FOR 11 years, pigeon fancier Ryan Hay never won a single race.

Macduff woman Maggie Gauld celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday.

A SERIES of events are being held this summer to highlight the work to preserve a church on the banks of the River Deveron. Inverkeithny Kirk, a few miles off the Aberchirder to Huntly road, boasts an outstanding setting surrounded by hills and mature trees, but after 15 years of only occasional use, the Church of Scotland decided last year to dispose of it.

IT is said that behind every good man is a woman - and Andrew McRae, of Bogs of Plaidy, Turriff, would certainly agree with that.

A TURRIFF farmer who helped save the life of a woman driver stranded in freezing floodwater had his "extraordinary" bravery recognised last week.

A PORTSOY woman is only one vote away from being the face and the figure of a national lingerie company.

A PROUD Portsoy woman has gained a qualification for her work in a social enterprise project.

BANFF'S Kirsteen Coady was a long way from the front in last month's London Marathon - but she was right up there with the champion fund-raisers.

DUFF House art gallery in Banff will never realise its "huge potential" unless it is run by a local management team and not by organisations in Edinburgh, it has been claimed.

EVERYONE HAS heard about Four Weddings and a Funeral, but not many have heard about 366 weddings and nearly 1,700 funerals.

MORE than 400 people were blessed with good weather for the 17-mile Six Harbours Walk last weekend, raising thousands of pounds for charity.

A BOXING story last month in the Banffshire Journal has had knockout results for a reader in Australia.

THE vast Highland League football area spans 360 miles and three men associated with Deveronvale FC will cycle it this week - visiting all 17 clubs along the way.

A GROUP of six "ecstatic" boys from Macduff, Turriff and Aberchirder have just successfully completed a tough 65-mile trek along the Speyside Way in aid of charity.

AFTER a marathon career as a doctor, an Aberchirder-born man is planning to lace up his running shoes more regularly.

PUPILS of Whitehills Primary bade a fond farewell to their drama teacher, Wendy de Rusett, after a 15-year connection with the school.

IT IS hard to imagine two more contrasting worlds than the beautiful and peaceful fishing village of Portsoy and the hard confines of Brixton Prison in London. Leanne Watt can reflect on the difference as she gazes out of her office window at the Salmon Bothy museum in Portsoy and takes in the stunning view of waves rolling onto the beach.

DONNA Wilson, remember the name - one day, you might not have to. The 32-year-old from Bridge of Marnoch, near Aberchirder, is fast becoming a brand name in the design world.

WHEN Alex Salmond stands down as MP for Banff and Buchan at this year's General Election, it will be with the greatest respect and fondness for his constituents he has served for the past 23 years.

A FEW years ago, Trista McGarvey thought she had her future all sewn up.

CLIMBING Mount Kilimanjaro to 19,341ft is a daunting task but a group of friends are hoping to conquer the mountain to help support a friend in need.

A GROUP of men and boys from Macduff and Turriff are set to tackle a 65-mile walk, inspired by a young girl with a rare genetic disease.

FINDLATER Castle, between Cullen and Sandend, has proved such a romantic spot for one couple that they intend to get married there in August.

A SEVENTEEN-year-old recruit from Banff has passed her Royal Navy basic training and on Friday took part in her passing-out-parade.

THE Rev David Randall is to retire in May after serving Macduff for 39 years.

A COMMUNITY is rallying round to help the earthquake survivors in Haiti.

AN appeal is being sounded to big-hearted locals to pull on their walking shoes and make strides towards giving breast cancer the boot.

WORKPLACES up and down the country have been left practically deserted as staff struggle to cope with the effects of the big freeze.

THE second longest river in the world, the Amazon, is sometimes called 'The River Sea', and one Macduff lady is preparing to sail on the famous stretch of water to help people in need.

CHALMERS Hospital said goodbye to Bobby McLeod when he retired after 20 years of service.

A FORMER soldier who single-handedly beat post-traumatic stress disorder to transform his life, wants to share the secrets of his success with others.

THE history of a coast village is to go into print to raise funds for a local history group.

IT LOOKS to be full steam ahead for plans to develop a Banffshire Way walking route.

WHEN young girls take their Girlguiding promise, they pledge to become good citizens in their local community.

A COMPLEMENTARY therapist had great expectations when she jetted off to Israel to take part in the first ever international conference on maternity reflexology.

CHARITY volunteers from Banffshire are going it alone to make sure the people of Romania can still have a Christmas to remember.

FORMER soldier Steve Beedie will wear his poppy with pride on Remembrance Sunday to commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives in conflicts around the globe.

FUND-raisers Graham and Marguerita Watt have been left shaken and stirred after James Bond stepped in to lend his support to their effort to save orphan orangutans.

A GROUP set up to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors to the twin towns of Banff and Macduff has reached a milestone.

A BANFF PUB that has spent years in the shadow of a more famous watering hole is finally taking centre stage thanks to a renowned film critic.

BIG-hearted Banffshire folk have helped a local mum to smash a £20,000 fund-raising target six months ahead of schedule.

THE heartache of seeing Romanian street kids, orphans, old folk and families battle to survive in desperate conditions has prompted four Aberdeenshire women to hurl themselves out of an aircraft.

PARENTS are being asked to honour the Scout promise and make good their pledge to help a local group.

KEEN photographers in Banffshire are invited to come along and see if joining an award-winning local club would be picture perfect for them.

A BANFF teenager who spent a year volunteering overseas has returned feeling truly fortunate to have been born into a country with so many opportunities.

DANCE music fan Scott Barron used to marvel at how his favourite DJs could whip revellers up into a frenzy on the dancefloor.

CARING teen Andrea Fowlie has put her university studies on hold to look after orphan children living in poverty and battling disease.

THE heartbreaking plight of children dumped on a rubbish tip and thrown away like pieces of trash will forever be etched in the memory of Ann McLean.

A TINY yacht, lacking all the modern electronic sailing paraphernalia of the digital age, set off from Whitehills marina in June.

IT was a red letter day when Gail Forsyth appealed to local tradesmen to show some bare-faced cheek and help her produce a charity calendar.

A YOUNG Macduff man has swapped the fisherman's life of three generations of his family for the glamorous life of cruise liners in Italy.

A YOUNG Banff Academy PE teacher organised a major charity walk at the weekend which raised over £111,000 at the weekend – well over twice the target figure for the 24 hour long Relay for Life in Peterhead, and over three times the sum raised last year.

A YOUNG footballer is flying thousands of miles to take one of the toughest challenges there could be in the world of sport – teaching football in one of the very few countries in the world which has resisted the world's favourite game – India.

CELEBRATING your 60th birthday by jumping out of a plane may not be everyone's idea of a party but local granny, Ann Kindness, could think of no better way to mark the day.

PUPILS from Ordiquhill School picked up no fewer than four awards at their first attempt in a doric poetry contest.

LOVE was in the air – and in the water too – at Macduff Marine Aquarium last Wednesday.

SLIMMERS from Portsoy stepped out and walked 40 miles for charity.

TWO Army cadets from Banffshire are travelling to Normandy to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II.

A FORMER Gamrie man, now a submariner in the Royal Navy, is to visit Africa next month on a Christian mission.

A MACDUFF mum is going to go white water rafting, bush trekking, and canoeing in darkest Africa to raise money for the charity she works for.

EVERY primary school pupil in the area took part in a one-off skipping extravaganza last Wednesday – with up to 1,300 pupils all getting out into their playgrounds at exactly the same time to show off their new skipping skills.

TWO former Banff Academy classmates have completed one of Britain's toughest sporting events – the London Marathon.

A BANFF man and his long-lost Belgian sister-in-law were reunited last week after almost 30 years – with a little help from the Banffshire Journal.

BANFF Academy's high achievers were told by rector David Dunn at the senior award ceremony that old securities and certainties were things of the past, and that the modern 'curriculum for excellence' was more important than ever.

A WHITEHILLS couple are touring orphanages in the former Eastern Bloc to deliver aid packages.

TWO dozen young boy and girl engineers at Banff Academy were rewarded for their skills last week with iPod shuffle portable music players.

NEW York and Sean Connery await top Banff dress designer Gwen Russell this week.

YOUNG people with an interest in flying or the services will be flying along to a special open day hosted by the area's only Air Training Corps (ATC) squadron, in Turriff.

BANFF Academy is urging the local community to join pupils in raising money for a cancer charity – by taking part in a 24-hour walking relay.

LOCAL Primary teachers are going back to the school playground for their latest lessons.

AN EIGHTIES disco night organised by a Macduff mum who lost her baby son, has raised over £6,000 for the charitable boarding house for parents of sick kids at the hospital where he died.

A MACDUFF housewife has won £25,000 in a national lottery.

PLANS to convert a wartime RAF operations block near Banff into a visitor centre marking the contribution of the North-east in World War Two could come a step closer today (Tuesday).

THE look on people's faces when they are plucked to safety is the best feeling in the world, says Gordon Philip.

THE Beast of Banff is on the prowl again, and this time it has been captured – at least in cardboard.

A PRIZE-WINNING 13 year old singer and poetry reciter of Robert Burns from Cornhill met Prime Minister Gordon Brown for tea at No. 10 Downing Street last week.

FASHION-conscious pupils from Banff and Turriff academies showed off their eye-catching modern designs at a colourful reception at Duff House on Saturday.

A BOLD Banff man has reached the end of an epic fund-raising journey from his hometown to Gambia in West Africa in an old Volkswagen Polo named Minty.

MOIRA Ritchie, from Boyndie, shows off her haul from the trolley dash she won in the Portsoy 75 Club Christmas raffle.

THOSE summer nights helped shake off the winter blues, as two sold-out productions of "Grease" at Banff Academy delighted audiences.

A BANFF man set out on the adventure of a lifetime last Wednesday.

AT 108 years old, Elizabeth Cockburn had plenty of reason to celebrate her birthday party on Saturday.

THE community of Fordyce celebrated harp-maker Tim Hobrough's ten years as volunteer manager of the village's joiner's museum and workshop at the weekend.

HOME-Start Deveron has been given a fresh look at its Banff shop base.

A NEW business opens at Banff harbour this weekend. A young Banff photographer will this Friday realise a long-held dream, when she celebrates the opening of her new photographic studio with a Champagne launch party.

BANFF to Banjul in a banger – that is the challenge facing two local men, who are making their final preparations for an epic journey to the West African country of Gambia.

THE popularity of the Banffshire coast is growing among British tourists, a report has revealed.

CHILDREN in the far north of Alaska will have the chance to learn about the recent 'Hallowe'en-gate' controversy and the infamous Beast of Banff – all thanks to a video produced by pupils of Banff Academy.

THREE young teenage lads from Aberchirder took on one of the toughest cycling challenges in the North to raise money for their community.

HALLOWE'EN and St Andrew's Night celebrations are being planned to create closer ties between migrant workers and their families and the local community.

PORTSOY'S new salmon bothy heritage centre is going to get off to a flying start when it opens in a few weeks' time, thanks to an enthusiastic response for volunteers to man the centre.

A LONG-standing supporter of the Boys' Brigade and founder of the Tarlair Model Boat Club has been recognised as Macduff's Citizen of the Year.

A TEENAGE girl from Banff is showing the boys that joinery is not just a male domain.

A FORMER Banff Academy pupil is jetting out to the Far East next month as the sole Scottish representative at an international science conference.

A NEW term and a new dawn has started at Macduff Primary School, where recently appointed head teacher Peter Wood has taken up the reins.

ONE of the area's most successful fund-raising groups is helping a performance arts group for the disabled to the tune of £1,000.

A BANFF man has overcome all obstacles to raise money for a cancer charity, following a family tragedy.

DRIVING 4,500 miles from Banff to West Africa in a 20-year-old Mercedes full of sewing machines may sound like madness, but that is the challenge a local retired man is preparing to take on.

A BRIGHT AND breezy day drew good crowds to one of Banffshire's biggest summer events, the Aberchirder Flower Show, on Saturday.

THE days of the trainer racing on with a bucket of water and the 'magic' sponge to treat injured footballers are a dim and distant memory at Deveronvale.

BANFF-born chart-topper Sandi Thom has joined the appeal to support international aid efforts across drought and famine-stricken East Africa.

AN Orcadian couple who ran a bed and breakfast in Portsoy for 25 years have celebrated their golden wedding.

IT'S gey near lowsin' time for ane o' the Nor-east's weel-kent musicians. Accordionist Sandy Reid from Fyvie has been entertaining traditional music fans for decades with his music, poetry and humour, but has decided to call it a day.

A MACDUFF medical student has set his sights on making it to the top of his profession after graduating with distinction from Aberdeen University.

A PORTSOY distillery that is coming out of mothballs after 22 years has launched an appeal for memorabilia for its new visitor centre.

WALKING the West Highland Way is a daunting challenge for most people, but running it in less than a day was the goal of one amateur athlete from Banff.

PUPILS at Banff Academy took part in a sponsored spellathon to raise money for victims of the recent cyclone in Burma.

FRIENDS for 30 years across the world, but when Anne Smith from Damheads, Portsoy, met Shamini Iyer from Mumbai a fortnight ago, it was the first time they had ever seen each other.

THREE local DJs bared their legs and then 'bared' their legs after volunteering for the kind of torture that would make most grown men wince – leg waxing.

THREE young lads with a love of the sea set sail on the adventure of a lifetime on Saturday morning.

THE oldest woman in Banffshire, Mary Gardiner, died this week at the age of 105.

ONE of Banff's most popular and 'weel-kent' characters has thwarted doctors' attempts to drive him off the road.

IT was first time lucky for a local photographer who captured the beauty of the Banffshire coast to win a prestigious competition.

A BANFF fitness enthusiast is taking on three of Scotland's most demanding tests of physical endurance this summer – and it is all in the name of charity.

A TEENAGE girl from Banff who suffered horrific facial injuries in a car crash three years ago is only now completing her long road to recovery after seven operations, and looking to the future with renewed optimism.

A FEARSOME armoured fighting vehicle which Taliban warlords have dubbed the Desert Devil has become like a second home for two young Moray soldiers.

THEIR knees may be creaking a bit but it was smiles all round for a local family who walked the West Highland Way in aid of an eight-year-old member of the family with cystic fibrosis.

A FORMER Macduff fisherman and Gamrie merchant died last Monday, March 31, at the age of 88.

A LOCAL teenager is on course for an international aid project in Central America.

A LOCAL family are walking the West Highland Way in aid of a young member of the family with cystic fibrosis.

A NORTH-east dog and her owner, who transformed each other's lives, found themselves in the limelight at Crufts, the most prestigious and famous dog show in the world a fortnight ago.

RAINBOWS and Rock 'n' Roll – that's how one Banff teenager is raising money to spend her gap year working with underprivileged children in the Caribbean.

A NEW Byth woman and the dog she saved from death are hoping to win a special award at this weekend's Crufts dog show.

LOCAL girl Amanda Watt walks on stage next week at His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen as the leading lady in a major musical.

BANFF Academy pupils have been in the pink recently.

BANFF bands and musicians are making a CD, reviving a big local hit from a couple of years back, all in aid of charity.

A FORMER Banff Academy pupil is racing to raise £600 in a few weeks so that she can take part in a volunteering project which will involve a trip to the Philippines.

EMERGENCY services are only a mouse-click away, thanks to an imaginative idea by Banff and District Community Safety Group.

A GREAT granny from Banff celebrated her 70th birthday by jumping out of an aeroplane in her adopted homeland, Australia.

WHILE most teenage boys are returning to school with their new Wii game, or worrying about prelims, one Banff youth faces a very different prospect.

TRIBUTES have been paid to popular Gardenstown man Alan Nicolson MBE, who passed away suddenly at his home on New Year's Day at the age of 84.

A MASSIVE lottery cash boost has funded much needed improvement work to "dangerous" walking routes in the grounds of Duff House.

A MACDUFF serviceman has become one of the first soldiers in Britain to be awarded a civilian degree.

POPULAR Macduff man Bobby Brown passed away suddenly last Friday at the age of 73.

A GARDENSTOWN fishing trainee is the best student on his course.

MACDUFF primary school head teacher Jenny Ewen is getting a permanent musical memento of her time at the school, thanks to her pupils, and with a little help from a pop star from the seventies, who lives in Macduff.

PORTSOY community councillor John Stewart was honoured last week for his 20 years of service on the Portsoy and District Community Council.

A PLUMBING apprentice from Portsoy has taken second place in a national competition.

DESPITE one of the wettest summers on record, five Banff area mountain bikers are due to hand over £2,794 to the Macmillan Cancer Support Fund after completing a gruelling five-day off-road challenge across the Highlands from west to east coast.

SWEDISH officials visited Banff and Macduff last week as part of a tourism and economic development fact-finding tour.

A MEMORIAL garden for those from Macduff lost at sea is now ready for planting and completion next summer.

YOUNG Danny Smith, from Macduff, reckons he's one of the luckiest kids around: the football daft nine-year-old has been 'adopted' by Deveronvale Football Club as their mascot, and runs onto the pitch with them every Saturday to warm up with the team.

BUCKIE High School rector Chris Sugden walked through the corridors for the final time on Friday and take one last look around the building he has spent 20 years turning into a school for the whole community.

A COLLECTION of historical and rare books on Banff belonging to legendary editor of the 'Banffshire Journal’, Dr William Barclay, has been donated to the Banff Preservation and Heritage Society by his family.

PIRATE disc jockey for 40 years and radio station founder, Alastair Galloway – This Is Your Life.

AN ABERCHIRDER woman has been crowned the best school cook in Scotland, thanks to the support and creativity of the pupils she feeds.

A NEW scheme aiming to lessen the load on young carers, broaden their horizons and allow them enjoy themselves more, is being introduced in Banff and Turriff.

NIVVER mind learnin' English, min – jist gang stracht tae Doric.

A MACDUFF organist who has shared his gift for music with the local community was the recipient of a special award last Wednesday.

AT 90 years old, gardener Isabella McArthur from Portsoy has scooped the prize for the best-kept garden in Portsoy.

ONE of Scotland's oldest citizens, Mary Gardiner, has celebrated her 105th birthday.

A BANFF teenager has raised £3,000 in under three months to put towards the construction of a classroom in an Indian community.

FIFTY members of a Macduff fishing family, including ten Canadians, came together to celebrate the visit of Dr Donnie Watt to his old home.

DOLLS designed by a creative young woman from Aberchirder are selling fast in London, New York and even Japan.

A WHITEHILLS RAF recruit is turning out to be a real high flier.

A BANFF Academy pupil has landed the star part in a high profile national theatre production.

PORTSOY Primary pupils gave an emotional send-off to their head teacher, Lorna Summers, who retired at the end of term.

A BANFF-born teacher turned travel writer is celebrating the publication of his third book.

TWO members of Cornhill WRI have been honoured for their combined 80 years of service to the rural – with one receiving an accolade not given in at least 40 years.

FOOTBALL shirts signed by three of the world's top footballers are to be auctioned in Banff to raise money for youngster Keane Gowan, who suffers from autism.

A BANFF music student returns to his home town this week, bringing Extreme Cairnage with him.

THE ADMIRAL'S son turned Banffshire fisherman and artist, Peter Anson, is to be caught in a newer sort of 'net' – the internet.

WORK could start on the proposed Ladysbridge Village residential development this year say the consortium behind the scheme, after councillors took the development a step further last Tuesday.

AN AMERICAN family who moved to Macduff from Charleston, South Carolina, USA, are singing the praises of the North-east coastal town and its welcoming inhabitants, especially after their little dog got lost just after they arrived.

THE son of a Boyndie based RAF pilot killed in action during the Second World War, has travelled from Australia to view the former airfield where his father served.

POPULAR Aberchirder councillor Kenny Benzie has been honoured for his service to the community.

A NEIGHBOUR’S good deeds were rewarded by having his portrait painted by a well-known local artist for a new exhibition.

MEALS-on-wheels have been frozen out by a new frozen meal service for the elderly folk of Aberdeenshire.

A DESCENDANT of Banff who became an 18th century Prince of the Russian Empire was commemorated with a life-size statue worth £200,000 last month.

THE Banff Harbour Marina, which is set to be officially opened later this month, has a new man at the helm.

A BANFF teenager who underwent plastic surgery for injuries to her forehead, sustained in a car crash, recorded a video diary of her operation for daytime TV programme 'This Morning'.

A BANFF man is one of only a handful ever to receive a special Rotary award, thanks to his charity work in Sierra Leone.

A COUNCIL benefits officer from Macduff has spent eight weeks in Ghana as a volunteer school teacher. The experience made such an impact on Ricki Lyon that he is to continue supporting the school.

A LOCAL sculptor who specialises in recreating life-size models of animals has seen copies of his work sold to celebrities, including footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones, and Deal or No Deal TV host Noel Edmonds.

A BANFF student is heading for America this summer to work with children and adults with severe learning difficulties.

A LOCAL fishing boat owner and skipper is taking over one of the top jobs in the Scottish fishing industry – and is looking forward to better times ahead for the industry.

DEVERONVALE football legend Dougan Duncan has died at the age of 86.

TWO Banff Academy pupils are to further their ambitions of becoming fashion gurus by going to India to gain experience of the textile trade there.

THE Macduff Walking Club celebrated their 10th year, and founder Jim Garden's retirement as club president, with a walk from Rothie Vale to Fyvie Castle.

GARDENSTOWN minister Donald Martin is off on a special mission – to work with street children in Africa.

BANNFFSHIRE Masons (from left) Past Provincial Grand Master of Banffshire, Jim Davidson, reigning Provincial Grand Master Bill Legge, and immediate Past Provincial Grand Master Mackie Tawse, congratulate Michael John Chalmers, the newly installed Right Worshipful Master of Lodge Marnoch No 1325.

A BRAVE Banffshire youngster, afflicted by an incurable illness, fulfilled a dream of meeting his hero, Mickey Mouse, thanks to the efforts and generosity of folk in his local community.

A BIG black panther-like animal has been seen only yards from the edge of Banff.

CLEOPATRA may have bathed in ass's milk, but you can be just as exotic and wash with goat's milk soap, thanks to a new venture by a Gamrie crofter.

A SECOND police inspector has been appointed for Banff.

AN ABERCHIRDER farmer who is skilled at water divining and faith healing has seen sales of his book run into the thousands since its release in August this year.

A WHITEHILLS poet, inspired by her village, has had an excerpt of her work published in Aberdeenshire Council's Christmas card.

THREE Banff Academy pupils are to represent their country in a national contest after the gas powered mini racing car they designed won them the accolade of Scottish Champions of the Formula One In Schools Technology Challenge contest 2006.

A BANFF woman hears shapes when she listens to music and has a colour for every letter of the alphabet.

A QUARTER century of service to a learning difficulties' support group has been honoured.

A WELL-KNOWN former Banff lady died peacefully last Thursday at the age of 92. The loss of Laura Wilson, South Colleonard, Banff, will be mourned by many.

VALE must have one of the most loyal family of fans in Scottish football.

A BANFFSHIRE woman who has "adopted" a disaster-stricken area of Java is packing her bags to set off on a fresh mercy mission.

THERE's a wealth of stories about local characters, village happenings and country lore between the pages of a new book in Doric that features the life and times of one of Foggie's farming community, Neil Mutch.

AN artist who is inspired by the special qualities of the Banffshire coastline has won a prestigious award for her work.

AT the tender age of 10 Ena Lovie was diagnosed with diabetes – but unlike today's overweight youngsters whose diets are blamed for its onset, her condition was not caused by excess.

A SOCCER enthusiast who has collected football programmes since childhood has secured a coup with the purchase of a local programme via the internet bartering facility eBay.

A BANFF man is celebrating the launch of a new edition of his sell-out book on his memories of National Service.

THE last batch of secondary pupils to be educated in the old Banff Academy are planning a reunion this month.

JUST a week after Prince Charles was in town, the trust he set up is looking for ideas to help young people embarking on a new course launched at Macduff.

A WOMAN who works at Chalmers Hospital in Banff is having an experience of a lifetime climbing mountains and venturing over rough terrain on horse back in Mongolia – to support people with Alzheimers and dementia.

A NEW photographic archive to preserve the identity and heritage of Whitehills is just one of several initiatives tackled in a new action plan drawn up for the town.

THE Banffshire community of Portknockie united to proudly mark the restoration of its

A FIFTH Year Banff Academy pupil has sent judges 'Google’-eyed with a competition entry she designed.

A PORTSOY architect picked up three gongs at the Aberdeenshire Council’s Design Awards ceremony at Haddo House on Thursday, September 7.

THE new session of the Buchan Presbytery started last week under the leadership of a new Moderator.

PLASTIC blue and white markers embedded in the pavements of Macduff to map out a walking route will highlight the industrial history of the town.

FLYING high again is Banff Primary School where, for the second year in a row, pupils have landed prizes for their model aeroplane building skills.

BUCKIE and District Flower Show attracted more than 500 entries at the Fisherman’s Hall, slightly up on last year.

A GARDENER finally achieved a long-held ambition at Gardenstown Flower Show.

ALMOST 60 cyclists raised £6,000 with a bike run for four Banff girls with special needs.

A GROUP of youngsters from the Banff Friday Night Team have created their own radio show.

ROMANCE blossomed for two former Banff Academy pupils on the other side of the world – but only after Ben Cowie returned to Scotland from his new home in Australia and met up again with Michelle Wright.

TWO local food outlets are included in the latest edition of a Scottish food and drink guide.

THE tale of a heroic Banff bobby who helped nobble Nazi spies trying to sneak into Scotland has resurfaced after recently recovered ceramics belonging to William Gladstone were found to be wrapped in a newspaper of the time detailing his remarkable story. More than 80 items kept in storage during the First and Second World Wars, owned by the former Prime Minister, fetched more than £30,000 last week when they were sold at Bonham’s in Edinburgh.

AT an age when many folk are thinking of taking it easy, Forglen man Robin Daykins and his wife, Annette, are enjoying life very much in the fast lane.

PEOPLE reading mobile phone text messages in the streets of Banff could soon be learning about the history of the town.

A YEAR in the life of Macduff Parish Church is charted through a new book devoted to its 200th anniversary.

A DISUSED listed building on Old Market Place in Banff has had to be cleared of bird droppings several feet deep prior to plans being drawn up for its future use as a mini-museum.

A PORTSOY artist has had a portrait accepted for a major art exhibition in London.

A LOCAL community group has helped a Portsoy teenager raise more than £1,200 towards a mercy trip she is making to Africa this summer.

A MYSTERY surrounding one of Banffshire’s most outstanding landmarks could soon be solved.

THREE couples from Banff have been commended for a total of 51 years of service as foster parents.

A FORMER Banff Academy pupil is exhibiting paintings in a London gallery, inspired by his recollections of fisherfolk and coastal life in the area where he grew up.

A CLASSROOM assistant at Banff Primary School took to the skies and contributed £1,500 for a new adventure playground for pupils.

AN RAF war veteran from Banff has had an emotional and rather noisy 80th birthday - in a World War II bomber.