19th December 2024

James Davidson, a local photographer, gave a fascinating talk on the abandoned buildings of Aberdeenshire. Drawing on a range of studies on the subject, he explained the diverse reasons for why there are so many. The general view has been that unlike some other areas of Scotland, there have been no large-scale clearances. In the main, people left these buildings because of changing land use patterns, and the prospect of better social and economic opportunities in towns and cities and overseas. His talk was brought to life by a selection of his own photographs of the buildings. These were very evocative of the lives of the people who had lived in these houses.

22nd November 2024

Ewan Sargent, the Principal Teacher of Humanities at Aboyne Academy gave a fascinating talk on how History is currently taught, History being one of the Humanities. He explained the stages that young people pass through in their education, leading up to nationally approved qualifications at S4 to S6. At these later stages there is a range of topics that students taking History can cover, determined nationally. The school is free to choose from these categories – the choice to some extent depends on teacher specialisations. An example of a topic would be the Study of Queen Mary and the Reformation. We also learnt how on-line source material was being increasingly utilised. And, finally, we were invited to share information with the Academy for a project celebrating its opening 50 years ago. The school was officially opened in 1975, so the celebrations will be next year, 2025.

17th October 2024

Douglas Ledingham – A Journey Through Time

Douglas Ledingham gave a fascinating talk on using 3D photogrammetry to illustrate aspects of our physical heritage. He explained that he became interested in this technique after he came across a cupping stone in East Lothian. Cupping stones are a form of rock art dating from prehistoric times. They can be found throughout Scotland and the speaker has followed up his interest in helping to verify such stones, including in Aberdeenshire where he now lives. His expertise in 3D photogrammetry is being used to better understand Pictish stones and graveyard memorials. The technique produces 3D images that are able to enhance the artwork on a stone, and the software can be transferred to a 3D printer to produce accurate scale models. An excellent talk was enhanced by examples of his photography and several 3D models.

The first talk of the 2024/25 season on 19 September was a wonderful presentation by

Maureen Kelly on the Redcoats in Deeside. The talk focussed on the life of these

Hanoverian soldiers during the period after the last Jacobite uprising in 1745/46 and the

later period when the army was stationed in Deeside in the early nineteenth century to

counter illicit whisky distillation. The speaker explained how these soldiers came to be

named after their distinctive coloured broadcloth coats, and illustrated this and the kit

of the men. It was pointed out that Braemar Castle was used as the army’s local

quarters, housing around 70 soldiers, in fairly cramped surroundings. The speaker

brought the times alive by drawing from correspondence of a young officer posted to

Braemar in the eighteenth century.