Being Grandparents.

So glad I checked Google to find out if what we were experiencing was normal!  One plea was from someone who was the same age as me, 65, who as she said, "Didnt look it."  I like to think I dont look it, well I do not dress it. But thats probably as far as it goes.

Our eldest daughter and partner came to stay last Wednesday.  With our two grandsons aged 6 and 3.

The Kids loved the Playpark.  All the kids.......

I met them for lunch after they had also hit the Kids Activities at the Lighthouse Museum.

Following which I crashed and chilled in my shedudio.

After an evening of grown up enjoyment including red wine being woken at 5a.m. by 

was not a great experience.  

We then hit Fraserburgh Heritage Centre.  Which is conveniently placed just across the car park to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses.

It really is an amazing and fascinating place.  Totally run by volunteers.  I learn something every time I go in.

 This is a mock up of driving a rib on the sea, a lifeboat, you press buttons and get the radio speaking to you, engine noises, wowee.

 This train used to tootle up and down the Beach Boulevard.  Moves afoot to return it to there rather than remaining static in the museum.  But hey ho, enjoyed whatever. 

The grandchildren on an old herring fishing boat.  Apparently the hold was smelly.  As it should be.

The three generations found lots of interest.  

The DP and I perused an old map to find the croft our house once was, before being rebuilt, using some of the original granite walls.  But more interesting to us was that it once was within the vast estates belonging to the Frasers late of Cairnbulg Castle.  And there it was on this map dated 1880 something.  

Because of the celebration ? of the first world war there were displays of local heroes.  Including the medals of the grandfather of our butcher.  

I love the fact that they display all these personal mementoes that are important to people you know.....

In the afternoon everyone, but me, went to New Aberdour Beach.  It is a very popular beach with the locals, possibly as it is so sheltered.  In the Summer the Fraserburgh Beach is packed with tourists, golden sands...and clean.  But the locals pile in to New Aberdour with picnics, barbecues.

I have always liked it, but always feel it a tad dour.

The caves are amazing.  Lots of tales around them.

 Rock pools as well as sand.

 Also on the beach, or very near...

 St.Drostans Well.  
  The well is just to the east of the carpark at the base of a hill. St Drostan used the water of this spring to baptise local people and was famed for his miracle cures. St Drostan died at Glenesk in 809AD. His remains were conveyed from Glenesk to Aberdour where they were placed in a stone coffin and long believed to work wondrous cures.


 Despite all this culture, fresh air and fun the grandchildren were still up early next morning.

The DP and I were not.  Well not physically, but the senses surely were.

24 plus hours later just about back to normal.  They have gone home. Bless.

Girding up ones loins.

Never have really understood that phrase, tho I use it a lot.  Always have a vision of 

 Gandhi. 

So - back to resolutions.

Boxing Hares.

Shedudio is full of 'em. 

  Decided to go with this one.  With alterations and help from some other photographs, so unsure who to give credit to!

The Hare on the ground is thinking, left or right hook?  The one which will be directly above, as opposed to on the left of....

.....is looking, to say the least, disjointed!

Hopefully all will come together.

Meanwhile I am now eyeing up the stuff to come apart.  Like the Christmas Tree.  Well it doesn't actually come apart as its a real one.  We argue every year as to when 12th night is.  I maintain its the 4th January, if you count Christmas Eve as the first night.  

Well do you know what hour Mary gave birth?  

I have all on to remember the time I gave birth, so how are a load of men going to get it right?  Kings -  huh.  Shepherds? Na.  

And did Joseph or any of them wear a watch????

Right, tree down tomorrow.




 

Senior Moments.

This is Mrs.Maggie Strachan, Shore St. Inverallochy. Her husband James known "Breadsie" was school officer and church officer for the village. He died 1939 and Maggie took over as town crier. She charged a fee of half a crown {thats 12 and a half pence to you younger people}

(Just a quick aside here, Strachan is a common name up here in the North East of Scotland, as is Buchan et al, so all with a common surname were then given a nickname to differentiate, and make the identification much easier.  In this case 'Breadsie', no idea why, but I'm sure I could find out!)

When first seeing this photograph on the facebook page for Inverallochy/Cairnbulg, I thought it was these women backs against the wall being shouted at for some terrible misdemeanour.

Many people knock Facebook.  But through it I have made many friends with similar interests and am proud to be a member of the Inverallochy/Cairnbulg page, (our nearest villages) also Fraserburgh Photographs Past and Present.  Indeed I have been welcomed on, albeit an incomer to the area.  Indeed I have not just made friends on the internet, but physically also, now stop it, do not read anything into that!

Apart from surfing the internet I have had quite a few senior moments this week.

Phoned the hairdresser up Tuesday to check when my hair appointment was .  Having lost the card, and starting a new diary.  Thursday 10.30.  Right.  I remembered this yesterday, Friday.  Called in to grovel and change appointment.  Then on to Library.  Selected books.  Took to counter, "You do know you have had this one out before?"
No - dont remember it at all, are you sure, computer screen swung round, had it twice, never read it.....

I blame the current senior moments on this tablet thing.  I wanted to download three pictures onto it from the laptop so as to then paint said pictures.  It downloaded EVERY picture I had, including hundreds I had used on the blog, but not the three I wanted.  It has taken me 48 hours to delete all those pictures so I have some memory left!

Meanwhile I have to do a replacement painting for the exhibition.  (Yet another reason for stress = senior moments.)  Having to do is not good for painting.  Wanting to do is good.  First I pratted around.

AND THEN  I finally cracked it.  By doing what I wanted to do.

Not finished, but oh boy.  Getting there.

Now a happy senior moment.

History in more ways than one.

Fraserburgh has had a local lifeboat on service since 1806 which was run privately by the local Harbour Board until the first RNLI operated station opened in 1858. This was the first official RNLI station opened in Scotland. Throughout the 20th century, Fraserburgh suffered three lifeboat disasters. First, in 1918, the 'Lady Rothes' capsized while assisting H.M. Drifter Eminent. Coxswain Andrew Noble and Acting Second Coxswain Andrew Faquhar drowned. Second, on the 9th February 1953, six crew members lost their lives when the lifeboat capsized while escorting fishing vessels to the harbour. On this occasion Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, Mechanic George Duthie, Bowman Charles Tait, Assistant Mechanic James Noble and Crew Members John Crawford and John Buchan all lost their lives - the only survivor was Charles Tait. Lastly, on 21 January 1970 while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat The Duchess of Kent capsized with the loss of five of her crew of six. Those killed were Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and Crew Members William Hadden, James RS Buchan and James Buchan.^[6] In 2009, a local campaign was started to raise £40,000 to erect an official monument to the 14 men who lost their lives whilst serving on the Fraserburgh Lifeboat. Coxswain Victor Sutherland announced in June 2010 that the total had been achieved. The monument was unveiled by Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun, in August 2010.

Heres the monument.

Jane Whyte - Our own local Grace Darling

Jane Whyte lived in a cottage at Waulkmill, on the shore of New Aberdour bay with her husband and 9 children. On the morning of the 28th of October 1884, she spotted the wreck of the steamer "William Hope" of Dundee. Its engines had failed during a storm and it had been driven aground on the rocks during the night. It was now mostly submerged, sitting on the rocks.

Jane could see 15 sailors were clinging to the rigging. A rope was thrown by the sailors towards the shore. Jane waded out through the raging surf to reach the rope and bring it ashore. All 15 survivors then pulled themselves to the shore and safety.

She was awarded the silver medal by the RLNI and £10. ( equivelent to 3 months pay for a top rate labourer ).

Not much now remains of her cottage. A plaque there commemorates this daring feat of heroism.

Webhistorian.co.uk.

Nine children?  She was probably escaping.  I frequently did and I only had four.

THURSDAY, 31 JANUARY 2008

Aberdour Beach. Twenty minutes away.Spooky caves.

Severe weather warnings, I hear on the radio that lorries are blown over and the road bridges are either restricted or closed. We have blue skies, gentle breeze, and its 4 degrees. So a bit chilly out there, definitely a hibernating day, but beautiful to look out on!

Hundreds of geese going over the house to their feeding fields.

Our garden feeders are emptying rapidly with greenfinches, tree sparrows, blue and great tits, chaffinches, a robin, starlings, crows. Feeding them costs more than the t.v. licence, but they are far more interesting to watch than the rubbish on the 'box.'

Now heres a turn up!  Googling Aberdour Beach so as to appear very knowledgeable I came across my first ever blog!  Greenbrae Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast.  

Theres chunks of my life on Google!!!!  Really must be more careful.

Back to today.  Calm down.  

I have been asked to paint a friends house.  No not the big bucket, and big brush, in this weather?

The outside of the house has harl on it (like pebbledash) and I had the idea of using salt in the paint to give the effect.  When I read up on this it did warn about the salt exploding.  Exploding?  What damage could exploding salt do?

Well it makes it look mouldy!

Some people think history is mouldy, but I dont.  Away off to read what I got up to in 2008.

A Sense of History.

I loved history lessons at school.  History was my favourite lesson.  My grades in the History O level as it then was, now GCSE, and not all that sure what the Scottish Education System terms them as, but when you were around 15/16 you sat the exam and my grade was  predicted as high.

Whether it was to do with the teacher, the subject, second world war, or what, I actually failed the exam.  Memorising dates of battles was all it seemed to consist of, which to me bordered on Maths, which I was never any good at.

History is about the people, what they did, how they lived, how they laughed.

Golfers. 1950.

Even earlier golfers.

This little known links is perhaps best remembered, if at all, for a match played in 1905 between a team of fishermen representing the club against the great and the good of AJ Balfour and a team of Parliamentarians with the game played at Sandwich. On that occasion the politicians won, thanks perhaps to the fisherman enjoying lunch rather too much and therefore failing to show any form at all in the afternoon games.

These days many of the members still work in the fishing business as is evidenced by the hole sponsors. Its quite appropriate therefore that you can see the sea on every hole (unlike Fraserburgh where you can't see the sea on ANY hole) if you bother to look. While the sea is ever present it never comes into play and neither is their any real attempt by whoever designed it to present any particular views although there are some scenic and extensive views down the coastline.

Inverallochy Castle is a ruined castle near the village of Inverallochy in the Buchan area of north-east Scotland.

The ruins lie a half-mile south of Cairnbulg Castle near Fraserburgh. Walls surrounding an inner courtyard remain, along with one partly collapsed tower. Evidence of a larger outer courtyard measuring approximately 60 metres square to the north and east remains.

The original castle dates to the 13th century built by the Comyn family. It was one of The Nine Castles of Knuckle may be associated with the Abbey of Deer in Mintlaw.

Our history where we live now is based on fishing.  Not only our history of course, but the now and here.  The fact that what happens now and here is linked back and back with history makes it more real.  Part of living history if you get my gist.

Fishermen then.

 The harbour then.

The boats then.  And just look at the wee loon paddling (small boy).

Today the golf courses are still there, and well played on.  The harbour is still there and full of fishing boats.

History is not about dead things or dates it is about life and living and how we got to where we are.  

(I also failed English Literature - at the resit I got a distinction - those were the days.)

Cairness House.

Our neighbours across the fields, taken from our sitting room window.

A bit closer.

Cairness House, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Fraserburgh in the County ofAberdeenshire, is the largest and finest country house in Buchan and one of the great houses of Scotland. It was built between 1791 and 1797 to designs by architectJames Playfair and replaced an earlier house of 1781 by Robert Burn, which was largely incorporated into the Playfair scheme. Sir John Soane assisted in the final stages of the construction following Playfair’s death in 1794. The park was laid out by Thomas White, a follower of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.

After the Second World War, the house was used as a farmhouse and gradually fell into serious decline. The park was destroyed from the early 1950s onwards with the mass clearance of trees in order to reclaim land for agricultural use. In 1991, the house was listed as a Building At Risk by the Scottish Civic Trust. A major long-term restoration programme of the house and grounds was instigated by new owners in 2001.

In 2009, the project won the Georgian Group Architectural Awards prize for best Restoration of a Georgian country house in Britain. The Georgian Group stated that: "From being a moribund building at risk riddled with dry rot, Cairness is now a magnificent private home." The prize was given by HRH the Duke of Gloucester at a ceremony at Christie's, London in November 2009.

Cairness House now contains a very fine collection of furniture and works of art and is open to groups by appointment. It is protected as a category A listed building.

[edit]wikepedia.                                                                                                           

From the rear of Cairness, the DP took this photograph of an oil rig out in the North Sea.

Currently up for sale.  We shall miss Julio and Khalil if and when they do sell.  They have done an enormous amount of work at Cairness.  They also do bed and breakfast!  Also self catering in one of the gate houses.

You weren't expecting that!

And the rear of the house.

I have to say that I have no desire to live in such a place.  The responsibility, heating!, cleaning, oh no.

It is lovely to visit, particularly around Christmas time when we join the other neighbours at Cairness.

Quite happy to look at it from the window the rest of the year.

Another busy day - but wearing a different hat.

First thing I was back at the Lighthouse Museum.  Taking down our art works from the walls of the cafe, and then displaying the art work of Isobel Gregory.  A free cup of coffee and testing out some home bakes meant I stayed longer than I should!  (and I was the only artist who had sold a painting).  Yay.


Then it was a change of hats and I metamorphosed into the secretary of the Best Of Banffshire and Buchan Bed and Breakfasts.  (As explained previously although I have retired from being a b&b provider I am still kept on as Hon Sec.) (cos no-one else wants to do it.)


I had arranged for us to visit....Aden Country Park, have lunch in the cafe , then have the Book of Deer Exhibition opened up for us (usually open only at weekends.)




Aden, often referred to as “the jewel in the Buchan crown” has been recognised as one of the country’s best green spaces with a prestigious Green Flag Award. The awards recognise and reward the best parks in the country and Aden impressed the judges with its excellent use of green space, well-maintained facilities and high standard of safety and security.  Late August it also hosts the Pipe Band Competition.  That is when I have my annual spine melt down.  Massed Pipe Bands.  Better than s*x.




Situated in the heart of the park lies a semi-circular farmstead building built around 1800 and a coach house built in 1832. This now houses the award winning Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, containing a Recognised Collection of National Significance awarded by the Scottish Museums Council (SMC).

There is also a Working Farm Musem, everything as done in the 1950s.


It also houses the Book of Deer Project, and exhibition, which was opened up for us today.




The Book of Deer is a tenth century illuminated manuscript from North East Scotland. As the only pre-Norman manuscript from this area known as “former Pictland” it provides us with a unique insight into the early church, culture and society of this period. Amid the Latin text and the Celtic illuminations there can be found the oldest pieces of Gaelic writing to have survived from early Medieval Scotland.

Dont you just love the last one!  Could this be a happy woman!  Or one like me - too much of the mead.


The original manuscript has a chequered history ( lots of kings and archbishops) (werent they always the baddies) of who owned it down the ages, it is currently in Cambridge University.  If you want to know why a Scottish manuscript is in Cambridge University, I suggest you go on to the website, www.bookofdeer.co.uk


What I wasnt expecting, (its good to have friends!) was Derek, a local historian, giving us a tour, explaining the archaeologistic work going on, previous, current and future to establish where the monks that produced the Book of Deer lived.  Derek was dressed as a monk.  I hadnt realised this and when he moved I screamed as I thought he was a carboard cut out, which does actually stand in the doorway.

Derek then walked those who could (some of us drove there, it wasn't  far, but we have hip replacements, knee replacements and me with shot lungs). to the village of Old Deer, this is one amazing ancient village.  And to the Church of Scotland there where there the really interesting bits of buildings which indicate the church is far older than once thought.  In fact pre dating the existence of the Church of Scotland.

So many spooky memorials and grave stones.  Note the skull here, and as someone said , "Is that Yorick?"  and there was only me who said, "I knew him well."  Did they do Shakespeare in Scotland?


And this is a finger sun dial.

Now is not that just awesome?  Stick your finger in the hole and it will tell you what time it is.  Three minutes past your thumb.


Sometimes, dear bloggers, what you have organised for others comes right.  Big sigh of relief and go get a glass of....