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Community Magazine - Ellon

Elllon

Issue 2 Feb-Mar-April 2015 Free quarterly magazine WIN ÂŁ25 Voucher Post your Photo with AB41 mag

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he autumn months were dominated by planning and staging another successful Ellon Christmas Lights event on 22 November. An estimated 5000 people turned out on a wet and windy day with 400 children meeting Santa in his grotto. The parade was expanded this year as we welcomed new participants and the fireworks display rounded off the day. Our fundraising efforts mean that we can invest in some new displays for next year so if you have any views on what you would like to see then let us know.

We have also been working with academy pupils and Local councillors met this week to consider names for the new bridge and approach road to the academy. The new pedestrian bridge will be called “Boatie Tam’s Brig” and the street leading to the school will be called Kellie Pearl Way”.

We supported planning applications for the expansion of the Brewdog facility, the new wine bar on Bridge Street and a new catering outlet at Castle Park. Members of the CC also attended a series of briefings on the proposals to develop Cromleybank and we will play an active role in the consultation process by seeking feedback from Ellon residents.

We have been joined by 3 new Co-opted members following a recruitment campaign but sadly our secretary resigned after 5 years on the CC. Tim Canning was a very active member with perhaps the highlight of his service being his chairmanship of the hugely successful debate on the independence referendum in the Victoria Hall.

As we enter 2015 we look forward to the project to light the Auld Brig being completed and we anticipate a switch on event in early spring. We are aware of concerns in the community regarding the heavy goods traffic through the town centre and plan to conduct a survey of residents and traders views shortly.

We are seeking clarification from Aberdeenshire Council on the recent sewage works that took place in the town centre by the Auld Brig. We have also asked the Council to investigate the design of the entrance to the Aldi car park which has been the subject of complaints regarding public safety.

Sandy McDougall Chairman, Ellon Community Council

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News from Councillor Merson...

Ellon faces a number of interesting opportunities and challenges over the coming months, the outcomes of which will have an impact on the town for future generations.

The transfer of Ellon Academy to its new premises will be just one such development; not only in terms of providing a brand-new stateof-the-art facility for the town’s youngsters, but also in providing a modern community campus for the benefit of all the residents of Ellon. I was therefore particularly pleased that Ellon should be among the first communities to benefit from the Scottish Government’s Scottish Futures Trust in helping to fund that much-needed development.

While I appreciate that the choice of site was not to everyone’s satisfaction, it was the one which best accommodated a number of crucial requirements, and adjoins the Cromleybank

site which had already been designated for the future development of Ellon. I would hope that the sheer size of the campus, which is now evident, and has been achieved on a level site, might also serve to illustrate why so many of the alternative proposals were impracticable.

A planning application for the rest of the Cromleybank development is imminent, and the residents of Ellon will have their opportunity to comment on the developer’s proposals.

It is no secret that the proposal no longer features a ‘High Street’ with the intensity of retail and employment development mooted in the Princes Foundation exercise which was the precursor to this development. That will be regretted by some, but will be seen to reduce the risk of creating a ‘competing’ town centre by others. How the site is to be connected and accessed is therefore absolutely crucial to its successful integration with the

Councillor Gillian Owen 07768 257392 (Home) 07768 257392 (Mobile) cllr.g.owen@aberdeenshire.gov.uk Ellon and District Conservative

Feu Cottage 23 Schoolhill Road Ellon Aberdeenshire AB41 9AH

Councillor Isobel Davidson 01358 723926 (Home) 07714 218224 (Mobile) cllr.i.davidson@aberdeenshire.gov.uk Ellon and District Scottish Liberal Democrat

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Chapel Howe Ardlethen Ellon AB41 8PF 01358 723926 (Fax)

existing township, and I look forward to those discussions with considerable interest.

The decision by the local councillors to press for the inclusion of an edge-of-town retail centre in the next Local Development Plan was also a controversial one, but was in response to significant public demand. The site identified, adjacent to the Park & Ride, is easily accessed from the A90 and close to the existing retail outlets at Balmacassie. While some town centre traders are concerned by this proposal, it was generally felt better to try and retain shoppers in Ellon, than see them drive to other complexes, such as that in Inverurie - where town centre shops are undoubtedly managing to benefit from the resulting increased footfall.

Of course, the move to the new Academy facility in itself presents an interesting challenge as to what might be done with the sites which are to be vacated. While the Council has an obligation to provide best value for the public pound in their disposal, I am pleased that there has been

recognition that the sale of the sites purely for the construction of high-density residential accommodation, whilst it may be the most obvious way to realise that objective - might not be in the best interests of the wider community.

Once again, there will be extensive public consultation on the various proposals which may prove viable for those sites. In addition to the possibility of a residential element, those might include the prospects of identifying a suitable site for the future provision of a new Health Centre, centralised Council facilities to free up existing town centre office locations, a church - or a range of other community facilities which might be thought desirable. I hope that we might enjoy the active and enthusiastic participation of the residents of Ellon, and look forward to deliberating on the interesting suggestions which will emerge from that process.

Councillor Rob Merson 01358 729065 (Home) 07827 881 909 (Mobile) cllr.r.merson@aberdeenshire.gov.uk Ellon and District SNP

Councillor Richard Thomson 07876 475557 (Mobile) cllr.r.thomson@aberdeenshire.gov.uk Ellon and District SNP

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40 St Mary’s Drive Ellon AB41 9LW 01358 729065 (Fax)

2 Overhill Cottages Blairythan Terrace Foveran Aberdeenshire AB41 6AX

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Ellon Meadows Under 15’s Sixteen young Ellon footballers are looking forward expectantly to this years’ April school holidays.

Ellon Meadows under 15’s who play in the Aberdeenshire Juvenile football league will fly off to Spain to take part in the Copa Costa Brava football tournament which will run from Tuesday April 7th till Friday April 10th.

Flying from Aberdeen to London then on to Barcelona the Ellon squad will base themselves at Lloret de Mar, an hour’s drive from the Spanish airport. Coaches Colin Grant jnr and Stevie Gray will accompany the lads on this week long, foreign adventure.

‘The seven day trip will be a great learning curve for the boys’ said Colin ‘ Most of the lads have been abroad before but it will be interesting to see how they cope with various situations which will arise both on and off the field whilst away from their family and home environment’.

Craft beer festival creates a stir in the Granite City as it announces Aberdeen date An inaugural craft beer festival is brewing up a storm as it gets set to take on Aberdeen this spring.

North Hop Aberdeen, which has been created following the success of Inverness craft beer festival, North Hop, will be taking place in the heart of Aberdeen on Saturday 11 April 2015 at The Lemon Tree.

The festival, which has just over 600 tickets available for festivalgoers, is set to boast a number of Aberdeen-based and Scottish exhibitors celebrating craft beer, artisan

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gins, creative cocktails, independent music and a selection of street food vendors.

Exhibitors for North Hop Aberdeen from in and around the Granite City will include Adelphi Kitchen, 10 Dollar Shake and BrewDog. Scottish exhibitors will feature Williams Bros Brewing Co, Windswept Brewing Co, Cromarty Brewing Co, Thistly Cross Cider, Stew n’ Drew’s ice cream, Aye Love Real Food and Edinburgh’s Fresh Revolution.

Festival organiser, Michelle Russell, said: “I am delighted to be taking an element of the Inverness festival, North Hop, to Aberdeen to give people a taster of what the main festival provides.

“It has been a lot of work organising not one but two festivals for 2015, however, I am extremely excited to see how the Aberdeen market reacts to the festival.

The city has a small craft beer ‘triangle’ with a handful of pubs dedicated to craft beer. I want to give craft beer enthusiasts a taste of something different and I think North Hop Aberdeen will definitely tick all the right boxes for them.

North Hop Aberdeen will run over two sessions, one taking place from 12 noon until 6pm on Saturday 11 April 2015, and the other from 7pm on Saturday 11 April 2015 until 1am on Sunday 12 April 2015.

Tickets are priced at £15 for the Saturday daytime session and £15 for the evening session. All tickets are subject to booking fees.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit The Lemon Tree website www. aberdeenperformingarts.com/ events/north-hop-aberdeen or call the Box Office on 01224 641122.

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Fundraising to cover the considerable cost of the trip has been ongoing since last August. Donations from various players’ relatives and friends have helped greatly. Race Nights, Rag Bag Collections and Stalls at various local events such as The Ellon Christmas Lights switch on, have all helped to swell the coffers and have all been very successful ventures in helping the Club meet their target figure. A Casino Night is also scheduled in a few weeks’ time.

Teams from Austria, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Spain will compete in the competition which will be held in the coastal town of Blanes, one of the most popular seaside resorts north of Barcelona and just a 10 minute drive from Lloret de Mar. ‘These sort of trips all help as part of the growing up process ’ said Stevie ‘I’m sure the boys will conduct themselves in the proper manner and we will try to use the trip as a sporting and educational as well as a social experience’.

Although it will be 4 days of football, a trip to the Camp Nou Stadium, home of world famous Barcelona Football Club has been organised for the party on the Wednesday. Barcelona plays Almeria in a league match and to see Lionel Messi in real life will make the trip worthwhile for all the boys.

Colin and Stevie go to this tournament hoping their team can do as well as a the 2010 Ellon Meadows Under 15 team who went to Spain and won the Trofeo Mediterrano Competition. One thing for sure though, is that the Ellon boys will do their best and enjoy the overall experience.

Colin Grant (senior)

Ellon Bowling Club

Ellon Bowling Club celebrated their centenary season in 2014 and it proved to be a very successful season. Both the gents and ladies teams won the Crowmallie Cup and the ladies also won the Craigie League. The men finished runners up in the Buchan League and retained the Top 10 for the third year in a row. Their reward is a place in the national top 10 with an away tie against Bonnyrigg (Midlothian).

The 2014 Club Championship was won by Phil Anderson who defeated Arthur Robertson in the final. The ladies singles was won by Ann Singer and the runner up was Kathleen Gordon.

One of the highlights of the season was the Club bestowing the honour of Freedom of the Green for the first time. This was awarded to Mike Stephen and Ellen Bartlet. The Ellon ladies also had success in the district finals with 10 members making it to the national finals in Ayr.

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Sending love and presents at Christmas th On Thursday 20 November 2014, P6F and P6L had a really busy day. We would like to say an enormous “Thank you” to all the parents and carers of Auchterellon Primary for all the items donated for the Rotary shoebox appeal. We were quite overwhelmed by their generosity.

Initially, our target had been to fill 40 boxes from Auchterellon Primary, but as a result of everyone’s kindness, both P6 classes spent most of the day on Thursday filling shoeboxes. We managed to fill an amazing total of 90 boxes.

We worked in pairs to fill a box for a boy or girl, decorated each box and made a Christmas card with a Romanian festive greeting inside. We all thought carefully about how happy we wanted the Children in Romania to be when they opened our boxes. So to do that we carefully made Christmas cards with a Romanian message in each one and decorated the boxes as Christmassy as possible, so that the Children in Romania would be as happy as us on Christmas day.

We have included some photographs and we hope you use this story for your next edition.

Thank you

st Aidan Finn 21 November 2014 [Sue - delighted Aidan to receive the article - thanks]

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Santa Fun Run The Santa Fun Run on the 29th of November was organised by Tracy Kelly and Wendy Stewart who put a lot of effort into making sure the event ran smoothly. An amazing 248 people signed up to put on their Santa costume and run two kilometres around Gordon Park.

The event saw both young and old waiting with anticipation and excitement at the starting line.

However, not only did they receive an applause and a medal to keep for life, they were then greeted by the extravagant Christmas fair which was organised by our very hardworking Parent Council. This included a number of stalls, spectacular food and even a glorious Santa’s Grotto (once we managed to tempt Santa away from the home baking!)

Thank you to everyone who helped with the Santa Fun Run and Christmas Fair. We really appreciate it.

Written by the P4-7 Skills for Life, Learning and Work Newspaper Group.

In the lead up to Christmas, our Primary 5 pupils were on a ‘Christmas Mission’ to raise as much money as they could for Cash for Kids. They took part in a sponsored read and organised guess the teddy’s birthday. They managed to raise an amazing £530! They then spent time researching toys, finding out the best places to buy the toys and working out what they could afford with the money. The classroom was filled with toys which went to children who may not have received a present this Christmas. Well done to everyone in Primary 5.

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Success for Ellon Primary School Netball Club

new, giant, outdoor xylophone should be used.

They are also working on the dining room and are holding a poster competition throughout the school.

Ellon Primary School’s P6-7 Netball team are taking part in the Garioch League.

They are playing extremely well and showing off their team working skills and creativity. This is an amazing achievement for our netball team and we are absolutely delighted with how hard they are working.

Thank you to their coaches who work with them every week to help them achieve their goals

The playground at Ellon Primary School has been under construction for the last few months. The work is now almost complete and already it is looking wonderful. The children have chosen new equipment which will be installed soon so we are all very excited! Thank you to the Parent Council who have been influential in making this happen.

Written by Alex and Rhianna in the P2-4 S4L Newspaper Group

Christmas Concerts Our Janitor Martin and his wife, Maureen, helped to set the scene for the Christmas concerts by making our wonderful curtain backdrop. The P4-P5 pupils performed ‘Christmas Around the World’ with dedication and happy smiles. They worked very hard and had lots of fun learning how to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in different languages.

Our P6-7 pupils performed “The Xmas Factor”. The singing was beautiful and the acting was very well presented. We were absolutely delighted with how hard all of the pupils worked and the positive feedback received from parents & grandparents.

Kids’ Council This term the Kids’ Council have already been busy with deciding on how their toilets should be decorated and how our www.gazettemagazines.com t : 01224 949085

Playground Developments

Written by Leah and Rannoch in the P2-4 Skills for Learning, Life and Work Newspaper Group

Upcoming trips Our Primary six pupils have been invited to a three-day residential trip at Alltnacriche in May and our Primary Seven pupils have been invited to a week-long residential trip in Kindrogan in March. These trips will provide opportunities for the children to gain new, exciting experiences such as archery, mountain biking, hill walking, team building challenges and water sports.

Celebrating Achievement We like to celebrate our pupils’ achievements both within and out with school. The Primary 4s-7s get to choose an activity that they would like to take part in at the end of the week if it has been successful for them. These activities are varied and change often so that the pupils have the opportunity to try a whole range of different activities. Here are some of our pupils enjoying table tennis, cross-stitch, Scottish dancing and learning to play chess. e : ellon@gazettemagazines.com

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ClubGolf Coaching Immediately after the Easter holidays, McDonald Golf Club Ellon will once again be offering ClubGolf coaching classes for children of primary 5 school age from the Ellon Academy feeder schools.

McDonald Golf Club will also welcome back those who wish to complete the second year of the basic two year course. A third year is also available dependent on numbers and availability of coaches. The classes last one hour and 15 minutes and are run by qualified coaches and the Club Professional, Sandy Aird, at three different times – 3.45, 5.00 and 6.15. Full details will be in a letter issued to primary school pupils just before the Easter holidays.

Some primary 5 pupils may get FirstClubGolf experience in school with plastic clubs and tennis balls before that but ClubGolf itself uses appropriately sized, real golf clubs and balls at McDonald Golf Club on a Thursday evening after school.

The full course of coaching covers all the basic aspects of golf and extends over two years. Each year there are 19 or 20 lessons split between two sessions 1) the weeks between Easter and summer holidays and 2) the weeks between the summer and the October holidays – some children spend their holidays practising what they have learnt either on the course or on the dedicated junior short game practice area at the club.

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Sandy Aird Jnr …

Question and Answer Full Name - Sandy Aird Jnr Date of Birth - 30th October 1977 Born where - Lanark Brought Up Where - Cumbernauld & Forres School / s - Condorrat Primary & Forres Academy Favourite Subjects - The last ones of the day Teenage Years - Despite the fact my father is a golf professional, I didn’t start playing golf seriously until we moved to Forres when I was about 13. From then on that was what I spent the rest of my teenage years doing.

professional at Forres Golf Club. Way before that I used to take deliveries at Willie Low’s (remember them?)

Arrived in Ellon – January 2009 Junior Section at Club – We have a really good junior section here supported by our junior convenors. We also are involved in the Clubgolf initiative which provides coaching to local children from the age of 9 and above.

Favourite Golf Courses You’ve Played – It’s a tie between Carnoustie and Loch Lomond.

Earliest Golfing Memory From about 7 years old, every Saturday I would go to my dad’s work at Coatbridge Golf Club. It was a very working class club where we would sell cigars, hot coffee, bridies and pies (not like pro shops now). We would even go and put on betting slips for the members at lunch time, and the races would be watched all afternoon.

My earliest golfing memories are sneaking out onto the putting green to play wee matches against the members before they started their rounds.

Golf Course You’d Like To Play – Undoubtedly Augusta National. I think it’s every golfers dream to play there but unfortunately you can only play if you are invited by a member or qualify for the Masters (which is unlikely now).

Handicap at 16 - Scratch

Favourite Singer or Group – Van Morrison

Career – Turned pro in 2002 and played, with some success, on the Tartan Tour. The highlight has to be wining the Cambuslang Centenary Pro-Am in 2006. Unfortunately a back injury in 2007 meant I couldn’t play fulltime anymore.

Favourite Movie of all Time - Jaws

Favourite player or hero ? Ballesteros & Lyle.

Seve, because he was awesome and Sandy Lyle because he was Scottish and awesome.

Most famous player played with. – Got to play in an exhibition match against Paul Lawrie at Newburgh in 2013 to celebrate their centenary. Even though he wasn’t quite in top gear he was still fantastic.

Previous Employment – I was the assistant www.gazettemagazines.com t : 01224 949085

Do you still keep in touch with whom? – I still go to the Scotland national football games with the same guys I grew up with. My other football teams are Forres Mechanics and East Fife. These three teams have been the source of little happiness over the years.

Favourite Food / Meal – Maw’s mince n tatties Love of your Life – The missus of course (hope she reads this) If you won the Lottery? – Buy an Aston Martin and bribe a member of Augusta to let me play his course.

Ideal Fourball – I’d love to play with guys from different generations to hear what the life of a pro was like for them. So, Tom Morris Jnr (won 4 Opens in a row before dying at the age of only 24), James Braid (won 5 Opens making him Scotland’s greatest golfer), Sandy Lyle (first European to win the Masters). e : ellon@gazettemagazines.com

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New Activities for School Leavers with Additional Support Needs Galaxy Group is a support group for parents of young people with additional support needs (ASN) who are approaching, or have reached, school leaving age.

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The group plans to introduce some new activities in central Aberdeenshire for young people, particularly those with complex needs, who have already left school, as well as for soon-to-be school leavers.

The first activity planned is for combined Spinning and Trampoline sessions at the Garioch Sports Centre in Inverurie on Wednesday afternoons.

Free taster sessions, kindly offered by the centre before Christmas, proved very popular with those who attended.

Galaxy Group would like to build on this initial interest by offering regular sessions, at a subsidised cost, for a small group of young people. The centre is quiet on a Wednesday and two qualified fitness instructors, with experience of coaching young people with ASN, are available. It is hoped that this new activity can begin as soon as we have enough young people to form a group.

This photo was taken at the largest Balete tree in Asia, which is at Baler, Philippines. It needs 60 people with linked hands to go round There are a couple of openings into the centre of the tree which is supposed to be haunted. Well done Aileen your cinema tickets will be on their way from the Community Council.

Galaxy Group also seek to start other activities and are in the process of sending questionnaires to all members looking for ideas and to gauge what is most needed . We are particularly keen to create new opportunities through selfdirected support. For young people who are eligible for this type of support we are looking at the possibility of pooling funds and sharing activity costs. In this way we hope young people leaving school can build new friendship groups and share interests with like-minded people.

For more information about the Galaxy Group, which is funded by NHS Grampian, please contact Transition Project Worker, Lindy young: 07825 216025, lindy. young@opfs.org.uk or visit our website: www.galaxygroup.org.uk.

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New Business - In Focus Emmaus Tecnical Services Ltd

The company itself started on the 14th August 2014 with the initial view to provide IT Services, Consultancy, IT Support, etc. to Ellon and the surrounding area. The main reason for being Ellonbased was a place to grow from. The company aspires are to help people from all walks of life to become more confident and competent with IT and let the technology work for them.

Expectations are that from smaller contracts, the services will be made known. One day, the hope is to provide an IT training centre, for both business and home users, here in Ellon (perhaps Victoria Wine building?!).

With the arrival of new businesses in Ellon, there are opportunities to provide IT training specific to their needs and not go for a ‘one size fits all’ model. There is optimism that there is some encouragement that there is a market to be tapped into and grown.

Local support: Mainly from Ellon Academy wanting to support local suppliers and Business Gateway regarding support and help moving forward with the training centre side of things.

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J M Taylor Gig at the Brig 2014 Ellon Events, the local charity who organised the J M Taylor Gig at the Brig 2014 had the near 2000 strong crowd rocking into 2015 when their second Hogmanay gig proved to be the perfect follow up to the first in 2013.

Local band Aye Doo, sponsored by Skin Deep, opened the showpiece event with a country rock feel to their set before Ellon Academy pupils Glass Monkey, sponsored by Tesco , played some rock classics and a couple of their own tunes.

Following an Ellon RBL Pipe band set played from the Old Brig, Aberdeen band Silver City Soul Revue returned to the event for the second year in a row to play the main support role with their crowd pleasing Soul and Motown set that was so well received last year that public demand requested their return. 2014 was played out by Pipe Rock headliners The Dangleberries who wowed the crowd with their unique versions of popular covers with a pipe rock twist. DJ and compere Graeme Clarke took in the New Year which was marked by a fantastic firework display from across the Ythan prior to The Dangleberries playing the second half of their set and getting 2015 off to a cracking start.

The organisers had previously promised to have learned some lessons from the 2013 gig and lived up to the promise by reducing the bar queue to just around 10 minutes at its longest point by improving the efficiency of the bar and having more staff serving. A soft-drink bar was also introduced on Market Street.

Organisers commented that this year’s event had around 40 volunteer helpers on the night who deserve a huge amount of thanks. Without these volunteers, it would have been impossible to stage the gig.

Early discussions on a follow up gig in 2015 have taken place with further details to follow. An online survey was posted on the ‘Ellon Hogmanay-Event’

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Any person or company willing to consider a sponsorship package, or volunteering their help for the 2015 Gig at the Brig should contact Ellon Events at admin@ellonevents.com or via the ‘Ellon Hogmanay-Event’ Facebook page.

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Books/Authors Alan Barker Recovery from a broken arm in 2005 has led to a local man becoming a well-read author and an in demand public speaker.

Alan Barker (63) a licensed helicopter engineer now does the circuit of local clubs and organisations relating to their members his tales, reminiscences and facts of World War 1 and World War 2.

‘It has become something of a passion’ said Alan when I caught up with him in Ellon Library, where he was once again doing some research for his next publication.

Although always having an interest in National History, the accident at work had

Alan laid up for 5 months, it was during this time he started researching and reading up, in depth, the history of two World Wars.

‘I have now had two books published ‘A Sacrifice of Innocents’ and ‘Spoils of the Eagle’ and I am currently nearing the end of my third title which will be available in March’ confirmed Alan.

Coming from a North Yorkshire family with a military background, his father and his two brothers were in the Army, Alan travelled from Germany where his father was stationed, to Ipswich in Suffolk to join the Royal Navy aged 15.

After really engaging in Navy life and sitting many exams over the years Alan reached the distinguished rank of Leading Electrical Mechanic (Air) as his travels took him all over the world.

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and Iran are just some of the countries he visited whilst he was aboard HMS Eagle.

In 1978 personnel changes within the Navy were not to Alan’s liking and this gave him the opportunity to join Bristow’s Helicoptors in Aberdeen.

After 36 years loyal service Alan is now part time with Bristow’s but is still heavily involved as an Apprentice Training Mentor.

Semi-retired he now lives with wife Carol in Ellon.

Ellon Golf Club, Alan is a past captain; The Probus Club and The Ellon & District Historical Society have all had the pleasure of hearing him speak. He normally follows his fascinating and informative talks with a question and answer session. Interestingly this has sometimes thrown up some information on Alan’s audience’s family member’s trials and tribulations during the Wars.

I’m sure many members of the Ellon Community look forward to Alan continuing with his passion as they await his latest publication ‘Ghost of the Dardanelles’ which is due out shortly.

Colin Grant (Senior)

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For more information on bespoke Workshops/Courses in Confidence Building, Stress Management, Parenting and 1-2-1 sessions please contact:

Need to know more?

Call: 07711 939 051

"if nothing changes, nothing changes"

Email: blisslifecoaching@btinternet.com

www.blisslifecoaching.eu

Ellon Business Centre, Broomiesburn Road, Ellon, Aberdeenshire AB41 9RD www.gazettemagazines.com t : 01224 949085

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17

Slaughter of Waterton In the last edition, I wrote about Ellon in Mediaeval times dominated by the Castle and the Moot Hill. In this article, I want to talk about the Slaughter of Waterton, although it was more of a quarrel that got somewhat out of hand. In About 1413, the Kennedy’s – High Constables of Aberdeen bought the lands of Ardgith and Knockothie. As a family the continued to buy lands in the area and by 1625 there are records showing that they lived in the old castle of Ardgith (The name comes from two gaelic words Arc meaning prominence and gaoth meaning wind) so there castle was on the windy prominence.

They renamed their estate Kermuck which means the corner where there wild pigs.

The silver communion cup which is currently in the National Museum of Scotland was gifted by John Kennedy and his wife Janet Forbes to Ellon Parish Church in. The cup was made in Amsterdam, where such beakers were common secular drinking cups. On the bottom of the cup is an inscription reading: ‘Coft from Alexander Hayes Anno 1634’.

The neighbouring estate of Waterton was owned by the Forbes family. The remains of Waterton Castle can be seen on the banks of the Ythan to the east of the Meadows Sports Centre. The plaque opposite is from the wall of the old Waterton House - home of the Forbes from 1630 to 1770. “This stone marks the site of the ancient seat of the family Forbes Lairds of Waterton A.D. 1630 - 1770”.

The bizarre event that is the subject of this article took place in 1652. The dispute arose because Kennedy of Kermuck had a large pool on his land to the north of the road and he wished to drain it by digging a ditch. This ditch would

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have to be 14 feet deep. A petition was drawn up and signed by neighbouring lairds and others.

Among them were Gordon of Gight, the Buchans of Auchmacoy, Gordon of Fechil and Donaldson of Hiltoun. They empowered Waterton to act on their behalf and do all he could to stop Carnmucks. The minister – Mr Paterson also used his influence but all to no effect. The minister then joined with the lairds of Udny and Foveran and for a time Carmucks agreed to arbitration.

However, his hotheaded son persuaded him not to give in.

Waterton applied for an interdict failing which they would be ready “wi shools and spades to fill in what should be dug furth”.

On 12th February, 1652, Waterton went to Ardgith Castle and read his interdict to Kennedy.

On the following day, however, Kennedy set about digging the ditch which had now become an obsession. His servants and tenants were assembled together with troopers and idle persons who had been soldiers, “all in armes” and they were spurred on by Kennedy’s formidable wife. They set off led by John Kennedy himself with “ane prodigious great twa-haunded sword.

No sooner had they started when Watertown and a group of his retainers set off to “mak civill interruptions”. One of his servants was shot and mortally wounded and no sooner had Waterton arrived than his skull was cleft in two by the great two handed sword. He didn’t die then but lingered on until 11th June.

Thereafter, The Kennedies left Ellon. John Kennedy was committed to prison but escaped and he and his son and their accomplices were denounced as rebels. It is said that the Kennedies fled to Caithness where some of their descendants still live. In any case they lost their property in Ellon and so ended a long association between the Kennedys of Ardgith and the people of Ellon.

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Wake up and shop locally...

The Store, which is based in Foveran, near Ellon, is urging the North-east to change their shopping habits and make a real effort to shop locally, as it prepares for Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink in 2015.

The award winning farm shop, which was launched in 2000 is only 10 minutes from Aberdeen, and is run by husband and wife team Andrew and Debbie Booth, with a vision to promote good quality local produce to the North-east. The Store has its own farm and butchery on-site where produce reared on the farm is prepared to sell in its coffee shop and deli.

The Year of Food and Drink Scotland 2015 is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland and Scotland Food & Drink. The aim of Year of Food and Drink 2015 is to spotlight, celebrate and promote Scotland's natural larder and quality produce with a year-long mix of events and festivals dedicated to celebrating Scotland’s best food and drink and attract visitors to the area.

Andrew Booth, owner and managing director of The Store, who is the fourth generation of his family of farmers, said: “We want people to pledge their support and go local to find the best food and drink from the finest producers in Scotland. We need you to embrace local food in the North-east and make use of Scotland’s outstanding natural produce that is on your doorsteps. Significantly, 2015 is going to be a big year for Scotland’s food and drink and we want to play a key role in putting Scottish produce in the spotlight by getting people to consider changing their shopping habits and support the local retailers.”

Chief Executive of Scotland food and drink, James Withers, said: “The major events of 2014 have provided the platform for Scotland's food and drink producers to showcase their products to a watching world. This year is a fantastic opportunity to maintain momentum and the Year of Food & Drink should be about enjoying and celebrating the world-class food and drink produced on our doorstep. I think the whole region is well placed to embrace the 'eat local' ethos.”

The Store who recently promoted the importance of eating a hearty, healthy breakfast is open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm and has its own farm shop and deli, kitchen and coffee shop on-site. To find out more about The Store, call 01358 788083 or visit www.thestorecompany.co.uk

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19

Rotary Club of Ellon

painters , so it is a very diverse collection of individuals.

The Rotary Club of Ellon celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Four of the Club’s founder members are still active in the running of the Ellon branch namely Charlie Burgess, Ron Davidson, Bob Duncan and Bob Forman. Well-known local Vet Kenny Gill joined shortly after the Club was formed and all five are still active participators in the Club’s local events.

To look back to 1974 and how it all began locally I caught up with the Club’s Communications Convenor Doug Winchester.

‘We are one of 88 Rotary Clubs in Scotland ‘ explained local solicitor Doug ‘and we can now boast of having over 60 local members who attend the weekly Wednesday meetings in the Station Hotel’.

All Rotarians are members of ‘ Rotary International’ a global organisation started in the early 1900’s.The idea was to create a group of business and professional people united in the ideal of service to mankind both locally and internationally. Now there are Rotary Clubs in almost every country in the world.

On a global scale, for some years now, Ellon Rotary has contributed to Rotary International’s campaign to eradicate Polio from the world. Working in conjunction with the Bill Gates Foundation they are winning the fight.

Now only three or four countries in the world are affected by the disease.

Shelter boxes have also been sent over the years by Rotary to natural disaster sites throughout the world.

Add to this over 300 shoe boxes containing Christmas gifts were sent to deprived families abroad at Christmas last year.

The Rotary Club of Ellon began as you can imagine in a small way and has increased in membership steadily over the last 40 years.

‘Our members come from all walks of life’ explained Doug, ‘we have people from farming, engineering and education, the postal and police service, also doctors and

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The Ellon Club is Club Number 18740 of District 1010 (Scotland North) of Rotary International Club. District 1010 stretches from Dundee to the Shetland Isles.

Over the years and nearer to home the Club have been involved in many areas of AB 41 social life. They have provided assistance to charities and good causes in Ellon and the surrounding area.

Every year they provide grants to organisations or individuals through their community grants scheme and Sports Clubs, Mother and Toddler groups, Dancers and the Victoria Hall have all benefited.

Young Chef and Young Musician competitions are regularly organised as well as local heats of the Primary School quiz competitions. They are also involved in the Ellon Pedal car race and each year put on a Christmas party for the more mature residents in Ellon.

Long may they prosper as all in all the local Rotarians I’m sure you agree are an important fundamental part of Ellon life?

To celebrate their 40th Anniversary a dinner was held last month.

Colin Grant (snr)

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Community Learning & Development Service – Ellon Area Community learning and Development – helping you and your community learn, change and grow.

Supporting learners and communities to identify and work towards change, whether that takes place in an individual’s life or helps to create a resilient and enterprising community or contributes to better local services and opportunities.

Here is a flavour of the areas of work that we focus on.

Family Learning and Early Years. Advice, help and support for families working in partnership with health, education and the voluntary sector. Includes Rainbow Rogues for pre-school children with additional support need, Rhymetime at the library, parenting skills, first aid for under-5s, messy play and much more.

Youth projects and youth volunteering opportunities. Youth work offers a variety of opportunities for young people in the area at key times in their lives such as transitions between primary and secondary and moving into employment or further education. Support to gain awards in recognition of community action, volunteering and skills development. We also provide confidential information and advice for 12-25 year-olds.

www.gazettemagazines.com t : 01224 949085

Adult learning. Opportunities include literacy, numeracy, life skills and English for speakers of other languages. We also offer support to individuals (free of charge) for them to gain a national SQA qualification recognised by employers in key core skills.

We often run projects aimed at developing self-esteem and well-being.

Community capacity building. Offering help, support, advice and information to individuals or groups that run community based activities. Practical support with sourcing funding streams, developing constitutions, training and development and assessing your groups needs in order for it to grow and develop. We work alongside many community groups so that they can take the lead with growing communities and the provision of learning and leisure opportunities.

Our dedicated team of Community Learning and Development staff as well as volunteers - deliver and support many areas of community work often in partnership with other providers. These include a jobs club, Credit Union, post-natal support group, Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, and many other projects.

We are based in the Ythan Community Centre in Ellon and also operate from Ellon CEC that is attached to the Academy.

Other community facilities that we use as part of our work include the recently developed Family Resource Rooms in the Old Academy, Esslemont School and Ellon Library. Later this year we will be relocating to the new Community Campus at Cromleybank.

For further information please call us on 01358 729237 You can also find out about community opportunities through the facebook group “Community Based Learning – Ellon Area”.

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21

Gary Jamieson (Scots Guards)

Your help is needed

Whilst on an operational tour in Afghanistan in 2010 Gary stepped on an IED, his limbs had taken the full force of the explosion and Gary lost both his legs and an arm. The ABF the Soldiers Charity supported his family whilst a significant number of home modifications were made, so that he could return home. The charity also helped to make Gary's car accessible, Gary said, "Being able to drive again was really important to me as it was a progression in my independence going from home into the car, The Soldiers Charity has had such a positive impact in my life." Gary is only one of many soldiers and veterans that The Soldiers Charity has helped, they gave so much, now together let us show our support to allow The Soldiers Charity's to continue to be able to support many more of those in need.

Would you be prepared to nominate The Soldiers Charity as your charity of choice?

Do you plan to run a 10k, 1/2 marathon, marathon, or perhaps a sponsored walk, cycle or climb? Whatever your challenge please choose the ABF The soldiers charity, the Army's national charity founded in 1944.

Why not host a fundraiser? A coffee morning, concert, 70's Disco. Volunteer to help out whenever needed.

Please contact to discuss. I look forward to hearing from YOU! Please help those servicemen and women, who were and like Gary have sacrificed so much, I believe they have earned the right to our help.

Kind Regards Catherine Robertson Ross MBE Tel: 07879854927

Ellon Advisers excel at helping locals to manage money Local advisers Phil Anderson and Neil Gallagher have been recognised as a Top Rated Independent Financial Adviser and Top Rated Mortgage Adviser on VouchedFor.co.uk. Being Top Rated signifies that Phil and Neil from Phil Anderson Financial Services are in the top 0.5% of advisers in the UK making Phil and Neil a great resource for people in Ellon to have on the doorstep.

Phil and Neil achieved Top Rated status as a result of having over 50 positive client reviews on VouchedFor.co.uk, the independent website which helps people to find a trusted Independent Financial Adviser, Mortgage Adviser or Solicitor. VouchedFor.co.uk is free and easy to use. Visitors search for advisers based on location and services provided. Advisers are then listed based on client reviews giving those seeking advice confidence the adviser can be trusted.

Independent Financial Advisers help people to manage their finances and specialise in many different areas from pensions and retirement plans to long-term care, savings and investments and life insurance.

Phil Anderson Financial Services also offer advice on mortgages.

Any client of a local Solicitor, Independent Financial Adviser or Mortgage Adviser can review them on VouchedFor.co.uk. Reviews help others to find quality advisers like Phil and Neil.

For additional information please see our advert on page 16.

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What’s on in & around ELLON Popcorn Time At Haddo House Wednesday 18th February 2015, 19:00 - 21:30 Popcorn Time Mother and Toddler At Haddo House Wednesday 18th February 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Knit & Natter Group at Balmedie Library Thursday 19th February 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Popcorn Time At Haddo House Wednesday 25th February 2015, 19:00 - 21:30 Popcorn Time Mother and Toddler At Haddo House Wednesday 25th February 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Knit & Natter Group at Balmedie Library Thursday 26th February 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Popcorn Time At Haddo House Wednesday 4th March 2015, 19:00 - 21:30 Popcorn Time Mother and Toddler At Haddo House Wednesday 4th March 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Rhymetime at Balmedie Library Wednesday 4th March 2015, 14:00 - 14:30 Knit & Natter Group at Balmedie Library Thursday 5th March 2015, 10:30 - 12:30

Ellon Cinema: The Theory of Everything (12A) At Victoria Hall Sunday 8th March 2015, 18:00

Knit & Natter Group at Balmedie Library Thursday 19th March 2015, 10:30 - 12:30

Ellon Cinema: Into the Woods (PG) At Victoria Hall Sunday 8th March 2015, 15:00 Ellon Cinema: Big Hero 6 (U) At Victoria Hall Sunday 8th March 2015, 12:30

Knit & Natter Group at Balmedie Library Thursday 26th March 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Ellon Cinema: Shaun the Sheep (U) At Victoria Hall Sunday 29th March 2015, 15:00

Ellon Sunday Cinema - Big Hero 6 At Victoria Hall Sunday 8th March 2015, 12:30

Ellon Cinema: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG) At Victoria Hall Sunday 29th March 2015, 18:00

Ellon Sunday Cinema - Into the woods At Victoria Hall Sunday 8th March 2015, 15:00

Popcorn Time At Haddo House Wednesday 22nd April 2015, 19:00 - 21:30

Ellon Sunday Cinema - The Theory of Everything At Victoria Hall Sunday 8th March 2015, 18:00 Popcorn Time At Haddo House Wednesday 11th March 2015, 19:00 - 21:30 Popcorn Time Mother and Toddler At Haddo House Wednesday 11th March 2015, 10:30 - 12:30

Popcorn Time Mother and Toddler At Haddo House Wednesday 22nd April 2015, 10:30 - 12:30 Popcorn Time At Haddo House Wednesday 29th April 2015, 19:00 - 21:30 Popcorn Time Mother and Toddler At Haddo House Wednesday 29th April 2015, 10:30 - 12:30

Knit & Natter Group at Balmedie Library Thursday 12th March 2015, 10:30 12:30

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Jazzercise 1000-1100 Victoria Hall (T: Claire 07824 552883)

Keep Fit 1900-2000 Newburgh Primary School (T: 727910/729237) Ellon Photographic Club 1900-2030 Ellon Community Centre (T: John 01651 842070)

50+ Forum (2nd Mon of month) 10-1130 Kirk Centre (T: Lynne 07788 587280)

Metafit 2030-2100 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796)

MONDAY

Forum Flowers Group (last Mon of mth)10-11 Kirk Centre (T: Lynne 07788 587280) Zumba 1030-1130 Castlepark Community House Ellon Flowers (3rd Mon of month) 1330-1500 Ythan Community Centre (T: Janet 721340) Dru Yoga 1600-1730 Auchterellon School (T: Pauline 01358 722648) Tae Kwon Do 1700-2100 Castlepark Community House (T: Jamie 077890507753) Weightwatchers Kirk Centre Coffee Shop 5pm (T: Olive 07735575127) Ellon Bridge Club Ellon Bowling Club Mon 715pm (T: Ralph 01358 722898)

Aerobics 1830-1930 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796) Body Balance 1930-2030 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796) Knit and Natter 1930-2200 The Tolbooth (T: Lynne 07788 587280)

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TUESDAY

Ellon Ramblers 0900 Ellon Community Centre (T: Bill 01358 723023) Body Combat 0915-1000 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796) Yoga 40930-1130 Ythan Community Centre (T: 727910/729237) Camera Club (1st & 3rd Tuesday of month) 1000-1200 Ellon Community Centre (T: Tom 01358 722273) Credit Union 1000-1130 Ythan Community Centre (T: Annette 729237) Body Conditioning 1000-1100 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796) Ellon Duke of Edinburgh Award Group 1230-1330 Ellon Community Centre (T: Annette 729237)

Metafit 1830-1900 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796)

Jazzercise 1900-2000 Ellon Community Centre (T: Claire 07824 552883)

Dru Yoga 1900-2100 Castlepark Community House

(T: Pauline 01358 722648) Kick Boxing 1900-2030 Victoria Hall (T: Mark 07714 679137)

Pilates with a mix of Yoga 1915-2030 Ellon Community Centre (T: Velvet 01358 724723) Beginners Pilates 1930-2030 Ythan Community Centre (T: Kerry 07807 459165) Adult Dance Classes 2000-2100 Auchterellon Pavillion (T: Roslyn 07982 597640)

WEDNESDAY Job Club 0900-1200 Ythan Community Centre (T: Annette 729237)

Metafit 0915-0945 Victoria Hall ( T: Amanda 07528 572796) Beyond the Block Writers Group 1000-1200 Ythan Community Centre (T: Vikki 729237) Ladies Badminton 1030-1130 Ellon Meadows (T: Lynne 07788 587280) CREATE! Crafts & Hobbies (1st/3rd Wed of mth) 13001530 St Mary’s Hall, Ellon (T: 723753/07835250777) Fly Cup (open to all) 1330-1500 Ellon Resource Centre (T: Lena 01358 720066) Ellon Parish Church Drama Group(Over 18’s) 1930-2200 Kirk Centre (T: Anne 721922/Sam 07899 062121) Prenatal Yoga 1930-2100 Castlepark Community House (T: Pauline 01358 722648)

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Scottish Country Dancing 1930-2100 Boy’s Gym, Old Academy (T: 727910/729237) Yoga 1900-2100 Ythan Community Centre (T: 727910/729237) Dog Care & Obedience 1900-2100 Victoria Hall (T: Myra 01358 722501)

Tai Chi 1900-2000 Meiklemill Primary School (T: Jean 722063) Kung Fu (Adults) 1930-2030 Ellon Community Centre (T: Paul 07824 660232) Adults Dance Classes 2015-2115 Auchterellon Pavillion (T: Roslyn 07982 597640)

THURSDAY

Pelvic Instability Network Scotland (PINS) 0930-1230 Family Resource Rm, Old Academy (T: Sally 729237) Art 1300-1500 Balmedie Leisure Centre (T: 01358 743725) Mahjong 1330-onwards Ellon Golf Club (T: Lynne 07788 587280) Keep Fit 1330-1430 Ythan Community Centre (T: 727910/729237) Body Conditioning 1830-1930 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796) Bowling Bridge Club 7.15pm (oct-mar) (T: Eddie 01358 720610

Body Combat 1930-2015 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796)

Kick Boxing 2015-2115 Victoria Hall (T: Mark 07714 679137)

Kung Fu (Adults) 1900-2000 Ellon Community Centre (T: Paul 07824 660232)

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Body Combat 0915-1000 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796)

Art 0930-1130 Ythan Community Centre (T: Mandy 01358 742035) Tai Chi 1000-1200 Castlepark Community House (T: Jean 722063)

Body Balance 1000-1100 Victoria Hall (T: Amanda 07528 572796) C-Fine & Fairtrade Food Stall/ Pop Up Shop 0930-1430 Ythan Community Centre (T: Helen 01358 720066) Keep Fit 1330-1430 Ythan Community Centre (T: 727910/729237) Craft/Coffee afternoon 1400-1530 Victoria Hall (T: Lynne 07788 587280)

Archery (Beginners) 1800-1900 Ellon Community Centre (T: 727910/729237) Jazzercise (Express) 1830-1900 Victoria Hall (T: Claire 07824 552883) Archery (Intermediate) 1900-2000 Ellon Community Centre (T: 727910/729237)

Ballroom Dancing 2000-2200 Victoria Hall (T: Liz 01358 711344)

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Weightwatchers St. Mary’s On The Rock Church Hall 9.30 am (T. Olive 07735575127 For information on Ellon swimming pool timetable/ lessons please phone 727910 or www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/ recreation/swimleisure/ellon. asp For information on The Meadows Sports Centre please phone 725162 or http://www.aberdeenshire. gov.uk/recreation/swimleisure/ ellonmeadows.asp NB: Thanks to Nicola Twine and her team for the initial list of classes. The contact numbers listed may belong to the individuals running the classes not necessarily the venue where the class is held.

Please contact us to add a class to the list or to update any incorrect details. ellon@gazettemagazines.com

NINTH PAGE ADVERT Single Issue £24 Two Issues £45 Four Issues £70 01224 -949085 mail@ gazettemagazines.com

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Monday Childcare @ Home 0945-1230 Family Resource rooms, Old Academy.

T: Sally 01358 729237 Boobs and Banter 1300-1515 Family Resource Rooms, Old Academy T: Sally 729237

Bambino & Beyond 1300-1400 Castlepark Community House, Ellon.

T: Jan 07795 320956 Kung Fu 1800-1845 Ellon Community Centre. T: Paul 07824 660232

Tuesday Rainbow Rogues 0930-1130 Esslemont School, Ellon. T: Sally 01358 729237 (for children with additional support needs)

Creation Station 1200-1500 Castlepark Community House, Ellon.

T: Ruth 0844 824 4525

Creative Stars 1300-1400 Ellon Community Centre. T: Karen 07754 653489

Enjoy a ball 1435-1730 Victoria Hall, Ellon. T: Kim 07835 336368 Kid’s Dance classes 1730-1945 Auchterellon Pavillion, Ellon.

T: Roslyn 07982 597640

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Wednesday Mess Around 0900-1200 Auchterellon Pavillion, Ellon. T: Stephanie 07591 616637 Mother & Toddler’s 1000-1200 Castlepark Community House, Ellon.

T: Jill 013558 725230

Rainbow Rogues 0930-1130 Esslemont School, Ellon. T: Sally 01358 729237 Mother & Toddler’s 1000-1200 Ellon Guide Hut, Station Brae, Ellon.

T: Jill 01358 725230 Ballet 1700-1800 Victoria Hall, Ellon. T: Julia 07840 147972

Zumbini 1000-1100 Ellon Community Centre. T: Siobhan 07791 865173

Kid’s Dance classes 1800-1900 Ellon Community Centre. T: Roslyn 07982 597640

Kung Fu 1815-1900 Ellon Community Centre. T: Paul 07824 660232

Kid’s Dance classes 1615-2000 Auchterellon Pavillion, Ellon. T: Roslyn 07982 597640

Friday Childcare @ Home 1515-1730 Family Resource rooms, Old Academy.

T: Sally 01358 729237 (for children with additional support needs)

Highland Dancing 1640-1740 Castlepark Community House, Ellon.

T: Louise 07740 681826 Ballet 1745-1845 Victoria Hall, Ellon. T: Julia 07840 147972 ABC Little Dragon’s 1800-1900 Castlepark Community House, Ellon.

T: 01358 721565

Thursday Mini Groovers 0900-1200 Auchterellon Pavillion, Ellon.

T: Julie Emslie 07903 913135

NB: The contact numbers listed may belong to the individuals running the classes not necessarily the venue where the class is held.

Please contact us to add a class to the list or to update any incorrect details. ellon@gazettemagazines.com

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New free music download service Aberdeenshire Libraries now provides free access to music online for members to enjoy. Freegal is a digital music service which includes over seven million songs from over 28,000 labels including the Sony Music catalogue.

The new service allows library members to download three music tracks or one music video every week to keep in their collection forever. In addition they can stream 3 hours of music every day. All free of charge.

There is music for everyone to enjoy including classical, pop, jazz, folk, rock and also includes music from the latest UK charts.

Any resident over the age of 12 can get access to the Library ’s Freegal service. All that is needed is library membership and internet access. Just login at http://aberdeenshireuk. freegalmusic.com/index using your library card and pin numbers. Not a member join at Ellon library or any other library to get access.

Aberdeen Hypnotherapy The Solution Focused Practice

New enquires and Hypnotherapist Supervision requests:

01224 329089 sam@aberdeenhypnotherapy.com www.aberdeenhypnotherapy.com Sam Luxford RGN RMN DHP HPD GQHP SFBT Sup (Hyp) MNCH(Reg) CNHC Solution Focused Clinical Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist Clinical Hypnotherapy Supervisor SFBT Fully qualified and Accredited

Consulting Room

23 Rubislaw Den North Aberdeen AB15 4AL

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Confidence Weight Management Anxiety Post Traumatic Stress Eating Disorder Habits Insomnia IBS Depression Motivation Addictions Dental Phobia Obsessional Compulsive Disorder Panic Attacks Sports Achievement Anti-Smoking Anger Management Hypnotic Gastric Band

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27

Double victory for Aberdeenshire Garden Centre

The Mains of Drum has recently received both a 5-star Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Award and a Taste Our Best Food and Drink award.

The garden centre in Drumoak, Aberdeenshire, which features fresh, seasonally and locally sourced food on its menu, is celebrating after successfully securing the two quality awards from VisitScotland.

The Taste Our Best accreditation, which is a joint initiative between VisitScotland and the Scottish Government, with support from Scotland Food and Drink, recognises businesses for including and promoting local produce in over 60 percent of their menu.

Located on the first floor of the garden centre with windows looking out onto the rolling Aberdeenshire hills, the 200 seat Mains of Drum’s restaurant provides and caters for a variety of visitors with dishes such as Cullen Skink, Stornoway black pudding and eggs from the Sunnyside Farm in Maryculter.

Marketing Manager, Beverley Spindler, from the Mains of Drum said: “We are absolutely thrilled, not only to be awarded the five stars, but for our restaurant to achieve the ‘Taste our Best’ Award at the same time. We truly believe in providing a top quality service to our customers on every visit and for them to taste delicious, locally grown food, when dining in our beautiful restaurant.

The Taste Our Best initiative brings together the tourism and food and drink industries. It is designed to recognise businesses including; hotels, restaurants, cafes, takeaways, visitor attractions, B&Bs and pubs or bars; that not only offer a quality food and drink experience, but include and promote Scottish produce on their menus, to give consumers choice.

The Taste Our Best scheme is the latest addition to VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance (QA) Schemes, which aim to drive up quality in tourism products across the country. Taste Our Best will provide businesses with an assessment of their food provision and their menu by qualified assessors, with those meeting the necessary criteria gaining the award.

For accommodation providers and visitor attractions, the assessment will take place at the same time as the main VisitScotland Quality Assurance grading, meaning that many tourism businesses that already participate in the QA Scheme will no longer have to apply and pay for a separate food and drink assessment.

Further details on Taste Our Best can be found at: www. visitscotland.org/quality-foodanddrink.aspx More information on the Mains of Drum can be found at: http://www.mainsofdrum.co.uk/

Research has shown that visitors are willing to pay up to 15% more for food that is of Scottish or regional origin and businesses that provide local food can typically enjoy higher level sales of up to 20% per year.

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Back left to right: Beverley Spindler Marketing Manager, Audrey Forbes Director, Emma Milton Catering Manager, Ross Brown Chef, and front left, Craig Forbes Operations Manager and Neil Christison Regional Partnership Executive from Visit Scotland.

The Main(s of Drum) event!

Lived-In Business start up can sometimes be a daunting but exciting experience. This is certainly the case with Lisa Buchanan who in October last year took a personal leap of faith and opened up local shop ‘LIVED – IN’ to bring her own brand of modern as well as traditional furniture, soft furnishings and gifts to the shoppers of Ellon.

Having chosen premises in Bridge Street to get going, former Auchterellon Primary School pupil Lisa has found that she has had a more than positive response from locals and visitors alike to her Town Centre shop in the short time she has been in business.

Since childhood Lisa has always had creative instincts as she can remember at a very young age making and crafting as a fun thing to do.

When the family left Ellon and moved to Aberdeen, Lisa attended Bridge of Don Academy before enrolling at Aberdeen University to study English and Phsycology.

However after 2 years she switched to a more vocational course in Business Administration with travel and tourism at Aberdeen College and got a position with the Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Information Centre.

Lisa was delighted to be promoted quickly to Retail Operation Executive by her employers and it was during this time whilst dealing with buying, merchandising, stock control and training that she really learned the skills in Retail as she was in charge of the retail operations of 14 Tourist Information Centres www.gazettemagazines.com t : 01224 949085

throughout Aberdeen and Grampian. After leaving the Tourist Board, in search of a more creative role, this was fulfilled by a position as a florist at Nicky Walker Florist in Aberdeen.

A chance meeting with an old friend led to Lisa then being offered a job at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. Starting as Events co-ordinator and Head of Sales Lisa was soon given the mantle of Business Unit Manager. In this position she had a leading role in managing Aberdeen events such as The Energy Ball, Northern Star Business Awards, Aberdeen FC Player of the Year Dinner and Aberdeen Oil Company Annual Events. It was during this time Lisa started a family and her 3 and a half year old son is the apple of his mother’s eye.

Bringing Lisa’s career round trip back to Ellon, she and her sister in law, Debra Buchanan decided to embark on a new venture.

Their combined love of interiors and country style led them to develop a small business called ‘Willow Cottage’.

Upcycling beautiful old furniture that had become unfashionable and combining it with specially selected soft furnishings and home accessories.’Willow Cottage’ in its early days toured the country shows and craft fairs.

However being a mum meant Lisa had limited time to move forward with Willow Cottage so Debra carried on alone.

However on deciding to move to bigger premises in the Autumn of last year Debra encouraged Lisa to set up her own shop and so Lived –In was born.

‘Running a small shop or business on a shoestring budget can be quite demanding ’ claims Lisa ‘But I am determined to make a success of it and having great support from husband Craig and the rest of my family makes it all possible.

This is one young lady, with strong Ellon connections, who is more than hopeful that her past experiences will stand her in good stead in the future as she tries to give shoppers best value for money.

Colin Grant

AB41 Magazine

e : ellon@gazettemagazines.com

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Last word...

Happy 2015 folks, I hope it is a good one for you. Can you believe we are on to Issue 2 already? Thank you to everyone who stepped forward and helped deliver Issue 1 and for those that have signed up for Issue 2 delivery - amazing to get so much help - truly appreciated.

West End - Deeside - Kingswells - Ellon

independent publisher : Sue Simpson All enquiries : landline: 01224 949085 mobile : 07813 964 875 email : ellon@gazettemagazines.com web : www.gazettemagazines.com delivered to : 4500 homes in Ellon spare copies left in the community centre, library etc 20 April is the next deadline

Well as you can tell we are full of newsy little items from all around Ellon.

Big thank you to our writers I’ll do a feature on them in one of the isues. I hope you don’t mind me putting in about some events which took place during the festivities but they were just too momentous to miss out and hopefully I’ll be able to help promote them next winter.

Our next deadline is 20 April for the May-JuneJuly issues so please do send in your editorial and adverts! 90% of your trade comes from where you are located! So, it makes sense to utilise a marketing tool that goes right through the letterbox in your local area!

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Thank you too, for all the positive feedback and let’s hope AB41 magazine will grow with the coming issues.

Until the next time, Sue Our deadlines...

20 April - May-June-July mag 20 July - August-September-October mag 20 Oct - November-December-January mag Any content to be relevant to reading from the middle of the first month of publication and beyond.

Competition closes on 10 April 2015

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Disclaimer : Whilst we’d be flattered if you would like to borrow something from the gazette be polite and ask first! Thank you. We try our hardest to ensure accuracy of editorial content but no responsibility can be taken for any errors and/or omissions. The views expressed within the gazette are not necessarily those of the publisher or advertisers. When replying to offers, competitions and other correspondence, we would strongly recommend that you check published information with each organisation beforehand. All artwork is accepted on strict condition that permission has been given for use in this publication. We thank you for taking the time to read the small print.

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Please do mention ab41 when responding to advertisers - thank you

The Alizonne Diet – what the heck is that!

In an endeavour to find out exactly what the Alizonne diet was, I paid a visit to Temple Medical in West Craibstone Street, Aberdeen. Dr Sam Robson has been advertising with me for a very long time and 18 months ago invited me to come and try it out! I dismissed it as another fad. Well having seen the results on the back of the West End magazines for the last 18 months I decided that maybe this was the way forward.

I don’t really know when I started to gain weight.

I was always told, you’re tall, and you can carry it!

Well it was back in April that I wasn’t feeling very good about myself so stepped on the scales, yet again, in an attempt to make me wake up and smell the coffee. And another stone, yes another 14 pounds of FAT had crept on. I tell you I didn’t even notice. Yes the clothes were feeling tighter and if I had a full length mirror I might have glanced and thought – bit chunky – but I don’t, probably for that very reason.

Anyway, cutting to the chase I made an appointment to see Sam about advertising and thought I’ll enquire and find out more about Alizonne. After a tour of the new premises, very nice by the way, I was shown to the top of the building. Three flights of stairs; this is where the Alizonne treatments take place. No oxygen mask was to be seen at the top – just a fancy machine that looks like a hoover, a set of electronic scales, blood pressure monitor and some battery looking objects. Maybe this is why it’s called a medical diet.

Back to ground level Sam got talking. The fact she had a pound of fat sitting on her desk which is not particularly attractive, her positive and enthusiastic way of talking about the amazing results that were happening on a daily basis, I knew at that point she had me! She said have a think about it and then phone and book an initial consultation if you are serious about the diet. She did say that I could be put off of the diet at any time if I didn’t follow it to the “T”. I wasn’t about to be the first to be kicked off – I’ll show you I can do it – however challenging it may become. www.gazettemagazines.com t : 01224 949085

I am not going to lie and say it is only £5 a week and you step on some scales and told you’ve lost xyz pounds. It is not a cheap option. It does not involve surgery of any kind. It does involve a HUGE COMMITMENT. A slight re-arrangement of your social activities for the initial phase and a will of steel! You will require the ability to say NO, and to mean it. Alcohol has to be given up too… but you can still have tea and coffee J Armed with the telephone, I dialled the number – 01224 869997… Within five minutes I had an initial consultation and had parted with a chunk of money. My appointment wasn’t for another ten days… but I was determined I would start the way I meant to go on. Let the calorie counting begin… … I have actually now completed the diet and this was written at 14 weeks. I am being complimented all the time in the weight loss, shrunk several dress sizes and feel pretty good about myself.

I don’t want to say too much more in this article, but you can read my blog on the website as I have been keeping a diary. If you are interested and want to ask me about the diet, please feel free to get in touch, I’m more than happy to share my experience. My before, after and in between pictures I’ll share in the magazines very soon!

Alizonne is changing my life. The weight loss is helping me live longer. The exercise is keeping me fit and active. The confidence in me has grown ten-fold. http://www.gazettemagazines.com/blog-alizonne/ http://www.templemedical.co.uk/alizonne/ The top link will take you to my blog. The second link will take you to the temple medical web page and there are pictures and videos of people who have been on the diet and their results. I would just like to say that I embarked on the diet for my own health reasons. It will not be for everyone, but if you are serious about losing weight and have tried everything else then this might just work for you. Do not hesitate to get in touch with me to ask any questions. mail@gazettemagazines.com put in the subject line Alizonne and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Words by Sue Simpson e : ellon@gazettemagazines.com

31

transform your body and your life!

Before Treatment

Loss of

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after 26 weeks After Treatment

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tel: 01224 869997

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