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The
Foggie Gossip
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ABERCHIRDER
CELEBRATES ITS 250th ANNIVERSARY
1764 - 2014
The village of Aberchirder was founded in 1764 by Alexander Gordon of Auchintoul. It was originally called Foggieloan but Gordon's successor to the estate of Auchintoul, John Morrison, renamed it Aberchirder. However, the name Foggieloan (often shortened to Foggie) has survived and is commonly used and widely known. By way of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the village, Aberchirder & District Community Association organised an event on Saturday 17 May 2014. They also commissioned a book on the history of the village, written by local historian Bob Peden. Other businesses within the village supported the celebrations by organising displays and entertainment throughout the weekend. The following is a record of much of the special day of festivities which was attended by a large crowd of people. |
To mark the anniversary, all pupils at Aberchirder Primary School were presented with pin badges on 14 May 2014, by Robert (Bingo) Bremner, whose company, Bremners of Foggie, sponsored all the children's badges. Click on thumbnails to see larger images. Presentation of Badges |
P1-P7 assembled |
Presentation of Badges |
Nursery Badges presented |
The main day of celebration began at 10am with a coffee morning held in Marnoch Church Hall. All pupils from the Primary School were asked to submit a drawing reflecting the theme 'Foggie Past or Present'. The illustrations were displayed in the Church Hall and were judged by local artist Derek Gray. |
Display of Pupils
Illustrations and the Winning Entries
The Display |
The Judge - Derek Gray |
Nursery |
Nursery (Continued) |
P1 Entries |
P2 Entries |
P3/4 Entries |
P3/4 Entries |
P5/6 Entries |
P7 Entries |
Nursery Winner |
P1 Winner |
P2 Winner |
P3 Winner |
P4 Winner |
P5 Winner |
P7 Winner |
The winners of the competition were presented with certificates
and prizes on 21 May, by Derek Gray.
They are L-R: Luke Reglinski, Katelyn Robson, Cameron Christie, Sandra
Stanko, Ethan Wallis, Teigan Harris and Paul Sip.
Back: Derek Gray, judge, and Community Association Secretary Linda
Farquhar.
The coffee morning, which
attracted a large number of people, included live entertainment, a book
launch,
portraits of 250 residents, and raffles.
Full House |
Lots to see |
Birthday Girl |
Second Sitting |
Entertainment by Adele |
Adele Henderson |
Book Launch & Signing |
Foggieloan 250 |
Eilidh Whiteford MP |
|
250 Foggie Portraits were on View |
Created by Colin Heggie |
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The afternoon's
festivities commenced at 1pm with music from Deveron River Brass,
followed by a parade of Foggie school children
and families,
led by the Gregor Pipers. The children then assembled in The Square and
sang two specially written songs.
The parade leaves the school |
Ewen & Iona Gregor lead the way |
Some children in costume |
It was a family event |
The parade reaches Main Street |
....and more |
....and more |
....and more |
The end of the line |
Pipers lead the way up Main Street |
Entering The Square |
The children perform |
Invited guests and unveiling of the plaque.
Invited guests |
Letter on behalf of The Queen |
Introduction to the celebrations |
Unveiling the plaque |
Commemorative plaque |
The afternoon's entertainments gets into full swing.
Picture courtesy of Colin Heggie
A large crowd filled The
Square to watch the entertainment and visit the many stalls.
Lj's Streetdance |
Lj's Streetdance |
Lj's Streetdance |
Hot food and bouncy castle |
Ice Cream tricycle |
Scottish Fire & Rescue |
Police Scotland |
Pieroth Wines |
At the potter's wheel |
Something for everyone |
Raffles, books and more (2 pics) |
Hip Clip Hooray |
Candy Floss |
Spotty & Dotty |
Beverly School of Dancers |
Highland dancing |
Deveron River Brass (2 pics) |
The Melody Makers |
The Gregor Pipers |
In support of
the day of celebration, a number of local businesses organised other events.
The New Inn Hotel
organised a Real Ale + Whisky + Folk Festival
over the entire weekend.
On the Saturday they also arranged for a display of vintage cars on the Main
Street.
New Inn |
Real Ales by the barrel |
More ales to sample |
Token Station |
Vintage (3 Cars) |
Vintage (3 Cars) |
Vintage (3 Cars) |
Vintage (3 Cars) |
Bremners of Foggie
also added to the day by celebrating their 250 years in business.
It was also
Robert (Bingo) Bremner's 95th birthday the day before - 16th
May.
Bremners had a display of vintage
vehicles and offered vintage teas with a free prize draw, all at the Old School.
Vintage (2 pics) |
Bingo's barrow |
Bingo's waggon |
Vintage (2 Cars) |
The Commercial Hotel and The Golden Fry also joined in the celebrations.
The Commercial Hotel organised a 'Foggie Bash' with live music by The Brothers Reid. |
The Golden Fry opened additional hours to offer customers a wide range of hot food. |
Aberchirder & District Community Association would like to thank all those people who helped create what turned out to be a hugely successful day of celebration. We also offer our grateful thanks to our guests of honour, all performers and stall holders and of course, those of you attended and supported the event. |
Copyright © 2002 – ADCA Aberchirder, North East Scotland.