Annie Inglis, who died on 1st April 2010 aged 87, was a doyen of the performing arts in Aberdeen and saved the Aberdeen Arts Centre from closure in 1998 when the City Council threatened to close it. It is now run by a trust she set up, Castlegate Arts Limited and the Arts Centre now is staffed by volunteers. She was well-known around Aberdeen as a teacher and theatre director, founding and running many theatre groups including Scottish Youth Theatre, Giz-Giz Theatre Project for Youth and Attic Theatre.

I knew her as a teacher and a mentor, but more importantly a friend. When I was 14, Annie spotted me doing a Speech and Drama Class where she was acting as a consultant and invited me to do Theatre School, kickstarting a career for me on the Aberdeen stage where I performed with many companies including going to the Edinburgh Fringe twice.

When I left university, I was at a loose end and did not know what to do with my life. I explained to Annie I wanted to be an actor. Annie suggested I do a postgraduate qualification in acting to kickstart my career. It was her good reference and preparation that got me my place at the International School of Screen Acting in London. I have since forged a career as an actor and a standup poet using the skills that she taught me. In visits back to Aberdeen, I would always go and visit Annie and we would spend hours together catching up. She was a good friend and confidante, and always encouraged me.

My story is typical of Annie and she touched the lives of very many people, all of whom have their own stories of this much-loved and remarkable woman.

I will always appreciate the memories I have of Annie and I hope her soul, wherever it is, has found peace at last.

Here is a poem I wrote for Annie and those of us she taught. It's called 'Children of Annie'.

Children of Annie

She prepared me and encouraged me,
She told me I'd be fine
Everybody has a mentor
And I'm glad that she was mine

Annie is gone - long live Annie
For she survives in we who live
And we are the children of Annie
The children she taught to follow our dreams
She was a mentor, a teacher and a friend
Directing us all and honing our skills
In theatre, poetry and life

The building she saved -
The Aberdeen Arts Centre
Is indeed just that -
A nexus of creativity
Where ideas and talent
Are bred and nurtured
Where the city's artistic community
Lives and thrives -
This is her legacy

For Annie may have gone
But the centre carries on
And the theatre skills she taught
Her friendship and guidance,
Her energy and imagination,
Live on in us,
The children of Annie
Passing from generation to generation

Long live the theatre
Long live the Arts Centre
Long live Annie!

Love you always, boss. RIP Annie Inglis 1922-2010.

Alain