While the past week’s snow in Dufftown & District has made it feel very wintry again all of a sudden, Spring is definitely on its way. The days are getting brighter, the snowdrops are out in full bloom and community activity is back in full strength! And there has been no limit to the diversity of events on offer here in Dufftown this March. Let me tell you about a couple of my favourites this month.
Having followed the progress down at the Keith and Dufftown Railway Association over the past year, I was delighted to be invited to the inaugural run of the Dram Tram on March 3rd. Volunteers have put in hard work to transform this old carriage into a unique whisky-themed train experience – complete with a bar and snug! On the night, supporters and donors were treated to drinks and nibbles on our journey to Drummuir and back. As it was my first time travelling on this train line, I found it amazing to see familiar buildings and sites from a completely new perspective. The Dram Tram will run bespoke events during the Speyside Whisky Festival and you can book your tickets online. You can also hire the train for private events. I have been told it has already been booked for a wedding this summer – what a great idea! I’d like to thank the crew for inviting me to such a special evening and I look forward to being on board soon again.
To balance the extravagant evening on the Dram Tram, I took the opportunity to ground myself with the DDCA spring gardening workshop (pun intended) on March 8th. Our local gardening genius June provided all the participants with two planters each and all the necessary equipment to plant up a beautiful spring display. Since it is a sin to garden without cake, we were lucky enough that the Bread House Dufftown provided us with yummy treats. The planters need to stay covered until all this snow and frost has disappeared but I look forward to seeing them bloom once the Spring temperatures are back.
For the remainder of March, a couple of more fun activities are on offer. On Saturday March 25th, Le Petit Moose is coming all the way from Banchory to teach a needle punch workshop. And on March 31st, Tuminds from Inverness will be going over an Ipad skills refresher with the Aigan Court residents. As for myself, I will take every opportunity to enjoy those rare rays of sunshine!
