The Aboyne Fountain 22 (Autumn 2020)

The

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Fountain A Community Magazine for Aboyne

Art from the heart unites community in lockdown

Issue 22 Autumn 2020

STRACHAN’S Serving Royal Deeside for Four Generations

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For adver�sing and editorial, please note the copy deadlines below and use the contacts listed at the bo�om of the page DEADLINES . FEB 1 . MAY 1 . AUG 1 . NOV 1 PUBLISHED MAR JUNE SEPT DEC

Contents Cover Story Paths leaflet Help for New Parents Publicity in a Crisis Highland Games Dyeing to Meet You In Lady V’s Shoes Councillors’ Contacts Wheelers Pause Advertisers’ Index Ad Rates/Copy Dates

5 6 10 16 18 20 25 26 28 30 30

Welcome to Issue 22 of The Fountain Sometimes I think there are no words available to describe the present situation.

Mainly because it keeps changing! But it’s been swings and roundabouts again since the Summer issue, with tentative steps out followed by a hasty retreat. I am hopeful at the time of going to print that more copies of the magazines will be delivered through doors this time around...

That said, I’m delighted with the level of support offered to Myriad Pro Publishing at this time. There are no less than seven new advertisers in the Autumn Fountain and there’s a special feature on p16 introducing some of these while outlining the benefits of using these community/ commercial publications to promote your business when the chips are down.

I’m equally chuffed with the calibre of editorial contributions in the circumstances too. Considering not much is happening, you guys have a lot to say for yourselves!

Remember that community information is FREE to include in these pages, so if you have any news for the Winter eds, tell me about it by November 1st if you can.

Best wishes to all affected by Covid, and thanks to everyone fighting it on the front lines. Keep hanging in there, folks!

Cat Houston – Design/Editor

get in touch via email to catrionahouston@yahoo.co.uk

or call Cat on 013397 55243/07805 731401 www.myriadpro.co.uk find us on facebook

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Doors Open to Enjoy Art in the Community Sharp-eyed visitors and walkers around Aboyne may have noticed a number of small but perfectly formed wooden doors cropping up in unexpected places.

The doors are part of a community art project from the local artist Stephanie Vandem, which was initiated before the lockdown. Around 25 mini doors have been distributed for people to paint or decorate in their own way and the results are an eclectic creative mix.

Stephanie told The Fountain: “The project was inspired by traditional painted doors that a lot of villages around the world do, to bring interest to their streets, a trail for visitors, and to bring the community together. It’s also about reclaiming those streets, using public spaces that are accessible to the community.”

Determined not to let Covid-19 halt the project, Stephanie delivered the doors distantly, used video tutorials for inspiration and left deadlines open-ended, to avoid stress. Many of the doors feature “nature-inspired things, rivers, animals, trees, inspiration from the locality here.” though a few are more fantasy-based.

Stephanie added: “It gave the participants something to do in lockdown, something to feel connected with the rest of the community, something to go out and look out for. So people could have a little bit of unity through the art project when they couldn’t see others, or do things together. So there was a sense of ‘we are all doing this together’.”

The doors will stay up at least until the end of the summer and there are three “naked” ones left if you want to have a go.

Stephanie’s contacts can be found online.

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The Aboyne Paths and Tracks group has created a free leaflet with a map and description of various paths and tracks from Aboyne village centre. It has been distributed widely in shops, cafes and restaurants and we hope it will benefit the well being, health and fitness of residents and visitors alike.

The leaflet was designed and produced

by Wagtail Designs in Birse and was funded by the Rotary Club of Aboyne & Upper Deeside and the ScotWays (Scottish Rights of Way) charities.

It took a year to produce, requiring engagement with 15 different landowners, most of whom were very supportive to the project. Some however had objections to promotion of paths on their land and, for now, the group has decided to not describe or promote several routes where this is the case.

The public can continue to responsibly access established paths and tracks under outdoor access legislation and the group would be pleased to hear about any problems in this regard.

The Paths and Tracks Group was formally established as part of Mid Deeside Community Trust in 2019. Work parties to maintain and improve paths and tracks in the Aboyne area (with landowner permission) were regularly held until March, when they stopped due to Covid-19.

These were well attended by up to 20 volunteers and it was hoped to restart them in August, with appropriate social distancing and other precautions.

The group was delighted to receive support for purchasing equipment to help with paths maintenance from Aberdeenshire Council, Aboyne Academy and the Aboyne Highland Games committee. If you’d like to know more or get involved with the group, you can find them on Facebook or email them at aboynepaths@gmail.com.

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Lockdown gave us the opportunity to appreciate the countryside nearest to us and many people discovered new routes merely minutes from their home.

We’d love you to share your favourite lockdown walk with us. Was it round the village, a bit further afield or through the woods?

Wherever you took your daily walk, please let Marr Community Paths Group know.

The plan is to share them with others who may be new to your area or who would like to try a different place to walk, cycle or jog.

Email them to Kate at Kate@marrareapartnership.org.uk.

ebike rentals, Segway tours and activity sessions*, mountain-bike guiding

(*October holidays – kids sessions – get in touch!)

Aboyne, Ballater, Braemar, Royal Deeside website: www.eguidescotland.com email: info@eguidescotland.com tel: 07794695077

Aberdeenshire Voluntary Ac�on launched their AVA Community Spirit Awards at the beginning of July to recognise Community Spirit in our villages and towns during the lockdown and were overwhelmed by the response.

CEO Dan Shaw said: “People have been nominating in their hundreds, the people in their community who have gone out of their way to help, support and put a smile on people’s faces during the pandemic.

“Many award recipients have been nominated multiple times showing the impact they have had on their community. Several of our nominations are very young showing a sense of community spirit from a young age”.

There are over 200 recipients of the AVA Community Spirit Award and the full list can be found in AVA’s most recent newsletter, their website www. avashire.org.uk or on Facebook.

Our area’s award-winners include: Pam Vickers, Anna Bichard, Eric Sinclair, Dave Ellis, Simon Welfare, Gillian Needham, Platform 22, Eve Bolton, Vikki McPherson, Gavin Crawford, Graham Ross, Thomas Truby, Tina Thomas, Lumphanan Moving Pictures, The Boat Inn, K&D Befriending and Mid Deeside Community Trust.

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Aboyne’s Community Centre now has its own Facebook page. The facility, which has been been closed to the public since March following lockdown, hopes to reopen as soon as possible.

Updates can be found on the Live Life Aberdeenshire website or search for “Aboyne & Deeside Community Centre” on Facebook to like the page.

There was much excitement at Aboyne Men’s Shed recently as the new-build’s scaffolding came down.

The ground floor is set to house the Men’s Shed workshop while upstairs will be the Aboyne and Mid-Deeside Community Shed.

Check out their new-look website http://aboynemensshed.org.uk/, which has heaps of project information.

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Virus brings challenging �mes for new parents writes NHS Volunteer Peer Supporter Vikki McPherson

In March 2020, Aboyne Breastfeeding Support Group had to suspend our one to one support and weekly group meetings.

It is hard to believe that it is August already, and those of us with school aged children are getting ready for their return to school.

We have no dates to return yet and those of us based in community centres and schools across Grampian are unsure what the future holds. With the relaxing of restrictions, restaurants and pubs are able to serve the community but it is very disappointing that we are still unable to provide our support service to our Mums.

We have continued to run the group virtually on Facebook for the entirety of lockdown and have

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dabbled in a couple of successful zoom meetings. We have also offered one to one support by phone and on messenger. It has been a tough time for everyone: first time mums, single mums, mums with babies and toddlers, mums with babies and older children, alongside homeschooling and Dads working from home.

The period of lockdown, and the resulting impact on the support and care that would normally have come from friends and family, has contributed to feelings of isolation and loneliness.

A few of our regular members have expressed sadness and concern for new mums not being able to make new friendships and meet like minded people so early on in the parenting journey.

Supporting the mental health of new mothers is so important. The wider breastfeeding support community are concerned about the impact of this due the current situation. This also goes for the

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Breastfeeding support is essential and the impact of social distancing along with shorter hospital stays and restricted visiting hours, would have made it a difficult time for many new mums.

On a more positive note, I have had a few new mums tell me that it was incredible to have those weeks to bond and nurture the baby without constant visits and pressure to be out and about.

For any mums and families that need the support that we are committed to deliver, and until we are advised otherwise, we will continue to offer support virtually and by phone and sincerely hope that we can return to some sort of normality soon.

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ArtAboyne moved its annual exhibition online for this year. Invited artists have put together an array of beautiful items to view and purchase via their new website, www.artaboyne.co.uk Featured here is Old Man of Storr in Pink by Christine McLennan.

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The Fountain relies on advertising to pay for design and printing and it means a lot that so many regular customers have continued to advertise during the Covid calamity.

I am just as delighted to welcome several new advertisers recently too, many of which feature on these pages here.

At Myriad Pro Publishing, advertisers are not just a space on a page. All advertisers benefit from featuring in a Facebook album every quarter, and where advertisers’ own posts are seen on that social media platform, they will be shared.

Feel free to tag The Fountain to make sure.

New customers can also benefit from introductory features, and there are perks to being a long-term advertiser too, as well as discounts for featuring in the Alford and Banchory publications.

The business landscape and publicity methods are changing all the time, and especially at the moment! So if you have any ideas on how The Fountain can further support you, do let me know.

No matter if you are on the main street, out in the sticks, working from your spare room or just operating online, I can help.

When times are tough, don’t stop ADVERTISING!

Have you started a new business in the Aboyne area? Want a mention? Get in touch.

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The pipe tune ‘Games Day At Aboyne’ echoed across Aboyne Green on Saturday [01 August] as the committee of Aboyne Highland Games gathered to mark what should have been the village’s games day, while across Scotland and America pipers played in an online competition organised by the games.

Traditionally, the first Saturday in August sees the Royal Deeside village come to life with dancing, piping and athletics events as crowds of up to 10,000 people attend Aboyne Highland Games.

This year, however, the event – like others across the country – was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but organisers were still keen to mark the day. Socially distanced, 40 members of the committee assembled on Aboyne Green, venue for the games, to watch the chieftain’s banner being raised by chairman Alistair Grant to the strains of ‘Games Day At Aboyne’, which was played on the bagpipes by Dr Jack Taylor.

Deputy chieftain, Alastair Gordon, Earl of Aboyne – son of games chieftain the Marquis of Huntly – addressed the committee, watched by onlookers who had paused to observe proceedings. He acknowledged the difficult decision made by the committee, in an unprecedented year, to cancel this year’s event and said their thoughts were with those who had suffered because of coronavirus. He added that everyone looked forward to welcoming visitors to Aboyne Green in 12 months’ time for the 2021 games.

After the health of the games and local community was toasted, the short ceremony was concluded with the chairman lowering the chieftain’s banner

Photo: Chris Bell, Deeside Camera Club to the strains of pipe tune ‘Salute To The Frontline’. The piobaireachd was composed earlier this year by Chris Armstrong, pipe major of the Scottish Power pipe band, to acknowledge the contribution and sacrifices made by healthcare and frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the day, 32 pipers from across Scotland and America performed live via videocalls to submit their entries to Aboyne Highland Games’ online piping competitions. The three competitions, sponsored by Royal Deeside grocer and delicatessen George Strachan Ltd, were moved online to provide a platform for solo pipers to play competitively this year.

Annual event very different this year, but no less poignant Organisers also celebrated the games online, sharing a series of photographs of the event through the years on their Facebook page. The contribution made by stallholders at the games was also acknowledged by the Facebook page, Aboyne Highland Games Traders, established to promote the businesses and charities that were due to have trade stands at this year’s games. Chairman of Aboyne Highland Games, Alistair Grant, said: “Raising the chieftain’s banner on an empty Aboyne Green on what should have been games day was rather poignant.

Although it was a difficult decision to make months ago to cancel the 2020 Aboyne Highland Games, it was the correct one to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing.

“Choosing to lower the banner to the recently composed piobaireachd ‘Salute To The Frontline’ showed our gratitude to those who have kept everyone safe and well, and vital supplies moving around the country during recent months.

“Although nothing can take away from hearing the pipes live at a highland games, I’m very pleased that we were able to run some of our piping competitions online and provide a platform for solo pipers to compete. We are extremely grateful to Jack and his team for making this happen and to all those who took part.

“The whole committee is very much looking forward to August 2021 when Aboyne Highland Games will return live, bouncing back just as it did after two world wars. We will be ready with a warm welcome for competitors and spectators, showing them the spirit of friendship and community for which highland games are renowned.”

The 2021 Aboyne Highland Games is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 07 August 2021.

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Group Focus: Aboyne + Upper Deeside Rotary I’m happy to look silly... says new club president Peter Vermeulen

The Rotary Club of Aboyne & Upper Deeside hope you have all kept safe and well in these challenging times.

As a rural Rotary Club, we have members from all the surrounding towns and villages from Kincardine O’ Neil to Tarland to Finzean and, of course, Ballater and Aboyne. In the present unusual times, it is natural that members want to concentrate volunteering on helping in their own communities, particularly those who are vulnerable. Therefore, although we may not have been as visible recently as a Club, you can be certain that our Rotarians have been active as individuals in their own communities.

As you will be aware, the coronavirus restrictions have led to cancellation of events which, in turn, have badly affected our Club’s fundraising activities.

For example, we usually have great fun attending nearby Highland Games, including Aboyne, with our well-known dice game, and we also shake collection buckets in the Games car park. Other fundraising events have also been cancelled; the Ballater Duck Festival and our Big Charity Golf Day. Our charity fund this year has supported various Aboyne projects such as Aboyne Men Shed project, The Deeside Foodbank, Aboyne Paths and Tracks, Aboyne AfterSchool Club, Aboyne Junior Football Club and the Aboyne Schools, but the fund has now sadly been badly depleted, so financial help is inevitably reduced.

At the time of writing this (late July) we have initiated a fundraiser to help some of our local schools. Due to Covid 19, there is a shift of focus to outdoor learning areas in Primary Schools so the funds we raise will be used to help build or purchase outdoor equipment for

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participating local primaries. I have agreed to look like a right ‘idiot’ for a few weeks with a brightly coloured beard. We are asking for donations on a fundraising page called “The Lock Down Beard” along with a suggested colour for the facial hair! The dyeing of the beard was due to take place on the 25th August and I am willing to look silly for as long as the donations keep coming in. Go to our Facebook page to donate (and laugh)!

As restrictions are lifted, so the Club’s thoughts are moving towards having more fun together and, hopefully, recruiting new members. We are looking at different activities for fundraising, with the emphasis on fun, and forming new relationships with other local groups. Our Aboyne members are very aware of the volunteering being done by so many local people, helping others in the community in various ways during Covid-19. Would you be interested in continuing to volunteer your help to those in need and other good causes?

By joining Rotary, you can have fun and form new friendships with likeminded people. In “normal” times, we meet twice a month. Within the Club, we have committees concentrating on

differing aspects of help for others. These committees include Community, Youth and International. Our close relationships with Aboyne Academy and Aboyne Primary School, have resulted in both becoming corporate members of the Club, and we continue to hope that other Primary schools in our area will become interested.

We have members of varying ages, and of both genders, so don’t believe Rotary is only for elderly retired guys who can afford it and don’t know how to have fun!

We would love to have more folk from our great community join our friendly club.

If you would like to find out more about what we do, simply contact our Secretary John at johnhalkett448@gmail.com and he will arrange for one of us to meet with you for a coffee or whatever suits you , and answer your questions about the Club and Rotary in general. Feel free to try us out with no obligation whatsoever – you have nothing to lose, and much to gain!

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Library Services A number of libraries in Aberdeenshire are now offering a Click and Collect service. The nearest to Aboyne is Banchory.

The booking system allows you to collect reservations, order preselected library book bundles containing 10 items, pick up reading group collections, arrange a drop of your current loans and also pick up hearing aid batteries.

To use Click and Collect, you can book directly through the Online Booking System, call 01467 532929, or use the Live Chat.

Depending on the level of demand and use, it is expected that the Click and Collect service will then be rolled out to libraries in other communities.

You’ll need to be a member of the library service to order book bundles or place reservations. If you’re not a member, you can join online too!

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Lady V’s Shoes

This season, my family and I have decided to start paving our way to a greener lifestyle. We hope to start incorporating some small, everyday changes into our routine until they become second nature.

Our first goal is to decrease the amount of plastic that we have in the house. Much like our clearout in the Spring, we are doing this systematically, room by room.

First stop – the bathroom.

Now, how can we make our ‘Plastic free bathroom’ a reality? As luck would have it, we are ideally placed to realise this aim.

Thistle and Clay on Ballater Road is the brainchild of Mairi Macdonald. After being shocked at the amount of unnatural ingredients in her ‘off the shelf’ products, Mairi began making her own.

We have stocked up on a range of zero-waste bathroom goodies from her, including a variety of sweet-smelling soaps and shampoo bars. Now I am pleased to say that, while not completely plastic-free, we have made a solid start on our quest.

I am also making a conscientious effort to reduce my electrical output. Chargers are being switched off as soon as their job is done, light bulbs have been switched to energy-efficient ones and my clothing horse has come into its own. This has resulted in a love/hate relationship with the Met Office website, as I gamble with the ‘precipitation percentages’ on a daily basis.

I will not lie; I feel a sense of smugness as I shake out my freshly laundered sheets in the early morning breeze, confident that my rainfall wager will pay off. Although, I did not realise that so much distance could be achieved between a confident gust of wind and a loosely hung pair of pyjamas. Many thanks to my neighbours for not judging my poor attempts at catching them as they took to the sky. Happily, I have now invested in some pegs, so future flights shall be reserved solely for kites on the green.

Our waste management has also started to change quite significantly. Every week our recycling bin is stuffed to the gunnels. A highlight for my children is when we allow them to don their wellies and stand atop of the cardboard mountain within. (Full disclosure, no child was recycled in the process. We always fish them back out again – just after we have enjoyed a nice hot cuppa).

So, in the words of Ralph Marston: “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows”.

Here is to continued improvement and, many, many more, greener tomorrows.

in

A column on village life from Victoria Kennedy

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Councillors'

Contacts

Cllr Peter Argyle

01339 882973 07801 900843 cllr.p.argyle@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

These are your Ward 15 councillors

Cllr Geva Blacke�

01339 741541 07876 475269 cllr.g.blacke�@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Cllr Paul Gibb 07388 956148 cllr.p.gibb@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

This is your MP and MSP

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Andrew Bowie MP 0207 219 2791 andrew.bowie.mp @parliament.uk

S������� P��������� Alexander Burne� MSP 0131 348 5642 Alexander.Burnett.msp @parliament.scot

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Go to www.ďŹ rstport.org.uk for details.

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www.highlandglenspas.co.uk Phone. 013398 80540

Tornaveen Plumbing

Time served plumber Can’t get anyone to do those small jobs?

Tap washers, cleaning and repairing gutters, drains etc.

Reasonable rates No VAT

Contact: John Whyte 013398 83698 07497 819551

Group’s Funding Drive Put on Hold by Pandemic Aboyne Wheelers will keep rolling, says Steve Gardyne

We continue to work towards delivering a community skatepark to the young people of Aboyne and Deeside.

Earlier this year, after a long process, we achieved the key milestone of planning permission for the proposed site. Our plan at that point was to then press forward with applications to institutions who provide funding, but the coronavirus outbreak has paused this stage.

This will be kept under review and when we consider it appropriate we will move forward and try to secure the remaining funding necessary to execute the project.

We also would like some more volunteers to join the Aboyne Wheelers for the next stage of this exciting community project and anyone who is interested can contact us via our Facebook page.

K&A ANDERSON LONENWELL GARAGE . ALFORD . 019755 62215

MANY MAKES SUPPLIED: HONDA . ALKO CASTEL GARDEN LAWN KING

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STRIMMERS . CHAINSAWS . LOG SPLITTERS . ROTOVATORS . SCARIFIERS *** To celebrate 40 years at Lonenwell – lots of offers and deals to keep your eyes peeled for ***

Index of Advertisers to help you find who...

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DEADLINES . FEB 1 . MAY 1 . AUG 1 . NOV 1 PUBLISHED MAR JUNE SEPT DEC Advertising space is also available in our Alford publication, The BULLetin, and The Fly, covering Banchory FREE!

Fountain

The Banchory Fly A Community Magazine for Banchory

A Community Magazine for Aboyne

FREE!

AD ES T A R Design adds £15 to any size advert

Art from the heart unites community in lockdown

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Issue 22 Autumn 2020

Issue 7 Summer 2020

Get in touch via email to catrionahouston@yahoo.co.uk Call Cat on 013397 55243 or 07805 731401 www.myriadpro.co.uk

FULL PAGE 140 x 200mm £108

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Book a single ad in all three mags and save 10% Book four issues up front in one mag and save 10% Book four issues up front in two or more mags and save 20%

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• Residential Property Sale, Purchase & Leasing

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• Personal Law - Wills, Trusts & Executries

fine blend of expert legal services.

013398 87665 www.mackinnons.com

• Employment Law • Commercial Property and Business Law • Dispute Resolution • Marine, Offshore & Renewables

solicitors LLP

The Commercial THE SQUARE . TARLAND ....................................................

Welcome Back!

COVID

SAFE Opening Hours for Food: Sun-Thurs 12-8pm Fri/Sat 12-9pm

New Summer Menu Takeaway Menu Sunday Lunch Find details on Facebook or call for details

013398 81922 www.thecommercial-hotel.co.uk