Picture: Eric Cormack. Image No. (042153).
COMMUNITY spirit in Buckie is alive and well despite reports of its demise – that’s the verdict of a new group dedicated to looking after part of Cluny Square. The Friends of Buckie Square Memorial group (Fobs) have been working hard to get the north-west quadrant in tip-top shape in time for next spring and have been bowled over by the response from the local community. One of those behind the band of volunteers is Meg Jamieson, who said that discontent over the appearance of the square was the spark that ignited the inspiration to form Fobs. “We started after a lot of folk were ranting on Facebook about the state of the square, there was a lot of negative feelings going about,” she told the Advertiser. “I thought we could try and tap into some of the community spirit in Buckie and make the square look nice again, so I started up our own Facebook page. “The reaction we’ve had from the community has been fabulous.
“We’ve got a group of eight or nine volunteers and are always on the lookout for more. “So many people have supported us in different ways.
“Buckie and District Community Council have been 100 per cent behind us from the beginning. “We’ve had people offering tools, the use of greenhouse, the council have offered to give us the plants they’re lifting so we grow them for next year. “We’re hoping to get a polytunnel at some stage to grow plants. “You certainly can’t say community spirit is dead in Buckie.”
Among the many firms and organisations who have chipped in to the project in some way are pupils from Millbank Primary, who are painting crosses with poppies on them for Remembrance Sunday, Buckie Community Choir, who indicated they wish to sponsor a bench in the square, volunteers from Aberdeen Foyer on Employability and Buckie Buddies with some muchneeded coffee and cake for the hard-working Fobs team