Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Call from community for help to save Royal British Legion in Oldmeldrum, after rising energy costs

Kiddie Kickers may have to move out of Oldmeldrum if the branch closes. Image: Kiddie Kickers/Oldmeldrum RBL.
Kiddie Kickers may have to move out of Oldmeldrum if the branch closes. Image: Kiddie Kickers/Oldmeldrum RBL.

An Oldmeldrum football group for children is hopeful the Royal British Legion (RBL) branch can be saved so they can continue their classes in the village.

Last week, the Aberdeenshire club announced its “heartbreaking” plans to close due to rising energy costs.

An official decision cannot be made until an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) is held, but the club has said it does not have the funds to keep the branch going and does not want to pass the financial burden onto others by raising hire costs.

The building on Market Square is hired out by various clubs and groups from the area, and is also the base for the Oldmeldrum Community Pantry.

‘All the clubs are established here’

Children and their parents attend the group every week. Images: Kiddie Kickers.

One of the groups which uses the hall every week is Kiddie Kickers where youngsters learn motor skills and coordination through sport.

Susan Guthrie leads the activities, which involve both children and their parents, every Saturday morning from the RBL hall.

She said: “It is the only hall in Oldmeldrum that is big enough for Kiddie Kickers. I’ve got two classes of 18 children at a time, and they each need an adult with them, so that’s 36 people in the hall running about.

“There’s not another hall that’s as good so I’d have to look at going outwith Oldmeldrum, but I don’t want to take it out of the community. We’re right in the middle of the village at the moment and I love the fact most of the children can walk here.

“There’s not a lot of children’s activities in Oldmeldrum, so I think it would be such a shame for it to go. Others could be pushed out too, and what will happen to the community pantry? I feel all the clubs are established so it’s such a shame.”

Impact on whole community

The hall at the RBL building is hired out by many groups and clubs. Image: Oldmeldrum RBL/Facebook.

Everyone in the community is being encouraged to attend the EGM on Monday with the hope someone will be able to offer the help that is needed to save the branch.

The leader of Kiddie Kickers will be among those in attendance and is keen to hear what will be said.

“I think the legion is so valuable to the community, I’m going to be upset if it does go and I don’t know if Kiddie Kickers will continue if it does,” she said.

“The people who attend the class are gutted about it and are desperate for me to continue. There are so many clubs who use it and there are so many people who attend, mostly locals, who may be unable to go if they move elsewhere.

“It’ll have a huge impact on the whole community, but many people won’t realise until it’s gone. Maybe there is still hope, I’m keen to hear what will be said at the meeting.”

The EGM will take place at the RBL branch on Market Square at 7pm on Monday.

Conversation