May 132013
 

gtm_curator_with_new_bicycle_07 With thanks to Chris Anderson, Marketing and Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.

A high-performance bicycle that belonged to world famous comedian, Billy Connolly is now on display at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford. The loan came about after coverage of another of Billy’s vehicles- his world tour motortrike- appeared in the media at the start of April.
The bicycle is one of the famous ‘Flying Scot’ brand built in Glasgow for many years by David Rattary & Co and thousands of the bicycles were made before production ceased in the early 1980’s.

Billy was gifted his at a young age and cycled for miles on it including over the ‘Rest and be Thankful’ one of Scotland most arduous climbs. The current owner saw the bike advertised on internet auction site, Ebay and successfully bid for it.

Museum curator, Mike Ward, is delighted with the museum’s latest addition.

“We were really pleased when the owner got in touch with us offering a loan of the cycle. It is a fantastic piece of cycle technology and it ties in wonderfully with Billy’s motortrike which is also on display here.”

The addition of the ‘Flying Scot’ comes just a few weeks ahead of ‘CycleFest’ which is being held at the museum on Sunday 19th May. The event will see a variety of youth races as well as the Scottish National Road Race Championship around the Alford area.

The ‘Flying Scot’ is on display in the museum now and features within a chronology of cycling with the 200th anniversary of the bicycle just a few years away.

For more information contact:

Chris Anderson,
Marketing and Events Organiser,
Grampian Transport Museum.

Tel: 019755 64517
email: marketing@gtm.org.uk

Mar 282013
 

The launch of Grampian Transport Museum’s 2013 season offers the public a host of exciting additions. Aberdeen Voice photographer Rob attended a preview and was highly impressed with the pride and passion which museum personnel have invested in the preparation of the exhibitions, epitomised by Marketing and Events Organiser Chris Anderson spending 3 hours polishing the chrome on the royal Daimler.

gmt2013-7 In this its 30th anniversary year, staff and volunteers at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford have been busy making preparations for it re-opening on Friday the 29th of March.
A brand new exhibition area, ‘Pop Icons’, will reflect popular culture and design from the 1960s to the 1990s, bookended by one of the first and last Minis ever built.

This winter has also seen the addition of several exciting new exhibits to the museum’s collection including Billy Connolly’s motor trike – as featured in his world tour of England, Wales and Ireland – and a stunning supercar manufactured by Ascari, a company with fascinating connections to the North East of Scotland.

Grampian Transport Museum are also delighted to announce that a star of the big screen will also be unveiled at it’s preview event tomorrow evening.

gmt2013-3 A late addition to the 2013 season, ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ will be on display to visitors from this Friday.
The car is one of 6 built for filming the iconic 1960′s movie and is coming to the end of an extensive restoration which GTM visitors will be able to view for the first time.

For the first time those visiting the museum in 2013 will be able to scan QR codes to view further content on their mobile device.

To facilitate this, codes will be placed next to various exhibits in order that visitors can view a range of images and video content from both the museum’s own archive and the British Pathe archives.

Looking forward to the opening Museum Curator Mike Ward said:

“Our staff and volunteers have been working hard to prepare for the new season and we are now putting the final touches together before we welcome our first visitors of 2013 on the 29th March. 

“We are sure that visitors will enjoy the new exhibition and the opportunity to interact further with the collection through the use of new technology.”

The new season will be launched when the museum opens at 10am on Friday 29th March.

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Mar 302012
 

buspic3 With thanks to Dave Macdermid. 

Grampian Transport Museum’s 30th anniversary season gets underway this Sunday from 10 a.m. with some extra special attractions to mark the occasion.

Grampian Transport Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (4 p.m. in October) from Sunday until October 28th.

Curator Mike Ward explains:

“GTM is the museum of the past, present and even the future and for this season, we are looking back at the Alford Valley Railway, which operated between 1859 and 1965, with more than three hundred passengers catching the 7 a.m. train to Aberdeen every weekday in 1908.

“We are also, with the assistance of Nissan, considering the future of the car and are delighted to be offering fast charging points for electric vehicles every day while other aspects include ‘Motor Spirit’ – the story of the parallel development of the car and oil industry and Cycles Chronology.

“Among the wide selection of vehicles is the former Royal Land Rover, which was based at Balmoral, and several top quality events including the 30th Grampian Motorcycle Convention in September. And for the opening day on Sunday we have a magnum of vintage Champagne to share with our visitors.”

Admission is £9 for adults, £7 for concession  one paying adult can be accompanied by up to 2 free children. Additional children £3 each and all children must be accompanied by an adult.  www.gtm.org.uk

  • For info – Dave Macdermid – dave.macdermid@bigpartnership.co.uk ; 07805 436988
Mar 012012
 

Cameron Jappy With thanks to Dave Macdermid. 

The inaugural NESLTA ‘Green’ level boys and girls invitational competitions, held at Westburn Tennis Centre, were voted a great success Rubislaw’s Jamie Connell emerging victorious from the eight contestants ahead of runner-up Angus Edwards (Cults), Harrshra Pradeep Kumar (DL Aberdeen) in third and fourth placed Greg Smith (Alford).

In the girl’s final, Rachel Gibson made it a Rubislaw double edging out Amy Spiers (Cults).

District coach Vikki Paterson, who organised the event, was delighted with the standard of tennis on display. “It was extremely competitive with some fantastic tennis on display and all of those who participated said they’d really enjoyed the experience.”

Westburn Tennis Centre also hosted a Tennis Scotland Under 8 Red competition in which Cameron Jappy (Westhill) and Ewan Smith (Westhill/Alford) continued to impress, with Cameron came out of top on this occasion, beating Ewan 7-5, 7-3 in the final.

Benjamin Hine and Sam Walker finished in 3rd and 4th place.

Dec 152011
 

District Coach Vikki Paterson with Jodie and Varada.    With thanks to Dave Macdermid. 

The finals of the NESLTA ROGY Under 8 and Under 9 events at Westburn saw Westhill’s Cameron Jappy lift the boys under 8 event with a 10-7, 5-10, 10-3 final victory over Harrshra Pradeep Kumar (DL Aberdeen) in the final.

Alford youngster Ewan Smith was third, with Ross Grant (Westhill) fourth.

The under 8 girls title went to Abigail Doran (Stonehaven) with Varada Kamate (Cults) the runner-up.

Jamie Connel (Rubislaw) won the Boys 9’s with a 10-6 win over Harrshra Pradeep Kumar, with the girls title going to Jodie Harris (Stonehaven), with Varada Kamate again the runner-up.

Nov 032011
 

Britt Pernille Frøholm is touring the UK this Autumn and will play three venues here in the North East, including a fund raising concert at 7.30pm on Saturday 19th November 2011 at The Howe Trinity Church, Alford, in aid of The Alford Heritage Centre and Museum. Jim Talbot encourages Aberdeen Voice readers to attend.

norwayconcertpic2 Britt is a leading hardanger fiddle player from Hornindal on the west coast of Norway.

She has a MA degree in Traditional Arts from 2006 where she worked with contemporary music and researched new techniques for the hardanger fiddle.

She is a versatile musician who has released several critically acclaimed cd’s in a number of genres, ranging from traditional folk music to free improvisation with jazz musicians.

The concert will include Christmas music from Norway and will be a showcase for this talented musician and her beautiful instrument.

In  addition to her solo projects, she plays in the groups LuckyLoop, Friensemblet,  Ensemble Epoché, arcticaEclectica, Frøholm/Tillung, BOREAS (Scotland/Norway),  FACE THE BEAR (Norway/Sweden), and  the Talay&Knutsson Project-Nye Toner i Nord (Norway/Sweden/Denmark).  Currently she’s also collaborating with the Indian fiddle player Sharat Chandra Srivastava.

Discography:

Busi Ncube-Salulandela, (Etnisk Musikklubb 2010)
Frøholm/Tillung, ”EINS”, (Ta:lik 2009)
Friensemblet, ”Come Closer”, (Giraffa Records 2009)
LuckyLoop, “Big, Fat and Beautiful”, (Grappa Musikkforlag 2008)
Britt Pernille Frøholm, “For Allje Dei”, (Ta:lik 2008)
Folkelarm promo cd, (Etnisk Musikklubb 2008)
Christian Borlaug, “Austmannsspel- slåtter under Norefjell, (Etnisk Musikklubb 2008)
Ramstadlaget, “I gamle spor”, (Lærdal Musikkproduksjon AS 2008)
Honndalstausene, “Frie Former”, (Grappa Musikkforlag 2000)

Websites:

http://froholm.com
http://reverbnation.com/brittpernillefrø
http://soundcloud.com/brittpernille
http://last.fm/music/Britt+Pernille+Frøh
http://reverbnation.com/boreasband
http://myspace.com/boreasband
http://myspace.com/facethebearmusic
http://myspace.com/froholmtillung

http://myspace.com/arcticaeclectica
http://reverbnation.com/luckyloop

Jul 292011
 

By Bob Smith.
pregnancydummypic

Young Dod his ti get mairret
Ti a quine fae doon the howe
He hisna tell’t his mither yet
So there’ll be an affa rowe

Fan Dod’ll tell his mither
I’m nae jist affa sure
Bit ye’ll nae doot hear her rantin
Fae Alford up ti Drummuir

Dod’s quine’s jist a young deem
Fa’s pit on a bittie wecht
Throwe a bit o hunky punky
Efter a marquee dunce at Echt

His mither noo she’s affa prood
Dod’s the aipple o her ee
She’ll fair be less than happy
If  neebors gossip ower their tea

It’ll be a funcy waddin
Dod’s mither wid hae nae less
Fit I doot micht bither her
Is the young quines type o dress

Foo tae cover up the bump
The quine’s mither will wark oot
Fit she wid richt like ti dee
Is skelp Dod’s lug nae doot

The quine hersel is nae pit oot
As she gyangs aboot her wark
Nae doot thinkin o the nicht
Young Dod he made his mark


©Bob Smith “The Poetry Mannie” 2010.  Image Credit:   © Madja | Dreamstime.com