Claire's blog

Just thought I'd drop in some local sites that might be of interest.

There's a chatty wee community called NEEPS! that I've recently discovered. Neeps (North East Environmentally-friendly Peoples Site) is a friendly local site offering help an advice on local issues, where to find local, homegrown produce, chats (blethers) and general gossip an all things Local - with lots of advice for Green issues and smallholders. So if you want to start keeping chickens, build a bird house or just have a blether then I'm sure someone there will be able to help!

following Kintore's recent saga with the Clydesdale Bank lately has been interesting, though not funny for them I imagine.

when the CB closed in Kemnay it was met the same disdain as other rural places, some, like New Deer, have solved their problems by taking the initiative buying the building and reselling to another bank, now Kintore are holding them to ransom over the ATM.

It's not really Kemnay News, but it seems even if happens on the other side of the world we do like to gab about news which isn't related to terrorism, vandalism etc..

The news today about the untimely death of Steve Irwin [The Crocodile Hunter] got everyone talking, I heard it at tennis lessons this afternoon, it was the first thing my hubby said as walked through the door, David Bellamy cried on the lunchtime news.

It's awfully sad, but as I see it, the man lived his life (and died) doing his "thing" there was no sad decline into illness. At 44 he lived his life to very fullest, without getting bogged down with what others thought he should or should not do.

Red Squirrels and Cats obviously don't mix.

We were really chuffed earlier this week to discover we have a red squirrel nesting in a bird box in a tree outside our kitchen window. Though what caused us to notice her was the cat halfway up said tree...

We watched the squirrel play a lively game of chase round the tree branches and I wondered why she wasn't running away. I thought pehaps she was trying to distract the cat away from her nest. So Hubby went and dutifully dispatched said cat. Then as I watched later the bonny red squirrel, drenched, carried at least three young ones out of the box, one by one, in her mouth across the trees, to a presumably safer spot . I don't think the the cat would ever actually have reached her young but she obviously wants to be safe rather than sorry.

The August Newsletter is out and I hope the front page enticed some more people along to say Hello!

I'm sure you'll like what's here so far, some other folks have been helping add information. If you can't find what you're looking for then leave a comment and let us know - we'll add to a very long TODO list :o
or if you just want to leave your comments on some of the stuff that's here then feel free to login and do so

In a previous entry I posted about spotting a Camera on a Kite while visiting the Fetternear Dig, another day I went searching the web for some other photos of Kemnay.

I found, on a photo sharing website, some great photos of Kemnay and also quite by accident the ones I found were taken by the gentleman, Simon Harb, who I'd seen at Fetternear that day

I really recommend that you view his collections, especially his recommended ones ~ inlcudes the Kemnay Skatepark and Place of Origin.

Just couldn't not say it really,

Isn't it rare having this great weather for the kids (and us adults too ;)) during the school holidays?

I imagine the shops are doing a roaring trade in icicles and BBQ stuff, if our household is anything to go by and It's a pleasure to walk through the village and see everyone with a smile on their faces while ootside newsin' 

Long may it continue!