FOVERAN COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

December 2012 Issue 134

A lesson about Peru from the pupils of Foveran School. (See page 27)

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Foveran Community Council

Christmas comes round frighteningly quickly every year and it is a time to look back at the events of the previous twelve months and to say thank-you to all those who contribute to making our parish a better place to live in. There are all sorts of dedicated groups working independently (hall committees; church committees; Brownies; parents’ committees in the schools; the WRIs; the Golf Club, Udny Station Amenities) but I have to concentrate on those which impinge directly on the Community Council. First, however, a quick look at one or two of the major events of the year. Early on, we at last got the final version of the Aberdeenshire Local Plan so we now had a firm understanding of what to expect in the allocation of land for housing, industry etc. Newburgh can expect 100 new houses. Foveran village will have at least 50 but the village is very vulnerable to new development being directly in the development corridor extending from Aberdeen to Peterhead. The rest of the parish remains pretty well unscathed. The Community Development project to ascertain priorities in Newburgh and to engage people in attaining these priorities came next. Two of the most important spin-offs have been the Nicer Newburgh Garden Group and the Gala Committee. The difference they are making to the village life is there for everyone to see (in the case of the former) and to enjoy (in the case of the latter). Then, of course, came the bombshell of the closure of the Butcher’s Bridge. The ad hoc committee formed to get it reopened did a lot of vigorous lobbying and came up with the proposal for an efficient temporary repair at minimal cost, which was eventually accepted by the Aberdeenshire Council. The replacement of the present structure has been awarded priority status in the allocation of funds from the Aberdeenshire Council underspend. I am not at all sure of the future status of the other two bridges. Aberdeenshire Council accepted that the Butcher’s Bridge was a necessity but I keep hearing murmurs that the other two, being so close, could be considered something of a luxury when funding is tight. By the way, I enjoyed Charles Catto’s knowledgeable and interesting article in the lst issue of the Newsletter. Compulsory reading for Newburgh residents! As to the thank-yous, I selfishly incline to those I am most closely associated with. First must come all the sponsors for the Christmas lights. It looks as if we’re going

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to need some new ones and so I hope the purse-strings are still open. Then there are those key and long-suffering people (Keith Watson and Martin MacKenzie) who put them up and take them down. Keith does have the consolation that the Newburgh village Christmas tree looks as if it is put there just for the Watson family – and the electricity connections are even done by another electrician – Frank Sheldon! The ladies of the Gala Committee also deserve your thanks and your support. Nothing seems to deter them and we will benefit from their efforts in the New Year. Similarly, all the helpers in the Nicer Newburgh Group need to be thanked, with especial thanks to the nucleus of the group – Graham Waters, Agnes Kinloch and Pauline Winslade. Similarly, the lynch-pins of the Gallowshill changing-rooms project (Jim Warrender and Ian Alexander) need thanks, encouragement and support as things start to hot up shortly. Further inland, in Udny Station, George and Barbara Reid have, after many years, decided to retire from doing all the plants and flowers in the village and they do so with the gratitude of all the village residents. They worked hard and successfully and even contrived to have the village awarded first prize in the Formartine in Bloom competition. Whoever takes the job on has a hard act to follow. All that remains is to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and successful New Year. Whatever happens, it will not be dull!

Duncan Milne.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

The cost of advertising in the Newsletter has remained unchanged for more than ten years. Printing and paper costs however have risen dramatically and so, very reluctantly, we’ve had to put up the advertising rates in order to make it possible for the newsletter to pay for itself – or very nearly. If it’s any consolation, our prices are still much lower than those in similar publications. The new rates are shown below. As you’ll have noticed, the Newsletter is now being printed on A5 size paper. This is another cost-cutting measure but we hope you’ll like it. If not, let me know and we’ll have a rethink. And finally, at this year’s AGM, The Community Council decided that there should only be three and not four editions of the Newsletter every year so the next edition will appear in April. If we can get the finances back on an even keel, this may change. Thank you for the articles for this edition. If you would like to write something for the April 2013 one, please may I have it before the 15th of March. You can post it to me or email it – or just ring me and tell me what you want to say. j.jones110@btinternet.com Mrs Janet Jones, South Minnes, Newburgh. Ellon. AB41 6BB. Tel: 01358 742304 If you would like to advertise, please contact: Miss Margot Wright, 69 Main Street, Newburgh. Ellon. AB41 6BL. m.m.wright@abdn.ac.uk Please remember to include your name and full postal address when submitting an advertisement. From the December 2012:

⅛ of a page will be £6: ¼ of a page will be £12: ½ a page will be £24: A full page will be £48

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Can You Help?

Ray & Anne Kenyon, who own Rose Cottage in Newburgh, received this email recently. I am looking for any information on the family of William Scott, born at Rose Cottage, Scotland, November 26th, 1888 and died here in the Pacific Northwest in The Dalles Oregon on December 18th, 1937. He was a friend of my grandparents and I have his and his brother George’s passports, some pictures and a memorial card for his brother Pte. James Rattray Scott who was killed in France at the age of 19 on May 17th 1917. His mother was Helen and he had two other bothers John and Robert and two sisters Nellie and Bella. If you could get me a contact for a family member, I would love to give them these mementos. Thank you. Cheryl Steindorf Klickitat, Washington cherylsteindorf101@gmail.com

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NEWBURGH

We are almost at the end of another year, and we can look back on the progress that the Gardening Group has made in the village. The shrub beds in and around the village are now maintained on a regular basis, the tubs were planted out with summer bedding and extra plants used to brighten up Main Street opposite Lea Cottages. The summer bedding has now gone to make way for polyanthus, and the little corner at the Public Hall now has wallflower plants and polyanthus instead of rubbish. The bench in front of the hall was repainted and new wooden slats fitted. 90 Lupin plants are in the grass area at the north entrance to the village, and Graham Waters has been keeping the grass cut along that stretch. One of our largest jobs was planting 3,500 mixed crocus bulbs at the north junction of Main Street, Merlin Terrace and Eider Road. They are going to make quite a show come springtime. In September we held a joint Coffee Morning with the Gala Group, and we are grateful to all who supported us, money raised will be used for yet more improvements to the village. We also thank Corner Café for their donation. With the winter weather not known to be kind to gardeners, jobs will be slowing down, although where possible we will carry on with the work at the Links Play Area, I did say it will take some time before we have that in hand. But already the planning has started for 2013, our list is in for summer bedding, and we hope to have new wooden planters for Main Street in the spring. Lastly I would like to thank Aberdeenshire Council Landscaping Services, Ellon Staff for all the help they have giving us over the last months. Any information needed about the group, contact me on 01358 789527 Regards Agnes Kinloch

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Newburgh Gala Committee

The Gala Committee have been meeting regularly to undertake the considerable task of organising Newburgh Gala 2013. Luckily we have some members of the committee who organised the Jubilee Family Picnic last year and their experience is proving vital. We have many decisions still to make but have at least arrived at a date!

Newburgh Gala 2013 Sat 18th May 2013 Newburgh Mathers School Field

Newburgh Mathers Parent Council have agreed to kick off the Gala with their Annual Castle Canter. We are delighted to be sharing the day with them and hope you will all support their efforts. Thanks also to Newburgh Mathers Headmistress, Gaye Stevenson, who has been enthusiastic and supportive already!

The mission behind the Gala was always to make it a whole community event but we felt there was a little budgeting and organising to be done first before we invite all local groups to contribute. So with that nearly done we plan to hold a Local Meeting on 29th January 2013 for all local groups and residents to voice interest and learn more of our plans. Please come along with idea’s on how your group can get involved or contribute. As a starter we have decided to price stalls at £25 each. Local Meeting Tue 29th January ‘13 Public Hall 7pm For now we have been focusing on raising the funds needed to put on a Gala of this size and have held the following events: We were very happy to join forces with members from the Nicer Newburgh Gardening Club to hold a Coffee morning in October. We raised £394 which is divided between the 2 groups.

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The Soup & Pudding event held in the Public Hall was very well attended and raised £335.00. Many thanks to all who donated soups, bread, puddings and cream. Much appreciated and hope it warmed all those heading up to the Fireworks

We also held a Quiz Night on the 24th of November in the Udny Arms with Raffles and Coin Roll during the break.

Coming up: A Night with Maureen Smith Fri 8th Feb Public Hall 7.30pm The well known clairvoyant, Maureen Smith is coming to do a group event. Tickets are priced at £18 per person and will include Tea/Coffee and homebakes. Tickets can be pre-ordered and bought from Lorna Younge 789422.

Please follow us on: Facebook: Newburgh Gala Website: www.newburghgala.weebly.com Email: newburghgala@googlemail.com

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NICER NEWBURGH GARDENING GROUP

FUNDRAISER

“I LOVE SCONES” MAKING SCONES, BAKING THEM FOR FRIENDS AND

EATING THEM

FOR MANY YEARS I HAVE MADE SCONES FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, FOR SALES AND COFFEE MORNINGS AND ON A REGULAR ROTA FOR FOVERAN CHURCH CORNER CAFE.

PEOPLE ALWAYS COMMENT THAT THEY ARE PERFECT SCONES AND WHILST I DON’T DISAGREE, I CALL THEM NEAR PERFECT.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A “NEAR PERFECT” SCONE, LET ME OFFER YOU THE OPPORTUNITY.

FOR A DONATION OF £10 TO THE ABOVE GROUP, COME AND JOIN ME IN MY KITCHEN TO BAKE SCONES, THEN ENJOY THEM FRESH FROM THE OVEN TOPPED WITH JAM AND CREAM ALONG WITH A CUP OF TEA. THEN TAKE HOME THE RECIPE AS WELL AS SCONES

FOR THE FAMILY TO ENJOY.

INTERESTED THEN CALL AGNES KINLOCH ON 01358 789527

MAXIMUM OF 3 PEOPLE EITHER A DEMONSTRATION OR HANDS ON BAKING

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NEWBURGH WRI

Members gathered in September, following the summer recess, and were regaled by a talk on antique buttons by Ms Martha Brown. Using slides, Ms Brown guided her audience through different types and styles of buttons. She had also brought along fascinating samples and each had a story, whether humorous or poignant. Ms. Brown’s enthusiasm for her subject was plainly obvious and the consensus of opinion was that this was definitely a very interesting talk.

On 28th September we participated in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on behalf of McMillan Nurses. £570 was raised and a big thank you to all who donated time, money and goods to make this such a successful event

In October we had a full house. An invitation was extended to members of the Ellon Group to take part in an inter-institute quiz. Teams from eight neighbouring ‘rurals’ took up the challenge. It was an evening of fun, laughter and head scratching while seeking that elusive answer. Top team of the night was Roberta’s Rabble representing Newburgh. Runner up was team 3+1 from Esslemont.

We began the November meeting by holding a minute’s silence to reflect and remember two members who recently passed away.

Mrs Bunty Youngson was a founder member of Newburgh Institute. Bunty was also a leading light in the Concert Party. Her lovely singing will be remembered by many.

Mrs. Madge Kinghorn was a long-time institute member. She was a stalwart of the Concert Party with a speciality in comic sketches. Also her clootie dumpling was legendary.

The scheduled speaker for November was unable to attend. At short notice, Mr. Gordon Benton agreed to give a talk on a mammoth trek he undertook through Borneo. He took us on his north to south expedition over mountains, through forests, paddling along rivers. We saw insects, leeches, snakes, monkeys, wonderful waterfalls, and beautiful people. Mr Benton is indubitably Newburgh’s answer to Sir Ranulph Fiennes. On this expedition to Newburgh Rural, his technical support was ably provided by Mr Gordon Porter.

Details about Newburgh WRI can be obtained from the secretary, Mrs. Rose Moroney, on 01358 789353

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1st NEWBURGH GUIDES

After a seven year absence of a Guide Unit in Newburgh we’re delighted to say that the unit has re-started and is now fully up and running with very healthy numbers – at the moment we have 26 girls enrolled in the unit with 4 waiting to start when they turn 10 in the next couple of months.

The unit started in August 2012 and the first thing we had to do was to raise some funds to help buy resources. The girls decided that we would organise a Coffee Morning & Cake Sale in the Church Hall. The girls had a great time organising, preparing for and helping out at the event and we raised a fantastic £500.00. We would like to say thanks for all the support (and the huge amounts of baking we received) from the community, to the Church Committee and the Ythan Bakery .

We’ve also been awarded grants & resources from Girlguiding Scotland, the Trefoil Guild and the Mary Salmond Trust for which we’re very grateful.

On 29th October we enrolled 13 girls who are new to Guides, an event which some of our older guides organised as part of their Baden Powell Challenge Award.

We’ve got lots of fun activities organised between now and Christmas including jewellery making & a Christmas Party as well as completing a community challenge, in the form of the Cyrenians Shoe Box Appeal.

If you would like more information on 1st Newburgh Guides please contact Karen on 01358 789523 or Nicola on 01358 788892

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The 1st Newburgh Beavers. John McLuskley

The youngest section of the Scouts for 6 and 7 year olds and currently running with 18 boys, meets most Tuesday evenings of term time at 6pm in the Foveran Parish Church Hall in Newburgh. Boys join Beavers by taking the Beaver Promise vow and join a worldwide team of over 30 million Scouts. It's fun! Our evenings consist of games, crafts and chats covering a multitude of topics such as our body's vital organs or creepy crawlies, to celebrating Chinese New Year or Star Wars day (May the 4th), with the aim of collecting the six main badges over the two years of membership. In the lighter evenings, we go out on the links or beach in Newburgh and go tracking or play wide games. As the Olympic Games approached, we took part in the Nationwide Beavers Olympics competition with boys pushing themselves to become Citius, Altius, Fortius or Swifter, Higher, Stronger, in the words of the Olympic Motto (although, in reality, probably more likely noisier, noisier, noisier!)

The boys have a great time and go home high; the leaders have a great time (we do - really!) and go home exhausted. We're currently running near capacity but if you'd like to know more or join the waiting list, please contact Andrew Mitchell on 01358 751743. Or if you'd like to help as a leader or even as a regular helper we'd love to hear from you.

BEAVERS BUILD A DAM, ONE OF THE FEW QUIET TIMES OF THE NIGHT

The 1st Newburgh Cubs

The Cubs spent the Autumn Term recovering from Camp at Daviot which was fabulous, a dozen boys went Camping along with boys for Daviot/Oldmeldrum

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Cubs. Despite the rain we had a fabulous time and did some open fire cooking, found our singing voices at the campfire and went to the South Pole (well in our minds we did). It was the first time some of the boys had been camping and for some it was their last camp as a Cub. During the autumn term the Cubs worked towards a Community Challenge Badge and Naturalist badge. We had an evening trip to the Forvie Nature Reserve and went mud dipping, so thanks to everyone there for looking after us so well. We also along with the Beavers had a guided tour of the lifeboat shed, a big thank you to Audrey Forbes. It was ended off with a visit from the Coastguard Sector Manager from Cruden Bay, Phil gave the boys an insight into what the Shoreline Teams do for us and why the Coastguard is so important to the local area. These visits were fitted around games, exploring and making things to ensure a fun packed term, at the end of which we saw four boys move onto Scouts and we wish them well.

CUBS AT CAMP IN THE COOKING SHELTER

1st Newburgh Scouts

We are also delighted to let everyone know that we had our first meeting of the 1st Newburgh Scouts this term. The Scouts are the senior section for boys up to 14 years old and where it all started.

So Scouting is alive and well in Newburgh and now with close to 50 boys involved we hope it will continue to be a success in the future. We are currently well supported by the Committee, parents and the local church and I would take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support.

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Newburgh Post Office & First Class Gift Shop

While most of us are looking forward to a restful festive period, Lisa and Liz are heading towards their second Christmas at Newburgh Post Office, the busiest time of the year for postal services.

Their first year has been a great success and they have become a central point in the community, offering friendly and supportive service from behind the post office counter, and a wide range of sale items in their shop.

This year Liz and Lisa have been joined by Laura (and in case you were wondering, you can work in the Post Office if your name doesn’t begin with L). Laura covers for the two post-mistresses during holiday periods, or when child care means they are needed elsewhere.

There are many functions the Post Office offers the community as a whole. For example, you can advertise local events, services and items for sale on the entrance hall notice board. The Post Office is a great place to reach out to people from all over the area, as Newburgh Post Office is used by many passing through the village to and from work in Aberdeen.

And if you are in for a chat, or to pass on news, why not sample the wide range of gifts, cards, stationery and fair-trade products (coffee, specialty tea, sweets, chocolate, biscuits) on offer in the shop. Prices are always competitive.

The range of services available from the Post Office counter never ceases to amaze customers. Post Office services include the withdrawal of cash using your debit card, depositing cash and cheques into your bank account, paying electricity and gas bills, topping up your mobile phone, paying car tax, getting foreign currency for a holiday (but you may need to pre-order), sending moneygrams and purchasing many sorts of insurance including travel, home and car insurance and even sending flowers for a special occasion.

That’s all on top of the normal postal services on offer. Just pop in at any time the Post Office is open and Lisa and Liz will provide friendly advice on what services are on offer and how you can use them.

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In the New Year there will be increased banking opportunities on offer to some. For example, Barclays customers will be able to deposit cheques and HSBC customers will now be able to use the cash withdrawal facility.

Liz and Lisa have a range of books for children and have introduced novels for the older audience this year. They are also selling two local history books ‘Old Collieston and Slains’ and ‘A Portrait of the Parish of Foveran’ covering Newburgh, Cultercullen, Foveran and Udny Station. These offer a poignant look at yesteryear, recording aspects of local life. They would make great Christmas presents for anyone interested in the local communities and how they have changed.

The “guest suppliers” at the Post Office over the festive season are ‘Soapy suds’ (soaps, moisturisers, gift baskets, soapy Christmas decorations) and ‘Kardz n’ more’ (quirky cat and dog door stops, draught excluders and crafty make and do kits and other ideas for Christmas pressies).

There are also cards by Alan Dalziel, a local artist with an interest in all things nautical and the countryside of Aberdeenshire.

Lisa and Liz are always on the lookout for new guest suppliers. So if you are a local artist or you make craft goods for sale and are interested in displaying your products please get in touch.

So, that all important Christmas period is approaching. For Christmas shoppers the Post Office has loads of cards and gifts, Christmas decorations, wrapping paper and stocking fillers for the kids. Why not give Liz and Lisa a visit to find lots of gift ideas for the whole family?

Don’t forget to beat the Christmas rush and post before the recommended last posting date. Christmas deadlines for postage this year are available from the Post Office or can be found at www.royalmail.com/greetings.

We must not forget that if we stop using the Post Office, we will lose this valuable service which is a life line for many more vulnerable members of the community.

Finally, Lisa and Liz want to pass on their thanks to all their customers, and would especially like to thank their customers for their charitable donations over

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the year which raised over £100 for Children 1st and Barnados. This money goes towards transforming the lives of vulnerable children and young people.

Opening times for the Post Office and Gift Shop are 9:15am to 1:45pm every weekday, and 10:00am to 12:30pm on Saturday.

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Registered Charity # SC006790 Newburgh Playgroup Newburgh Playgroup, Rising 5’s and 2’s Group

We are a Registered Charity After a fairly dismal summer (in terms of the weather!), our children have all settled well into their groups and are enjoying various activities, including a visit from Zoo Lab and trips out and about locally. Zoo lab visited our Rising Fives and Playgroup children at the beginning of November and brought rats, snakes and giant snails into playgroup for the children to touch and look at. My own son told me they brought along an elephant in a basket, but I think he may have been fibbing! This visit tied in with the children’s topic on “Autumn”, discussing hibernating and nocturnal animals. Playgroup’s walls are covered with leaves and other autumn treasures which the children have collected out and about, and it looks great! We do have spaces available in our Playgroup and 2’s Group sessions, so please contact us if you would like to know more. We can be found on Facebook, or you can call 01358 789461 or email newburgh.playgroup@ymail.com. Our session times are as follows (note the 2 hour 2’s group session in place of our 1.5 hour session previously): Rising 5’s: Monday – Friday 9.15am – 11.45am Playgroup: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 1.00pm – 3.30pm 2’s Group: Thursday 1.00pm – 3.00pm We’ve also been very busy creating a fundraising calendar, which the children themselves have been involved with. The cover of the calendar features a fantastic photograph of the playgroup and rising 5’s children looking out towards the estuary, and the back cover the 2’s group children in the playgroup garden area. We’d like to thank all those of you who submitted photographs to our photo competition “Local Life”. We received a fantastic collection of photos and our judge Susan Cochrane, of Paperdoll photography in Ellon, had a tough job choosing 12 winners. We would also like to thank the local businesses who

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sponsored the calendar (their adverts appear on each page), with special thanks to Romar Engineering who generously donated the printing cost. The calendars are now available for sale, and if you’d like to purchase a copy, please contact playgroup on 789461. We recently welcomed many of you to our popular Christmas shopping event, which was held in the Udny Arms Garden Suite. Many thanks to Gary and Mandy Linney who allowed us to use the facility to host the event. Thanks to those of you who came along – we hope you enjoyed the evening. Looking ahead towards Christmas, the children are preparing for their nativity play! Miss Sue has the children rehearsing the Christmas songs and “I’m a little angel” is ringing in my ears! Preparations are also underway for the children’s Christmas parties which will be held in playgroup this year, with the usual visit from Santa himself. We are also looking forward to our Christmas Fair, which will be held in village hall on 1st December from 1pm to 3pm. Cake and Candy, bottle stall, raffle, visit from santa and lots more......so do come along and join us if you can! Tickets are priced at £2 per adult and £1 concession including refreshments. We would like to thank you for your ongoing support of our Playgroup, and wish you all a very merry Christmas and a great 2013! Best wishes, Newburgh Playgroup Staff and Committee.

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FOVERAN

THE EVENT

Pupils entertain The Knitters. A little help from a Friend

During the Autumn term, P5 – P7 Upper Stages Class at Foveran School have been learning how to help both their own community and communities further afield. The pupils began by making contact with the charity Te amo, which collects and sends knitted hats and jerseys to poor children in Peru, and set about producing a range of garments themselves. They also had lessons in Spanish and learned about the country. Then, on the 4th of October and 8th of November, they invited the Grannies and Granddads of Foveran to the Foveran Hall for a morning of tea, coffee, home bakes, a good-old-days sing-song, activities and knitting. The Event began with The Grand Opening. After Mrs Kathleen Wilkie from Te amo cut a ribbon, the pupils entertained everyone with songs, jokes and the Can-Can. Then came the knitting session. Pupils handed out wool and patterns and helped those who had forgotten how to cast on. There was also a very welcome cup of tea or coffee with lots of lovely home-bakes Before the guests went home, they were given tatties, carrots and onions grown by Eco-group in the School garden. All the Grannies and Granddads who attended would like to thank the pupils for two very enjoyable and worthwhile mornings. Well done!

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CULTERCULLEN and UDNY STATION

CULTERCULLEN W.R.I.

The September meeting was held in Udny Station Community Centre and Mrs Barbara Reid presided. She introduced Mr Ian Wilson from Cambus O’May Cheese. Ian explained all about the different cheeses they produce. He brought a selection with him and we all got to taste the different ones and choose our favourites. This was very hard as they were all lovely. At the end of his talk, we all bought cheese from him to take home. Ian then judged the competitions and the results are as follows. Harvest Photo: Dip: Flower of the Month: 1ST Sheila Johnston 1st Moreen Alexander 1st Carol Ritchie 2nd Carol Ritchie 2nd Carol Hay 2nd Sheila Johnston 3rd Moreen Alexander 3rd Sheila Johnston 3rd Liz Webster After a lovely tea provided by Eunice Midler, the raffle was drawn and Barbara gave the vote of thanks. The October meeting took place in Udny Station Community Centre and Mrs Barbara Reid presided. She introduced Audrey Davis who spoke about her handbags. She explained how she started with maybe a tweed skirt and then unpicked the pleats and steamed the material before cutting out the patterns. She had a great selection of bags with her and many of the ladies did a spot of retail therapy. After the tea, which Barbara provided, the raffle was drawn and the competitions judged. Flower of the Month: Tissue Cover: 1st Moreen Alexander 1st Carol Ritchie 2nd Carol Ritchie 2nd Moreen Alexander 3rd Sheila Johnston Jar of Tomato Chutney: 1st Moreen Alexander 2nd Carol Ritchie E. Webster

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Udny Station Pre-school and Playgroup

We have seen another busy start to the year with our Quiz Night in September when we raised just over £500. This has enabled a visit to the group by the Critter Keeper. The children and their parents enjoyed looking and touching the insects and other creatures, and David had lots of information which the children talked about over the following days. This visit was prompted by the children’s interest in bugs and we are patiently waiting on our butterfly emerging from its cocoon in the Spring. The walls have models and paintings of the children’s ideas and it shows how creative they can be as well as showing how much they know and have learned during conversations, checking books and looking outside. In our second term we came back to a warmer hall. Grants from the Hill of Fiddes Community Fund and Udny Community Trust enabled the windows to be replaced. I am sure that all the hall users will appreciate the difference and make the hall a nicer place for all the groups and people who rent it for parties and events. We have had a fun packed Halloween party. The children dressed up and we dooked for apples and tried to eat doughnuts without using our hands. Also, we have talked about fireworks and how to enjoy them safely. The children of course are all aware that Christmas is nearly upon us and our party will be in the last week of term where we hope we will see our friendly visitor! Parents and other family members are now getting ready for our Christmas Fayre on Wednesday 28th November. It takes a long time to organise but is great fun on the night. There are many stalls full of local crafters and shops and the mulled wine and Meg’s mince pies add to the atmosphere. Not bad for the £2 entry fee. A success this year has been our Stay and Play session on Thursday afternoons. All pre-school aged children can come and have a play and the adults they bring with them enjoy a chat. If you are interested just come along and say hello to Kearsley from 1:30 until 3pm. We still run our 2’s Group on a Wednesday morning and now have places available for anyone wishing to join. November is now the time for parents looking to enrol children for the 2013/14 year. Contact details are on our website www.udnystationplaygroup.co.uk and we look forward to hearing from you. We would like to wish all the children and their families a Merry Christmas and thank the parents again for their continued help with the running of the group and all the fund raising they do throughout the year. Best Wishes for the New Year from Suzanne and Kearsley

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RABBIT. RABBIT. RABBIT. Lesley Barnett

You would think that, as I now live in a village, I would have left all bunny problems behind. Wrong! Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mind bunnies in the open fields – just not in my garden. As any gardener will tell you, they cause untold damage – even a baby one.

The day before I was due to go away to house-sit for a couple of weeks, I saw, to my horror, a very large bunny munching its way through some newly planted grasses. Having shot outside and chased it out of the gateway, I realised that I would have to devise some form of rabbit fence before I went, as peace and quiet for a couple of weeks would be an open invitation. Having rummaged around for net and wood, and chased a very persistent, nest-building bunny – now supporting a moustache of cut grasses - out of the garden again and again, I set to work. ‘Heath Robinson’ would have been proud of my creation, as I am, although any self respecting joiner would certainly have cringed. My ‘elephant’ gate fills the gap in the fence between the neighbour and myself, a gap left, I am told, by the previous owner, so they could pop next door whenever they liked – until they fell out, that is. The next problem was the large open entrance to the property, the only bit unfenced, as the rest of the surrounding fence has rabbit netting protecting it. I think the gap is probably too wide to fit a standard gate, but some bamboo canes, string and wire netting have made an effective rabbit deterrent for most of the summer – most being the operative word! On my fleeting visits home between house-sits, I have been furiously gardening, and on one trip I cut back the row of plants along the outside of the front fence. The previous owner had placed a row of bricks under the fence filling the gap, and I didn’t notice the one missing brick – but a baby bunny did! I looked out the following morning to find a tiny rabbit munching merrily. Could I get it out? NO. Between neighbours, neighbours dogs, shooing etc, the little blighter just kept running for cover or sitting tight under a bush. Short of asking my son to come down with his ferrets, friends to come over with their terriers, I even thought briefly of air rifles or sling shots - I wasn’t sure how to get rid of the beastly beastie! As I was going away again, I had visions of a not so tiny bunny still munching when I returned two weeks later. Sure enough, there it was, a bit larger and certainly fatter on my return, and nobody had told it that there were supposedly rabbit proof plants within the garden. It had its favourites, and these had been eaten to ground level over and over again, but they are

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now starting to grow as bunny is no more!! I can’t say for sure what happened to it, but I think one of the two large visiting cats must have had it for breakfast one day. Anyway, peace is restored again, and I no longer shoo the cats out of the garden – they preyed on my lovely garden birds too - but the birds will have to fend for themselves, as between ‘elephant’ fences, netting, bamboo canes, string and the cats, surely the bunnies can stay under the garages on the neighbouring patch of ground.

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Easter Craigie, Decoy Airfield.

Harestone Moss, just outside Whitecairns is, at first glance, a large gorse area with some fields scattered around it for use by grazing cattle. In the early days of World War 2 however, this area was a key secret position crucial to the defence of RAF Dyce (now Aberdeen Airport).

Harestone Moss looking westwards. The bunker is close to Easter Craigie Farm and the bomb craters are at the NW corner of the steading at Parkseat. The flare path flighting ran parallel to the

north side of the Orrock Road. The bunker entrance is also shown on the picture.

Early in the war, Colonel Sir John Turner was placed in charge of the British decoy and deception programme. The aim of this programme was to create decoys to lure the Germans into attacking sites of no military value or to deceive them into believing that what they saw in aerial reconnaissance photos was real. Easter Craigie, which is located in the North West edge of Harestone Moss, was one of Turner’s decoys. A decoy airfield, or ‘Q’ Site as it was known, was built here to draw the Luftwaffe into bombing Harestone Moss instead of the airfield 5 miles away at RAF Dyce.

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Decoy airfields were located up and down the country, generally in land unfit for farming and not near areas people could see what they were or their purpose. The site has a small bunker where a generator was located along with an area to support two personnel. This bunker provided the power for a decoy flare path that would, at night, be mistaken for a runway. In addition to the flare path, a small signal lamp at the bunker was used and rotated through 180 degrees to simulate an aircraft turning. There were procedures laid down for use of the airfield, the ways and times lights were to be dimmed and when the signal lamp was to be used. The big question was, would it work. Official records show Harestone Moss was bombed on 3 occasions: 3rd August 9th 1940, 3rd of August 1940 and 18th July 1941. It is possible that the 15 High Explosive bombs (1 of which didn’t explode) and the 20 Incendiary bombs that fell near Tillyeve on the 1st of October 1940, may have been targeting the decoy. The accuracy of bombing in WW2 leaves that possibility. Other bombs fell in the area in 1940 that could have been targeting the decoy. The value of the decoy airfield, the lives saved in drawing attacks away from RAF Dyce and the number of civilians saved in houses that could have been bombed in Aberdeen will never really be known. Following the last major raid in Aberdeen in 1943, the decoys were slowly decommissioned. World War 2 memories from people in the area are now getting scarcer and scarcer. The prisoner of war camp in Pitmedden, the Royal Observer Corp hut at Udny Station and the flash bomb at Udny Green are all being forgotten. The Anti-Tank traps at Newburgh are slowly rusting away, and the regular findings of unexploded ordnance are getting fewer and fewer. If you have any recollections, or WW2 stories etc, please email acstewart@yahoo.co.uk

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A Walk on the Wildside

‘Prepare to meet the gloom, the end of the year is nigh’. Oh dear, shorter daylight hours and lower temperatures, moan, groan. No cheer up as there is still a lot to see, and in the great outdoors. There is no need to bemoan the winter season now upon us; it is all part of the annual cycle and is as interesting as the other three parts. And after all there is the Christmas rush to look forward to, uh well perhaps this time of year is best sampled in hibernation! Now wouldn’t that be great, just curl up in early November and snore away the months until March, if only? If it was easy to accomplish then probably many more species of animal would practice it, but the majority of our wildlife has to cope with the hardships of surviving through the winter, or at least trying to. Bats hibernate, often gathering in colonies for company, and the chosen sites can be in a variety of places. Hedgehogs also go to sleep somewhere cosy beneath a garden shed, under a pile of logs, somewhere dry and warm. And that is about it for native mammals, all other species stay awake. It may surprise folk to learn that badgers do not hibernate, squirrels do not hibernate and neither do otters, foxes, wildcats etc., etc. Squirrels will sometimes make stores of food to help them through the leaner months, but they remain awake. Badgers do not like very wet, cold weather; who does, well they can stay tucked up in badger-bed for days on end rather than venture out to forage for food, but again it is not hibernation. We have one species of butterfly, the lovely small tortoiseshell, that hibernates, and there are a couple of moth species, including the brindle ochre, that slumber somewhere cosy. The small tortoiseshell may even share the same space as you, as they frequently make their way into cool rooms: unheated bedrooms are ideal, and there they will crawl behind a wardrobe and hang there for months. Animals that do not hibernate are active all through the winter months, but they do put on extra fat stores in the run up to the back-end season. That way they can go days without eating if their prey is hard to catch. The vegetarians such as roe deer likewise feed up avidly during autumn as the vegetation that they eat through the winter has little nutritional value, but it does ‘fill them up’. Now I am sure that everyone living in Foveran and way beyond has not stepped outside the back door for a month or more, without carrying a Swiss Army Knife. Yes, killer seals are lurking everywhere and even if you run a bath of water, they might appear. Oh dear,

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what a lot of hype has been ongoing ever since a poor dog was bitten by a seal. ‘Young children will be next”’ ran one stupid headline. I have sympathy with the wildfowler that lost his dog, but that was such an unfortunate accident, bizarre indeed but an accident I am sure. The man was at the mouth of the Tarty Burn one evening and his dog jumped in to retrieve a duck that had been shot. Unfortunately a seal happened to be in the burn when the dog went in and whoops, the seal grabbed the dog and mauled it. Sadly the dog did not survive, which is hardly surprising if you have ever seen the jaws of a seal! Chances are that it was a grey seal, a larger species than the common seal: both species occur in the estuary, and at high tide it would have had plenty of depth of water to get well above Waterside Bridge. It must have followed a fish into the Tarty and was probably very surprised to find a dog swimming about close by, and defended itself. Yes very unfortunate for the dog. It is amazing the number of seals that now haul out at the mouth of the estuary, hundreds and of both species. Fifteen years ago you would be fortunate to see 20 or 30 animals, and all of them common seals, the sighting of a grey seal was a rarity. If anyone walked around John’s Hole Point, all of the seals would instantly flap their way into the river, they are much more frightened of us than we should be of them, so don’t panic, enjoy seeing them. I hope that every one of you has an excellent festive season and keeps well right through 2013. Take care of yourselves and our wildlife until the next edition. Byeeee.

Bob Davis - 20 January, 2015

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Saint Mary-on-the-Rock, Ellon

Winter is upon us – or so the weather man tells us. Time to look back a little on what we have done over the last few months and plan for the future – I wonder what 2013 will bring for us?

Saturday 8th September was the annual flower festival at St Mary-on-the-Rock church with refreshments being served all day in the church hall. The church was decorated throughout with displays created by members of the congregation and friends. The theme chosen for this year’s festival was ‘Aspects of Beauty’ and it resulted in very varied range of displays that were appreciated by a good number of visitors Refreshments from morning coffee through lunch to afternoon teas were also well appreciated and donations made, which came to more than £1200 was sent to Macmillan Cancer Support.

The next day, Sunday, the Patronal Service welcomed the Reverend Canon Graham Taylor as guest preacher. Graham is currently at St Mary’s Church, Carden Place in Aberdeen, having previously served as a curate in St Mary’s, Ellon and it was a great privilege to be able to invite him to join us for the special day.

The Resurrection Choir of St Petersburg visited St Mary's for a return visit after last year’s very successful visit. Once again we were entertained by a choir of 8 excellent singers under the direction of their conductor Maruk Yury. They entertained an appreciative audience with a programme of Sacred Music that was followed after an interval with some Russian Folk. The Concert was concluded with a much appreciated rendition of 'Ae fond Kiss'. This can be seen at the following link: http://vimeo.com/52865936

The Saint Mary’s Men’s group continues to meet on a regular basis (normally over a small drink in the Tolbooth Inn). Discussion topics range widely. A Christmas meal out is also planned for December, which we are looking forward to immensely. Our allotment, although it did grow a few things, was not nearly as successful as we had hoped, mainly because of the very poor weather, so we are hoping for some drier spells now when we can get preparation done for next year.

Having mentioned the Men’s Group, I could not get away without giving the Mothers’ Union a mention. They continue to meet regularly on a Tuesday afternoon and Saturday morning each month. Both groups are always welcoming to new members, so if you think that you would like to come and see if the fellowship would suit you, please give the parish office a call for the date of the next meeting. The church is now approaching the season of Advent when we prepare for the celebrations to mark the birth of Jesus. Times of services at Christmas are:

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Sunday 16th December: Nativity, Carols and Communion @ 11.00 a.m. Sunday 23rd December Normal Sunday services Christmas Eve Blessing of the crib, and carols @ 5.00 p.m. preceded by

refreshments at 4.00 p.m. in church. Christmas Eve Night: 'Midnight Mass' @ 11.30 p.m. Christmas Day: Family Eucharist @ 11.00 a.m.

Our usual weekly services are: Sundays: 08.30 a.m. Early said Eucharist; 11.00 a.m. The Eucharist (with hymns & sermon) Wednesday: 10.00 a.m. Holy Communion in St Mary’s hall Details of other services and events may be found by either calling the parish office on 01358 720366 or by visiting our website: www.stmarystjames.org.uk

FOVERAN PARISH CHURCH We invite you to join in our Christmas celebrations this December:

Sunday 16th December 6.30pm: Service of Lessons and Carols in Church.

Saturday 22nd December from 4pm: Carols by Candlelight with mulled wine and

mince pies in Newburgh Public Hall.

Sunday 23rd December 11am: Children’s Nativity Service in Church.

Monday 24th December: Christmas Eve 4.30pm Christingle Service in Church. All

families welcome.

Monday 24th December: Christmas Eve 11.30pm Watchnight Service in Church.

Carols sung from 11pm.

Christmas Day: Christmas Morning Family Service 11am in Church

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Foveran Parish Church: SOCIAL COMMITTEE

On Sunday 9 September many members with families, friends and dogs enjoyed a WALK TO FORVIE KIRK. It was a friendly and enjoyable afternoon, which included a short service in the ruined kirk.

Then on Friday 28 September members and friends enjoyed an illustrated talk on the REHOBOTH CHILDREN’S HOMES TRUST by Connie Andrews, whose late husband helped to found the first Rehoboth Children’s Home in the Philippines in 1981. The home raised disadvantaged Filipino children, giving them both a home and an education. The presentation included photographs of the children and a CD of them singing, which was lovely to listen to. Those present generously made a total donation of approx. £86, which was handed over to Connie for the further work of the Trust.

Finally on Friday, 5 October we held a HARVEST CEILIDH DANCE in The Ythan Hotel. The evening began with soup and stovies and The Ythan Fiddlers then provided wonderful music for dancing or just listening to. Thanks to those who came along, Alistair’s tatties, and the generosity of The Ythan Fiddlers and The Ythan Hotel, a total of £136 was raised for the New Life Home Trust as a result of this very sociable evening.

Looking ahead - the ANNUAL ROUP will have taken place on Saturday 24 November before you read this newsletter; but please make a note that Friday 25th or Saturday 26th of January 2013 is the planned date for our annual BURNS SUPPER, further details have still to be decided.

The committee would like to thank you for your continuing support during 2012, and wish everyone a happy and meaningful Christmas season.

Mary Smith. (Social Convenor) Tel: 01358 742234

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Foot prints café

A new project for the church, Footprints café, is open on the second Saturday of every month from 10am-4pm providing a relaxed welcoming place for meeting and refreshment. The newly refurbished church hall in Newburgh is transformed with bright table cloths and flowers, and glass cake covers display deliciously decadent cakes. The aroma of fresh coffee and scones baking, mingle with the buzz of conversation creating a pleasant place to linger a while. High quality home-made soup is ready by 11.30am and fair-trade coffee and tea are served all day. The café is run by volunteers of all ages who have fun working together serving the community.

The proceeds go to support 3 charities all of which have links to the church; New Life Homes Trust, Kenya, Kids Club Kampala, Uganda, Hope counselling, Aberdeen.

African crafts from Kenya and Uganda will be on sale in the December Café.

We appreciate the support of all who have visited the café already and look forward to their continued custom. We will be offering different soups and bakes each month along with regular features like cheese scones and chocolate brownies.

If you missed it last time, do come next month. - It’s a great opportunity to invite your friends to Newburgh for a walk on the beach and let someone else do the cooking!

If you would like to volunteer to join the fun and join the café team, there is a sign up sheet in the hall, or you can speak to one of the serving team at the next café, or contact Tricia Kiehlmann on 01358 789235. We need volunteers to help set up tables, cook, serve, and distribute flyers. Dates for your diary; 2012; 8th Dec, 2013; 12th Jan, 9th Feb, 9th March, 13th April, 11th May, 8th June.

Tricia Kiehlmann

FOVERAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL Tony Churcher, Briarlea, Cultercullen. AB41 6QQ 01651 842549 Duncan Milne, 27 St Clair Wynd, Newburgh. AB41 6DZ 01358 789847 dandfmilne@btinternet.com Pat Begg, 11 Mavis Bank, Newburgh. AB41 6FB 01358 789513 Anne Massie, 24 Red Inch Circle, Newburgh. AB41 6AW 01358 789322 William Grant, Bank House, Udny Station. AB41 6QJ 01651 842791 Kate Duncan 01651 843777 Pauline Winslade, 24 Eider Road, Newburgh. AB41 6FD 01358 788922 pauline.winslade@btinternet.com Martin Warrior, Overhill Cottage, Newburgh. AB41 6BA 01358 789571 martinwoz@yahoo.co.uk Foveran Community Council meetings take place on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm. All meetings begin at 7.30pm with Meeting Point when members of the public can bring issues to the attention of the Community Council. All meetings are open to the public and everyone is welcome. The dates of future meetings are: 2013 23rd Jan. Udny Station Hall 27th Feb. Foveran School 27th Mar. Newburgh Mathers School 24th Apr. Udny Station Hall 22nd May Foveran School 26th June Newburgh Mathers School