Duncan Harley

On 23 August 1989, Mary Webb’s ashes were scattered within the grounds of Kaimhill Crematorium at Garthdee. It's a fine place and worthy of a walk around. Mary however had actually been cremated at Oakley Wood Crematorium near Leamington during what Jack Webster recalls as “a brief and pathetic finale; few even in her own native area having the slightest idea of her significance.” So who was Mary Webb? When the Victorian era Aberdeen Music Hall closed for much needed renovations in 2016, a series of public events was organised during the weeks leading up to the closure. Titled ‘Lights Oot!’ the final performances showcased the diversity of the venue and celebrated the entertainments which had drawn the folk of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to the hallowed place over the years. Built to a design by architect Archibald Simpson the building opened in 1822, initially as a private membership only gentleman’s club, and over the intervening decades performers as diverse as Charles Dic...