Heritage Archives - Page 4 of 10

Dons Fans Dig Deep For AFC Heritage Trust

Aug 232013

Whilst the result didn’t quite turn out as hoped for curiously-optimistic Dons followers last weekend, the capacity crowd who attended dug deep to add a very welcome £343 to the coffers of the AFC Heritage Trust, writes AFCHT Vice-Chairman, David Innes.

A big crowd does not always guarantee a bumper collection.

In their haste to take their seats, purchase the pie-shaped equivalent of lunch given the early kick-off time and take other necessary comfort after an hour in the Pittodrie Bar, collectors are often fighting a losing battle as the density of the crowd of incoming handsome, fashionable and knowledgeable sages of sport means that individual interaction with donors is compromised.
The total raised is welcome, however, and the Trust extends its thanks to the volunteer collectors who helped us out and to anyone who dropped a few coins in our buckets.

As always, interest in the Trust’s work was considerable and the explanatory leaflets snapped up.

Those who had already dipped into the growing and almost-omniscient Dons history and heritage resource that is the Trust website spoke warmly of it for its ability to allow browsers to reminisce, add to their knowledge of our community’s leading sporting organisation, or just settle the pub argument about which Dons scored in the 7-2 win over Partick Thistle in 1971 (Harper 3, Willoughby 2, Forrest and The Brush, since you ask).

Whilst the longer term aim in fundraising is to kit out and operate a museum and community learning centre in a new stadium, the day-to-day work of the Trust continues, and incurs running costs.

Whilst all trustees and a team of avid, committed researchers give freely of their time and efforts, adding to the considerable archive of Dons-related material and individual artefacts which enrich our understanding of fitba history in the city, costs money. Only last week, the Trust concluded a deal to buy the winner’s medal from the 1947 Scottish Cup final awarded to Willie Waddell, a unique item.

How unique? In those days, there were no substitutes, so eleven medals were struck by the SFA for members of the winning team. The manager also received a memento. That was it. The Trust now has possession of one of only twelve such items in existence.

The 1947 final was memorable for a number of reasons, not only because it was the first time the Dons had won the famous trophy after over 40 years of trying, but because of Waddell’s gesture at the final whistle, offering his own medal, the one that is now back at Pittodrie, to full back and popular stalwart servant Willie Cooper who missed the final due to injury.

The club later received SFA permission to strike a medal for the unfortunate Cooper.

It is on such anecdotes, artefacts and memories that the heritage of the Dons is founded. No matter how low spirits may descend during a torrid run, how much flak we each get at work by fans of inferior clubs (that’s everyone else) or how often they let us down, we are united by common cause.

The AFC Heritage Trust is determined to ensure that generation can speak to generation through this cause and take pride from a shared history and, with a little fortune, a bright future.

Do you want to know more or help us out? www.afcheritage.org

Stand free.

Hidden Aberdeen: History On Your Doorstep And Underfoot

Aberdeen City, History 1 Response »

Jun 072013

David Innes reviews Dr Fiona-Jane Brown’s new book which is published this month.

This eagerly-awaited book has been trailed for quite a while, but at last Hidden Aberdeen is unveiled, in more ways than one.

First impressions are quite surprising.

Although written by an academic, Hidden Aberdeen is no wordy narrative; neither is it a history text. It’s not even published in portrait, all of which gives it a welcome air of informality.

The cover is attractive – plain white with colour thumbnail photos of several of the mysteries on which the author sheds light inside. It almost demands to be opened.

Dr Brown employs no stuffy language, neither does she let her explanations of each of the city’s historical and cultural features stretch to over 500 words. Call that a page and a half.

Yet, the economy of language deployed and the open writing style will give readers enough insight to the subjects featured to encourage them to find out more for themselves.

Further research is made easier by the provision of a detailed and comprehensive bibliography.

So, this is more a guidebook than an in-depth investigation into hidden Aberdeen, structured geographically to allow its users to walk easily and quickly between the city’s mysterious but often highly-visible landmarks.

Anyone working in the city centre, or Old Aberdeen, for example, will be able to explore more than one nearby attraction and still have time for a lunchtime snack.

It would spoil the fun of exploration to list here the features Dr Brown enthusiastically introduces.

An idle half hour’s stroll, with a copy of Hidden Aberdeen tucked into a handbag or pocket to discover the city’s little-known physical history, will be time well spent by anyone with a sense of heritage and civic pride.

As has been demonstrated in the past couple of years, there are many around who have passion enough for their city to want to fight to retain its character. For them, and for those just keen to broaden their knowledge, Hidden Aberdeen is an indispensable resource.

You can meet Dr Brown and have a copy of Hidden Aberdeen signed, at WH Smith, St. Nicholas Centre, at 13:00 on Saturday 8^th June, or at Waterstones, Union Bridge (Trinity Centre) at 18:30 on Tuesday 18^th June.

Hidden Aberdeen – History On Your Doorstep and Under Your Feet is published in hardback by Black and White Publishing and costs £9.99 from all good bookshops.

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North East Follies

Aberdeenshire, Featured, History No Responses »

May 172013

The North East countryside is littered with heritage in the form of architecture from the near and distant past. There are Roman marching camps, castles galore and of course a multitude of Pictish circles and standing stones. Duncan Harley writes.

Most of these structures were built for a purpose. Each night the while on the march the Roman army constructed a temporary camp, complete with rampart and ditch, as a defence against attack while in hostile territory.
Grampian had many of these structures and examples can be still seen at Durno, Kintore and Auchinhove.

The Castles and big houses were in many cases also defensive structures but in more recent history they became potent symbols of the wealth that the area generated through agriculture and trade. Debate of course continues over the true purpose of the standing stones and stone circles.

Places of worship and mystical ceremony say some. Others, including myself, wonder if many of the circles were simply settlements. After all, folk in those distant times needed a place to live.

Then of course there are the follies.

There are various definitions describing follies ranging from, “a building with no practical use whatsoever,” to the rather grand sounding description as, “a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs.”

Personally I like the definition used by RCAMS (The Royal Commission for Ancient Monuments Scotland) which says simply and clearly, “a structure with little or no practical purpose, often found in 18^th century landscaped gardens and taking many forms including towers, castles, temples, cairns and hermit’s cells”.

Towers and temples seem to be the most common types of folly, perhaps due to their visual impact both on the landscape and on the viewer who comes upon them for the first time.

However some follies, such as the Shell Hoosie in Dunnotter Woods near Stonehaven, break this rule completely.

This tiny domed building has its internal walls ( pictured top right ) decorated and completely covered with thousands of sea shells. Built by Lady Kennedy of Dunnottar House in the early nineteenth century and restored in 1999, it has the appearance of a large beehive when seen from the outside but from inside it feels very much like a hermits cave.

Banchory of course has Scolty Tower, a 20 metre tall granite monument, built in 1842 to the memory of a General William Burnett who fought alongside Wellington in the Napoleonic Wars.

Also known as General Burnett’s Monument, there is some debate whether this tower is a true folly due to its commemorative purpose and, somewhat like McCaigs Tower above Oban, local opinion is divided as to the towers status.

Following decades of neglect it was restored in 1992 at a cost of £20k using funds raised by the Rotary Club of Banchory.

Then there is the intriguingly named Temple of Theseus, built around 1835 in the grounds of Pitfour House, Fetterangus near Mintlaw.

A real hidden gem, the building is a scaled down version of the 6th century BC Temple of Hephaestus in Athens and occupies a waterside position on the shores of Pitfour Lake.

Theseus of course was the heroic slayer of the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster which lived in the Labyrinth created by Daedalus on the island of Crete. Using nothing more than a ball of string to trace his steps and of course a trusty sword, Theseus defeated the Minotaur in an epic battle in the heart of the Labyrinth and thus saved the youth of Athens from being devoured by the evil monster.

The Temple of Theseus in Mintlaw has, as far as I am aware, no claim regarding the housing a Minotaur, however there is a basement area with a bath like structure which it is said once accommodated the late Admiral Ferguson’s alligators. I am happy to report that the lake seems to have a healthy wildlife population and that there was no indication that alligators still lurk in the shallows on the day of my visit.

The building is in a fairly desperate state of repair however and is currently subject of a planning application which would allow the building of nine houses on the Pitfour Estate with a £900k enabling development element for restoration purposes.

According to a spokesman for Banff and Buchan planning department, the application is likely to be approved within the next few months with funding being made available for not only restoration of the temple and lake area with its associated bridges but also to improve public access.

The Pitfour Estate is well worth a visit if you are in the area although a copy the Ordnance Survey map for Fraserburgh (OS Landranger number 30) will help since the public access routes to parts of the estate are not well marked.

If you are feeling really adventurous and fancy a wee flutter, you might just want to head up to the Forestry car park at Drinnies Wood just north of Fetterangus to visit the site of the Ferguson family private racecourse.

This was complete with an Observatory Tower from which they would take tea while watching the horse racing! The tower, built in 1845 by Admiral George Ferguson 5th Laird of alligator fame, is still in existence and is open to the public, but the racecourse has largely vanished.

There are, no doubt, many more hidden follies in the Aberdeen area. If you know of any please get in touch.

Now where did I put my betting slip and binoculars?

Sources

Roman Camps: http://www.roman-britain.org/military/camps_scotland.htm
Pitfour Estate: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/pitfour+house+estate
The Shell Hoosie: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/aberdeenshire/dunnottar
Scolty Tower Restoration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7C2CI5SovE

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New Lanark – A Mexican Menie?

Environment, Featured, News 3 Responses »

Apr 052013

This will be a familiar story to those Aberdonians who tried and failed to stop the Donald Trump golf development on the Menie Estate North of Aberdeen. By Duncan Harley.

A powerful multi national company files a highly controversial planning application with the local council, debate and consultation takes place and planning consent is granted despite environmental considerations.

Local voices are silenced and the powers that be give the go ahead for the development.

Only this time it’s the UNESCO World Heritage Listed village of New Lanark and the iconic Falls of Clyde which are under threat.

New Lanark is best known as the social experiment set up by Robert Owen. Owen, a social reformer, had seen first hand the results of the abuse of the labour force in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and formed the opinion that better conditions would improve production as well as improving the lives of the workers in the cotton mills.

Robert Owen’s view was that a “permanent cause of distress was to be found in the competition of human labour with machinery and that the only effective remedy was the united action of men and the subordination of machinery.”

Between 1799 and 1813 he improved the lot of the workforce at New Lanark. He introduced educational provision for both children (who formed a significant portion of the workforce) and adults and improved housing and access to basic foodstuffs by pioneering the Cooperative Movement. Street lighting was provided as was free access to medical treatment and state of the art sanitation and water supplies.

The village of New Lanark became a model for social reformers both in the UK and across Europe.

By the 1960’s however the village was under threat from general neglect and the mills finally closed in 1968.

The Lanarkshire County Council of the time seemed largely uninterested in the village and it was only through the work of the New Lanark Association that the buildings and heritage survived. Houses were renovated and over time the village gained a new status as both a living museum to social reform and an historic place to live and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings.

This is a council with a long history of unusual decision making however.

In the 1970’s the Hamilton Palace Grounds were sold off to developers and are now home to such iconic brands such as “Carpet for You World” and “DIY Disaster Planet”.

This despite the land having been left “in perpetuity” to the people of Hamilton by the Duke of Hamilton’s estate.

Also in the 1970’s the council approved the plan to create Strathclyde Park which neatly packaged the flooding of the local marshland habitat of Bothwell Haugh to create a weed infested nitrate rich waterway with a US style fast food “Fun Park”.

Locally the park is known as Junkie world and most folk avoid the place in the summer evenings due to the risk of being run down by joy riders or even mugged.

The industrial heritage of the area was largely ignored and local opinion was also largely ignored. The various layers of local government felt that they new best. Sound familiar?

Then along came a few new industrialists who have promised the area income from open cast mining. The Clyde Valley is now scarred with open cast coal and sand workings. The idea of course is to strip back the topsoil for re-instatement when extraction is complete. However the nature of the process means that woodland, grassland, dykes, copses and hedges are destroyed and wildlife habitat at best interrupted and at worst completely destroyed.

Now it seems that Comex, a Mexican multinational mineral extraction conglomerate have filed an application to expand existing opencast quarrying operations just upstream from New Lanark village at the Falls of Clyde.

The falls are the power source which powered the Robert Owen mills and are a rich habitat as well as an iconic beauty spot. The proposed new opencast workings will be visible from the New Lanark valley and the noise of the extraction machinery will invade the tranquillity of the heritage village.

Comex are of the opinion that the 3.6 million tons of sand and gravel it plans to extract from the countryside beside the falls will have no visual impact. Campaigners completely disagree. Many fear that the potential loss of UNESCO status will further damage the site since the initial 6 year extraction application will no doubt lead to further applications in the future and if the UNESCO listing is withdrawn it makes it more likely that subsequent applications will in fact be approved.

The area is supposedly protected by a series of planning policies. In 2012 it was promoted to a Category 1 Area – representing the highest level of protection against quarrying. But given the history of the local authority in the past and the pressure for inward investment the local’s and protest groups such as Save our Landscapes (SOL) are very concerned to say the least.

Why, I hear you ask, should this matter to the folk of Aberdeen and the North East?

Scotland has a mere four UNESCO listed World Heritage Sites. In no particular order of importance they are St Kilda, New Lanark, Edinburgh Old and New Town and Skara Brae in Orkney.

There are in fact 4.5 if you count the shared listing of the Antonine Wall with Hadrians Wall and the Northern Roman Empire’s Reaches but it may be better to let Alex Salmond sort out that issue sometime in the future.

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes 962 properties worldwide forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

The Criteria for Selection are stringent and loss of listing can occur if the criteria ceases to be met due to changing circumstances or failure of a country’s politicians to protect the site.

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.

These include:

To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius.
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design.
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history and to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.

New Lanark ticks all of the above boxes!

According to UNESCO:-

“Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world’s heritage.”

According to the protest group Save our Landscapes, if the new opencast workings are given the go ahead:-

“The quarry would destroy the landscape that forms the setting of New Lanark and the Falls of Clyde”.

If the situation resonates with you then you may wish to consider e-mailing Michael McGlynn, Head of Planning at South Lanarkshire Council. His e-mail address is planning@southlanarkshire.gov.uk and you should to quote planning ref: CL/12/0525 and give reasons for your concern or objection.

You might also wish to contact your local MSP although you should be aware that Aileen Campbell, MSP for the area, has assured constituents:-

“Historic Scotland are taking their role very seriously.”

This, despite the fact that to date Historic Scotland has done little to intervene apart from stating that the quarrying operations will not be visible from much of the site and that the extraction process by the Mexican quarry firm will only be for six years.

Mexico has 31 UNESCO listed sites including the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino in Baja and the Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila near the Rio Grande River.

I suspect that any Scottish firm wishing to extract minerals from these heritage sites would be subject to ridicule by the Mexican authorities. Let’s hope the local and parliamentary bodies in Scotland see sense on this issue.

Sources:

Save our Landscapes: http://saveourlandscapes.moonfruit.com/#/new-lanark/4555343294
Times Article: http://www.clydesdalesheritage.org.uk/new-lanark-embarrasment/
UNESCO: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list
About New Lanark: http://www.newlanark.org/
Observer, Scottish Town fights for Rights: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/31/new-lanark-heritage-industry-clash
Hamilton Palace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Palace#The_site_today

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Brigadoon, Trump And All That Oor Wullie Stuff

Aberdeenshire, Featured, Opinion 2 Responses »

Mar 072013

By Duncan Harley.

Depending upon your view, this little spiky haired character sitting on his bucket is either a part of our Scottish cultural heritage or the sole reason folk in the USA and elsewhere sometimes imagine that we all live in caves and eat haggis three times a day except on Sundays when we chase sheep around the place just for the devil of it!

“Oor Wullie”, for those not in the know, is a Scottish comic strip. It’s published in the Sunday Post, a Scottish newspaper printed in Dundee and seemingly somehow associated with journalism.

With an average circulation of 242,555 in 2012, which is just about what the Observer and Sunday Mail record sales wise, the newspaper has significant market penetration although there have been persistent rumours that many readers buy the paper and immediately send it abroad to ex-pats without either reading or indeed censoring the content.

Famed for columns about aches and pains, kilt races and lost pets it could be viewed as a sort of National Enquirer without the blood and murders and seems to satisfy those who don’t really want to be bothered overmuch with news or current affairs

The weekly cartoon features a character called Wullie, whose trademarks are spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he often uses as a seat. The artistic style settled down around 1940 and has changed little since. A frequent tagline reads, “Oor Wullie! Your Wullie! A’body’s Wullie” with probably no sexual innuendo intended. Mind you, after that Cardinal O’Brien fiasco, Wullie’s head might just be on the chopping block next!

The image of us Scots is often defined by such strange quirks of popular culture. Look for instance at that recent Hollywood blockbuster Brave which Visit Scotland no less promoted as an “Oscar-winning animated adventure from Disney, the team responsible for worldwide box office smashes such as Toy Story, Up and Finding Nemo”.

The story follows the red haired heroine Merida, a skilled teenage archer battling to change her fate. Toy Story, Finding Nemo and a teenage lady archer? What on earth has that got to do with Scotland?

Braveheart was bad enough, being described by Billy Connolly as “a piece of pure Australian shite” and voted number one on the British film magazine Empire’s list of “The Top 10 Worst Best Pictures”. The plot involves a smattering of history plus a rampant sexual relationship between Mel Gibson and Princess Isabella.

Isabella of course was born in 1295, and Wallace was killed in 1305, making her only ten at the time. Isabella did not have her first child until 1312, which was seven years after Wallace had died. Do the maths!

Such assaults on the Scottish image remind me of that awful Brigadoon musical of the 1950’s in which some American tourists stumble upon an enchanted Scottish village called Brigadoon.

Every 100 years seemingly, the people of Brigadoon awaken for 24 hours then go back to sleep for another century. After performing on Broadway and London’s West End it was made into a film then a TV series staring Peter Falk of Lieutenant Columbo fame.

With Scottish Independence the horizon it might just be time to have a wee think about how we portray Scotland in the eyes of the world. After all what we put out to the world is what we will reap.

Plus we certainly don’t want any more write ups such as this tripe by a man who claims to half Scottish …

“I am both proud and excited to share with you my most recent addition to the Trump golf portfolio, in The Home of Golf, Scotland. I have been actively looking for links land in Europe for the past few years, and of course my preference was Scotland over any other country because I am half Scottish.

“My Mother, Mary MacLeod is from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. She grew up in a simple croft until she landed in Manhattan at the age of 20 and her first language was Gaelic. When I saw this piece of land I was overwhelmed by the imposing dunes and rugged Aberdeenshire coastline. I knew that this was the perfect site for Trump International – Scotland.

“I have never seen such an unspoiled and dramatic sea side landscape and the location makes it perfect for our development. Our site is close to two of the world’s most famous courses and is just 25 minutes by car from Aberdeen Airport. As this exciting development comes to fruition, the standards for the golf experience in Scotland will be taken to new levels of excellence by the addition of Trump International Golf Links.”

– Donald J. Trump

Spikkin Doric

Aberdeenshire, Creative Writing No Responses »

Feb 022013

By Bob Smith.

A’ve ayewis spak the Doric
Sin a wis jist a loon
A dialect still weel loo’d
Fae the Spey tae Bervie toon

Fin a wis at the local skweel
In classrooms it wis banned
Ye were threatened wi the scud
Fit wid hae wairmed yer hand

Bit eence oot in the playgrun
It flowed oot o yer moo
An wi yer freens an neipers
Doric wisna thocht taboo

We canna lit iss language dee
It’s pairt an paircel o oor lan
The Doric an the North east
They aye gyang han in han

A’m loathe tak in fit a’m hearin
Young fowk canna say “ch” as in loch
Fit’s the warld cumin tae
If ye canna git yer tongue aroon roch?

Doric wirds are mair expressive
Than onything else ye micht hear
Thunk hivvens fowk still spik it
In kwintra placies like New Deer

The braw wird “dreich” a like
Instead o jist sayin “dull”
Or maybe gyaan “heelster-gowdie”
As ye tummle doon a hull

Robbie Shepherd he still spiks it
An a Doric sang he’ll sing
Sin the days o “The Garlogie Fower”
Iss chiel’s bin the Doric “king”

Lits aa fecht fer the Doric
Hae it taacht in aa the skweels
Instead o aa the lah-de-dahs
Thinkin the Doric is fer feels

Historic Dons Door Coming Home

Aberdeen City, Featured, Sport No Responses »

Nov 222012

Has an eBay auction cleared up a sporting etymological mystery? asks David Innes. With thanks to Chris Gavin.

Early doors, a term flung around the airwaves with impunity by fitba pundits and players alike, has always been confusing.

Whilst there are highly intelligent and cultured individuals in the sporting media, anyone who thinks it’s a reference to Jim Morrison’s LA-based acid-fired Crawling King Snakes’ still-astonishing debut album is likely to be wrong.

But maybe the obscure meaning of this mystery cliché has become clearer in light of a news story from last week.

AFC Heritage Trust Secretary Chris Gavin explains:

“I keep a regular eye on eBay for any Dons-related memorabilia. The Trust also sells merchandise via eBay, but it was a surprise to see a mahogany door from 1904, which marks a key milestone in the club’s history, offered for sale by a Wolverhampton antique dealer.

“Its glass panel is illustrated with a commemoration of the Dons’ first trophy success, when they won the Qualifying Cup a year after formation. Nobody is really sure where it originated. Maybe it was commissioned by a Black and Golds fan who owned a pub, or maybe it was from the original Pittodrie pavilion which is, sadly, long gone.

Gavin wasted no time in seeking the approval of his fellow Trustees to bid for this one-off historical memento. The Trust was unanimous in supporting an attempt to acquire the door.

By Saturday morning, the Trust’s bid had been topped, but a quick straw poll of the Trustees gathered at Pittodrie to assist with the charity collection before the Dons played Celtic encouraged Chris to keep an eye on the auction as the bid closing time of 3pm Saturday approached:

“I guessed if it was a fellow Dons fan bidding, they’d most likely be at the game, so just before the deadline I put in a higher bid, which was successful.”

The Trust is now the proud owner of a unique piece of memorabilia and Trustees are certain the individual outbid by these custodians of the club heritage will be happy the artefact has gone to a good and permanent home.

The story doesn’t end there, however…

The publicity which the sale gathered so caught the imagination of Aberdeen fans, its purchase has been funded without the Trust having to dip into its own coffers to pay for it.

The BBC’s – and Pittodrie’s – Richard Gordon, compering the Neil Simpson Benefit Dinner on Monday 19 November, related the tale to those gathered to celebrate Simmie’s career as a Dons legend. Gordon spoke warmly of the Trust’s work, not least its online information resource having been a huge benefit to him in writing Glory In Gothenburg.

Inspired by the story (and perhaps the MC’s broad hint that donations would be very helpful), cash donations totalling £175 were given on the night. The further magnificent generosity of other benefactors Alan Moir (of Fyfe Moir & Associates), former striker Duncan Davidson on behalf of the AFC Former Players Association and a magnanimous gesture from Trustees Bob Bain and Jock Gardiner saw the entire cost of the door covered.

Now the Trust just has to work out the logistics of transporting this unique artefact safely home from the Midlands.

The result may not have gone Aberdeen’s way on Saturday, but the fans have got back a piece of their history. Those same fans dug deep, during hard times, to swell the Trust’s bank account by over £600 donated via the charity bucket collection on the day.

As Chris says:

“A week after a terrific community day at the stadium when the fans’ giant flag was signed by over 800 supporters delighted to be part of the club, this effort underlines how good it can be when we’re all working together to achieve things.”

A trophy would be a welcome addition to maintain the returning feelgood factor, of course. As early doors as can be managed, please.

Footnote: the AFC Heritage Trust book commemorating the 1904 Qualifying Cup win is still available from the Trust’s Online Shop:

http://afcheritage.bigcartel.com/product/aberdeen-fc-in-the-scottish-qualifying-cup

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Fans Flock To Sign AFC Banner

Aberdeen City, Featured, Sport No Responses »

Nov 162012

It’s been 27 years since there was a proper flag day at Pittodrie, but on 11 November hundreds flocked to the Richard Donald Stand to sign an 83-foot banner. That’s right, 83. The banner will go on permanent display along the upper deck of that edifice from January 2, 2013. David Innes and photographer Alan Jamieson undertook the labour of love in attending and helping out at the event.

Fans of all ages and sizes queued patiently, hanging out with that lovable butcher’s shop on legs Angus The Bull, browsing and buying memorabilia from the Dolly Digital Design stall and grooving to the GutterGodz, the excellent local rock band soundtracking the day.

Seizing the red marker pens on offer, hundreds of fans signed their own names, the names of those exiled far from Pittodrie Park and of some who are, sadly, no longer with us. Many wrote their own personal slogans to commemorate this opportunity to become a permanent part of Pittodrie. Angus himself signed, concentrating so hard he had his tongue out. Oh wait – he always has his tongue out, come to think of it!

The initiative was the brainchild of Sue Shepherd and Mark Elrick, the pair behind many of the previous imaginative banners and flags which have provided colour both at Pittodrie and away grounds in recent times.

Sue spoke to Aberdeen Voice about the project’s background, the effort put in and how those who haven’t signed yet can contribute:

“Mark and I have worked on a couple of projects including the Teddy Scott banner, and I had an idea to display what would be the biggest permanent banner ever designed. I approached Mark and asked him to come up with a design based on the idea and we were both very happy with what the content of the banner would be. Mark then set about creating a unique design.

“It kind of grew arms and legs after that. We approached the AFC Heritage Trust and told them what we wanted to do, to get a banner made from high quality fabric that’s going to hang well and which you won’t be able to see through. The club asked us along to a meeting and they were delighted. It’s nice to get a wee bit of credit for it, being purely a fan initiative the AFC Trust has supported with funding.

“We approached an English company and this is the third-biggest flag they’ve ever made, so it was a goer. Mark then came up with the brilliant idea of getting people to sign the flag, and about 800 or more have come along and signed it today.

“We’ll make sure fans have further opportunities to sign the banner. It will be in the stadium and we’re planning to take it out on the road into the Northeast community and maybe further afield, involving people even if they can’t be in Aberdeen.

“Even then, anyone who can’t come and sign it in person can scan their signature and send it to Mark at Dolly Digital and we’ll make sure it goes on the banner. We want every Dons fan to have the chance to become part of something unique and permanent.”

Contact Mark at mark@dollydigital.co.uk

It is a fantastic achievement and shows that when the fans are involved, their initiative and energy on behalf of the common cause knows no bounds. As one signatory put it in his message:

“One city, one team, one love“

Correct, my friend.

Come on, you Reds!

www.afcheritage.org
info@dollydigital.co.uk
http://www.reverbnation.com/guttergodz

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Remembrance: Aberdeen FC Pays Tribute To Its Fallen.

Aberdeen City, Featured, News No Responses »

Nov 162012

In 2009, Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust inaugurated its tribute to Dons who perished in both World Wars. Each year since, the Trust has held a simple but moving ceremony to re-dedicate its memorial and pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of young men who perished hundreds of miles from their beloved Pittodrie. The 2012 event was held on 12 November. Images courtesy Alan Jamieson.

The ceremony was supported as ever by local regimental and charitable organisations and, for a second year, WO2 (Retd) Birkaji Gurung.

His comrades from the Gurkha Rifles and their families added a multi-cultural flavour to proceedings.

Trust Chairman Allan McKimmie talked of the special relationship Aberdeen’s Gurkha community has developed with the club, with six members of the city’s Nepalese community employed at Pittodrie.

Members of the Trust reminded those gathered of the names and shockingly low ages of those who did not return from war, and contributed the Laurence Binyon Ode of Remembrance.

Birkaji Gurung read a message of remembrance in Nepalese.

Wreaths were laid on behalf of the local and national institutions which support the Trust’s Remembrance efforts and also help to organise the ceremony.

Dons manager Craig Brown paid his respects on behalf of the club by laying a wreath, and ex-Dons full back Ally Shewan did so representing the Former Players’ Association.
All are on permanent display in the concourse of the Richard Donald Stand.

We will remember them.

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Kyle Hewitt – A Jolly Good Velo

Aberdeen City, Featured, Sport 1 Response »

Oct 042012

I’ve been known to walk the three and a half miles to Pittodrie. I have also cycled it. And back. In the glory days, I often wondered on a Sunday morning how I’d got home the night before. But even the efforts of The Red Final’s regular erstwhile correspondent LS Pringle, who used to walk to and from Echt to watch the Dons at Pittodrie, compare poorly with an initiative being undertaken by fanatical Red and cycling addict, Kyle Hewitt, writes David Innes.

With thanks to Chris Gavin, Secretary of Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust,

If you’re planning a trip to next Saturday’s match in Kilmarnock the chances are that you’ll travel in the warmth and comfort of a coach or car, or you’ll go by train. Not so Kyle Hewitt. Kyle is planning to make the journey a good bit tougher for himself by finding his way from Aberdeen to Rugby Park on his bike.

This young man is a seasoned cyclist – with trips including Land’s End to John O’Groats under his belt – who considers 100 miles to be ‘a wee training run’.

Now Kyle is planning a venture to help raise funds for the Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust by cycling to each SPL ground when the Dons play there this season.

Kyle says:

“I have a tremendous passion for the Dons. This is growing stronger all the time and I wanted to give something back by promoting and supporting the Trust, a charity close to the club.

“To do this I’ll spread the word by going to away games on my bike and during my travels encourage, as many members of the Red Army as possible to donate to the Trust in recognition of my efforts.

“Hopefully lots of Dons fans will chip in with donations whilst I am doing the hard work. Just think of it as buying the Trust a pint! I would love it if fellow fans can also help publicise the trips and spread the word by taking photos when they see me en route to games and posting them on the internet. That would be really helpful.”

In a year of high-profile sporting endeavour throughout the UK and most recently across the Atlantic, it’s heartening to see a local sportsman doing his bit for his community by combining his love of football with his passion for cycling to benefit a charity. This is especially true when that charity is working for the benefit of all Dons’ supporters.

To find out more about Kyle’s sporting ambitions, visit CyclingScotsman.com where you will be able to follow Kyle’s routes, the progress of each outing and read his blog.

To find out more about AFC Heritage Trust and to help Kyle with his fundraising, you can tour the Trust’s website, which is packed with information about the Dons, at http://www.afcheritage.org

The Trust’s home page has a PayPal donation button and whatever you’re able to donate, large or small, will be used to preserve and promote the Dons’ history and their place in the community. All donations will be very much appreciated and you’re asked to mention Kyle’s name in your transaction.

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