Some of us were lucky enough to witness the remarkable ice pancake that formed close to the mouth of the River Clunie on 3rd January this year. The temperature dropped to around minus 14 and as the water slowed it froze to the bank. On this particular spot there is, under some water levels, a very slow whirlpool effect and that morning there must have been a speck of foam in the centre of the stream that slowed enough to freeze. It picked up ice crystals and began to rotate forming a perfect circle, which got bigger and bigger. When I saw it, it was about 15 feet diameter and turning very slowly. A small piece of the edge broke off and got jammed, stopping the circle from turning. It then became frozen to the bank as more ice formed around it. Twice more this winter we had similar low temperatures, but the circle did not form, although the ice formed across the water. Magali Brat says she saw it in this location 7 or 8 years ago and Neil Bain has seen similar pancakes on other rivers in the area. I am sure there will be other spots where this happens, but probably nobody is there to witness it! Simon Blackett

Welcome to...

Jackie MacLean, the new head teacher at Braemar school. For the last four years she has been teaching at Ballater School. She is really looking forward to working in partnership with the community.