2008 River Dee fishing season opening ceremony This years River Dee fishing season was opened by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Despite the adverse stormy weather conditions Hugh succeeded in casting the first fly of the season on the River Dee at Milton of Crathes (Feb 1st) in front of an exceptionally large audience who braved the elements to join in the "Opening of the Season" Ceremony. Howard was there to sign copies of the 2008 River Dee Trust calendar that shows 12 scenes of the river dee which he painted to help raise funds for this new charity. Hugh was pleased to recieve a copy of the calendar and Howard was delighted to be able to congratulate Hugh on his chicken out campaign - which challenges the consumer to end the overwhelming cruelty suffered by standard broiler chickens by only buying free range birds. To join the campaign click here There are still a limited number of calendars available which Howard will be happy to sign for a reasonable donation to The River Dee Trust fund. Contact River Dee Trust on 013398 80411 or The Butterworth Gallery on 013398 86104. Spring Exhibition - Fom the Highlands of Scotland to the villa's in Spain. Howard & Mary Butterworth will be exhibiting their work at the Butterworth Gallery from Easter weekend, open weekends 11am until 4pm (viewing outwith these times by appointment, contact Sarah on 01339886104). This exhibition features some of their most recent work, Famous Royal Deeside scenes such as Loch Muick and Lochnagar have been captured in all their splendour by Howard, whilst Mary's acclaimed and intriguing night scenes of Aberdeen are a modern reflection of the nightlife in this thriving city. Running alongside their new works will be a reflective collection of Howard's Spanish originals from his trips to the Alicante provence over the past 35 years and new Giclee prints for 2008. Click HERE to view their original paintings.