Encapsulating the beauty of the North East of Scotland, ASPC invited photographers across the region to capture their best photographs of the area and submit them to our 2023 photography competition. Along with receiving a considerate gift, the 12 winners chosen by ASPC will have the opportunity to feature on our website home page for one month.

This month’s absorbing photo was submitted by Mike Diamond. It shows the graveyard at the western edge of the Kirk of Saint Nicholas, with the buildings on Back Wynd, just visible. Known as “The Mither Kirk”, this was regarded as The Aberdeen Kirk.

There has been some form of church set here since medieval times. The current Kirk is the latest of several manifestations of consecrated building, following changes wrought during the centuries. There is not enough space to narrate all that is of interest of the Kirk, but one or two facts have always fascinated me. Set in the centre of the City, the site has a notable Georgian colonnade fronting onto Union Street. 

The main tower of the church contains a carillon of 48 bells, one of the largest in the UK. I am lucky enough to remember hearing the carillon being played, something routine in the 50s and 60s. I remember being impressed, as a pupil at Robert Gordon’s College, that the popular Music Assistant on the staff was one of those who “played” the carillon. His name was J S Bevan -Baker. Of course, we immediately christened him Johan Sebastian.

Mike’s sensitive photo has the ability to make one stop and reflect. Intimations of mortality abound in the headstones and monuments, and also in the fallen leaves, but some comfort may be found in the radiance of the setting sun, transient yet ever returning, and the trees, with their promise, despite the fallen leaves, of renewed life next spring.

If you’re interested in learning more about each one of our images as part of our photography competition, then why not take a look at one of our previous submissions, here.