Jul 212016
 

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

Lonach Hall defibrillator - Jennifer Stewart, Lonach Society, and Paul Hicks, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Jennifer Stewart  with Paul Hicks of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and members of the Lonach Highlanders and local firefighters.

The organisers of the annual Lonach Highland Gathering and Games, the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, have launched a fundraising campaign to install lifesaving equipment in upper Strathdon.

The society has launched an appeal to raise nearly £7,000 to fund the purchase of four public access defibrillators that will be installed at venues in the Aberdeenshire valley.

It follows the installation of a defibrillator, funded by the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, at the Lonach Hall.

Defibrillators give someone suffering a cardiac arrest more time while ambulances get to a patient’s location. It is estimated that every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces a person’s chance of survival by 10 per cent. In remote, rural locations such as Strathdon, where the nearest major hospital is over 40 miles away in Aberdeen, access to defibrillation could prove vital.

Retained firefighters from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Strathdon fire station, which is made up mainly of Lonach Highland and Friendly Society members, were on hand at the unveiling of the Lonach Hall defibrillator.

The Strathdon fire station, like Scotland’s other 355 fire stations, acts as a base for local people to learn vital CPR skills that can potentially save someone’s life. The training is provided in partnership with British Heart Foundation Scotland, which has donated Call Push Rescue training kits to the stations. Anyone interested in this free CPR training should contact their local fire station.

To provide the rural community with the potentially lifesaving defibrillators, the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society is seeking support from local businesses, organisations and local benefactors to help fund the purchase. The four bright green ‘shock boxes’ will be placed in prominent public locations throughout the rural Aberdeenshire community.

Public access defibrillators are designed for anyone to use on someone in cardiac arrest. The devices talk users through the steps required, including CPR and patient analysis, and will only deliver a shock to the patient if it detects that one is required. This means that there is no chance of malicious or accidental usage.

The sites earmarked to host one of the devices are Glenbuchat Hall, Corgarff Hall and locations in Glenkindie and Kildrummy.

Lonach Hall was chosen to host Strathdon’s first defibrillator due to its role as an important community facility. The well-used venue has been a fixture of the Bellabeg area since 1845 and hosts a range of functions, including weddings, concerts, meetings, dances and corporate events. It is also the venue for the annual Lonach Highland Ball which is organised by the society and is held the week following the annual Lonach Highland Gathering.

Jennifer Stewart, secretary and chief executive of the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, said:

“The society was founded to preserve highland culture and promote community cohesion and charitable giving, all of which still run through its core today. Supporting the local community is imperative to the society and our annual gathering continues to make a significant contribution to the local economy. We always strive to increase the scope of that contribution and this fundraising initiative is part of that.

“Strathdon is a beautiful, rural location, but one that can take some time for emergency services to get to. Defibrillators can prove crucial to increasing the chances of a patient’s survival in the minutes before an ambulance arrives. With a predominately older population, installing these pieces of lifesaving kit in the local area makes a lot of sense, particularly as no such provision currently exists.

“Applications for grant funding have been made, but any contribution from businesses, organisations or individuals would be warmly received. Our aim is to raise enough funding to have the additional four defibrillators installed by the end of 2016.”

This year sees the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society’s showpiece event reach a major milestone. The 175th Lonach Highland Gathering and Games will take place in Bellabeg on Saturday, 27 August. To mark the anniversary, the Lonach Highlanders will be joined at the games and on their march round the local area prior to the games commencing by the Atholl Highlanders, Europe’s only private army.

Established in 1823, by Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet of Newe and Edinglassie, the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society is a charitable organisation based in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. The society organises the annual Lonach Gathering at Bellabeg Park, Strathdon, which is held on the fourth Saturday of August. The main attraction at the gathering is the march of the Lonach Highlanders, a unique body of non-military men.

Further information on the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, the Lonach Highlanders and the annual Lonach Highland Gathering can be found at www.lonach.org.

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Jul 142016
 

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

Michelle Ferguson, charity manager, Cash for Kids

A north-east children’s charity has announced the finalists in its search for the most neighbourly community in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Cash for Kids has revealed that communities from Portlethen, Stonehaven, Torry and Turriff have been shortlisted to vie for the title of north-east Scotland’s happiest street.

The four community groups will now look to raise as much money as possible for the charity over the coming month in order to win a party for their local community.

The community-focussed charity launched its Happy Street initiative with the aim of celebrating local community spirit, something that is often thought not to be as strong today as it was decades ago.

Cash for Kids supports sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people under the age of 18 living in communities across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The charity provides grant funding to individuals, families and community groups to support these children and help to improve their quality of life.

The value of applications received usually outweighs the amount donated by the public and the business community.

All of the money raised by the four groups will be used to fulfil grant applications in the charity’s next funding round. Submissions for which must be made by Friday, 29 July and should be endorsed by a third party, such as a social worker or health visitor.  Funding for successful applications will be distributed in August.

The community that raises the greatest amount of money for Cash for Kids will receive an action-packed party for their local neighbourhood that will be staged on Sunday, 21 August. North-east entertainer Lisa Lollipop, magician Gary Seagraves and the team from Denis Law Streetsport will be on hand to provide lots of activities for all ages.

Aberdeenshire restaurant Eat on the Green will serve up canapes, The Store Farm Shop will cook up burgers on a barbecue and Summerhouse Drinks will supply luxury lemonade. Music will be provided by some of the region’s best-known radio DJs.

Michelle Ferguson, Cash for Kids charity manager (pictured), said:

“It is often reported that Britain is losing its sense of community spirit, but these four groups show it is alive and kicking in neighbourhoods across the north-east.  We are really excited to be working with each of the finalists, supporting them with ideas and advice as they set out to raise as much money as possible for Cash for Kids.  All of the money raised will benefit children here in the north-east.

“Happy Street would not be possible without the generous donations that we have received from local businesses.  The community party is set to be a fantastic day packed with brilliant entertainment, delicious food and great music.”

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/cashforkids, or telephone 01224 337010.

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Jun 302016
 

With thanks to Paul Smith, Citrus:Mix.
Alhikmah2

Plans for the next stage in an ambitious Aberdeen community project have taken another major step forward after a fundraiser in the city added £75,000 to the running total. The Alhikmah Foundation is the driving force behind the creation of the Masjid Alhikmah, which will feature community and youth facilities as well as prayer halls for north-east Muslims.

Made possible entirely through donations and the fundraising activities of supporters, already £1.2million has been donated and an Iftar dinner at the Hilton Treetops Hotel in Aberdeen on Friday, June 17, brought in £75,000 during an evening attended by more than 500 people.

The generous backing to date has enabled the Nelson Street project to make significant progress, with the main part of the construction programme concluded in January (2016).

The first phase incorporated all structural and external aspects and the foundation is pushing forward for plans for the second stage, which will involve the internal fit and finish of the three-storey building.

A spokesman for the Alhikmah Foundation said:

“The completion of the external elements of the  building was a significant milestone and a very proud moment for all who have been involved in the project. To see the site transformed and regenerated is very rewarding, with the feedback we have had from local residents extremely positive.

“None of this would have been possible without the support the foundation has received from donors and from fundraisers who have taken on an incredible array of challenges. To reach £1.2m is a wonderful achievement and we cannot thank those who have contributed enough.

“Without them the vision for Masjid Alhikmah could not have become a reality and the latest event is another demonstration of the strength of support there is – the £75,000 total from the Iftar dinner exceeded our expectations and we thank all who attended and made the evening such a success.”

Iftar is part of the month of Ramadan and marks the breaking of the daily fast between dawn and sunset. The foundation dinner was an opportunity for the north-east Muslim community to join together for Iftar whilst supporting a fundraising cause close to their heart.

The campaign will continue as the project progresses, with the target of raising an additional £425,000 to pay for the internal aspects of the new facility. The full annual report for 2015 has been published and is available to download online, outlining the financial performance of the foundation for the year and also detailing key aspects of the project.

The spokesman added:

“The annual report is an opportunity to look back over a very productive year but also look forward to what is ahead. We know there are a number of community fundraising events in the pipeline and it is very important that the momentum that we have built is carried forward.

“It has been a wonderful effort to get to this stage, particularly given the challenging economic climate facing the north-east at present, and we are grateful to everyone who has contributed so far or who plans to in the weeks and months ahead. Every penny spent on the project will continue to come from fundraising by our supporters.”

Masjid Alhikmah will feature space for worship, funeral preparations, dedicated women’s facilities and a family community centre. There is an active Muslim community living in and around the city of Aberdeen and the facility is designed to help create unity and foster a sense of harmony between Muslims and fellow north-east residents.

The name chosen for the new centre stems from Arabic. Masjid translates as “a place of congregational worship” and Alhikmah as “wisdom”.

 

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Jun 242016
 

With thanks to Esther Green, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR.

AberdeenAssetManagement2A series of POWWOWS to help people deal with mental health issues will take place in the Granite City after a mental health charity received £500 from Aberdeen Asset Management’s Charitable Foundation.
During 2014-2015 Penumbra supported  more than 650 people in Aberdeen aged from teenagers to 70 plus, through a wide range of services offering hope and practical steps towards recovery.

Its services include Penumbra Workshops on Wellbeing – or POWWOWS – which are educational, informative, relevant and fun group sessions.

They bring together people with an interest in a particular area of wellbeing to share knowledge and experience by discussing tips, ideas and practical steps that can be taken to improve health.

Themes include building confidence, achieving goals, overcoming stigma, hopefulness and food for thought. Penumbra’s vision is a society where every individual is accepted, supported and has the resources to fulfil their potential, without limits caused by mental ill health and participants say they feel more confident, healthier and in control through learning from others as a result of taking part in these sessions.

One of the highlights in the calendar of a rural Aberdeenshire community will benefit by £250 from Aberdeen’s charitable pot. It will help ensure that Rhynie Gala Day on Saturday, August 20 remains a free to enter event, as it has been for the past 35 years.

The gala attracts around 2,000 visitors including tourists and is run entirely by volunteers featuring stalls, attractions and catering, a pop-up restaurant and licensed dance.

Proceeds raised are shared out with local groups through Rhynie Charitable Trust Ltd which helps more than half a dozen groups in the village that are reliant on fundraising activities in order to continue. These groups include a Car Aid scheme which transports people to and from hospital as well as a bowling club and Brownies.

Aberdeen Asset Management  previously announced its support for Alzheimer Scotland’s dementia café in Aberdeen, which received £2,500. People living with dementia, their families and carers maintain social connections and make friendships by meeting up over a cuppa at dementia cafés, which improve wellbeing and confidence as well as maintain links with communities.

Dominic Kite of Aberdeen’s Charitable Foundation says:

“We are happy to provide a helping hand for these groups that do sterling work in their communities. Penumbra strives to improve mental wellbeing and supports a wide range of age groups,  from teenagers to pensioners, in Aberdeen. Rhynie Charitable Trust helps maintain a strong sense of community in its rural Aberdeenshire setting.

“Meanwhile Aberdeen’s support of a dementia café  provides an informal setting for people with dementia, their family and carers to enjoy a cup of tea and a cake along with  friendship and support over a cup of tea and a cake. All worthy causes indeed.”

Aberdeen Asset Charitable Foundation was established in 2012 to formalise and develop the Group’s charitable giving globally. It seeks partnerships with smaller charities around the world, where funds can be seen to have a meaningful and measurable impact and the firm encourages its employees to use their time and skills to support its charitable projects.

The main focus of the Foundation is around emerging markets and local communities, reflecting the desire to give back to those areas which are a key strategic focus of the business and to build on the historic pattern of giving to communities in which Aberdeen employees live and work.

For more information visit http://www.aberdeen-asset.co.uk/aam.nsf/foundation/home

Jun 022016
 

With thanks to Esther Green, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR.

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A café that is dishing up friendship and support along with coffee and cake to people living with dementia has received a financial boost during Dementia Awareness Week (May 30-June 5)
Alzheimer Scotland’s dementia café in Aberdeen – hailed as a lifeline to families affected by the disease – has received £2,500 from Aberdeen Asset Management’s Charitable Foundation.

People living with dementia, their families and carers reap the benefits of maintaining social connections and making friendships by meeting up over a cuppa at dementia cafés, which improve wellbeing and confidence as well as maintain links with communities.

They are part of the network of support and information services provided by Alzheimer Scotland, the country’s leading dementia charity which also raises awareness and supports research into the disease.

Alzheimer Scotland’s corporate fundraiser Fiona Lewis said that the value of providing an informal get together for people affected by the disease could not be underestimated. Feedback from café users is positive, with people saying they’ve made genuine friendships, they have welcomed being able to meet up outside other activities, and they’ve been able to share the load with others in a similar situation.

Fiona said:

The Aberdeen Dementia Café acts as a lifeline to many and provides the opportunity for both people living with dementia and their carers to make real and meaningful friendships outwith our services, which is invaluable throughout their journey with dementia. Our Aberdeen Dementia Café directly supports 18-20 people each month, benefitting people with dementia, their spouses or partners and younger family members who are often the person’s main carer.

“With facilities like this café, we want to ensure that anyone living with, or affected by, dementia in the Aberdeen area has access to information, care and support that they need in order to live well with the disease, or be able to support their loved one, in their own community.

“The Dementia Café positively impacts on many lives in the Aberdeen area and Aberdeen Asset Management Charitable Foundation’s kind support of £2,500 will help Alzheimer Scotland to continue providing this vital community service.”

Dominic Kite of Aberdeen Asset Management’s Charitable Foundation, added:

This café does great work in supporting people with dementia, their family and carers enabling them to remain connected with their communities, and to meet others in a similar situation in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment. We are pleased to offer this support and show our backing to Dementia Awareness Week and its message ‘let’s challenge dementia together’.”

There are 90,000 people with dementia in Scotland and while age is the greatest risk factor for dementia, there are around 3,000 people with dementia aged under 65.

The number of people with dementia is increasing because the population is getting older. Based on current dementia prevalence rates, the number of people with dementia is set to double within the next 25 years.

Dementia Awareness Week seeks to raise awareness and much-needed funds for those living with and affected by dementia in Scotland. It also seeks to promote becoming a Scottish Dementia Friend by understanding dementia and the small things that can be done to help people with the condition. This could be helping someone find the right bus or being patient in a till queue if someone with dementia is taking longer to pay. For more information, visit www.alzscot.org/daw2016

The Aberdeen Asset Charitable Foundation was established in 2012 to formalise and develop the Group’s charitable giving globally. The Foundation seeks partnerships with smaller charities around the world, where funds can be seen to have a meaningful and measurable impact and the firm encourages its employees to use their time and skills to support its charitable projects. For more information visit: www.aberdeen-asset.com/foundation

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May 272016
 

Hanover FitnessWith thanks to Dave Watt.

Hanover Fun Fitness is one of a number of Seniors (over 50s) keep fit classes around Aberdeen which provide both light exercise and stretching routines for those of us not still in the first flush of youth.

The participants usually meet in the Hanover Street Community centre on a Wednesday in between 11.30 and 11.45am for a pre exercise tea or coffee.

The excercise session itself takes place from 12.oo until 01.00pm.

The class is run by Fiona and she is very helpful to those who are just returning to a routine physical exercise.

Beginners are particularly welcome.

For further enquiries contact Hanover Community Centre on 01224 627328 or email hanovercc@hotmail.co.uk

May 162016
 

Langstane picWith thanks to Susan Wood.

Langstane Press Ltd, Scotland’s largest independent office products company have chosen Aberlour Children’s Charity as their charity of the year.
Langstane have regional offices located close to a number of Aberlour services and are keen to help the local communities in which Aberlour works.

To launch their partnership, Langstane began collecting books and Easter eggs.

The staff had a huge uptake and delivered many boxes of books to Aberlour Family Service in Old Aberdeen.

The local service supports children and their families where parents may have learning difficulties or be socially isolated as well as supporting families affected by parental drug and alcohol use. Enough books and eggs were collected to be spread across services in Aberdeen, Dundee and Moray.

Colin Campbell Managing Director at Langstane Press said:

“We are proud to be supporting Aberlour this year and being able to help, not just the local services within the Aberdeen area, but also the services that support the communities close to our regional offices in Dundee and Livingston”

As well as donations like the books and eggs Langstane will be supporting Aberlour throughout the year, through in-house fundraising activities, taking part in events and volunteering.

Lydia Fyall, Regional Fundraiser said:

“I am looking forward to working with Langstane this year, the staff all really care about the work that we do. A number of brave employees have put themselves forward for individual events already and staff across all sites have lots of great fundraising ideas.”

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Feb 292016
 

Brighter BucksburnBy Rhonda Reekie.

Brighter Bucksburn are delighted to announce that we have been chosen as a recipient of the Tesco’s Bags of Help Grant Scheme.

A scheme to help communities improve their local areas using money raised from the purchase of the 5p carrier bags.

Our project along with two other successful applicants in the region will go forward to a public vote in local Tesco’s stores with the customers deciding the outcome.

The project with the highest vote will receive £12000, the second £10000 and the third £8000. The vote will take place in stores from the 27th Feb until the 6th March 2016

Brighter Bucksburn was set up last year by members of Bucksburn and Newhills Community Council, The Beacon Gardening Club and local residents working alongside Aberdeen City Council to improve the area.

Already we have created a small apple and pear orchard, installed new planters and with the help of local schoolchildren planted loads of spring bulbs. We just recently came first in the Eco City award winning £1000 in prize money.

The Bags of Help grant money will go towards improving the Auchmill Nature Walk. This is a 1km path that runs between Auchmill Road and the train line from Bucksburn to the Haudagain roundabout.

After 35 years it is sadly neglected, overgrown, flooded in areas and underused.

Brighter Bucksburn Raised BedsWe plan in conjunction with Aberdeen City Council to drain the flooded areas creating a wildlife pond, repair the path, cut back the overgrowth, plant more trees to attract red squirrels and reduce noise pollution from the road and plant more native species of shrubs and flowers.

We will also improve signage, install seats and bins and create a leaflet to tell you what flora and fauna you can see on the walk.

In the meantime don’t forget to vote for us at your local Tesco’s soon, £8000 is already a fabulous amount  but we could obviously do so much more with the higher amounts!

If anybody wants to join the group or help then contact myself at rhonda.reekie@btinternet.com or message us on the Brighter Bucksburn Facebook group or page sites.

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Dec 032015
 

deershotfeat2With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

Recent figures obtained under Freedom of Information show how a controversial, unpopular cull of deer on Tullos Hill has spread to city wide persecution of roe deer. Despite claiming the cull will reduce traffic accidents involving deer the City Council refused to provide data to back its claim that deer cause a road accident every week.

The information which has been released shows that since 2011 Aberdeen City Council has spent £28,930 on shooting deer.

The City initially started the cull on Tullos Hill, the former waste tip where the City is attempting to establish a large forest.

Government reports suggest that due to the poor soil matrix it is unlikely trees will thrive on Tullos Hill. Those that do reach any height may be blown over due to the lack of deep, firm soil to support tree roots.

Aberdeen City Council pressed ahead with this scheme ignoring the huge public outcry over the deer cull and despite losing £43,800 when a previous tree planting project on the Hill failed. Deer and weeds were blamed for that failure. Today weeds tower over many of the new saplings and the City has been given a list by the Forestry Commission of numerous ways the plantation is failing.

The deer cull was as unpopular as it was deemed unnecessary. The City refused to listen to free, expert advice on how to have trees as well as deer on the Hill. Instead hired marksmen were used. Astonishingly no signs were erected to warn that high powered rifles were being used. The City promised that signs warning of ‘forestry operations in progress‘ would be replaced by signs clearly warning recreational users of Tullos Hill that shooting was taking place.

Visitors to Tullos have seen no such signs erected during these past five years. A new FOI request will try to ascertain what, if any, warning signs were produced and where they were placed.

The Roe deer, which seldom live longer than 6 or 7 years in the wild, were a popular attraction for visitors to Tullos Hill.

The City recently told its Housing & Environment Committee that a deer a week was involved in a road accident in Aberdeen. Information obtained by campaigners did not support this figure. Repeated requests for their raw data have been ignored by the City and the Chief Executive.

Campaign spokesperson Suzanne Kelly addressed the Housing Committee’s last meeting and was given an assurance that there would be no further culling until both humane alternatives and a proper count of remaining deer took place. The last SNH count came up with about 20 animals.

Across the City huge scale building projects have removed habitat from deer and other animals. Campaigners expect that there would be a spike in fatalities, not least because the City is only now agreeing to put up signs. Peter Leonard, a City official who backs the cull and tree planting scheme told Kelly in an email that once land is sold for development the fate of the deer is no longer the City’s concern.

Kelly said:

“The cavalier attitude to wasting money on a doomed scheme and to killing animals needlessly has to change. The City’s policy has been to shoot and ignore non-lethal options since Liberal Democrat Aileen Malone first pushed this scheme through when she headed the Housing Committee. At the time she actually asked residents to raise over £200,000 for fencing – or the deer would be shot. 

“The small number of people who pushed this scheme seem to me to be motivated by many factors such as political point scoring and saving face – but none of the people insisting deer must be culled or Tullos must be a forest seem motivated by the wishes of taxpayers or the needs of the animals already here. The SNH guidelines they invoke are just that – this city got along just fine without needless culling. 

“I am glad that we have assurances that there will be proper scrutiny of this expensive, wasteful, cruel policy before any more damage is done. The city’s officers relied on figures about road accidents they are unwilling to share – could this be because of inaccuracies in the reporting? 

“If there were that many accidents, and the city erected no signs, no fences, no non-lethal deterrents to these accidents, then I consider them culpable in injuries to animals and culpable for the accidents as well.”

Further information – FOI request – https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cost_and_scope_of_deer_culling_f

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Nov 122015
 

By David Innes.

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The third in Dr Brown’s series of pocket-sized part guide-part local history volumes moves logically inland from the coast of the previous collection, to its hinterland, the traditional county of Aberdeenshire.
Thankfully, that’s quite deliberately Aberdeenshire as a historic, geographical and cultural entity, not the current local governmental administrative mess.

The author even admits that she has twice breached this traditional boundary and featured items of Kincardineshire lore, although, I’d argue too that Rothiemay, whose Parson Gordon’s place in history as a cartographer is featured, is across the Deveron, and is in my beloved Banffshire.

That petty quibble aside, like its predecessors, Dr Brown’s output is easily read and superbly informative. Discrete geographical areas are defined, their tales and attractions grouped, and a short day out by car should enable readers to make their way round most in a relaxed drive. For those who want to research further, a welcome and comprehensive bibliography is provided.

The second Hidden Aberdeenshire volume continues to maintain the perfect balance of geographical and historical contexts with the personal tales of individuals, variously heroes, villains and innovators. Little-known or long-forgotten tales of murders, burials, personal and architectural triumphs and follies, simply-illustrated, will whet the appetites of those keen to broaden their knowledge of the rich history of the ancient county.

The origins of the Consumption Dyke at Kingswells, the fate of enemy airmen shot down over Aberdeen in July 1940 and the tragedy of the Inverythan Bridge train crash are only three examples of Dr Brown’s ability to distil down to 450 words vital pieces of hitherto-hidden NE history. And great credit is due to her for raising a smile at her ingenious description of 19th century bothy ballads as the Trip Advisor of their day!

Hidden Aberdeenshire: The Land is a further triumph for Fiona-Jane Brown. With her instinct in knowing what readers will find fascinating, her economy of content, accessibility of style and sharp-eyed research, readers will hope that the NE’s rich heritage will continue to inspire her to add to her already-impressive canon.

Hidden Aberdeenshire: The Land – Dr Fiona-Jane Brown

Black & White Publishing
ISBN 978 1 84502 990 6
128 pp
£9.99