News

Dear Burgesses

I’m certain you are all aware of the pending change in the law which introduces GDPR (general data protection regulation) and no doubt you will already have received similar messages to this from various sources.

As a not-for-profit organisation the Burgesses of Guild does not have to be registered, however I believe we retain a duty to protect any data held in respect of our members.   Thus, I am declaring to you now that as Clerk to the Burgesses I hold on your behalf the following personal information in a secure manner including password protection:

– your year of admission

– your name

– your home address

– your telephone number(s)

– your email address

– your occupation

I don’t think we have a problem in respect of the changes in GDPR, but it was felt best to check with all Burgesses and give you the opportunity to confirm with me if you do NOT wish me to hold this information on your behalf.

Please do not reply if you are happy that I hold this information on your behalf, and to avoid filling up my inbox  with ‘OK’ messages, please just respond if you do NOT wish me to use the held information to communicate with you (in which case you will NOT receive any further communications from me about the Burgesses).

 Please respond to clerk@aberdeenburgesses  if you do not want your information held

 Many Thanks

Garry Stevens

Clerk to the Burgesses

On Wednesday 14th March, 20 Burgesses of Guild visited CLAN Cancer support at their premises in Westburn Road Aberdeen. The Burgesses were given a tour of the facility and overview of the work being undertaken by CLAN. They also enjoyed an excellent Buffet supper.

The Lord Dean of Guild gave a vote of thanks for the visit on behalf of the Burgesses and presented a cheque for £100 as a donation along with a certificate confirming the visit.

Lord Dean presents certificate to Fiona Fernie (Head of Income Generation and Business Development) and Dr Colette Blackwell (CE,CLAN)

Fellow Burgess, ex City Councillor and Historian, John Corall gave a very interesting and informative talk on the history of Aberdeen’s streets at the RNUC. The lunch was extremely well attended with 45 Burgesses present

John has agreed that his presentation can be shared on the website. This can be accessed via the link below:

Aberdeen Streets script PDF

Apologies for delay in posting this, some technical issues in uploading the presentation.

From Top:

Donald Balance, Retired Oil Executive, Nominated by Joe Mackie and Seconded by George Mair.

Dr David Cameron, Councillor, Nominated by Cllr Bill Cormie and Seconded by Lord Dean of Guild.

Graeme Thompson, Retired Police Officer, Nominated by William Berry and Seconded by Cllr Alan Donnelly.

Carolyn Welsh, Retired School Teacher, Nominated by Lord Dean of Guild and Seconded by Ian Fraser

Places are still available for all events highlighted below:

We are pleased to announce our Social Events program for the first half of 2018. Unless otherwise stated, guests are welcome at every  event.

If you wish to attend any of the events, please email clerk Garry Stevens at:

clerk@aberdeenburgesses.com

Payment can be made via cheque to Burgesses of Guild of the City of Aberdeen, and sent to Garry Stevens, Clerk to the Burgesses, 6 Craigarbel Crescent, Inverbervie, Montrose, DD10 0SJ or via online banking to: Sort Code 826011, Account Number 50325609, Ref Surname.

Monday 22 January

Angela Scott, Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council, will present to the Burgesses on the topic of Urban Governance, this  will take place in the Council Chamber, Town House, Broad Street at 6.00pm on Monday 22nd January. Tea and Coffee will be served. No cost to attend. The Lord Dean is keen that the Burgesses are well represented to give feedback and views to Angela. Full details of the evening are already on the website.

Tuesday 27^th February

Dinner : ‘This Is Our City’.   The event is a platform to celebrate what is good in Aberdeen. Its focus will be on the people of Aberdeen, what it means to belong to the city and why individuals are proud to live & work here.

Burgesses and their guests are invited to support this event with the aim of representing the entire community of Aberdeen.    The dress code is lounge suit.  Ticket price is £55.00 per person.  Full details already on the website.

Wednesday 14^th March

We are delighted to accept an invite from Dr Colette Backwell, Chief Executive of CLAN Cancer Care to visit their premises at 120, Westburn Road, Aberdeen, AB25 2QA. The event will be at 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start, there will be a  finger buffet food accompanied by tea and coffee.

Cost of the event will be £10 and guests are most welcome.  There is car parking on the premises.

April

We are planning an evening of education and explanation, ‘Understand Social Media”.

Details will follow soon, check the website.

Tuesday 8^th May  

AGM at noon, Town & County Hall, Broad Street, Aberdeen.   Agenda and papers to follow.

May

During May we are looking to organise a visit to Mike Dreelan’s collection of cars and vintage Stem Engines at Blairs. More information to follow.

Tuesday 22nd May

Fellow Burgess Paul O’Connor MBE, has invited the Burgesses to visit Inchgarth Community Centre, Aboyne Place, Aberdeen AB10 7DR. The visit will commence at 7.00pm and will include a tour of the centre, a presentation on what the centre is and its future plans, and will include a finger buffet. There is parking at the centre.    Cost of the event will be £10

Thursday 14^th June

We have arranged a visit to the Sue Ryder Care facility at Dee View Court, Caisdykes Road, Aberdeen, AB12 5JY where a number of health and social care professionals deliver incredible 24-hour care and support to people living with complex needs and neurological conditions.

The evening will commence at 6.00pm arrival for a 6.30pm start, there will be a presentation/ overview of the centre’s work and then a tour of the facilities, followed by a finger buffet. Cost of the event will be £10 but will be restricted to 25 attendees in total so, at present restricted to  Burgesses only.

July

We are planning to visit to Alford Transport Museum, hopefully by vintage bus, details to follow.

Thursday 4^th October

The second part of ‘Giacamo & Glover’, a play written by Burgess Mike Gibb, will be performed at the Town and County Hall, Broad Street, Aberdeen  commencing at 7.00 pm with a finger buffet included.   Cost will be £10.

We now have all but one lunch confirmed for 2018. Ross Thomson lunch is awaiting date for Westminster recess but is confident the date will be fine. We still have places available for all lunches listed.

We are pleased to announce our line-up of guest speakers for the Burgesses of Guild lunches for 2018. As usual, unless listed the lunches will commence at 12.14pm (date our Charter was granted) at the RNUC, Albyn Place, Aberdeen, and end promptly at 2.00pm. Cost of the lunch is £14 per person.  Unless otherwise stated, guests are welcome at every event.

If you wish to attend any of the lunches, please email clerk Garry Stevens at:

clerk@aberdeenburgesses.com

Payment can be made via cheque to Burgesses of Guild of the City of Aberdeen, and sent to Garry Stevens, Clerk to the Burgesses, 6 Craigarbel Crescent, Inverbervie, Montrose, DD10 0SJ or via online banking to: Sort Code 826011, Account Number 50325609, Ref Surname

Wednesday 7^th February 2018

‘Understanding Hitler in the 21st century’ Professor Thomas Weber of the University of Aberdeen has been researching Hitler for more than a decade. Discover why this research continues to be so important, learn about new discoveries and interpretations and one researcher’s journey into the life and mind of one of the most infamous men in history. 

Wednesday 7^th March 2018

Guest speaker will be fellow Burgess and ex Councillor, Mariner and Teacher, John Corall who was born and bred in Aberdeen will give us a talk on “Aberdeen Streets with a Story to Tell”.

Wednesday 4^th April 2018

Fellow Burgess and retired Chief Constable, George Esson,  will give his recollection of the dramatic Peterhead Prison Riot on September 28^th 1987 with some interesting exhibits on display!

Wednesday 2^nd  May 2018

Guest speaker will be Paul Adderton. Former Producer Director with Grampian and Scottish Television, trained at the BBC and the National Film and TV School.

The talk will be “There’s more to a TV programme than watching it”. This will be a talk about how a TV programme is made from thought to screen and Paul will cover editorial, casting, location, budget, copyright and legal.

Wednesday 6^th June 2018 

Guest speaker will be Dr Fiona McIntyre, MD of Greyhope Bay project. We will hear about the exciting plans to deliver a new world class visitor and marine education centre for Aberdeen.

Greyhope Bay aspires to be a transformational project for Aberdeen with our dolphins and coastline at the foremost and our natural heritage at the heart of the city’s development plans.

July – no lunch planned.

Wednesday 1st August 2018

Guest speaker will be Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Douglas Lumsden  who, being a relatively new Councillor, will give an insight to how he is adapting to his role as Co-Leader and his plans for the future.

Wednesday 5th September 

We take our annual away day lunch to the Beach Ballroom where Ballroom Manager and fellow Burgess  John Johnstone will give a guided tour of the Ballroom and discuss its history.

Wednesday 3^rd October 2018

Atli Arnason, MD at FirmaMentum in Aberdeen has over 20 years experience in working with and supporting businesses within High Tech industries based on Aviation, Tourism and Hospitality, Marine, Manufacturing, Finance, Energy, Oil and Gas and IT. He is an Honorary Alumni  from Robert Gordon University and his talk will be centred on the importance of Tourism & Hospitality to Aberdeen City & Shire.

Wednesday 7^th November 2018 (TBC)

MP for Aberdeen South, Ross Thomson will give an insight to his role as a Member of the Westminster Parliament with some information on his current and planned future activities.

December – no lunch planned

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Welcome to new Burgesses admitted on Monday 11th December 2017:

From top:

Clive Kennedy, Chartered Engineer, Proposed by Gordon Casely and Seconded by Alexander Kennedy.

Phionna McInnes, Charity Magazine Owner, Proposed by Dr Fiona-Jane Brown and Seconded by Lord Dean of Guild.

Dr David Northcroft, Vice Principal Northern College (Retired), Proposed by Professor Peter Stollery and Seconded by Jennifer Shirreffs.

Professor Derek Ogston CBE, Senior Vice Principal Aberdeen University (Retired), Proposed by Professor Paul Mealor and Seconded by Alistair MacDonald

The Annual Burgess of Guild quiz was held on Monday 27th November at the Aberdeenshire Cricket Club. It was an entertaining evening, 11 teams of 4, quality of answers overall was very high, even lowest scoring team scored 42% of possible total.

Thanks go to Past Dean Fred Dalgarno for being quizmaster, and the staff at the Cricket Club for putting on the event and the buffet supper.

Winning Team comprised all of Burgesses and retaining the trophy from last year were, Andrew Lawtie, Stuart Robison, Alistair Blues, and Gordon Edwards.

Aberdeen’s favourite footballing son Denis Law was granted Freedom of the City on 25th November, thus he became a Free Burgess and we are delighted to welcome him to our ranks.   Aberdeen City Council hosted a splendid event for the conferral with dinner to follow at the Beach Ballroom, on the following day the Lord Dean presented Denis with his Burgess tie and a lapel badge which we hope he will wear with pride.