Articles

During the 18th century bakers complained that women were making plum and seed cakes and sugar biscuits at home, getting friendly bakers to finish them in their ovens, then selling them around the town.

When it comes to the first player’s second turn, his bool is now much closer to the kypie, so his chances of reaching it are enhanced. A game of cat and mouse ensues

The divi began as tokens issued against purchases, but the difficulty was that the tokens were essentially cash, able to buy goods directly or transferred or sold to non-members.

When I went to the fishing from Campbeltown in 1950, there were around 40 herring boats fishing from the port. Each boat carried six men. The entire year’s earnings of those 240 men came from herring fishing alone.

As with any close contact sport, speed and heft are needed in equal measures, and Aberdeen’s own team – called the Northern Fights of the Granite City Roller Girls – are no exception.

James Morrison had the vision – and the passion – to see that his everyday rural life should be preserved photographically as a matter of record.

James Erskine died in 1820, so the spoons could not have been made by him. The only other silversmith with these initials during this period was James Emslie. So by matching these ‘JE’ makers marks to the ones held in Edinburgh, we proved that they were indeed James Emslie’s.

Sandy Fenton is a linguist, writer, poet, painter, educator, musicologist and athlete, with more than a touch of Renaissance Man.

With only two Pentathlon places available for the 2012 Olympics, competition is fierce

The enduring value of Stoneywood is carried in the heads of the 400 men and women who keep the last mill on the Don working.

“Buffalo Bill! Him, himsel, larger than life, walkin doon Guild Street wi a cowboy hat, frilled jacket, cavalry ridin breeks, an great lang boots. He’d a great muckle belt wi a huge buckle like ye hiv wi a kilt. And blow me doon if he didna heid straight intae oor door.”

New Pitsligo lace was known as a very strong lace – one of its main attractions was that it could be repeatedly laundered. In pre washing machine and detergent days all cottons and linens had to be boil washed. The grounds (netting part of the lace) in New Pitsligo have more knots and twists than many English style torchon laces, which makes it much stronger.

No catapults, elastic bands, pedals, hamsters, motors, propellers, jet engines, balloons, pigeons, warp drives, teleporters, springs, KERS – just a free-wheel gravity powered cartie.

Look closely at street alignments and building fragments, ancient paths and deep ditches, and earlier Fraserburghs emerge: the herring town, the Hanoverian garrison town, the university town, the ancient fishing village of Faithlie and the new town of 1592, Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth’s broch.

The Mounth Passes: Part 2 – Elsick Mounth, which links Drumoak with Stonehaven, was probably in use long before the arrival of the Romans

Drovers, soldiers, thieves, and pilgrims have over thousands of years stomped their way across the eight Mounth passes wending through the Grampian mountains.

Party members cut their political debating teeth in the Aberdeen Parliament of 1881 and such was its reputation for quality speakers that its members received invitations from far and wide.

According to legend, Francesco Cardoni presented his puppet show to George IV and was the first to bring Punch & Judy to Glasgow.

Mythical, majestic unicorns, with the bodies of stags and heads of horses, have been restored in sumptious embroidery.

With Aberdeen a prime target for German bombing, it was not unusual to have the audience sitting, tin helmets and gas masks at the ready, although no evacuations were recorded during these early years.

Claypotts Castle is probably the best Z-Plan tower house left in the world, yet it is rarely visited.

This time-tested recipe came from Grace Hamilton’s mother-in-law nearly 70 years ago.

A pioneering psychiatrist who provided a way forward for a group of people for whom there is little public understanding and limited sympathy

Crombie’s, once an integral part of Aberdeen’s identity, was once the largest woollen tweed mill in Scotland – a surprise to those who expect tweed to come from Harris or the Scottish Borders

Can anyone identify any of the obviously important personages in this photo of a group taken near Shelter Stone around 1880?

So thrilled was I by the drama and the spectacle that I was to return many times to see the same company perform a remarkable selection of plays from classics to modern comedies. I saw them all from the ‘gods’ in my schooldays thanks to the Wilson Barrett Company.

These stunningly beautiful glass beads with intricate spiral patterns are known only in the North-East. Who made them and why?

We are keen to hear from descendants of emigrants who carried their distinctive patterns to other parts of the world. Please, please don’t throw out old ganseys – whatever their condition, we would like to see them.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and a great believer in fairies, may well have been deceived by the Ghost Moth.

When John Betjeman visited Aberdeen in 1947, he was taken aback – “Could there be such a thing as a great city with tramcars, electric lights, hotels and cathedrals so near the North Pole?” It would have surprised him to learn that Britain’s most northerly tram system was amongst the most advanced in the country.

Ask Aberdonians for their favourite place in the city and many will say Aberdeen Art Gallery, an oasis of calm just yards from traffic and turmoil.

For 73 years the doors of FD Stills on the corner of Rosemount Terrace were open for business every single day, despite a war, food rationing, blizzards, or even the death of the founder.

The first golfer to win the Open, the man to instigate the Ryder cup, is all but unknown on his home turf.

Originally a sculptor, Elspeth Haston works tirelessly to keep alive the memory of her mother, Mary McMurtrie, known for her immaculate flower paintings.

Tucked away at the end of a little alleyway leading off Montrose High Street is one of Scotland’s hidden treasures. The workplace of artist William Lamb never fails to surprise and delight.

A suitcase owned by E.W. MacPherson, namesake of the new laird of Glen Doll, contains a first hand account of a dispute that started on Jock’s Road, but traversed ultimately to Westminster. Without the Lords’ ruling of 1888 on the Glen Doll case, we would not be free to roam our native land.

Near the Beach Boulevard the sand heaves with people. We find space for our towels and snacks on a less-crowded stretch beside the Beach Ballroom. The soundtrack for that day is The Beatles. Their new Revolver album plays endlessly to the sweltering crowds over the speaker system strung along the Esplanade… Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, Got To Get You Into My Life

The man who brought the countryside right into our living rooms and helped educate generations about the wonders of Scotland’s natural heritage.

“More than anything else, Colin wants to have sex. Colin won’t ever have sex. It is up to me to have it for him so I can tell him what the feeling might be like if he ever did, but I just don’t feel like it just now.”

When Duncan Rice returned to his native city to be principal of its university in 1996, his aim was to raise £150m. Now £142m is already in the bag, with promises of more to follow.

In the kirkyard of a sleepy Angus hamlet lay a priceless collection of incised sculptured stones, neglected memorials which had marked the graves of warriors and monks

Imagine an exhibition which attracts thousands of visitors, year after year; an open show, for the talented amateur and established professional – and every work of art selected by the same open procedure.

The name McCombie was well known in Aberdeenshire in the 19th century and three William McCombies, all cousins, were particularly notable.

For nearly 300 years the bell of St Drostan’s kirk tolled the life of the parish in times of peace and danger. Then it disappeared for 30 years

Last winter brought quite a fall of snow, inspiring the usual clichés such as ‘arctic’ conditions. It was as if we never saw snow, but we have, every year. And whereas our world might stop because we cannot cope with it, up on the high hills there are animals and plants that could not live without it.

By 1812 the harbour’s future was uncertain. Far from being a shelter in time of storm, it could be the cause of the unexpected end of boats. It would, however, take a further 13 years before the work to improve the harbour would begin – facilitated by the hand of the engineer responsible for the Bell Rock Lighthouse: Robert Stevenson.

The gaunt and forlorn ruin of Slains Castle at Cruden Bay is perhaps one of the most recognisable images of the Aberdeenshire coast, still proudly standing on its precipitous cliff edge and dominating the skyline for miles around. But that this is not the original Slains Castle; in fact, it is not even in Slains.

Even in bare, grim country where the higher slopes have long been abandoned as too poor, too hungry or just too damned difficult to yield a worthwhile return, you can still see the dykes, standing as a lasting memorial to the heroes who made the North-East farmlands out of rock-strewn wilderness.

“You are, by painting, making a very positive assertion that you do not want to die – yet. For painting is about life and living.” – Frances Walker, artist

In the 1960s a real estate company offered to demolish the Music Hall, suggesting a more modern concept. Fortunately, the public outcry that erupted secured the building for an impressive future.

One year a shooting star streaked across the night sky, and a good harvest followed. Since shooting stars were not at their command, the people set out to mimic them with home-made fireballs.

“I made up a variety of home-made equipment for us to experiment with, there being nothing on the market. Gas masks, motor tyre air pumps, an ‘open’ helmet made from a copper-wrapped dustbin lid – all helped us breath underwater.”

The native wild thistle may be the Scottish emblem, but the tended and productive garden of plants from around the world has been our national obsession

Witches. Fornicators. Vandals. Teenage mothers. Murderers. Do you know of any in your family? Aberdeen City Archives are a window on our past, containing references to those whose misdemeanours have been recorded for posterity.

A remarkable Scottish tradition – linking medicine, botany and gardening – had an huge impact on the landscapes and gardens of Britain and on the ecology of the British Empire.

Crathes Castle, boasts one of the finest painted ceilings in the country, and it is a ceiling of musicians.

Life is a bug for Hugh Pennington and he would not have it any other way. At an age when most people are taking it easy, he has become the public face of reassurance over the health of the nation.

A ballad called The Jolly Beggar, believed to be about King James V, tells of him seeking lodgings at ‘a hoose near Aiberdeen’ disguised as a beggar

The Mither Kirk Project has taken about six years to reach this stage. We anticipate that contractors will be on site shortly to begin Phase 1 – the repair and restoration of the exterior fabric. Phase 2, the interior structures and fit out will follow as soon as funding permits.

Leask is quite one of Scotland’s tinier families, with few enough of the name of this firmly Aberdeenshire-anchored clan. Some members claim links to Lasks of Denmark, the Laski family in Poland or the Lesques in Boulogne.

The lands of Auchmacoy have almost doubled in size, while Clan Buchan is a flourishing organisation with branches throughout the world.

Since their beginnings in 1973, the Bailies of Bennachie have embraced the story of the squatters who lived on the east corner of the hill. Today these crofting ruins can be explored freely, but little is known about them.

Carefully preserved in the bank at Aboyne is a small, leather-bound book which contains minutes of the birthing of the Aboyne Games.

The Charter Room in Aberdeen Town House was built in 1873 to house the historical records of the council, the earliest surviving document being a charter granted in 1179 by King William the Lion.

Winner of the Toulmin Prize for 2009, by Eleanor Fordyce

Imagine a city where everything lies within walking distance of home: shops, parks, cinemas, school, a gym, football stadium, and a bus station. How can you fit everything in? The answer: high-rise development.

Gordons and their name have woven themselves into the fabric of Scotland. Music, song, poetry, dance, a regiment and even a steam locomotive all remember the name.

Life might have treated Forbeses better had they and the House of Gordon and clan Leslie not engaged in centuries-long feuds involving two battles and several massacres.

Ninety-minute shows twice nightly, half-hour intervals, patrons vacating the building by 10 o’clock sharp for fear of air raids. This was 1943 and variety shows at the Tivoli were fun for all the family in the dark days of war.

The last generation of traditional Kincardineshire fisherfolk is passing and the race is on to preserve something of their knowledge, of their life experience, before it slips irretrievably beyond our grasp.

Androcles saw there wis a muckle stob in the pad o his fit. He pulled it oot, cannily an gentle like, an gied the beast a gentle tickle ahin the lugs as he used tae dae tae his maister’s dogs.

What does it feel like to be a clan chief, I wonder aloud, and the riposte is immediate. “I suppose I see my role as mother of the clan, the matriarch among Frasers.”

With an expertise that encompasses field sciences, meteorology, biology, ornithology, zoology, ecology, etymology, skiing, Gaelic, Doric, placenames, philosophy, mountaineering and archaeology, Adam Watson should certainly be considered one of Scotland’s treasures.

“The recipe, as explained to me many years ago, is impressively easy to follow: Tae mak brose? One, a haunfae o oatmeal. Two, a pickie saut. Three, haud on the bilin watter. Fower, steer like buggery.”

“A Force 9 south-east gale had been blowing for three days. It was snowing. Visibility was virtually zero, and the tidal races were running at 10 knots against the wind. It was into this fearsome mountain of sea that coxswain Dan Kirkpatrick launched the Longhope lifeboat .”

Who were the “brave Ramsay and Fergusson” whom Burns toppled from the throne of poetry? Here, we will discover a truth which we in Scotland are prone to overlook: Burns is the greatest, but far from the only, Scottish poet.

Deceptively self-effacing, Frank Robb is unique in the North-East in having forged his livelihood since the Seventies as a folk musician, stand-up comedian and after-dinner speaker.

The earl headed celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of King Robert’s coronation and has the very sword once wielded by our hero king.

The spirit of clan Hay is kept alive today in Delgatie Castle, where an enormous collection of Hay memorabilia is lovingly maintained

The rich lands of the Laich of Moray guard an ancient past – for under the waving ears of barley are traces stretching back thousands of years

Burnett chiefs of old fought to establish rights for themselves and their folk, befriending king and commoner alike in the quest for prosperity. Today’s chief might be first to suggest that fighting to maintain prosperity in the current economic climate is probably more difficult than raising armies in ancient days.

Few families have survived for over 800 years in the same place. The lairds of Arbuthnott prove an exception to the rule.

The whole spectacular production was let down by the female lead, who sported – as one of my colleagues used to say – a voice like a crackit chunty

In the 16th century an array of richly-carved medallions adorned the ceiling of the King’s Hall at Stirling Castle, extraordinary examples of Renaissance craftsmanship. Now woodcarver John Donaldson is nearing the end of a huge commission to create a complete replica set of the world-famous Stirling Heads.

Keith is one of the greatest names in Scotland’s history, the legend being that the chief of the house could ride from Berwick to Caithness, stopping every night at one of his own properties.

Animals and plants are introduced to this country for many reasons – aesthetic, recreational or commercial. Some of these, however, have devastating effects on our own native species.

A centuries-old feud with neighbouring Clan Keith was ended only on 4 August 2002 when David of Drum and the Earl of Kintore finally met on neutral ground – in the middle of Park Bridge they signed a peace accord

The advent of DNA show in tests that the historic branches of the wider Lumsden family are descended from the original people who inhabited Scotland after the Ice Age

Alex Salmond – described by Andrew Marr as “one of the few technically excellent speakers left, like an exotic bird on the verge of extinction” – talks to Leopard and reveals the secret of his confident public persona.

It was a cat alright, and I gasped when I realised its kind: the great size; the thick, banded tail; the wide face and jaw of the creature that spat at me though hopelessly injured was, I was sure, the Scottish wildcat.

Over recent years the British Bluebell has declined severely and is now an endangered species.

Insch artist Roy Benzies followes in the footsteps of Joseph Farquharson to capture the seasonal colours, and light (sometimes warmth!) of the Finzean Estate.

There was a wonderful response to the Toulmin story-writing competition, which left the astounded judges with 77 un-named entries to read. The standard was high, and many fine tales must remain untold for now. The winner of the cheque for £500 – the donor wishes to remain anonymous – was Bill Robertson from Banchory, who was amazed at having his story chosen, as it was the first he had ever written. We are sure, with this encouragement, it will not be the last.

Staring out across Aberdeen beach, the waves crashing on the shore, the sea a mass of grey-green and swirling white foam, it is hard to imagine that there could be much in the way of life lurking beneath those waves. Yet don a mask and snorkel and another world is revealed, overflowing with a wealth of spectacular marine life.

Nestled in a thicket of trees just beyond New Deer, Brucklay Castle has stood for over 400 years. Originally called Brock’s Hillock, the castle site was no more than a badger set.

Jessie Kesson went from the slums of Elgin, where her mother was a prostitute, to an orphanage, then on to a hard life in service and on the land. Eventually her talent for writing brought her recognition.

One of Aberdeenshire’s most attractive castles reached the end of an era last year with the death of Mrs Mhairi Bogdan, the last of the Ramsay and Irvine families for whom the castle had been home for more than 250 years.

Elizabeth Craigmyle – a pupil of the Aberdeen High School for Girls – and Charles Murray were almost exact contemporaries. Their lives and poetry, however, could not have been more different. While Murray’s poems gave an insight into prevailing opinion, Bessie wrote of her love for Maggie Dale, with whom she had what the Victorians called a ‘romantic friendship’.

Aberdeen-born David Logie has worked with Greenpeace for 13 years.  Here he shares his experiences of the harsh realities facing an eco-warrior, from our own Scottish shores to the banks of the Amazon.

When did Scots first emerge as a distinct language? There is a clear answer, and one with particular interest for the North-East. The Bruce, the first literary work to survive in the Scots tongue, dates from 1375, pre-dating Chaucer; its author was John Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen.

The shameful footsteps of his North-East past brought Peter Gordon to one of the most fulfilling projects of his life – finding Scotland’s rural past in the footprints of smugglers.

The Freedom Lands and their march stones never cease to intrigue, relating as they do to Robert the Bruce and the development of Aberdeen into an independent and self governing community in the 14th century.

In this year the first women were allowed to serve on Local Government Councils; the Territorial Army was introduced, and across the Atlantic, the electric washing machine was invented. In Aberdeen, the Town Council Watch & Lighting Committee agreed to form a pipe band for the City Police Force. Here we look at the Pipe-Majors who led it.

Her popularity as a teacher can be gauged by that fact that in 1876, the school board had to prohibit parents from trying to enrol their sons in the girls’, rather than the boys’ department of St Paul Street School!

The discovery of medieval human remains at St Nicholas Kirk reminds us of its 800 years in which it has witnessed every major event in the life of the city. It is custodian of its secrets and treasures. Not least of these are the unique tapestries made by a 16th century Aberdeen embroideress which hang in a transept.

In the autumn of 1926 Mrs Fenella Paton of Grandhome made a brave decision to set up a birth control clinic in Aberdeen for working class mothers. This was highly significant, as it was one of the first birth control clinics in Britain and only the second in Scotland.

Union Bridge is a living structure, an inhabited bridge, with an arcade of shops and offices suspended above the tracks of the Invernes railway line.

In 1696, at the time when Glenbucket Castle was held by the Gordons, Upperton was a thriving clachan, supporting seven families. Today only one ruin remains.

The composer Sir Edward Elgar struck up an unlikely friendship with Charles Sanford Terry, Professor of History at Aberdeen University, and an enthusiastic amateur musician.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust – a body for whom I have some admiration – errs, in my view, in opposing the Trump plan on the grounds that the proposal would lead to an unacceptable level of impact. But it is right to flag up the fact that much valuable habitat will be irretrievably lost.

It is a great chance to dress up. Like wearing a fancy hat at a wedding or at Ascot, you can be slightly larger-than-life.

Oh! the youthful pleasure of dookin in the open air pools around our rocky coasts. When mixed bathing become common in the 1920s, swimming pools provided shelter from snell winds; places where manly youths could display their physique and nubile females their charms.

When the writer learned of his Aberdeen forebear, the ‘Harbour Master at Fittie’, coincidence revealed links to the present day. It was as if the story of Captain Alexander Morrison beckoned to be told.

Over the centuries, the settlement grew and prospered and was known as Kilwhang. With ‘Kil’ meaning hill and ‘whang’ the name, or sound of a whip, possibly, the name is derived from the cliffs above the original settlement and the sound of wind whistling around their meagre shelters.

Mention of the Aberdeen to Inverurie canal these days often surprises people, unaware of its existence. Most of it has disappeared under the railway, roads and housing, but some short stretches, now dry and ditch-like, can still be found.

There is something chillingly fascinating about natural disasters. Some Scottish towns have always been liable to floods. Elgin. Jedburgh. Perth. But Inverness is my pick for The One To Watch.

Robert MacKenzie was appointed to the headship at Summerhill in 1968 by the Labour-controlled Aberdeen Council. It caused a stir in Scottish educational circles, given MacKenzie’s record as a non-conformist

Ever since the Great Awakening of 1859 and the evangelical revivals which followed, the coastal communities of the North-East have celebrated a vibrant gospel singing tradition.

Somewhat belittled in the ballad, the self-educated Jock Bruce of Fornet was in fact a writer with an interest in radical politics, an ardent campaigner and public speaker, a defender of the rights of the tenant farmer and a social commentator.

The original Scots were Gaelic speakers, so why do we now apply the word to the language of the Lowlands?

Mrs Frances Dunlop of Dunlop was nearly 30 years older than Burns, physically unattractive and the mother of 13 children. Yet, with her, he had a unique friendship.

The Girnock land was poor; when cattle droving declined, the folk were driven to whisky smuggling and the Glen became notorious for its black bothies. Now its abandoned farm-touns carry us back to the time when it bustled with Gordons.

Aberdeen is a better-run city than most, but there is concern for its main artery. Union Street used to be jam-packed with shoppers on Saturdays, and you met everyone you knew there.

A personal recollection of Aberdeen’s mini ‘golden age’ of ballroom dancing – inspired by welcome signs of another just beginning…

As a researcher on farms near Inverness and Aberdeen, the writer has been invading the private world of the secretive corn bunting. His task sounds simple: find where they build their nests, and how successful they are in rearing their young. But he has only one clue to help him solve these puzzles.

How to make the traditional North-East rowie

With news of Glencraft, The Royal Aberdeen Workshops for the Blind and Disabled, having financial difficulties, my mind took me back to 1964.

In September 2006, a dedicated band of engineers and historians from Japan went to Scotland to pay tribute to a man who is virtually unknown in his native land. Who is William Kinninmond Burton? Why do his achievements arouse such devotion?

Two 18th century instruments from the same small workshop in Upperkirkgate, Aberdeen, survive today as unique examples of their type – and the oldest known. Now, through Leopard, a third has entered the ring.

Helen Denerley can be snowed up for weeks on end in her remote studio home, so that she can’t even reach her scrap metal. But in the balmy summer, surrounded by horses, dogs and deer, the entire Donside valley becomes a source of inspiration.

In the smaller fishing towns on the Moray coast, many families share a surname; certain first names are favoured, too, so quite a few individuals may have the same names. That’s where the tee-name, or by-name, comes in.

How an Aberdeen town councillor stole 1,044 coffin lids, seven coffins and two shrouds… and an undertaker was found guilty of the reset of 100 coffin lids and two coffins.

Originally built to defend the port, trade and city of Aberdeen, Torry Point Battery is an enduring landmark on this northern coast. The time has come to tell the tale of two unusual groups which occupied this defensive bulwark, groups with no connection to the Battery’s military past.

Should we cut down 1,000,000 trees, release huge amounts of carbon by excavating a bog for turbine bases, and ruin a river to save us from global warming?

I start with an apology. In 1980 while resident in Hong Kong, I received a letter from Diane Morgan, then editor of Leopard, inviting me to write a few words about our local Grammar and Gordonian Former Pupils’ Club. I never did get around to putting pen to paper, but the seed was sown. Here I am, 26 years later, scribbling away, hopefully before loss of memory and/or dementia set in.

The traditional music of an area reflects the dialect of the people. After an intensive two weeks listening to the Tarland locals talking, an American fiddler commented: ‘North-East people talk in Strathspeys’.

The technology of the next century will help the world of marine science towards a greater understanding of the marine ecosystem and some of its smallest inhabitants.

For the third year in succession controversy has arisen over estate deer culling. In 2004 it was Glen Feshie, in 2005 it was
Mar Lodge, and this year it is Invercauld. These estates are under separate management: the common denominators are the involvement of
the Deer Commission for Scotland – and the use of helicopters.

The one-time Aberdeen printer Thomas Bendelow became the most prolific designer of golf courses in the United States and Canada

For any other firm, being the laughing stock of the district would be a disgrace. But to father and son, Buff and John Hardie, being laughed at in public is the lifeblood of their business – and the louder the laughter, the happier they are!

‘The perfect foal’ suddenly appeared. A six-week-old black colt dancing around his mother, saying, “Look at me. Look at me.”

Mild-mannered Aberdonian Bill Gavin was the inspiration behind a team of amateur actors who brought what seemed like an unending supply of quality drama to Aberdeen theatre-goers

As one year ends and a new one begins, one’s thoughts turn philosophical. And what makes a gardener more philosophical than choosing a tree. Our gardens correspondent Gordon Smith gives his selection of the 10 best trees for 2006.

A legend in his field, Ronnie Rose is an inspiration to many young conservationists – and a thorn in the flesh of his adversaries

Animal-lover Lynn Rutter wrapped a badly-injured cat in her sweater and took it to the vet. Imagine her astonishment next day, when the vet told her that this was no pussycat.

Do you have piles of old letters, memos, articles or essays in your attic, in Aberdeenshire Scots – the Doric – or other language varieties used in Scotland? Do you own the copyright yourself, or know who does? If so, the Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech – Scots – is interested.

The woods of Deeside and Donside are critical areas due to invading grey squirrels. Unfortunately, they were introduced into Aberdeen in the Fifties and are spreading out of the city along the Dee and the Don. Grey squirrels can now be found in Peterculter, Banchory, Tarland and Bennachie.

Flamboyant John Anderson was a showman in the grand manner. In 1851 he toured America, where a quarter of a million people saw him during his run at the Broadway Theatre in New York.

St Carol’s bell in the kirkyard at Ruthven, Aberdeenshire was named The Wow o’ Riven by Feel Jock – and it was a bell worth fighting over.

What turned out to be Scotland’s heraldic event of 2005 took place in Glencoe in June when a Macdonald clan herald was installed into office for the first time for 510 years.

It is 700 years since the Martyrdom of William Wallace, Scotland’s greatest patriot – a charismatic leader, a brilliant military commander, and a man of ardent patriotic spirit and dauntless personal courage. As Scotland strives to regain its true place in Europe and the world, the City of Aberdeen is celebrating Wallace’s life on 20 August, remembering him with pride.

Aberdeen has had gates to the medieval city since the 15th century. But what happened to them?

A little-known tradition of North-East violin making has existed alongside the playing tradition since the middle of the 18th century

The Foudland quarries which once supplied the North-East with distinctive roofing slate are being eyed with renewed interest.

Many Aberdonians will have memories of sixpences spent at Greig’s shoppie in the Gallowgate.

A massive bronze key bearing the dents and twists on a long, hard working life could be a long-lost link with the medieval city.

When John Duff worked in Banchory, he often visited Bill and Molly Ogston at Campfield Smiddy. When Molly died, John fell heir to several smiddy ledgers, a priceless record of the lives of successive country blacksmiths.
For years, the Campfield ledgers have languished in John’s loft; now he shares their contents, and his musings on their owners.

The beautiful and magnificent native butterflies are very quick to respond to changes to their environment. But you can help.

Doos have been reared in Scotland since the 12th century. Their doocots – some 500 of them – add charm to our landscapes to this day, but many are reaching the point of no return. Should we intervene, or let them go?

Eileen Ewen was an enigma: an elegant teacher of dance and elocution in Aberdeen, she married Turriff farmer, Bill Howie. Admired in both communities, she was equally at ease on stage or driving a tractor. Her former pupils now wish to dedicate a dressing room in the new His Majestey’s Theatre in tribute to her life.

Recognition for King of the Cornkisters Willie Kemp and – a bothy balled king in his own right – George Morris.

The first of a two-part series on the history of broadcasting in the North-East

One hundred and twenty-five years ago this month, the Tay bridge blew down in a storm. How could this structure, such a source of profit and pride to its owners, vital key in a masterplan to connect Aberdeen to London, become to land communications what the Titanic became to the high seas?”

An insight into the customs of fisherfolk on the east coast of Scotland

Professor Bill Nicolaisen explores the history of the Scottish surname Junner or Junor.

Early last century, Gavin Greig, the well-known song collector, warned that unless the whaling minstrelsy was recorded it was ‘likely to die out with the veteran army of Greenland heroes’. This is a background to some of the songs that survived.

Whether evacuating a crag-bound climber in the corrie of Lochnagar, or searching for a crashed jet on Ben Macdui, the 30 members of Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team risk their lives, summer and winter, often in darkness and in appalling weather – and then raise money to pay for the privilege of doing so

It seems possible that the Horn of Leys, displayed in the great hall at Crathes Castle, is not what it purports to be. Could there be other instances of equally dubious historical claims being accorded authenticity?

How hill-walkers helped conserve the pathway to the summit of one of Aberdeenshire’s most striking peaks – the 1,900-foot granite-topped Clachnaben.

Patrick Geddes was an international intellectual giant – scientist, educator, town planner,and cultural champion – but today in Ballater, he is almost forgotten.

Jimmy Scotland played many roles: an authentic urban lad o’ pairts, he emerged from an east-end tenement to gain three First Class Honours degrees, and became a college principal. He also went on to be the best after-dinner speaker ever heard.

The famous Rhynie war memorial is considered to be one of the finest granite carvings in the world. Here, Douglas Kynoch gives a personal account of the life of his grandfather.

“One of the clarions of every community in Scotland is that there are no characters left. Passing years have made us more bland and less colourful… I can understand that, but beg to differ” argues Norman Harper

Norman Kennedy, the Aberdeen-born traditional singer and handloom weaver, Norman Kennedy, has been awarded the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in the USA.

Our native wild flora is part of our heritage, but rarely gets the enthusiastic support of other aspects of Scottish-ness. We should be as proud of our wild plants as we are of our built heritage, argues Bob Davis.

Are there really leopards and pumas roaming the North-East? Dr David F. Clark hunts for big game in Aberdeenshire

From rattling her first snare drum in Methlick, to being awarded an honorary degree by Edinburgh University, percussionist Evelyn Glennie has followed a singular path to world-wide admiration.

Those people celebrating a century of flying should recognise that this patch of Scotland played its part in ensuring that mankind triumphed in heavier-than-air machines. By Gordon Casely

Norman Harper on the Doric language.

Winnie Carnegie takes a look at the magpie’s curse, and other superstitions.

A supernatural tale by Frank Woods.

The battle of Flodden has appalled Scotland for generations. On the afternoon of Friday, 9 September 1513, King James IV of Scots and a majority of the leaders of our nation had been utterly annihilated. By Gordon Casely.

Zoltan Dragan, assistant engineer on the m.v. Budapest, jumped ship in 1969 with nothing but his seaman’s papers and a little money. Even as the alarm was going up, he was legging it up Marischal Street, dodging on to George Street, running north in the race of his life.

Mel Edwards on the history of Aberdeenshire Cricket Club

Andrew Ralton reports on the recent legislation from the Scottish Executive

Professor Alex Kemp of the University of Aberdeen takes a considered look – in both directions – at the industry which has had an immeasurable impact on the North-East.

The Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh is shrugging off its shrouds of scaffolding and plastic sheeting, in preparation for the next 100 years, at least, of government. Ron Gauld reports.

Tom McKean on Alan Lomax, a vital American link in our folk song chain.

If Robert Burns had been like most of us, falling in love, getting married and staying faithful, he would not have written the most tender and beautiful love poems of all time. Elizabeth Strachan on the Bard’s muses.

In 1601 a company of travelling actors visited Aberdeen. The principal director and playwright of that group was William Shakespeare. Can it be mere coincidence that the dialogue of the Scottish play, Macbeth, describes uncannily much of the content of the Aberdeen witch trials of 1595-96?

Sandy Cheyne has a fresh dig in the roots of the traditional Aberdeenshire ballad.

John Doran on Haddo House, William Adam’s Palladian Mansion.

Charlie Allan, a competitor in the Highland Games from 1954 to 1976 takes an affectionate look at this odd Scottish phenomenon.

Jock Coutts’ memories of steam powered agriculture.

John Doran on the history of one of Aberdeenshire’s finest architectural treasures.

Is Prince Charlie’s famous portrait by Quentin de la Tour really a likeness of the Pretender? Sandy Cheyne does some artistic detective work.