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I had never seen before. It was heavy, - very, very heavy, - but quite soft and we could break it down to a powder easily. We trailed samples home, and even the chemistry teacher could not tell us what it was. Some sort of ‘spar’ we were told. Just as well there was no ‘open all hours’ shop chain then or we really would have been confused!
...so you know What’s Going On
The mystery mineral was barium sulphate, or barytes to the mining fraternity, or barite to our North American friends. Barytes is used as the barium meal in medicine, it is used to give golf balls their weight, it is added to rubber in tyres, it is used in paint, it is used to caulk boats and most importantly, barytes is the main constituent of ‘drilling mud’. And, by the 1970s, with North Sea oil getting into its stride, barytes was suddenly one very sought after commodity.
Graham Stuart
ATHOLL COUNTRYWEAR For Quality Ladies’ and Men’s Clothing Accessories & Shoes Fine Gifts 13 Bridge Street, Ballater AB35 5QP
Tel: 013397 53810 Open: Monday-Saturday 10am-5.30pm
Plumbing & Heating Engineers Bathrooms Boiler Replacements Pressurised Systems
Oil Fired, Solid Fuel or Underfloor Central Heating
Sat 29 Sun 30 Sun 30
Royal Cairns Walk, Crathie Car Park, 10am-4pm, tel. 55059 New Boules season starts 10.30am at the Pavilion, Monaltrie Park UDM, Darroch Learg, 4.30pm
Wed 2 Mon 7 Sat 12
November Ballater Business Association, 7.30pm, www.ballatercommunity.com BRHS Annual General Meeting, Mike Sheridan Room, 7.30pm Three Lochs Walk, Spittal of Glen Muick, 10am-5pm, tel. 55059
Sun 13 Mon 14 Wed 16 Thu 24 Sun 27
Boules, 10.30am at the Pavilion, Monaltrie Park Community Council Meeting, Mike Sheridan Room, 7pm SWRI, Flower Arranging, Mike Sheridan Room, 7.30pm Floral Art Group Christmas Charity Evening with Gill Garrow, Elgin, Victoria Hall, 7.30pm Boules, 10.30am at the Pavilion, Monaltrie Park
Sun 4 Mon 5
December UDM, Darroch Learg, 4.30pm Christmas Coffee Morning at Crathie Kirk Hall, 10am-12.30pm
Sun 11 Sat 24 Mon 26 Tue 27
Boules, 10.30am at the Pavilion, Monaltrie Park Ballater Post Office closes 12.30pm Ballater Post Office closed Ballater Post Office closed
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Tel: 013397 55627 / Fax: 56342 Mobile: 07836 562946 Est. 1975
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