late form of Roscoea still out. There is a late flowering herbaceous Clematis that has come into its own this year and is covered with pale blue flowers and of course the Sedums and Verbena bonariensis.
Alongside these autumn flowering plants, there are summer flowerers that are producing a second flush of flowers – if not third. Geraniums, Lavender, Parahebe, Centurea, Nepeta (catmint) and some spring flowering Clematis are all flowering again. These can be encouraged to do this second flush, by cutting back hard after they finish their first flowers.
There are also plants that have flowered continuously for months. I could not be without species Viola, Centurea Bella, Geranium Roxanne and Veronica gentianoides, to name but a few. These are such ‘good value’ in the garden as, so long as they are deadheaded regularly, they will flower over several seasons. Even Sweet Peas and some other annuals are still flowering, as they too have been deadheaded regularly, and will carry on until the first severe frost hits them. Dahlia will also carry on flowering but will need protection as soon as the frost arrives.
Colchicum, autumn Crocus are still hanging on in there, along with a well- travelled treasure Gladiolus papilio – this plant has been moved around the country to my various garden spaces, and now has got itself established here. It flowers very late though and I do wonder if I could lift some of the corms and try a sunnier spot, in the hope of some earlier flowers. It does come from South Africa so I don’t doubt it finds our summers disappointing!
Then there are fruits of all shapes and sizes from small Cotoneaster berries to huge conkers. Rowans come in several colours of berry (I have yellow, of course) as do Pyracantha, (yellow again). Someone brought in the largest Crab apple fruits I have ever seen – I wish I knew what variety as well worth sourcing. Since the wind has dropped the leaf colour has improved. I am usually so much more sheltered here than the north east corner, that we have a fabulously colourful tree display, but the last few weeks have been unusually windy. My shrubs and trees, especially the Maples and deciduous Azalea are looking stunning – until the next gale!!
All in all, I found a trug full of fabulous colours to make my still life from – the finished picture certainly did NOT do it justice – but I did enjoy trying to capture the wonderful spectacle that is autumn.
Happy Gardening!!
Lesley Barnett.
Bats bats and more bats
My interest in bats started in the late 1980s when I was working for the Buchan Countryside Group and a member joined who started taking us out on bat walks and surveys. I was fascinated and became more and more interested in bats. I did a BSc in Biology at Aberdeen as a mature student where my honours project looked at the differences between 2 species of small nectar eating bats in Northern Queensland. I became a Standby Bat Worker for Scottish Natural Heritage, visiting people who wanted more information about or had problems with, bats in their houses and I still do that today.
In the UK there are 17 species, 9 in Scotland and we have 5 resident species of bats in the Northeast of Scotland, 2 species of pipistrelle, common and soprano, brown long eared bat, Daubenton’s bat and Natterer’s bat. Bats, particularly pipistrelles and brown log eared bats, have adapted well to houses and like the home comforts of centrally heated modern homes. Soprano pipistrelles can form large maternity roosts of female bats in buildings. Unfortunately, these can be noisy and smelly. They are generally on the South side of buildings where it is warmest and often find access holes under the gutter or at a gable apex and may roost between the plasterboard and outside wall. That is not always the case though. A lady in Udny has a large roost behind the living room radiator, competing with the telly in the evenings They crawl all the way along a flat roof to roost around a hot water tank in a cottage near Methlick and it is not unusual to find them in a chimney, cuddled up to the Aga.
In the summer we get lots of calls from people with bats in the living area of their houses. These are usually young pipistrelles which have become disorientated and crawled out of the roost or come into the wrong place through an open window. We suggest the householder wears gloves or uses a tea towel to pick up the bat, keep it in a shoe box with a milk carton lid of water till evening then put it somewhere in the shade outside, a window sill or shed roof is suitable.
Brown long eared bats can be found roosting in larger attics where they can fly around to warm up before exiting the roost. They tend to roost in the open and droppings will be scattered along the centre line. BLE bats like big houses and old woodlands with lakes and ponds and they rarely come into the living area of houses.
Bats are a European Protected Species so have a very high level of protection. Where people have significant problems with bats in their houses, there is a licensing system to allow them to be excluded from that roost and encourage them to move to a more suitable roost such as a bat box or custom-built roost. Bats are very important indicators of biodiversity making up a third of mammals found in the UK and a fifth of mammals found throughout the world. Here they contribute to insect control with each pipistrelle bat eating around 3000 midges per night and in the tropics, fruit bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers.
In the winter months, there are not enough insects available for bats so the find a cool place to roost and become torpid. Very similar to hibernations but they can still hunt on warmer winter days. In the Spring, the females return to their summer maternity roosts to have a single baby, though they do occasionally have twins and the baby suckles from the Mum until it is weaned and independent at around 6 weeks old. Male bats roost separately from the females so that the do not mate with their siblings. They mooch around from roost to roost singly or in small groups.
For more information about bats visit the Bat Conservation Trust website www.bats.org.uk and join North east Scotland Bat Group facebook page for local information.
Isobel Davidson
Who Was Harry Paul?
Part 2 Continued from previous issue Aug. 2019
The following year 1921 Janet Paul and family are listed in the Canadian census of 1921 in Woodstock Ontario. Living with her was her sister in law Jessie Paul. Neither of the adults has an occupation listed and the income column has no figures in it. It appears that Janet and family have a very limited income, possibly a small pension from the army.
A decision was made to return to Scotland. Janet her sister in law Jessie and the two boys returned to Scotland on the SS Tunisian arriving at Glasgow on September 18th, 1921, travelling onwards from there to Santa Cruz, Newburgh.
Harry and Charlie would have attended Newburgh Mathers School. Janet remarried in 1927, to James Ritchie, a hotelkeeper and son of the then owner of the Udny Arms Hotel, Newburgh. They married at the Station Hotel, Ellon and their home was to be the Station Hotel in Strichen, where James was hotelkeeper. Sometime after 1935 they moved to take over a hotel in Alloa, also named Station Hotel. A newspaper cutting of that era also mentions that they were in the Mormond Arms Hotel in Strichen prior to going to Alloa. Possibly but maybe the journalist named the wrong hotel.
During this period Harry had left school and taken up employment with a company by the name of John Leng & Co. a subsidiary of D C Thomson of Dundee - a newspaper publishing company. He volunteered for the RAFVR in July 1940 whilst employed as a sub-editor in the magazine department of John Leng. On joining the RAFVR he was trained as a wireless operator and as an air gunner.
On October 12th 1940 Harry married Jeanie Alexander Stephen of Dundee. They married at 5 Magdalen Place, Dundee. Jeanie was a newspaper copywriter.
It is not known which squadron he was allocated to after his training, but it is known that he was with 20 OTU (operational training unit) based at Lossiemouth, one of many new airfields dotted around the country taken over by the military. Although these were classed as airfields, they were basic in design, many with grass runways. Much work was carried out to make these airfields better equipped for the constant use of heavy aircraft with proper runways built and buildings for accommodation, control and engineering to be added as required. Promoted to Flight Sergeant, Harry Paul was now an instructor to train other recruits. He is said to have taken part in many operational flights. As well as training flights 20 OTU, with other units, supplemented large bombing sorties into Germany and were also utilised on raids in the North Sea area and into Norway.
The aircraft he flew in was the Wellington twin engine bomber, a work horse of the RAF and indeed had the record of being the aircraft with the highest production at that time. It was superseded only after the building of larger aircraft but was still used for secondary roles throughout WW2. Built on an airframe to a design by Barnes Wallis it was produced in several factories in Britain. As a propaganda exercise during 1943 one Wellington (LN514) was built in Broughton, Flintshire within 23 hours and 50 minutes and flew in 24 hours 48 minutes beating an American record for building a bomber aircraft of 48 hours. It is believed this aircraft was flown to RAF Kinloss 19 OTU for service. The aircraft builders of the day donated their bonuses to the Red Cross.
Wellington 1c ZT B - T2913 was allocated to 20 OTU after serving with 214 squadron and two other operational training units. It was in this aircraft that Harry Paul flew his last training mission.
On September 8th whilst carrying out a night navigation and bombing exercise T2913 ran low on fuel causing loss of power in the starboard engine. Subsequently the aircraft crash landed somewhere to the south west of Elgin and was completely destroyed. All eight crew which included two pupils were injured and on rescue were removed to Doctor Gray’s Hospital, Elgin where Harry Paul died the following day, his injuries being so severe.
As stated earlier, Harry Paul had been working in and married in Dundee prior to his military service and it was there in Balgay Cemetery that he was buried, on the side of Balgay Hill facing the River Tay.
Harry Paul was the son of Charles Smith Paul and Janet Henderson Wood. Both had immigrated to Canada and married in Woodstock, Ontario. They had two sons Harry born 1914 and Charlie 1916. Charles Paul joined the Canadian army and served in France and suffered from the effects of being gassed. He died in 1920. His family returned to Scotland and to the family home at Santa Cruz in Newburgh Aberdeenshire. Janet Paul subsequently re-married and moved to Alloa with her second husband to run a hotel. Her son Harry used this address when he married.
Harry Paul served his country just as his father had served his adopted country on behalf of his home country. Both were taken in their prime. Both wives lived into old age with Janet returning to Newburgh after the death of her husband James Ritchie. Jeanie Paul died in Dundee in 2001 and is buried with her husband. Charlie Paul served in WW2 also in the RAF and was stationed somewhere in the Middle East. He survived the war.
I am indebted to Ann Walker a descendant of the Wood family and also to Sergeant John Baxter of the LOS Heritage Facility based at RAF Lossiemouth for information. Also, D C Thomson for photograph of Harry Paul.
Charles Catto.
Foveran Church Christmas 2019
Every year, the shops seem to start Christmas earlier. All the big supermarkets have their glossy magazines of gifts and food to order for the ‘festive season.’ By that they mean Christmas. Other companies tell us that holidays are coming, others tell us to buy the party clothes now.
The shops do need this spending bonanza, and the children will soon be telling us what they need for Christmas. It seems that year on year, we are working harder to have a good time, be happy, and that somehow the American Christmas film stories, which always work out well, will come to pass for us.
I once was a character in a Christmas nativity show. I was Santa Clause, and I had to sing a song which had a repeating chorus of, ‘I am not the star, I am not the star.’ If the stuff and Santa are not the star, who is the star of Christmas?
The Bible tells us in Matthew 4 verse 16, that the birth of Jesus and His ministry on earth fulfilled a prophecy which said,
‘the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.’
Christmas is about God breaking into this beautiful but terrible world to do something that is beyond us. Despite our technology and our self-assurances that we are advanced people, we are still sitting in darkness. Wars end only to break out again, peace processes fail, food banks multiply, homes break up and children are bullied on the internet. It is not these things in themselves that are the root cause of our sadness and struggles, it is our dark hearts. The deepest and darkest place on earth is not a cave somewhere, or the depths of the sea, but our hearts, inner space.
It is our hearts that Jesus came to illuminate. This is what Christmas is all about, and all the rest is like the wrapping paper which gets ripped off the presents and then discarded. As the old song has it,
‘Joy to the world, the Lord has come.’
The coming of Jesus was, and is, the joy of Christmas. May I wish you all a joyful Christmas, above all else, the joy that comes through receiving Jesus into our hearts by faith, Jesus, the Light and Saviour of the world.
Ricky
Foveran Church
Dates for your Diary
24th November - Soul Food Sunday – Faith, Hope, LOVE. Church Hall 6-8pm
29th November - Holiday Club Meet-Up – Children’s meeting Church Hall 3.30-4.30pm
1st December - Christmas Tree Lights Switch on 4pm (Gala Committee)
6th December - Holiday Club Meet-Up – Children’s meeting Church Hall 3.30-4.30pm
8th December - Morning Service 11am
15th December - Christmas Family Service – 11am - Evening Carol Service – Holyrood Chapel (6.30pm)
22nd December - Morning Service 11am.
24th December - Christingle Service (4.30pm) - Watchnight Service (11.30pm – Carols from 11pm)
25th December - Christmas Day Service (10am)
29th December - Morning Service 11am.
All are welcome to attend any of our services. Kid’s Club (was Sunday School) runs at the same time as the church services - 11am in the Church Hall.
Foveran Church Social Committee:
On Saturday 14th September we were delighted to welcome back the musical duo Jim and Marisha Addison. They entertained us by playing and singing a great selection of well-known songs, many from decades past but still very fresh in our minds. It was an extremely friendly afternoon, enjoyed by all who attended.
We hope to hold our annual Burns Supper in 2020, but with a change of venue. Planning is underway and it is likely to be a joint event for members and friends of both Belhelvie and Foveran Parish Churches on Saturday 25th January. As usual we hope to have a mix of good food together with spoken and musical entertainment. So please keep this date free and look out for further publicity around the local area and in the Press nearer the time.
Mary Smith
An invitation: The North East Aberdeenshire Members' Centre supporting The National Trust for Scotland invites all members and friends to a Carols for Christmas event in Haddo House Chapel on Sunday 1st December 2019 at 3pm. The cost is £10 per person (child £5) which includes mince pies, shortbread, soft drinks and tea/coffee.
If you would like to attend, please telephone 01358 742234 for tickets or further details.
More invitations:
Traditional Carol Concerts in beautiful Haddo House Chapel 2pm and 4pm on 14th and 21st December followed by sherry, tea or coffee and mincepies in Haddo House Library. Tickets from
www.hhcos.org.uk
Carol Concert – with disabled access – in Tarves Church on Thursday 19th December at 7.30pm. there will be no refreshments at this venue.
Tickets from
www.hhcos.org.uk
Foveran Community Council Dates for your Diary All meetings start at 7.30pm and are on the 4th Wednesday of the month. There are no meetings in July or December. 2019 27 November Foveran School
2020 22 January Newburgh Mathers School 26 February Udny Station Community Hall 25 March Foveran School 22 April Newburgh Mathers School 27 May Udny Station Community Hall 24 June AGM Newburgh Inn
Everyone is welcome to attend. If you have a specific issue you would like to bring to the attention of the councillors, you can do so at the beginning of the meeting.