The Foggie Gossip
Special Anniversary Edition

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


 


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
 
                     
Floral presentations to the speakers

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.

Return

or visit our Home page

Copyright © 2002 – ADCA Aberchirder, North East Scotland.