412. Morris Dancers

Morris dancers are a rare sight in Scotland, but once a year we are treated to a visit from a group comprising dancers from several different groups around England on their annual 'Scotchfest'.  They stay in Brechin for a few nights and travel from there to perform in various communities around the North East.  This morning they performed at the harbour before heading up to Stonehaven.

Fascinating fact -  the earliest confirmed performance of morris dancing in England was 19th May 1448.

411. Addition to the War Memorial

In August this year, a new name was added to the War Memorial to remember a soldier who died during the First World War.  Private 3379 James Ritchie Blues, 4th Battalion Black Watch, aged 26 years, was killed at Flanders on 22nd May 1915.

There was already a Ritchie Blues listed on the memorial, which is presumably how James' omission had been overlooked for so long.  After some investigations to ensure that they were indeed two different men, the Community Council arranged for James to be added 98 years after he was killed in action.

The memorial was washed and Private Blues' name was added in raised letters 

which were then coloured black.

The omission was discovered when local man, Chris Greene, did some research into the lives of the people whose names appear on the memorial.  Interestingly, he can find nothing about one of the men - Edwin S Noble.  If anyone reading this knows anything about him, please do get in touch.  

This story featured in the Mearns Leader in May this year. You can read the story here.

410. Demolition of the Cedars

It's always a bit sad to see any building pulled down but, in the case of The Cedars, something very special is going to take its place.  

This is how it looked at 10:45 this morning.  

 The owners of The Cedars had originally planned to improve and extend the house, but the costs were prohibitive and the result still wouldn't have been ideal for their requirements.  The building lies just outside the conservation area, so the decision was made to demolish and start from scratch with a super efficient, modern Grand Design.

The proposed elevations can be seen here.

Here are a few photos of the Cedars, taken on a sunny day earlier this year.

It was once the village's police house and the cell windows could still be

 seen on the rear of the building.