Mitchell’s Diary

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Country singer Willie Nelson, who had a birthday message for another 75-year-old

Sunflowers aplenty at Fiona’s service

SELDOM can a church have been filled with so many sunflowers as at a funeral in Angus on Monday. It was the favourite flower of Fiona Fuller, who died, aged only 37, from a pulmonary embolism at her home at Inverbervie.

Her husband, Grant, who paid a moving tribute to her at the service in Tannadice Church, near Finavon, had requested that mourners bring along sunflowers.

Fiona was business support director of Poyry Engineering in Aberdeen. Her elder brother, Keith Whyte, of Inverurie, described his sister as “an absolute ray of sunshine” – and it seemed to be no coincidence that the day itself was brilliantly sunny.

One mourner even travelled from her home on a farm at Masterton in the North Island of New Zealand to be at the service. Mother-of-three Paula Petrie is Keith’s sister-in-law and the younger daughter of Patrick Mitchell, of Mitchell’s Dairy in Inverurie, where Fiona’s parents, Brian and Brenda Whyte, also now live.

Ellon fitba club is on the ball

THE fifth annual Ellon United Football Club dinner in the town’s New Inn at the weekend has raised about £7,000 for the Superleague side.

Doric author Debbie Leslie, who was raised on a farm at Barthol Chapel, joined ex-footballers Donald Ford, of Hearts, and John Gahagan, of Motherwell and Morton, on the speaker’s rostrum.

Oor Willie’s treat for birthday girl

TALK about defying the years. A sellout audience at Aberdeen’s Music Hall earlier this week thrilled to the sound of the legendary country singer/songwriter Willie Nelson.

For almost two hours, he and his band had his fans spellbound. However, for one woman, the evening became extra-special.

Oor Willie announced that it was Sheila Hay’s 75th birthday and the audience gladly joined in singing Happy Birthday to someone who had reached the same age as the remarkable Texan.

Oor Willie may have embarked on a world tour, but he still made time after the concert to sign autographs before boarding a big, black bus in Golden Square.

Haste ye back, Mr Nelson.

Not all right for Jack at the airport

DELEGATES to this week’s massive OTC oil and gas show in Houston, Texas, are even now wending their way home across the Atlantic.

However, for at least two of the 450 people taken to the event through Munro’s Travel Group of Aberdeen and the P&J, there were nervous moments on arrival at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

A wonky fingerprint scanner caused some consternation and one key man to fall foul of the pesky machine was Jack Burnett, who is managing partner at Munro’s and has attended OTC every year since 1973.

“I was told the machine could not take a proper reading,” he said, “and I was sent to an immigration official.

“I had a nervous 20-minute wait before being given the all-clear to enter the US.”

First-time OTC delegate Jeanette Forbes, who owns Aberdeen information technology firm PCL Group, also had a nervous moment or two because of the dodgy fingerprint machine.

Meanwhile, more than 140 players took part in last Sunday’s precursor to the oil show, the Tartan Tour 18 golf day.

The winning quartet were Knut Larsen, a guest of Atlas Copco Kolfor, Jimmy Williamson, of Lloyds TSB, Kiwi David Dent, of Proserv Abandonment and Decommissioning, and David Binnie, of Central Insurance Services.

Aberdeen’s Lady Provost Sandra Stephen presented the prizes.