Maersk Spring Ball 2013

One of my good friends Claire works for Maersk here in Aberdeen and each year they host their annual Spring Ball. This year it was held at Banchory Lodge Hotel in a gorgeously decorated marquee by Prime Events. Think hughs of pinks and purples with Spring flowers and gemstones scattered on tables. I was lucky enough to attend as her ‘date’ and we had a blast! On arrival we were greeted with cocktails and canapés and a photographer took a professional photograph of each group as they came in. Roughly an hour later we were seated for our meal. The director gave a heartfelt speech on the company and the importance of a supportive family which was a nice touch then we ate! For starters we were served Sugar cured beef with ginger and coriander dressing.  Mains consisted of chicken with yoghurt dressing and a Moroccan side salad. Dessert was a bit too potent for everyone at our table. It was a lemon mouse raspberry sauce and orange shortbread but at the bottom it was basically lemon curd, no thank you! Wine was flowing all evening throughout the meal and entertainment and each person received 4 drinks tokens to use on whichever drink they fancied from the bar.

An envelope was placed on every table if you liked to donate some money to the chosen charity. This year’s charity was Friends of Anchor, a local charity who supports the Haematology, Oncology and Radiotherapy units for cancer patients at our hospitals. At the end of the night around £4000 was raised which is absolutely fantastic.

Under each wine glass on the tables was a raffle ticket to give you the chance to win some very fine prizes indeed. Claire and I agreed if one of us won we’d share the prize. Luckily for us one of our tickets was called and we won a £200 voucher for the Missoni Hotel in Edinburgh. Definitely getting used for a pamper weekend after Rockness! Another couple at our table won a Kindle Fire HD with Amazon vouchers and someone else took home a Ted Baker bag that I had my eyes on. Up for grabs was also golf experiences, Malmaison vouchers and iPads to name a few.

After the excitement of winning a raffle the first of the evening’s entertainment came on. Edward Reid from Britain’s Got Talent. Nope, I didn’t know who he was either. Apparently he was the guy who sang nursery rhymes to the tune of Run by Snow Patrol. He was a good laugh but nothing like the band who came on second. Killer City Sound. One at a time ladies, please! These guys had some serious star quality. They played covers of chart songs and reall good classics but gave it their own Indie twist. We took a few trips to bar and thought it would be a good idea to chat to them in between their set. I acquired their card and I’m seriously thinking on booking them for whoever’s 21^st is next, they were that good. Check them out here.

Everyone seemed to have a great time and danced the night away. A pre-paid taxi awaited us to take us home... Or into town where we met up with some friends and bragged about how much of a good time we had. Well done Maersk, I really enjoyed myself and I would be honoured to go back next year.

Urbexing at Cove Farm

We love a bit of Urban Exploring so we do! After coming across a lady on Instagram who also shares the passion we realised some of the places she had visited were pretty impressive and one of them was right on Nicola’s door step. Who would’ve known! We always thought the buildings just as you come into Cove were fenced off and part of the Stuart Milne development but evidentially not.  One evening a group of 6 of us went up to have a look. It was an ancient gem surrounded by brand new 5 bedroom houses. The steading and the barns are still intact with the machinery used for milking cows and incubation eggs. There lies two house on the farm. One, a small granny flat type building you could say sits at the edge. Inside is the remains  and memories of a family. The kitchen doesn’t look like it’s been touched in 30 years and still in perfect condition. Some of the other rooms had been hit with water damage and the living room was the only other room left with wallpaper and a carpet. Someone had left suitcases full of old books from the 60’s. A lot of Agatha Christies and Enid Blytons inscribed with the date and the owners name on the first page.

We left the small house confused because the images online were nothing like what was in there. Heading round the corner we found out this was because there was another house. A very, very big house. I lost count on the number of rooms there was in this house. Downstairs held 3 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, a pantry and some other spare rooms which looked like they might of been used for farming duties as they were linked to the barns. Upstairs we found even more bedrooms, another bathroom and a large storage loft. Everything had been left the way it was the day whoever lived here left. Even the calendar was open on the last used page. It was used as a daily meal planner. I felt so sad about this house because it was obvious a big family had lived here once but what happened that they all left without their belongings? Thrown all over the stairs were air mail letters from America. We pieced together that most of the family immigrated to the States and maybe the eldest died here. Because there was no family left here in Scotland the house was left to decay. Such a shame. What a waste of a beautiful property and so much land! I always say to myself when leaving places like this that if I won the lottery one day I’d restore them to their original glory.  I can only dream.

Don't think this has been used in a while

Living room in the smaller house

Nice carpet...

I wouldn't be eating anything cooked in that kitchen

Retro wallpaper

It doesn't play anymore. We tried.

Meal plan for the very last August

Blair Drummond Safari Park

I’m going to be honest with you here. Blair Drummond Safari Park is just as exciting when you were a kid now that you’re 20 odd... or older! It really is fun for all the family. Yes, okay, it’s more child orientated but who’s to say you can’t let your inner kiddie self out for a day? No one, that’s who!

Set near Stirling, Blair Drummond Safari Park lies on the grounds of Blair Drummond House, a great mansion house passed through families over the centuries which now serves as a home for disabled adults and is a central focal point from the park. Entry price for adults is £13.50, discounts for students, children and senior citizens as always. As you drive in signs sort of sway you to go to the drive through safari first before parking and having a walk around. There is no limit on how many times you go through the outside safari just make you are in a vehicle – lions and tigers and bears are scary on foot! And strictly prohibited. The main animals you get to see are camels, lions, tigers, springbok, zebras, giraffes, elephants and bison. The bison really are WILD! They stomped around in their gang like no one’s business, charging at anything and getting so close to hitting cars some people overtook on the grass to bail out. There are warning signs before you enter telling you it’s at your own risk. So basically don’t take your Porshe into the safari if you have half a brain.

The other main attractions include a sea lion show, a boat ride to Chimp Island, a petting zoo, Lemur Land, Penguin pool, Meerkat Madness and Giraffe and Elephant enclosures. For a bit of fun we also tried out the pedalos, the astro glide slide and the flying fox. The flying fox zip wires goes over the lakes that holds the pedalos so make sure you can pedal real fast to get out of the way of a surprise flying human!

Some of the animals let you get up close and personal with them. The pengins and meerkats didn’t seem to mind people around them when it was feeding time. We got a lovely surprise when walking around Lemur Land. Two beautiful Red Ruffed Lemurs popped out to say hello! They inquisitive creatures and won’t hesitate on grabbing your iPhone if you’re trying to take a picture of them.

There are plenty of facilities to cater for everybody with a restaurant, gift shop, snack stands and numerous toilets along the way. I think it was a great idea to place toilets right at the exit – a saviour for all parents before the set out on the long car journey home. We took our own picnic and were blessed with inside and outside benches to enjoy it on because it did start to rain a little. If you wanted to take your own BBQ food there were BBQ stands with coal already in them all ready to light up which is a nice touch.

Everything except from food, face painting and carnival rides is included in the admission price. Face painting is £4. We were SO tempted so pretend we were 6 years old again and go home with a panda’s face but we were stopping in Dundee for dinner and I’m not sure how well that would’ve went down in Nandos... Oh well, maybe next time!

Waddle, waddle

Alpaca picnic!

On the Chimp Island Boat.. James making this photo as always

A giraffe

Being a big kid

Red Ruffed Lemur coming to say hello

Having fun on the pedalos

James took his SLR and got some cracking shots. When he sends some through to me I'll update this post.

Whisky Day

Today we took a trip up north and followed the Whisky Trail. If you haven’t been on this drive before – I urge you to do it! Follow the windy roads up past Dufftown and enjoy the beautiful Scottish scenery. We decided to stop at Glenfiddich Distillery as we’ve only heard good things about it. The way the warehouses and visitor area is set out is charming. On entering the coffee shop/bistro we were greeted with a warm welcome and an array of cakes and pastries. Of course the magnificent bar looked rather tempting as well but me being a good driver and all had to refrain from trying a wee dram… or two. Coffees and a cheesecake sufficed as we sat and enjoyed the barn-like décor. After coffee we decided to go on a tour which run hourly throughout the day, all day. They offer 3 tours to choose from. Classic (free), Explorers (£10pp) and Pioneers (£75pp). We hadn’t thought about booking and the place was over run by American tourists who had thought ahead so all the paid tours were fully booked. The free tour was excellent so I’m not sure what the £75 one was like! A guide showed round the Mash House, Still House, warehouse 1 and the dramming Centre before letting us all taste a 12, 15 and 18 year old malt each. Okay so might of had ONE.

Tasteful looking bar

Before leaving we took a trip to the ladies room and oh my! WHAT a ladies room it was. I have to comment on this because a lot of effort must of went into making this a special experience. The chandelier was made out of antlers, a large seating area was set out perfect for those who might of had a little too much malt and set along the wall were vanity tables complete with lit up mirrors to fix your pretty little face. I want my bathroom to be like this :(

Ladie's loos

All in all a great day was had at Glenfiddich Distillery. We carried on up the road and passed through Elign, Lossiemouth, Portsoy, Banff and stopped in MacDuff for some dinner at a seafood restaurant (obviously!)

Some goodies from the gift shop

Nice creamy latte

The water from the resevoir is actully used in the formenting process!

Love a vintage vehicle, so I do

Tertowie Adventure

We love Urban Exploring. Or "Urbexing" if you like. It's been a past time of ours for a few years now and it's taken us to many places off the map you would never think of looking for. Hours and hours have been spent scrolling through Urbexing forums researching our next find and trying to pin point it on google maps which never goes quite to plan because it's never an exploring trip without getting lost at least once! Tertowie House has came up in conversation a few times but it wasn't top of out list of places to visit as we were aware of the fire that destroyed most of the building in late 2011. This weekend we finally decided to make the trip though and what a trip that was.

The original Tertowie House Residential School

Tertowie House is a Beautiful two storey mansion located near Kinellar. Follow the road to Kirkton of Skene (through Tyrebagger forest) until you see the right turn for Tertowie. I do not recommend you go here and you’ll understand why if you carry on reading but if you’re anything like curious little me, you’ll go anyway. The house is originally credited to architect James Mathews in 1867 but may incorporate parts of an earlier structure from the late 16th century. More additions and wings to the house were added in 1905. It began as a private Residential School until 1944 when it was bought over by Aberdeen City Council and was used by Aberdeen College as an education facility and accommodation for the School of Rural and Sports Studies until 2002.

Entrance sign

If Tertowie House itself isn’t impressive enough let me tell you about the secret it holds underground (Ooooo!) Hiding beneath the gym lies an emergency nuclear bunker which opened in 1962 as the North East Sector Civil Defence Group Control until the stand down of the Civil Defence Corps in 1968. The Grampian Regional Council reactivated it in 1987 as an emergency centre until 1998 for council members to remain safe in case of a nuclear threat.

Maps of Aberdeenshire in the nuclear bunker

The whole of Tertowie House including the bunker was sold to a private bidder for £400,000 in 2005 but this is where things get weird. Obviously the site was sold as a development as it had been in a some state of disrepair for years before it was even on the market but in 2009 the owner decided to withdrawn the planning permission to turn the mansion into a private dwelling. Then mysteriously in November 2011 a fire of unknown origin started and burned down most of the insides of the house but thankfully didn’t do any damage to the underground bunker. We were thinking it could be a possible inside job but then again it could also be a complete natural disaster. Either way, it's very sad such a majestic and historic building has ended up in this way.

The 2011 fire. Picture curtesy of P&J

Arriving at a brand new explore is always exciting especially if no one in the group has been before. Nobody knows where we’re going and it’s all fun and adrenalin seeking. As we drove up we were instantly impressed by the overall size and design of the mansion but unfortunately blocking its beauty was what I can only describe as a building site. Debris from the fire was lying around everywhere and big metal fences surrounded the mess. Normally we are quite up for finding a way in if it seems difficult but every door, window and hatch possible was left wide open. It was an invitation we couldn’t decline. Scoping out the place I found parking the cars around the side of the building wouldn’t be blocking the road or wouldn’t draw unnecessary attention to us as there were cottages about 200 yards away that looked pretty lived in. So our logic told us it would’ve been a great idea to park the bright green Clio in first and the tan coloured one in second because it was less noticeable. Must of been the excitement speaking as it ended up being a really dumb idea. We grabbed some torches, locked up and headed straight for the bunker. The giant open hatch in the ground caught our attention first and one of the group began to climb down the ladder. It was one of those moments when you hear something and it could’ve been one of two things. What we heard could’ve been something dropped down the hole or a gunshot and we were 99% certain it was a gunshot. This didn’t bother us that much as here in Scotland we’re used to hearing hunters in the countryside all of the time. The member of the group that climbed down the ladder suddenly appeared behind us showing us that there is actually an open door we could all walk through instead of climbing down into an ankle deep puddle of mucky water. Being inside this bunker was like Christmas minus the decorations. We found rooms upon rooms of giant wall maps of the area, old threat boards, dormitories, shower rooms, telegraphs, recreational areas. It was all still there, just a bit damp and dark. Not all of our torches were working properly and the sun was just beginning to set so we thought we should explore the house while it’s still daylight and go back into the bunker without wasting the torch batteries. I think I would’ve been pretty proud of this plan if it went smoothly. Emerging back into the light from the bunker we spotted a red BMW parked just beside our cars and three men loitering around outside. Ignoring them we kept on walking but were approached by the oldest of the men as the other two younger ones bolted in the other direction. Anytime exploring that we’ve been questioned or bothered by anyone in the area we haven’t had a problem. After all we’re not exactly the most intimidating looking bunch. Usually we just explain what we’re doing, ask if they wouldn’t mind if we took some pictures and if they get tricky, come up with some bullshit story about being students doing a project on abandoned places in the area. This works every single time.... but not this time. This mad mother fucker who I believe to be the land owner but possibly also a farmer as he was wearing a tweed coat, hat, wellington boots and oh yeah, had a gun(!!!!!!) asked the standard what were we doing and we explained we were just having a look around. Apparently this answer wasn’t good enough as he got really grumpy. Everyone in the group sensed this was not a good sign and this guy could be dangerous, remembering he has a fucking gun. The best thing to do was just leave so I grabbed my car keys and calmly said we were just leaving. Now, he doesn’t want us here and we were gladly leaving on our own will. He didn’t even have to force us to go yet he replied with “No. You’re not going anywhere.” We all kind of gave each other the look of what the hell is that suppose to mean? Quickly all of us got into the cars and sped down the down the road. The only road out. The only road out that these nutcases ever so kindly closed and locked the gate behind them. We were stuck with no way out. Panic flowed the group as we rationally came up with ideas why this had happened and tried to think of ways to get out. We discovered the only other straight through way to get back onto the road at the other side of the gate was over a field. One car tried it and got half stuck, to avoid going further into the mud we pushed her back out and forgot about that idea. It went through everyone’s heads that maybe they locked us in until the police got here but there are no trespassing laws in Scotland and we hadn’t caused any trouble so the police couldn’t do anything. Breaking the lock would’ve meant causing damage so we tried to get one up on the crazy trio by calling the police ourselves. We hadn’t done anything wrong and I’m pretty sure capturing a group of people and their vehicles when they haven’t broken any laws isn’t very innocent in itself so it was worth a shot. The policewoman on the phone was very understanding considering how strange the situation was and she assured us she would get an officer out as soon as possible to help us escape as it were. Luckily the boys noticed the reg plate on their car so we knew who we were dealing with if they came back. Ten minutes or so of flapping around passed until out of nowhere appeared the same red BMW in the distance. Understandably we were all terrified. The police notified us that no other complaint had been made in the area so if these guys were coming back it was something personal. To our surprise one of the younger men got out of the car, strolled up to the gate, unlocked it and drove away. This was all very weird. I was half expecting it to be a trap and they’d set up spikes on the road or something but no, we successfully managed to drive out of the gate and back onto the main road. I don’t think I’ve ever driven back to Tyrebagger car park faster in my life. I had to call the police back and explain what had happened as not to waste their time. The policewoman asked if we still wanted to make a complaint and someone would come out to speak to the three scary men. As a group we decided it was best to just leave it this time. We don’t have any plans to go back in the near future even though it’s fairly heartbreaking we didn’t get to see inside the mansion house and if we did it would definitely be on foot next time. 

It’s not difficult to get why these men didn’t want strangers looking through their property. I wouldn’t want people roaming into my own house or garden but saying that my house isn’t abandoned or plastered all over Urban Exploring websites. What they did wasn’t nice or humane and it’s clear now it was only to scare us. Personally if I wanted people off of my land and they were for than up for leaving I probably would of just let them leave instead of closing them in. I guess they were lucky we weren’t a bunch of assholes. There was more than enough stuff lying around to cause serious damage to their property. I think we’re all counting our lucky stars we live in Scotland where we have the right to roam. This morning we all went back to our normal lives. Maybe if we lived in America those three mental hillbilles would be enjoying a pumpkin stew with some human extract. Only maybe though.

H & J x

Intro

Hello and welcome to our blog!

Deciding where to begin when starting up a new blog is always tricky. We couldn’t decide on a specific topic as there’s so many  activities we enjoying doing and sometimes it’s hard to keep things fresh and interesting. After a long hard think we realised everything we do, every event we attend, every road trip, every night out we go on all revolves around one place. Our home and our city, Aberdeen. We’re two young ladies who have lived and grown up here, we know our city like the back of our hands but we’re always looking for the next newest big thing. So we came up with the idea to run a blog reviewing, giving information and promoting everything and anything local from restaurants to rock bands to country parks.

We love our home so with a little green Clio and extensive knowledge of google maps we hope we can show you just how much of a vibrant and beautiful city Aberdeen really is.

H & J x