Sheena Blackhall - Spikkin Doric

Sheena Blackhall is a writer, illustrator, traditional ballad singer and storyteller from the North East of Scotland.From 1998-2003 she was Creative Writing Fellow in Scots at the Elphinstone Institute.

She has published four Scots novellas, fifteen short story collections, many owersetts and poetry collections.

In 2009 she became Makar (poet laureate) for Aberdeen and the North East, and Makar for the Doric Board in 2019.Although she was born and educated in Aberdeen, her father Charles Middleton was manager of Strachans Deeside Bus service, based at Ballater, which ran from Braemar to Aberdeen for many decades.

This was owned by her aunt, Helen Strachan.

Summer holidays were lived in a small house in Ballater, referred to as The Shack.

The Middleton family appeared on Deeside as tenants of North Gellan, Coull, in 1623.

Her grandfather, Alexander Middleton, ran a dairy and haulage business from East Mains Aboyne and was given a Masonic funeral at Aboyne.

He is buried in the Aboyne-Dinnet Churchyard.At this event Sheena will sing, tell stories and read poems in Doric.