Abbey Bridge

In Ireland they have the 'Book of Kells'. In Buchan we have the 'Book of Deer'. Or rather we don't; it's in Cambridge, England. So while the 'Book of Kells' is a major attraction for tourists in Dublin, our own book makes little contribution to the local economy.

But if everyone could go rambling with George Smart as I did, at least they'd know much more of their locality and origins. He's a modern 'Book of Deer' on legs and an over modest encyclopaedia of local history.

About a thousand years ago the monks at Deer wrote down all they knew about the ownership of local land. They used any scrap of paper that was to hand. Mostly it was practice pieces from their time developing skills as artists. In those days all books were made by hand and the monks illustrations were a highlight in these precious tomes they produced.

So valued were the 'Books of Deer', books because there were once many while now only one survives, that the monks carried them with always and only showed the pictures to the dying as an insight to salvation. And as they took them around, they wrote their knowledge of local land ownership in the margins.

The books were written in Latin, the language of the Church then. But the notes were written in the vernacular, which then was Gaelic. And therein lies one of the most precious facets of the surviving 'Book of Deer', it is the earliest known book of Gaelic.

My walk with George took me around Aikey Brae, the sight of the old horse fair still just surviving as an annual funfair. And passed the Abbey Bridge. Here in our own area lies a reminder that conflict and misunderstanding is nothing new. And sometimes deliberate.

The Abbey Bridge was a joint venture by two of the local lairds, Pitfour and Aden. Such was their distrust of each other that although they agreed to share the cost of rebuilding the bridge across the Ugie, neither would pass their money to the other. In the end they agreed that each would build half from their side of the river to meet half way.

The result was a bridge wide enough on the Pitfour side to take that laird's fancy new carriage. But on the other side it's a good three feet narrower and only wide enough for Aden's more modest vehicle. Some although the stream was bridged and the lairds met halfway, Pitfour could not drive across to Kirk on Sunday and show off his new carriage.

In today's dangerous world we might have to settle for an Abbey Bridge but if we are to build a real partnership it will need understanding, co-operation and respect for each other's needs. Our bridge to the future needs more than a quick fix.

Parliament in Aberdeen

Next year, the Scottish Parliament will be in Aberdeen for a number of weeks. Hurrah! But have we thought about the opportunity that represents for us to 'showcase' the North-East.

It is not enough that our Parliament moves from one city to another. What we actually need is to use the opportunity to communicate rural needs to the wider community.

When Edinburgh moves to Aberdeen it is not just 129 MSPs who travel. The press, the officials and the cameras come with them. And they'll be hungry for stories to justify their time away. As I go around the constituency I've suggested to a number of groups that now is the time to be thinking about their plans to grab attention next year.

What are your thoughts?

World Challenges

Just as this is a new column for me in the Gazette, the world faces new challenges in the wake of events in the USA. And it’s hard to start without a personal comment, a personal view, on recent events.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the West generally viewed an enemy of our enemies as a friend. And that’s why we supported the Mujahadeen against the Soviets during their ‘adventure’ in Afghanistan. Now we reap the harvest with Osama Bin Laden, whom we previously supported, emerging from there as our most virulent opponent.

But we must do more than deal with our immediate problem, enormous as it will undoubtedly prove to be, we must start to redefine how we relate to events inside other countries. And the first must be respect for those with faith, all faiths. Every faith has extremists who distort and abuse others beliefs. True faith stabilises society in an uncertain world.

Abuse (Scotland) Bill

And while the world focuses on great conflicts, our Parliament’s Justice Committee has been considering how we deal with smaller conflicts.

About twenty years ago the Matrimonial Homes Act introduced a legal basis for deciding how to proceed when there are disputes inside a house. And it’s generally thought to have worked well.

The Abuse Bill now addresses disputes outside the house. Firstly the definition of abuse is widely drawn. And it doesn’t just address disputes between neighbours. It covers behaviour by children and mental abuse. And would be a criminal offence to continue abuse after a court order.

So there should be new ways of dealing with problem members of families. I’m certainly supporting the principles in the Bill.

The Book of Deer

George Smart is a local sage who under-rates his knowledge. He recently took me on a ramble to Aden Country Park over a somewhat damp patch of Buchan. We met archaeologists from Reading who were excavating a stone circle. We saw fence posts made from re-cycled plastic bags.

But most interesting of all was what he had to say about the 'Book of Deer'. It seems that is defaced by scribblings, the earliest surviving written Gaelic, around the margins. And it’s the scribblings that we now value most, not the wonderful illustrations it also contains.

Unlike the ‘Book of Kells', a broadly equivalent Irish book which attracts many tourists to Dublin, our ‘Book of Deer’ languishes in Cambridge, England.

So how about an exhibition of the ‘Book of Deer’ in the North-East to coincide with and commemorate the visit of the Scots Parliament to Aberdeen next year? Now there’s a thought!