Fred at Aberdeen Voice, Author at Aberdeen Voice

Fred at Aberdeen Voice

School Site Options Are Important Choice For Community

Dec 242015

With thanks to Martin Ford.

Local councillor Martin Ford has commented on the decision facing the local community and Aberdeenshire Council over where to build the planned new Kinellar Primary School.
Cllr Martin Ford said:

“Aberdeenshire Council has been trying to buy the site allocated in the Local Development Plan for the new Kinellar School for several years and a compulsory purchase process was initiated in 2013.

“However, in circumstances where there is an unwilling seller, the Council is not able to set a timetable for purchase, and due process must be followed.”

The Council has the budget allocated to deliver a new Kinellar School. Faced with on-going uncertainty regarding site acquisition the community is now being consulted on the alternative option of putting the new school building on the current school site.

“The delay and uncertainty over being able to acquire the intended new school site do mean it is now necessary to consider whether a change of plan may be better,” said Cllr Ford.

A public engagement event took place recently (Tuesday, December 15) organised by Aberdeenshire Council to discuss proposals, timescales and options for a new Kinellar Primary School with parents and carers. Over 70 people attended the event to learn about two options proposed by the Council: to either continue negotiation to acquire the site for the new school identified in the Local Development Plan, or; a new build on the existing Kinellar Primary School site.

In relation to the option of building on the current school site, Kinellar School pupils would be educated at the new Midmill School in Kintore from January 2017 until the new Kinellar School was completed around summer 2018. Transport to Kintore would be provided by the Council, as well as additional spaces within the after school club and, for younger children, arrangements would be made to retain nursery provision in Blackburn.

Cllr Martin Ford said:

“The decision now required about where to construct the new school building is down to circumstances. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the possible options put forward by the Council. Neither choice is risk free.

“The site identified for the new school in the Local Development Plan is larger and moving the school to it frees up the current school site, potentially for other community facilities. But the uncertainty over site acquisition is a huge problem.

“The current school site is already in Council ownership, but it’s smaller than ideal. There may be other planning applications for the site allocated in the Local Development Plan for the new school if it is not used for that purpose.”

Cllr Ford has welcomed the good attendance at the engagement event on 15 December. For people who couldn’t attend the meeting and have any questions, or would like a copy of the presentation, contact learning estates quality improvement manager Maxine Booth by January 7, at: learningestates@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

A further report on both options for Kinellar Primary School will be presented to Aberdeenshire Council’s Policy and Resources Committee in January with further opportunities for engagement pending the outcome.

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Iron Broo Christmas Ceilidh A “Brilliant Night”

Aberdeen City, Community No Responses »

Dec 242015

Iron Broo earlier the same day at the Winter Wonderland Festival on Union Terrace.

With thanks to Charlie Abel.

It really was a brilliant night. The 2015 Iron Broo Christmas ceilidh went with a swing at St. Margaret of Scotland’s Church hall at the Gallowgate, Aberdeen on Saturday the 19th of December.
Keen ceilidh goers traded their winter blues for their dancing shoes in preparation for the Christmas holidays.

As promised it was a good old-fashioned Scottish evening where guests were invited to bring their own beverage and snacks and enjoy a ‘reel’ ceilidh.

Families and friends came and took part in the dancing, which knew no barriers to age with children, young people and the more experienced taking part. All the dances were called and everyone was invited to join in.

Nobody was left a stranger by the end of the night.

The raffle and a ‘throw coins at the whisky’ game were held to raise money for ‘Charlie House’ a local Aberdeen children’s charity.

Iron Broo would like to thank The Devenick Dairy who donated a ‘Big Beast’ Christmas hamper, full of cheeses and goodies and Makro Aberdeen for donating a bottle of malt whisky for our whisky game. A respectable £173 was raised for Charlie House.

Congratulations to Lydia Van Beers for winning the Devenick Dairy ‘Big Beast’ hamper and to Jonathan Scott for winning the Makro Whisky game with a bottle of 12 year old Old Pulteney.

“Everyone who came tonight had a fantastic time. You can’t beat a ceilidh in a wee hall for a friendly welcoming atmosphere. It’s a really great low-cost night out for anyone. Especially welcome at this time of year. Everyone is smiling,” said Charlie Abel, Iron Broo’s accordionist and band leader.

The ceilidh at St. Margaret’s was the second performance for Iron Broo on this particular day having entertained an appreciative lunchtime crowd at the winter wonderland festival on Union Terrace. The next public ceilidhs from Iron Broo are being planned already.

Keep an eye out on their Facebook page and website www.IronBroo.scot

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Festive Mission For AAM Appentices

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Dec 242015

Young staff at Aberdeen Asset Management L to R: Maja Omorczyk, Abigail Skene, Harry Rothnie, Raegan McBain and Rachel Adam.

With thanks to Esther Green, Tricker PR.

Christmas is a time for giving and apprentices at Aberdeen Asset Management have been delighted to give their time in order to provide a brighter festive time for disadvantaged children in the North-east of Scotland.
Just like Santa’s elves at Christmas, they rolled up their sleeves to sort and bag parcels that will bring festive cheer to youngsters. And by taking part in Cash For Kids’ Mission Christmas Campaign, the young staff have made a meaningful contribution that will give joy to underprivileged families in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Statistics reveal that one in six children in the North-east are living in poverty, and the appeal aims to make Christmas morning special for disadvantaged children and young people, by asking people to give a gift at drop off points throughout the region.

A total of 10 Aberdeen-based apprentices and young colleagues have been among the volunteers that have been helping the 2015 appeal.

The public have generously responded to the call to donate gifts, and volunteers have uplifted donations, sorted them into age and gender categories, and selected gifts to match order requests coming in from schools and other organisations.

Charity manager Michelle Ferguson from the Cash for Kids Mission Christmas appeal in Aberdeen said:

“We’re delighted that young staff and apprentices, who have study commitments and other responsibilities as they learn in the workplace, have been among our volunteers this year.

“This is a great way to encourage responsible citizenship, and all efforts for the campaign really do make a difference to the lives of families living in our local communities.

“Without volunteers we would not be physically able to do this and at a time when applications are up the public response have been fantastic. We thank all our supporters who have donated cash and gifts, and those who have volunteered.”

Collectively, Aberdeen Asset Management staff have given around 70 hours of hands-on support and were happy to devote their time to such a worthy cause, finding the numbers of families in need of help quite breath-taking.

Apprentice Harry Rothnie (18) said:

“It was great to see so many gifts and toys which were bought for those who are under privileged in both the City and Shire. Due to the generosity of the public, it will make Christmas Day an even more joyous and memorable occasion for parents and children this year.”

Fellow apprentice Maja Omarczyk (19) added:

“I volunteered to help Cash for kids Mission Christmas’ campaign as I wanted to give something back to the community. One thing that I definitely got out of this is that not all children can be as lucky as others, it is very sad to know that some children could have woke up on Christmas morning without any present to open, but thanks to the generosity of people and the amazing Mission Christmas campaign all children will be able to enjoy Christmas.

“I’m so happy that I was able to help and I will definitely do it again next year.”

Morven Hutcheon (19), customer services administrator, enjoyed getting involved and said: “It was a rewarding experience that made me think how lucky I actually am. Seeing how many toys generous people in our city have donated and to be given out to children across the North-east was a real eye opener. I didn’t realise how many children in my own area were living in poverty. I’ll definitely volunteer again next year.”

Apprentice Abigail Skene (19) was pleased to be able to give something back to her community and added:

“It’s so sad knowing that some children could wake up on Christmas with no presents to open, but thanks to the amazing Mission Christmas campaign, these children can wake up and enjoy Christmas with their families.”

Lynn Brown, from Aberdeen Asset Management’s learning and development team said that by volunteering for Mission Christmas, apprentices and young people were able to do something positive to help in their community over the festive season.

Lynn said:

“We’re proud of the contribution our apprentices make and this is another example of how our young employees make a positive impact, in this case outwith the workplace in a community project that helps bring happiness to the lives of children at Christmas time.”

Mission Christmas has around 150 drop-off points for donations located around the City and Shire and by the time Christmas comes the appeal will have responded to 5,500 applications for help – significantly up on last year’s figure of over 4,700.

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Donate Christmas Stamps To CLAN Cancer Support

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Dec 242015

With thanks to Phil Moar, Account Manager, Citrus:Mix.

Individuals are being asked to think of a leading north-east cancer support charity this Christmas by donating leftover stamps.

CLAN Cancer Support has issued an appeal for any second-hand stamps from Christmas presents and card packaging that it can recycle to raise funds.

The charity, which provides free support services to anyone affected by cancer across the north-east of Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland, is also on the hunt for all foreign coins, including old British money.

As well as the stamps and coins, CLAN is also asking individuals to donate any unwanted mobile phone handsets, of any condition, which again can be recycled to raise funds for the charity.

CLAN launched a similar appeal this time last year and saw hundreds of handsets donated, along with a range of coins and stamps with all funds raised going towards its provision of free support services to anyone affected by cancer.

Susan Crighton, CLAN’s fundraising manager, said:

“This Christmas, we’re on the hunt for any leftover coins, stamps and mobile phones that we can recycle to raise funds for CLAN.

“With the sending of presents and cards at Christmas, stamps really are in plentiful supply at this time of year, along with new mobile phone handsets so we’re looking for the help of anyone who may have spares leftover.

“We’ve had great success in the past with this appeal and I’d like to thank all those who have donated any of these to the charity. Your donation really can make a big difference.”

Donations of foreign coins, stamps and mobile phones can be made in person at CLAN House on Westburn Road or at either of the charity’s shops on Rosemount Place and Chapel Street.

CLAN Cancer Support is an independent charity which provides comfort support and information, free of charge, for anyone, of any age, affected by any type of cancer. CLAN aims to support people to reduce anxiety, stress and to increase their ability to cope with the effects of a serious illness.

Based in Aberdeen, the charity covers the whole of north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. CLAN has a presence in Ballater, Banchory, Elgin, Inverurie, Fraserburgh, Lossiemouth, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff, Kirkwall and Lerwick.

For further information about CLAN Cancer Support please call (01224) 647 000 or visit www.clanhouse.org

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Dunt, Dunt, Dunt, Dunt – Gordon Duthie’s New Album

Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Dec 242015

Reviewed by Duncan Harley.

Described by Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6 as “Wildly different but never not interesting”, Gordon Duthie has yet again hit the sweet spot with the release of his new album Dunt Dunt Dunt Dunt.

In this, his fourth album release, the NE singer/songwriter/musician reflects on work-related themes and engages in an often humorous take on club dance music to get his point across.

A year in the making, this new offering looks deeply into the soulless existence of those micromanaged Gen-X Millennials who, says Gordon:

“will IM you. Then ignore you to your face … Millennials have no empathy and are socially a bit awkward … social media has pretty much changed the world”.

The noun ‘dunt’ can of course be used in various contexts.

“In Aberdeen at the moment lots of people are getting the dunt and it affects everyone engaged in the oil business either directly via job losses or indirectly to do with the threat of redundancy,” says Gordon.

It can also be a wake up call. The pounding lyrics of Hadephobia refer to the sky falling in – a clear reference to getting the dunt big time:

“I looked and saw the fear in your eyes, like a long hot summer, burning the sky.”

Dead Dreams reflects on “Sitting for hours in a solid chair, listening to a man who sold his life … dead dreams inside us, fight an old child’s mind.”

“It’s about PowerPoint Hell” says Gordon, “we’ve all sat through it.”

In Young Kenny – A melodious but slightly mournful piece – Gordon describes a composite character struggling with isolation and loneliness. “Young Kenny didn’t know who he was … it all came to a head … the mystical beauty of the coast, brought his mind back again.”

With previous albums Thran, Shire and City and Multimedia Monster under his belt, Westhill-based Gordon’s new release is a powerful mix of social comment set solidly within a framework of electric ambient club music.

As Gordon himself says, the lyrics

“Wink nicely at local events.”

Mixed and Mastered by Thaddeus Moore of Sprout City Studios, Dunt Dunt Dunt Dunt is available from most digital music stores and also direct from Gordon at www.gordonduthie.com

First published in the December Leopard Magazine.

Star Wars, The Force Awakens – Andrew Watson Reviews

Aberdeen City, Opinion No Responses »

Dec 172015

The American epic space opera Star Wars began again with its seventh instalment, The Force Awakens. Aberdeen Voice’s Andrew Watson was there the day of its general release.

There were maybe just over a dozen people at Vue on Shiprow during the Thursday midmorning showing; which would be about right, given there were midnight and crack of dawn showings preceding it.
Generally speaking, with films of this nature, and magnitude, it can go one of two ways. This being faithful to the originals; or overcompensating lack of good storytelling with supreme focus upon special effects, fight sequences and otherworldly landscapes.

This however, seems to straddle the two. It’s not mind blowing; yet not too bad, either.

Basically, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has gone missing, and the Resistance (what used to be the Rebel Alliance) are seeking him out for help against the odious First Order (what used to be the Galactic Empire). The latter has all but one of the fragments of data detailing his location, and the good guys have that one last piece of vital information.

So far, so good. This is the kind of solid underdog tale that the series has so successfully relied upon since its debut in 1977.

Though the best of the original characters are reprised with the same actors and actresses as before; the two or three main protagonists of the film aren’t so long in the tooth.

You’ve got Daisy Ridley as Rey, who’s basically this generation’s Luke Skywalker in the female form. She’s a scavenger and quite self-sufficient. There’s also rogue Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) who’s integral to the Resistance standing a chance of defeating the First Order.

On top of all that, Oscar Isaac plays ace pilot Poe Dameron with all the attributes of a non-greying Han Solo. Everyone else in the film more or less plays a supporting role to these three, including Harrison Ford (the aforementioned Han Solo) and Carrie Fisher (General Leia Organa).

Antagonist wise, there’s the triumvirate of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). This could also be read as the Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Governor Tarkin equivalent of the film.

Come the end of the film, there are a couple of surprises. There’s yet another father and son divide, and someone of stellar importance to the series dies. The former might anger people. The latter, however, could definitely be very contentious among Star Wars fans.

All in all, it manages to come to a reasonable enough conclusion to stand by itself without the remaining two sequels. On the other hand, enough happens and enough is left unresolved to urge the viewer to watch the next instalment.

Bay Of Nigg Campaigners Deliver Leaflets To Community

Aberdeen City, Community, Environment 1 Response »

Dec 172015

By The Battle for the Bay of Nigg Committee

A group of dedicated volunteers have been out and about in Torry for the past few days delivering leaflets about the proposed Bay of Nigg development. We want to ensure that everyone in the area is aware of the impact that this project could have on their everyday lives. We hope to deliver leaflets to every house in Torry in the coming days.

If we, as a group of ordinary folk with limited resources can do this to get our message out to the local community, why hasn’t the harbour board done the same?

The Bay of Nigg project is estimated to cost £320 million – surely some of that huge amount of money could have funded a leaflet drop to fully inform our local community of this major infrastructure project that is deemed to be of national importance?

For all those outwith the Torry area, here is our leaflet for you to view.

The Battle for the Bay of Nigg Committee is a group of Torry residents trying to save our Bay from this disproportionate development. We have no specialised knowledge or qualifications. We are ordinary citizens trying to make our voices heard by Aberdeen Harbour Board, Marine Scotland, Transport Scotland, Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Government.

Our Facebook pages have already attracted a following of almost 700 people, predominantly residents of Torry. For further information, please contact us at bay.of.nigg@gmail.com

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How Many Left? Rare Car Show Returns May 2016

Aberdeenshire, Information No Responses »

Dec 172015

With thanks to Martyn Smith.

Vauxhall Cavalier Mk2

A popular car show, putting the spotlight on vehicles which are considered ‘endangered species’ is set to return to a top Aberdeenshire museum next year.
The inaugural ‘How Many Left?’ took place at the Grampian Transport Museum in May 2015 and unlike conventional car shows, focused on some of the cars which are not thought of – and perhaps never will be thought of – as classics.

Entry criteria was set for those cars which have less than 500 road licensed examples remaining on the DVLA database.

Especially welcome are cars that were truly popular, mass produced in large numbers making them very rare survivors.

With a mix of static displays, public passenger rides and an entertaining parallel auto test the maiden event was considered a success by both participants and the public alike and the staff at the museum, which is currently undergoing an expansion project, are delighted to announce its return in 2016.

Curator Mike Ward commented:

“’How Many Left?’ was an interesting exercise in that we turned the idea of a car show on its head and celebrated cars which don’t seem to get the attention that they deserve. Rather than making a fuss about cars which are already considered classics, we gave visitors and owners the opportunity to showcase some of the cars which we’ve all had an affiliation with and those which are fast disappearing from our roads.

It’s interesting to look at the relationship between the production runs of some of these cars and then compare the data with the number of examples remaining on our roads. The relationship between these two numbers is often very striking! It’s obvious that this was a winning formula and so we’ll be bringing back “How Many Left?” and will be looking to ensure that it’s even bigger and better in 2016!”

Entry forms for How Many Left? 2016 are available to download now from the museum’s website at www.gtm.org.uk/whats-on or by emailing events@gtm.org.uk.

Reindeer Help Pull In Toys For Mission Christmas

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Dec 172015

With thanks to Ian McLaren, PR account manager, Innes Associates

A class of enterprising school children are set for Santa’s good list after raising money for Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas gift appeal by making and selling hot chocolate reindeer.

Primary 4/5 at Westhill Primary School made the festive hot chocolate gifts to sell at the school’s recent Christmas Fayre.

Calling themselves Rudolph’s Hot Choc Team, the pupils filled clear plastic piping bags with hot chocolate powder and mini marshmallows to create a festive gift that could be given as a Christmas present.

The bags were decorated to look like Santa’s most important reindeer, Rudolph. Brown pipe cleaners tied the top of the bags and doubled as antlers, while boggle eyes and a small red pompom were added to complete Rudolph’s iconic look. Their creative endeavours helped the class pull in a sackful of cash which totalled £230, with £150 of that being donated to the Mission Christmas appeal and the remainder going to school funds.

The youngsters were inspired to support the Mission Christmas appeal after learning that thousands of children living in the north-east might wake up on Christmas morning without a present to open.

Mission Christmas is an annual children’s gift appeal that is organised by Aberdeen-based children’s charity Cash for Kids and this year’s appeal is supported by The Wood Foundation. Cash for Kids expects to distribute toys and gifts to around 5,000 north-east children this year and will gift three items, totalling around £50, to each child.

The Westhill Primary pupils visited the town’s Tesco store this week to spend their cash to purchase toys and gifts for the appeal. Managers at the store were so impressed by the pupils’ fundraising that they decided to give the youngsters £100 of extra toys to donate to the appeal.

Michelle Ferguson, Cash for Kids charity manager, said:

“This was a fantastic initiative from primary 4/5 at Westhill Primary School. We can’t thank them enough for supporting the Mission Christmas appeal and I know that all the items they’ve chosen will be really appreciated by all the children who receive them.

“Without the support of the north-east public we would not be able to support the thousands of children each Christmas. The public’s generosity is incredible, whether it’s donating items or volunteering to help distribute gifts. This year we are struggling for suitable items to fill applications for children aged seven and upwards, so any gifts that fit that category would be really appreciated.”

Westhill Primary teacher, Claire Thomson, said:

“When the children heard about the Mission Christmas appeal and that so many children in the area might not get a present to open on Christmas morning they really wanted to help. They did a brilliant job coming up with the idea of creating the hot chocolate reindeer, making them and then selling them at the fayre. There are definitely a few aspiring entrepreneurs in the class.”

To bolster financial donations to the appeal the charity is staging a Christmas jumper day on Friday, 11 December. The money raised by the £1 donation from each person taking part will be used to purchase gift cards, toys and gifts in order to fill any gaps.

The final day for donating toys and gifts to the appeal is Friday, 18 December. Around 90 donation points – more than ever before – are located across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire where people can drop off a new, unwrapped gift. The gifts will then be distributed to those in need in time for Christmas.

More information on the appeal, including a full list of donation points and information on the Christmas jumper day, can be found at www.northsound1.com/missionchristmas.

Cash for Kids is Northsound Radio’s listeners’ charity. It makes grants to individuals, families, children’s groups, organisations and projects throughout the Northsound transmission area. All money is raised locally and spent locally to benefit local disabled and disadvantaged children and young people under 18. More information on Cash for Kids can be found at www.northsound1.com/charity, or telephone 01224 337010.

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Volunteers Take Part In Nippy Dipper For Simeon

Aberdeen City, News No Responses »

Dec 172015

L to R: Charily Jimenez, Jonalyn Ruiz, Cristina Mendoza, Abigail Bekoe, Annchristin Landskron, Laurence Salvador

With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus:Mix

Six intrepid international volunteers are set to cap off a north-east Camphill charity’s fundraising year in style by plunging into the icy North Sea.

The brave group will join hundreds of individuals and groups as they jump into the sea to raise money for Simeon Care for the Elderly.

The popular annual Nippy Dipper event is organised by Aberdeen Lions Club and takes place at Aberdeen Beach on December 26.

The live-in volunteers who will be taking part in the dip come from the Philippines, Germany and Ghana. Each individual plays an integral role at Simeon as their co-worker status allows a high ratio of care staff to residents which ensures an exceptional level of individual attention.

The group’s fundraising effort will mark the end of an exciting year for Simeon Care for the Elderly. The charity recently celebrated the opening of its new 23 bed care home, which was built following the largest fundraising drive in the charity’s history. Simeon’s residents are now settling into their new home, which features dementia-friendly design and a commitment to energy efficient technology.

Gayle Johnston, Simeon’s fundraising manager, said:

“I would like to thank our volunteers for putting themselves forward for this cold challenge. It is quite a thought to take part in something like this during winter and we are very grateful to them. They all make such a difference to daily life at Simeon and this gesture further illustrates their dedication to our residents. I am sure they will be quite a spectacle too as they are embracing our Scottish culture and will run into the freezing water wearing tartan accessories.

“It has been an amazing year for the Simeon family as we all get used to life in our new home and I would like to thank all our supporters who have made this possible. As well as the excitement of our beautiful new building, we were also delighted to win £45,000 of Big Lottery funding to make our Golden Garden a reality. It is now starting to take shape and we are all looking forward to next spring to see the first flowers come through.”

Simeon, one of the six Camphill charities in Aberdeen, launched its New Lease of Life appeal to help fund the new care home, which consists of 23 en-suite bedrooms.

To make a donation to Simeon’s volunteers visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/simeon-sandpipers

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