Fordyce Community News

April & May – Busy Months in Fordyce!
Published: 14 June 2011
April & May have been an exceptionally busy couple of months within the village, with real success being achieved by the Community Association’s efforts, both in terms of arranging fundraising events and by attracting a record turnout for the recent Fordyce Community Association AGM.

April began by attracting many into the village with the ever popular soup and sweet event. This took place on a lovely Sunday afternoon on the 10th of April. An excellent turnout of helpers and the sterling efforts of our expert soup (and sweet!) makers helped create an extremely worthwhile day.

A vote of thanks was given to all involved at the subsequent Community Association meeting. Over £900 was raised, with £100 being donated to Cancer Research.

Sunday the 15th of May saw the first of Fordyce’s Car Boot Sales of 2011. The weather was not quite as kind on this day, but spirits were high as over £600 was raised through stall fees, the village table and the success of the sale of plants supplied by Aultmore Nursery near Keith.   Aultmore Nursery has been a great supporter of the village over the past few years, providing plants for the Village Open Day on a regular basis.
Thanks again to all of those who supported the village once again!

Sunday the 21st of May saw the North East Crafters at the village Hall. An excellent display of local crafts was achieved and a most pleasant day was had by all. An excellent £280 was raised, but with the sale of more plants from the day not taken onto account, the total will prove to be even higher!

Wednesday the 25th of May saw Fordyce Community Association’ AGM being held in the village Hall. Around 30 people attended, filling the meeting room almost to capacity! A lively meeting was held, culminating in the election of the new committee.

The committee for 2011/2012 is as follows:
B. Robertson – Chair
R. Leith – Vice Chair
B. Anderson – Secretary
D. Hutcheson – Treasurer
C. Urquhart – Press/Publicity Secretary (joint)
M. Leith – Press/Publicity Secretary (joint)
A. Morrison

The committee reaffirmed its focus for the coming year for the redevelopment of the Hall, support for the school, the adoption of the museum form Aberdeenshire Council, and to continue efforts to raise funds and maintain the village to the standard we have all come to expect. Thanks to all those who attended!

It's GRS To The Rescue
Published 19th February 2011

Following the flooding and accompanying damage experienced by the village back in September 2010, local construction firm GRS Ltd have been busy reinforcing lengths of Fordyce Burn most affected by the exceptional weather.

At the limekilns, villagers have been impressed by the extent of defence work which has been carried out, along with the reinstatement of the path which runs between the Church gardens and the Community Woodland.

Further works have been carried out to the south of the stone bridge off Bridge Street, with a curving double length of gabion baskets having been installed.

Work is now underway on the other side of the bridge, where garden ground has been in danger of slipping back into the burn.

GRS Construction was established in 2004 by local father and son team Robert and Gordon Skene. Robert, or ‘Rab’, as he is commonly known, lives within the village, whilst Gordon has moved all the way to the exotic location of Buckie. GRS have gained an enviable reputation within their field of heavy construction work, including site clearances, concrete work etc. GRS have been long time supporters of Fordyce, having as recently as last year donated a top of the range professional strimmer to the Community Association to help maintain the village.

‘It is great that we can rely on a local firm to carry out vital work within the village, especially when those running the firm hail from the village itself’, was the comment made by Richard Leith, Community Association committee member.

Farmers Rally round to defend Fordyce against floods.
Published 12th February 2011
Local farmers have been busy outwith the village, creating effective defences against further flood risks in the future. Ronnie Urquhart, manager of Bogton Farm, part of Seafield Estates, has, along with staff, carried out extensive defense works to the North, South and East of the village.

This work has included the cleaning out and widening of existing ditches and the creation of new defences, many of which are not visible to the casual observer.

According to Ronnie, up to 40 digger and man hours have been devoted so far to this work, with other works in the pipeline. Ronnie has stated that it is ‘Important to help the local community’, especially as Seafield Estates has for many generations been the main single landowner in the area. Seafield Estates has for many years been a friend of Fordyce, among other things donating the village’s main Christmas tree on an annual basis.

Fordyce Community Association reciprocated this support by providing refreshments at 2010’s ‘Farm Open Day’, which was, by all accounts, a great success. Other works are ongoing at Beechbank Farm, to the north-east of the village. Ronald, or ‘Ron’ Innes of Beechbank, is currently in the process of creating vastly improved drainage capabilities throughout a number of his fields, and has already extensively cleaned out significant lengths of existing drains. Many hours of hard work have already been carried out, with the drainage improvements highly visible when travelling out of the village on the Portsoy road. (insert picture of Ron and digger work)

In addition to all of this, Leonard Innes, also of Beechbank, is in the process of improving pipework and drainage on the Durn Hill side of the same road, having already replaced sections of pipework.

Aberdeenshire’s roads department have also been involved in discussions thus far, and the village eagerly awaits any actions which may be employed to ensure the prevention of the flooding problems in the future.

This writer would like to personally thank all of those involved so far in their efforts. Many thousands of pounds of work have been carried out free for the benefit of the village. It is a great example of how different groups can work effectively together for the community’s benefit.

First Minister supports Fordyce Hall.  [TOP]
Published: 10 March 2010
Scotland’s First Minister and local MP Alex Salmond has pledged his support to the Fordyce Hall Redevelopment project.

In a recent letter to Fordyce Community Association, Mr Salmond has offered to write directly to funders on a ‘per application’ basis, or to provide an open letter of Support to all funding bodies.

SNP leader Salmond, who has served as MP for Banff & Buchan since 1987, has been a long time admirer of Fordyce, and the Association very much looks forward to his continued support.

Dog Fouling Issue in Fordyce  [TOP]
Published: 02 March 2010
Reports within Fordyce have commented on a recent increase in dog fouling.   Areas of particular concern which have been highlighted are all four entry/exit points to the village, as well as occasional incidences of fouling within the village itself.

The village itself is well served with bins for waste disposal, and it is every dog owners responsibility to pick up their own animal’s faeces, wherever it occurs.

The regulations on this are very clear, and a fine of up to £1000 can accompany a Fixed Penalty Notice.   Being unaware that your dog has fouled, or not having a suitable means of removing the faeces is not a reasonable excuse for failing to clean up after your dog.

Dog fouling is not only unpleasant it is dangerous.   The biggest threat to public health from dog excrement is toxocariasis, a roundworm condition which can ultimately lead to eye disorders, vague ache, dizziness, nausea, asthma and epileptic fits.   This can be picked up in many ways, not just from direct contact with dog faeces.

The increase of fouling has been reported to Aberdeenshire Council, and if it continues the dog warden will be called to the village to monitor the situation.   As we all know, Fordyce is a unique and beautiful village. It is our responsibility to keep it that way.

Fordycer Launches Music Website  [TOP]
Published: 25 February 2010
Former Fordycer Paul Scott has launched a new website to publicise his music. Paul, whose parents still live In the village, has developed his own musical style over the years in which he has worked around the world within the oil industry. During this time, Paul describes his guitar as having become his ‘best friend’, and has been inspired by the many far flung places he has travelled to. His new website provides samples of his music which can be listened to free of charge. Paul’s website can be found at
www.paul-scott-music.com

Fordyce Community Website Goes Global  [TOP]
Published: 20 February 2010
The new Fordyce Community website is attracting visitors from all around the globe. According to Google Analytics, significant amounts of visitors are being attracted from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, France, Norway, and Ireland. The small village of Fordyce occupies a unique place within history, among many things as an extremely important educational centre. ‘Fordyce Reunited’; a unique facility which will be made available to all former residents and alumni, is currently under development. Any contributions from former inhabitants and alumni are very warmly welcomed.
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