THE SOUTH DEESIDE VIEW Autumn/Winter 2003 Welcome to the Autumn/Winter Edition of the South Deeside View which we hope you will all enjoy. We're delighted as the distribution has increased to almost 800 copies and our thanks to the NKRCC for both their financial assistance and assistance with distribution. Thanks too to advertisers and all those who contribute ...without which we'd not have a Newsletter which we hope lets you know what's going on, where and generally invites you into the community and its activities. If you have any "news" for the area, whether it be a wee story, local history, news of an event...we'd be delighted to hear from you. So wishing you all Health, Happiness and Prosperity for Christmas and the New Year 2004. Trish and Carolyn Nae Fae A Learned Pen Is a nostalgic look back at life written in the local dialect by Stanley Clark Duncan Robertson in poetic form. Many will recall how life used to be growing up in the last century and how times have maybe not changed as much as we think. Under the pseudonym of SCARDOGAN, this book has been collated with over 150 various stories of local incidents, work colleagues, social nights out in the community of Banchory-Devenick, plus many other interesting anecdotes relating to Aberdeenshire life and the people themselves. Born in 1910, and having lived in Chapel of Garioch and then Banchory-Devenick, Stanley was continually scribbling down interesting notes for his own amusement. He himself worked at Inverurie Loco Works and then William Tawse Limited, plus he and his wife owned the local Post Office and Shop and many stories emanate from his working life, and the characters that he encountered. His work is visual as well as both funny and moving. We can all recognise someone we know being in the same situations described. We hope that this book serves as a decent tribute to his talent that he undoubtedly had. It has been hard work deciphering the boxes of scrap paper and putting them into a format worth reading. Although the book is on sale within various shops, we are also selling it at View Cottage, Banchory-Devenick at £9.99, telephone 872914 for further enquiries. Derek Cruickshank www.scardogan.co.uk Notes on the Early History of North East Scotland kindly researched and written for SDV by Mike Harris of Netherley Park ....thank you Mike – this is very interesting. Tel Mike on 01569 731091 "Wherever I have lived in the UK I have been interested to discover something of the history of the location and the people connected with the area. I came to NE Scotland 19 years ago and have been gleaning bits and pieces from various books (no knowledge is original). I would like to share these items with any interested readers. The exploration is ongoing, maybe someone reading this has an interesting source which I have not discovered I would be glad of their assistance. The earliest map of Scotland was by Ptolemy the famous explorer from AD140 which shows the major tribes of Scotland which information must have been obtained from A Gricola's Roman campaign from AD79-83. May I recommend here Scotland’s Roman Remains by Lawrence Kepple (John Donald Publishers Edinburgh 1986). The TAIZALOI were the most local tribe to us stretching from the Banff coast to Aberdeen. The VERNIKONES inhabited the plains by the sea, e.g. Kincardine, the Mearns and Fife. The VACOMAGOI lived inland from Moray to the Tay. By the 9th Century the Pictish people were organised into seven provinces: 1. Sutherland/Caithness, 2. Cirigh - the Mearns (Magh-chircin) i.e. magh, Celtic word for field NB Armagh and Magdeburg in Germany 3. Fotla - the Atholl area 4. Fib – Fife 5. Fortrenn - the Forth/Tay Tribes. When one looks at the map of this area carefully it is fascinating how many place names are associated with the old Celtic saints, the first missionaries to bring the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to Scotland. It all began with St Ninian who was a Romano-Briton from the Carlisle/Solway area. He trained in Rome under Bishop Damasus (before the later rise of the Papacy please note). He later joined St Martin at his centre near Poitiers in France. Ninian then set out to evangelise the Picts and established his monastic mission centre in 397AD at Whithorn in Galloway. For some years there has been considerable archaeological excavation on the site. He called his first building "Candida Casa" or the "White House"! and it was maybe the first stone building in the land. His leadership of the mission was until his death in 432. So Ninian and his team and his successors were actively spreading the gospel in Aberdeenshire 150 years before St Columba. Indeed I feel that Ninian should be the patron saint of Scotland, not Andrew, whose bones were purportedly brought here by Roman Catholics in later centuries to underline their mission and church authority after the decline or absorption of the old original Celtic church by Roman Catholicism by about 730AD. It is known that Ninian visited Dunnottar and that he planted a number of churches in the hinterland of Aberdee which was probably then only a small fishing community. One of Ninian's converts was St Ternan, a native of the Mearns. He was trained at Whithorn then worked as a missionary in Auchenblae, Fordoun, in sight of the Cairn o'Mount, Arbuthnott and Findon. He established an important mission centre together with schools in Banchory-Ternan. It is recorded that when he was old and quite blind he met the young St David, the patron saint of Wales. Ternan died in 431. St Erchard from Kincardine 'o' Neill, became a Christian in Banchory and went on to work as an evangelist in Glenmoriston. The most important of all Ninian's followers in Aberdeenshire was St Drostan who was here around 520. He was a Briton of noble birth with great personal gifts and passionate conviction. Along with his team members, Colm (Colman), Medan and Fergus he founded the monastery at Deer. Drostan's particular connections were at Insch, Aberdour, Rothiemay and Aberlour. Colm appears at Oyne, Daviot, Birse, Newmacher, Belhelvie, Lonmay and Alvah. St Medan had a site at Philorth near Fraserburgh, Fintray and Pitmedden. St Fergus founded churches at Fetterangus, Kirktonhead near Peterhead and Dyce - a very notable early Celtic Christian location. St Machar(the name by which we generally know him) preached in the Dee and Don river valleys in the mid-5th century. He is associated with Aboyne and near Newburgh. Later the Ninian based mission experienced decline and difficulties in supplying mena nd materials as long supply lines to the North East and its farflung outposts. Help was sought from Bangor in N. Ireland through St Comgall the Great. This was the beginning of the second wave of mission activity in this area. Bangor was the centre of Celtic mission and scholarship sending men like Columbanus and St Gall and others to France (e.g. Luxueil), Switzerland and as far as Bobbio in N. Italy. There had long been contact between Whithorn and Strangford Lough with ships transporting men for training and mission activity. Comgall came over and established a church in Durris. He died in 602. He sent St Moluag to Pictland in 562. This man was described by his contemporaries as "pure and brilliant, gracious and decorous". He formed churches at Rosemarkie, Mortlach (a very significant centre of the Celtic Church for centuries after), Clatt and Tarland. He died in 592. After the Irish came the third wave of mission to these parts in the later quarter of the 6th Century. This was led by St Mungo or if you prefer Kentigern. He had been trained under St Serf whose name is associated with activity from the Forth to the Tay area. Mungo preached in the Dee and Don valleys. Incidentally his cathedral site is in Glasgow but in those days the lace was called Cathures. One of his team St Nidan is linked with Midmar and Invernochty. Another team member, St Finan founded churches at Lumphanan (i.e. Llan-Finan), Monymusk and Migvie. Another colleague was St. Brite linked with Lhanbryde (llan-Brite-the church of St Brite). St Fumac founded at church at Dinnet. These men, Nidan, Finan and Brite were Welshmen. It is important to recall that the Pictish Celtic language was one branch, Welsh and Irish Gaelic are others from the same stem. Mungo invited these men to come up from Wales. At this period, the Whithorn centre sent out St Donnan the Great who founded a church at Auchterless. But he had 52 other brothers were murdered by Dutch pirates in 616 on the west coast at Eigg. In the 7th Centure St. Marnoch moved from Ayrshire (Kilmarnock) to work on the banks of the River Deveron. He formed churches at Aberchirder and died there in 625. He is also associated with Inchmarnock, west of Aboyne and Leochel near Alford. An eminent Saint of Deeside is St Nathalan of Tullich near Ballater. He was of noble birth, very well educated (Latin, Greek and Hebrew) and also gave practical teaching on good agriculture. He also formed a church at Cowie (which predates Stonehaven of course). St Walloch was one of the last missionaries to be sent from Whithorn and the White ouse. He started a church at Logie, Dunmeth in the Deveron area, Balvenie in Glenfiddich and also in the Strathdon Area.