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You may think this is about the well-known hit by Pink Floyd, in fact it’s to do with a local initiative which I fully support and now call upon Burgesses to follow the lead and contribute to an Appeal for funds which will make a difference to many lives in our City.

Last June I joined with a number of Burgesses on a visit to the Neurological Care Centre at Dee View Court in Kincorth which cares for up to 24 people at any one time.  This was an ‘eye-opener’, I was hugely impressed by the facilities, the staff and most of all the achievements of this Sue Ryder organisation, and I’m sure that the others felt the same way.    We came away having made a modest donation to the #DEEVIEWAPPEAL which is targeting £3.9 million ‘brick by brick’ to extend Dee View Court with specially adapted rooms and apartments to provide for greater flexibility in the care of an additional 20 people.   

The Appeal deserves our support, this is an excellent centre of care in the heart of our community and I believe this is an excellent opportunity for individual Burgesses to donate just £10 each to raise £1,000 to buy a brick to help to build a bigger Dee View Court.   (Larger donations could enable us to donate 2 or perhaps even 3 bricks.)

I do hope you will donate to this special appeal and you can do this by either sending a cheque made payable to Burgesses of Guild of the City of Aberdeen to the following address (marked ‘Dee View’):

Garry Stevens, Clerk to the Burgesses, 6 Craigarbel Crescent, Inverbervie, Montrose, DD10 0SJ

or

by making an online payment to:

Sort Code 826011

50325609

Reference Dee View Donation

The Lord Dean was part of the Burgess Golf Team who took part in the annual Friendship Trophy Golf match at Deeside Golf Club on Tuesday 11th September. The Burgesses were once again victorious but by a very slim margin of 2 points. This is the third year since its inception that the Burgesses have been the winning team. After a recount our  own Burgess, John Craig was the winning individual player with 33 Stableford points.

On Sunday 16th September, The Lord Dean was present at the Annual Scottish Samurai Awards, organised by Burgess Ronnie Watt OBE, and held at the Maryculter House Hotel. Burgess Hayley Bloodworth was host of the awards. The Lord Dean was delighted to present awards to two fellow Burgesses and past Lord Provosts, Doctor Margaret Smith, and Margaret Farquhar CBE. Both received awards for services to Aberdeen and the Community. Clerk Garry Stevens received an award for services to Scotland, Aberdeen and the Community, and Burgess Mark McCue for services to charity world wide. Burgess Norman McPherson received an award along with his wife Mary for services to medical charities. The Lord Dean also accepted an award on behalf of Burgess and current Lord Provost, Barney Crockett for services to Aberdeen, and the community, and the friendship between Aberdeen and Japan.

Welcome to new Burgesses admitted on Monday 10th September 2018.

Dr Collette Backwell, CEO Clan Cancer Support, proposed by Albert Jones and Seconded by Ken Watmough.

William Mitchell, Chartered Surveyor, Proposed by Lord Dean of Guild and Seconded by Past Dean of Guild, Fred Dalgarno.

Join fellow Burgess Dr Chris Croly of the University of Aberdeen as he explores some of the ways in which the Great War, 1914-1919, interacted with Aberdeen.

The talk will take place at the Aberdeenshire Cricket Club on Tuesday 19th February 2019, with a 6.30pm start. A buffet supper will be included in the evening.

Cost of the event will be £10 per person and guests are invited to attend as well.

If you wish to attend please email Clerk Garry Stevens at clerk@aberdeenburgesses.com

Payment can be made by cheque made payable 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 you can pay online to Sort Code 826011, Account Number 50325609 Ref Surname/Play

Message from Lord Dean:

The annual Burgess golf competition took place on Wednesday 25th July at Kings Links Golf course. Participant numbers were down on previous years with 9 Burgesses taking part. Conditions were windy but sunny.

Winner was our Clerk Garry Stevens, runner up was Gordon Gray, with John Craig in third place. Special mention to our lady Burgess competitor Lindsey Esson who played well and enjoyed the day as did all those taking part.

The group enjoyed a meal at the Hilton Treetops after the conclusion of the golf.

Last Thursday 25 Burgesses with their guests had an enjoyable and nostalgic evening at Alford, we had a guided tour of the Bus Museum and a walkabout in the Transport Museum where we had a nice buffet supper.    I said in my words of thanks to both organisations and the enthusiasts who run these museums that they have created legacies both for the area and the respective industries, for our benefit and for many others in years to come – well done !

 Personally, the highlight for me was the opportunity to drive a bus, in fact we were able to drive two buses.   First I drove a double-decker with auto transmission and power steering then I experienced the single-decker with semi-auto and NO power steering.   Wonderful fun !

Many thanks to Joe Mackie for arranging the dual visit, and thanks to the others including Gordon Mills of the Bus Museum and Mike Ward of Grampian Transport Museum

 Many of us heard for the first time about Robert Davidson from Aberdeen who apparently first invented a version of the electric car.  The Grampian Transport Museum is championing this man, rightly so I think, and their exhibition features his work including working models.  The following piece prepared by the GTM will interest many Burgesses, click on the link below. There is also some excellent information on him on Wikipedia.

Its Electric Blog Doc

From top:

Jonathan Anderson, Accountant.

Harry Diack, Quantity Surveyor (Retired).

Michael Dreelan, Engineering Director (Retired).

Ian Haw, Banker (Retired).

Allan Henderson, Managing Director.

Neil McLennan, Snr Lecturer in Education.

Jill Meldrum, Accountant.

Alistair Prockter, Chief Executive.

Ray Riddoch, Managing Director.

Dennis Scott, Firefighter (Retired).

Helena Wright, Registered Nurse.

We are delighted that following an invitation from fellow Burgess Jeanette Forbes, we are invited to attend an evening at her new exclusive Wine/Gin bar Grape & Grain, in Thistle Street.

The event will be from 6.30pm on Wednesday 1st August, and Jeanette will share the journey for Grape and Grain and will also speak about the number of challenges she and her team had to encounter to get this establishment open.

With this being a gift to the City,  Jeanette thought it would be nice to share it with the Burgesses so we know the history and what each design element means and then, for Burgesses attending who will not be driving you can enjoy a Wine or a Gin and Tonic or for those driving a Seedlip Gin which has no alcohol but tastes just like the real thing.

The Grape & Grain recently won an award for Best New Operator at the British Institute of Innkeepers Dinner in Glasgow, beating off some stiff competition across Scotland.

Cost of the event will be £10 which will include a glass of wine/gin or soft drink, and a donation to a charity of Jeanette’s choice. Burgesses and guests are invited to attend.

If you wish to attend please email clerk Garry Stevens at – clerk@aberdeenburgesses.com

Payment can be made by Cheque made payable 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 Account number 50325609, Sort Code 826011