Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City Council joined forces today to welcome home local Olympic heroes. The three gold medal winners; Tim Baillie, Katherine Grainger and Neil Fachie were joined by Robbie Renwick, Hannah Miley and Lora Turnham along with local volunteers and games makers. The day started with a warm welcome in the Town House. The team then went by open-top bus along Union Street visiting the two gold post boxes in honour of Katherine Grainger and Neil Fachie. It was then out to Westhill where there was a fantastic crowd awaiting their arrival. The downpour of rain didn’t stop the olympians talking with the crowds, signing autographs and shaking hands. The torch bearers, volunteers and game makers all had fascinating stories to tell about their contribution to the Olympic Games which have truly inspired the nation. The look of excitement on the youngsters’ faces as they welcomed their sporting heroes and the cheers from the crowds said it all! An extraordinary sight on the streets of Westhill on a rainy Sunday! It was then on to Haddo House for the official reception. All gold medal winners made inspirational speeches about their success and one of the main things that struck me while listening to all three was that they are keenly aware that their role to engage the next generation has only just begun. Tim Baillie rounded off the whole fantastic day by saying “We live in a beautiful part of the country where we can enjoy the outdoors. If you find something you enjoy doing – go for it!”.

Aberdeenshire Council is joining forces with local authorities across Scotland for the second time to encourage local residents to engage with them via social media.

Twitter 24 is a national social media event which last year saw 28 Scottish councils tweeting around the clock in a bid to give residents an insight into a day in the life of a local authority.

The initiative aims to raise awareness about the breadth and complexity of services offered by councils, while allowing residents to engage directly with council officers.

Employees from across Aberdeenshire Council will take a few seconds out to tweet about their services from the frontline or tweet useful information for residents, allowing the council’s Twitter followers a unique view of the daily scope of activities.

This year’s event will take place from noon on Tuesday, September 18, until noon the following day and residents are being encouraged to join in the debate by using the hashtags #mycouncil #aberdeenshire.

A hashtag is a special character that Twitter uses to collect, spread and organise discussions on various topics.

The council has over 5,000 followers on its main Twitter feed, @aberdeenshire, almost double the number it had at this point last year.

Twitter is a micro-blogging social network where users can post tweets of up to 140 characters. These often contain links to other content such as website pages and photographs.

People who do not already have a Twitter account can find out more about it and sign up for free at www.twitter.com/about

Come out and cheer on the athletes and volunteers who helped make the Olympic and Paralympic Games possible on Sunday, September 16. See athletes including Tim Baillie, Katherine Grainger and Neil Fachie on Aberdeen’s Union Street from 11am to 11.30am, in Westhill shortly after or at Haddo House from 1.30pm until 2pm. See you there!

I am available for consultation tomorrow 10-11am in the interview room at Westhill Library. No appointment necessary.

Robert Smith MP for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine starts his summer tour tomorrow. On Thursday 30th August constituents can meet him at the following locations where his mobile office will be parked:

Blackburn                 10.00am Post Office

Lyne of Skene           10.25am Crossroads

Dunecht                    10.40am Garage & PO

Kirkton of Skene       10.55am Milne Hall

Elrick                         11.10am Broadstraik Inn

Westhill                     11.30am Shopping Centre

Garlogie                     12 noon Garlogie Inn

Cullerlie                      12.15pm Flora’s

Echt                            12.40pm Post Office

Midmar                       1.00pm The Millers

Sauchen                       2.15pm Play Park

Millbank                       2.30pm Old School

Monymusk                   2.50pm The Square

Craigearn                      3.10pm Budget Cycles

Kemnay                         3.25pm Village Hall

This is the 3rd summer tour I have joined Sir Robert as his driver. This year I am delighted to double-up as the local councillor! Sir Robert always gets a warm welcome on his 5 day tour and we get the chance to meet local constituents and hear about a wide variety of issues. If you want to email Sir Robert ahead of his visit, please contact him at robert.smith.mp@parliament.uk

West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine MP, Sir Robert Smith and Westhill and District Councillor, Iris Walker post letter of congratulations to local Olympic gold medal winner Tim Baillie from the newly gold painted post box in Westhill.

Local MP Sir Robert Smith commented “I have written  to Tim Bailllie to congratulate him in winning his gold medal in the canoe slalom, this is a great achievement. It has been so good to watch team GB achieve so many medals and it is extra special to see local people from across the North East achieve their potential.”

Westhill & District Councillor, Iris Walker said “Residents in Westhill are very proud of Tim Baillie’s achievement at the Olympics and I think it’s a wonderful gesture by Royal Mail to mark the occasion with a gold mail box.  Behind all sporting heroes are people who have supported them and nurtured their passion for a particular sport and in Tim’s case his parents, Ken and Christine, and his extended family must be rightly proud”.

A rather belated but nevertheless heartfelt congratulations to Sir Malcolm Bruce!

Veteran Liberal Democrat Malcolm is being knighted for public and political services. The MP for Gordon is the party’s Scottish president and is involved with charities for deaf people.

Mr Bruce, whose daughter Caroline was born profoundly deaf, said: “I’d like to think the knighthood is not just for political longevity but for the work with charities.

“I got into that because of my daughter and hopefully it’s of benefit to them.

“I’ve been an MP here since 1983, so I do owe a lot of this to the constituents.”

Nick Clegg says of Malcolm: “I want to know what Malcolm’s diet is because he clearly eats or drinks something that keeps him forever young. He is one of the most energetic MPs in the House of Commons today much as he was when he entered the Commons 25 years ago. It is amazing to see him run circles around MPs half his age in his tireless dedication to his constituents. He really is an institution in his own right in his own constituency but also in Westminster, as a chairman of a very important select committee. He is widely respected across party boundaries. I wonder whether his constituents realise how lucky they are to have someone who is not just a good constituency MP but someone who is really respected in Westminster. Westminster is a rough and rowdy place. There are not that many MPs – and Malcolm can count himself amongst them – who are listened to respectfully by all parties.”

There’s loads of good stuff going on this weekend – whatever you’ve got planned, have a fantastic Diamond Jubilee celebration!

(Picture shows retiring councillor, Gurudeo Saluja and new candidate, Iris Walker)

Community volunteer Iris Walker is to stand for the Liberal Democrats in the Aberdeenshire Council elections on 3 May in Westhill and district.
Born and brought up in rural Donside, Iris has lived in Garlogie and now Elrick for the last 25 years. She is employed by NHS Grampian.
She is press and communications officer for Westhill & Elrick Community Council, a board member of Grampian Housing Association, and a founder member and director of the Westhill Citizens Advice Bureau. Her involvement in these and other local organisations has brought her into contact with many people from the diverse settlements within the area.
Iris said: “I enjoy meeting people and responding to the issues that affect them. I would like to continue to help implement improvements that people want for our area and being a councillor would extend this opportunity.”
The present councillor, Gurudeo Saluja OBE, is to stand down at the election. He said: “I am delighted that Iris is to be our candidate. She is a very caring and able person who will be ideally suited to the work involved. I know she can be relied on to pick up on the issues that people will bring to her attention.
“Iris knows the towns and settlements throughout the area very well. Her present involvement in various local groups is already appreciated by many.”
Iris said: “I am thrilled to be selected as the candidate for my local area. Although the community groups I am involved with tend to focus on the built-up areas of Westhill and Elrick, I am equally at home in the rural farming communities such as Sauchen, Echt and Midmar, listening to the diverse range of issues of concern for local residents.”
Sir Robert Smith, MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said: “I have been impressed with Iris’ commitment to take up local issues of concern in the community. She has demonstrated her hard work and energy through a range of local organisations and will be a powerful voice for the community on the council.”