My wee offbeat look back at life in Dundee during the 1960's,70's & 80's has now reached journeys end and so I'm away to put the time-machine back in the garage and chuck the cover back on.
For those of you who find Retro Dundee for the first time after this date, here is a quick overview.
It started up back in summer 2008 and all the items I have posted (approx 1300) are still available to view in the Blog Archive running down the left side of the main layout. You can click on the dates to open up the content and you can scroll through the material month by month or by their title. There is also a Search Box top left if you are looking for something specific and it will will open up a wee results panel to dip into.
You'll find a mixture of photographs, adverts, audios, film footage, publications & ephemera on all sorts of subjects relating to Dundee's retro decades - school, fashion, bands, events, pubs, art, sport, restaurants, gigs, shops and on and on. So if you were kicking around town during this period, there's a good chance you'll spot a few things here you'll enjoy seeing again.
You won't find much in the way of official academic historical accounts as this is more of a retrospective trip off the beaten track than a traditional visit to the museum and library.
The majority of stuff has come from my own personal collection but quite a few others have contributed too.
As for the "Followers" who have been keeping their eyes on Retro Dundee for a while, well there will be no more new posts, so I suppose nothing else for you to follow here anymore.
Thanks for visiting it regularly, and also for those who supplied genuine comments, much appreciate the added extra info.
I will, of course, keep Retro Dundee up & running for as long as I'm around, or as long as time will allow, so unless Google's Blogger shuts down or something, Retro Dundee will remain on the Internet to bamboozle researchers & historians and it will still be kept active for you to drop in and leave your comments.
I'll also keep my Retro email open should anyone want to get in touch - you'll find it top left of the layout where it says "Contact".
Anyway, can't stay here yacking all day, I've got a ton of other things lined up ready to be cracking on with, so it's time for me to set off for cyber-pastures new and move on to my next bundle of Internet activities.
That's yer lot then.
Eh'll awa now.
GG
76 comments:
Well done sir.
A sad day for me as a regular visitor but thank you very much for the huge volume of material from our wicked past.
What a piece of work you have assembled!
As I said, bloody well done sir.
Jock F
But hold on there! Surely we should have had a weeks notice? How am I going to get my daily retro fix.
Seriously though, have enjoyed the auld pics, the adverts, the music and the comments.
But Jock was right a few days ago, you have to move on. So wi a teary eye.....thank you.
Craig
Thanks for all the fun, giggles and trips down memory lane. Fantastic job GG. You can now put your feet up for a well earned rest.
A splendid job!
Dave McDonald
Well done GG.
Based over here in Dubai it has been a pleasure logging on daily and seeing so many blasts from the past.
It even reminded me of being Jock F's paper laddie in Wentworth Court many moons ago!!
Anyway....cap doffed. It's been emotional
Paul
Thanks for all your work here over the last few years. It is an amazing body of work that I will be using for reminiscence work with those affected with altzeimers in the Dundee area. Thank you, this is an invaluable resource to rival photopolis.
I'd just like to echo everyone else's comments by saying thanks for all the hard work you've put into bringing this blog to life, GG. Not a day has gone by in the past three years I've failed to look at the site at least once. I was a kid during the 1980s, so it's been great to be reminded of places I literally grew up with and associate personal memories to, particularly those that are no longer there.
Good luck in your next "adventure" and keep us posted!
It really has been a treat viewing the wealth of information on Retro and I will miss my daily fix.
Get your feet up, you've earned a rest.
Thanks for all the fun and reminders of the enjoyable past. Will miss it but will keep looking in the archives for smiles.
Enjoy your retirement.
Merts
Thanks for a great journey. It was nice to see a look at Dundee past from an ordinary persons perspective rather than some academics sanitised view of a great city.
Many thanks.
All I could say has been, but thanks for all your time and effort, a little bit of my day will be empty now
I think most of the comments have been said, I would just like to add my thanks for a good honest look back at a Dundee I grew up in. Will miss my daily log in to see what wonders have been uncovered. Wish you all the best in your new ventures whatever they may be.
I've been subscribed to this blog for best part of three years, and it's been one of the first feeds I check every day. Very sad to see it come to an end, but I understand the reasons. Thanks for everything.
Thanks for some fantastic memories. You'll be sadly missed!
Like everyone else I'll be sorry to see you go. You've done a fantastic job and created a great resource for anyone interested in recent history.
Well done and thank you.
congrats on a fine body of work!....
a site i always looked forward to ..fantastic content ...well done you will be sadly missed!
jh
A' the best G.
So sad to see you go but so appreciative of all you've done. Jut sad I didn't find you sooner.
Good luck in all you do next but please keep in touch with us all!!
To mis-quote Rupert Brooke
"That there's some coarner o' the t'interweb that is aye Dundonian."
Many thanks for your work.
I especially appreciated seeing some of the St Marys/Ardler stuff. Its was just amazing to relive some of those moments in time from the 60's and 70,s.
Its been a real pleasure to visit this site and to see what you had posted for our delight.
All the best
Well Done Retro and a big thank you for all your hard work, it has been well worth it seeing all the memory's joggers from those decades and giving us all lots of pleasure over the past 3 years. Looking forward to Retro 2 the sequel in another 40 years time when you have the spare time of coarse.
well done to you.many an hour spent looking at old pictures and getting a wee flashback :) But it will always be here for future generations..
good luck. lesley g. xx
Thanks so much, GG. You can be justly proud of what you've done here - and not once (except in the most light hearted way) have you run our city down.
And all through we've seen examples of that unique, deadpan Dundonian humour you get nowhere else. Thanks again and good luck.
Thon website updates will be missed.
At least no more terrible punning titles - you've brought a lot of nostalgic pleasure to Dundonians worldwide it would seem. The comments here say it all and are a perfect epitaph for a site which I will miss very much.
I know if my Uncle Jim was still around he'd be dead chuffed to see his pics up on screen.
Personally I reckon you'll be back at it within six months.
Gordon
Some superb reminders of little things we all thought we had forgotten, only to be brought back to life with a wee picture and a tale. Also loved the comments as Retro Dundee grew into a wee nostalgic community .
Great piece of work
All the best GG ----------- RC
Sad to see Retro Dundee end but well done on your achievement its be a been a daily treat checking out your latest posts.
Barry Gibson
.
I have to agree with all the comments here.
All I can add is "The boy done good..."
8=)
PS: and everyone who took time to add comments to the threads 'done good' too!
farewell. well done. good job.
All good things must come to an end......it's sair,
Thanks for a great site and all the best for your future endevours, you should get this stuff into a big book for the non surfers.
all the best GG
The Bear
You`ve left behind a plethora of information about oor city, that will be of much interest to future generations.
It`s been such a pleasure over the past 3 years dipping into this blog.
Shame it had to end, but it`ll be interesting coming on in a year or two, reading any additional comments.
Cheers, AG
Thanks so much for all your work. Invaluable social history and smashish entertainment to boot. I just wish every town and city had a documentarian like you.
D.B Parkes
Totally gutted. Thought Retro Dundee would go on forever! Well done, fantastic site and I will miss looking in.
Many thanks.
Jim Mc
Ach! Sad news. Like the aftermath of a Wallace's peh... there's just a few crumbs left to pick over and the grease running down your chin to remind you of the pleasure you've had. Very sad to see you go, but what a brilliant blog Gordon. Thanks for all the hard work and the many, many memories you stired up. Long live Dundee!
Well done to you. This has been a great journey, thank you for letting us share in it.
Good luck
Stephen J
Hardly a day gone by in the last twa years since I stumbled across yer site that I hivnae checked in to read the updates, and marvelled at your collection of ephemera and memories.
Thanks GG, its been great, have really enjoyed the way your posts have promted recalls in my ever forgetting memory.
A reluctant farewell, Have a lovely Christmas. Stu.
First came across this site 2.5 years ago and it immediately became one of my daily must-reads.
You've done a brilliant job and have created a wonderful archive of nostalgic Dundee memories.
I'm sure people will be going through the material for many years to come!
Well done you! It's been a fantastic run (the best Dundee website for us auldies) without a doubt. Good luck for the future and great to know it will be staying up online.
It's been a daily highlight for me and I can only guess at the work and thought you've put into this over the years.
Every day has been an advent calendar day...
It's been a fantastic journey...
Thanks very much.
G.O.
Sad to see the blog is at an end. Thanks for invoking some great memories, and introducing me to many places, times and culture of Dundee that I knew nothing about.
If your still needing a fix, you can go back to the beginning, have a look and start commenting again. I'm sure people will join in. We've probably all missed something over the years!
All the best GG! Thanks for all the Retro Dundee goodies and memories.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Fantastic Stuff!
Hats off to you.
Make it a book!!!
Ive an idea, i'm gonna start again from year one on todays date. Bound to have missed something or something i never bothered to comment on. Keep Retro Dundee ALIVE!
Well done mate.
Me and meh burd Lynn Lathin think yir a bra lad.
Awra best lad.
Wullie Broon fae the Hulltoon.
(Huns rool ya bass!)
Brilliant site, you'll be missed.Thanks GG
NOOOOOOO! Not fair!
It's all been said mate. But very true. What a great run for yir money :) yil NEVER know the fun you have given everyone, fae naming fowk that family and workmates just thought were " thingy" till Retro Dundee telt them different . and much much mair. great memories, and "We were there." Thank you VERY much
Thank you and well done - brought back many happy memories.
I've been reading your site since day one (or thereabouts) and I'm STILL searching for a picture of someone I know in your posts. Despite growing up in Dundee in the 60s and 70s no one has cropped up in any of your excellent articles. Weird. You must keep posting till I find a face...
Thanks, GG, you made an old Dundonian very happy for nearly three years.
very sad day. My nightly visits to the retro bookmark have come to an end.
Thanks very much for all the nostalgia.
Thank for all the laughs and tears. A great blog and loved all the banter in the comments.
Lynn Robertson
Aufwiedersehen! ... It´s been a great trip down memory lane.
Ian Cussick.
Hamburg.
Thanks for all your work. You've brought back many memories of sights, sounds and tastes from my growing up years.
Someone mentioned doing a book based on the site - great idea! I'm sure it would be a hit.
Best of luck for the future.
Gordy
As Vex said..."History is the past.. forget"....glad you did not...respect!
mike kane
Thanks for giving me fix of Dundee being a ex pat. You have provided me lots on memories growing up in sixties through to seventies in times I trully enjoyed.
Doug
Awwww no!
Please don't go.
Have been away for a few days and have just logged on for my Retro Dundee fix. Knew this was coming but honestly, reading these last posts just now has left me with a lump in my throat and a bit emotional.
I've loved every minute, every post and every pic of Retro Dundee and you'll be very much missed.
Good Luck with all your future plans GG - you'll be really very much missed.
Best Wishes
Deb
It's not just the last post, it's the last post i'll ever do , superb Retro, thank you ,
.
Ziggy - you just reminded me of something. I've played this track, now and again, over the years.
I even found a video which features a 'retro' record player!
Kind of appropriate, I thought. It's called, "Lest We Forget"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTD2EbQM-g4
So, yir goan awa, ir ye?
Well, if your goana go awa, whar ir we a goana go?
Ehm seek aboot ye jackin it in, but abidee agrees thit yiv gave wiz a an affy load o pleyshir, reeding a aboot the auldin dayz in wir Toon.
Guid luck tae you, and lang may yir lumb reek!!
Oh eh, yir rite enuff Gil.
Thon laddeez done bra, ken wot eh mean.
You should turn all this into a book now. That will keep you going for a bit! Been following this as I have been working all over the world.
Thanks so much for all the effort.
Thanks for hours of memories !!
The waybackmachine online can archive your blog without you doing much more than submitting it. You may be aware of it already, but in case you're not...
Ace reliving memories o our youth&hootin&hollerin ower yer posts good sir.Nice to have a wee bit o Dundee to indulge myself down here in Coventry.Best wishes for yer future endevours
Jim Lowx
Just another word of thanks. Learnt more Dundee history than a pile of books.
Passed on Billy McKenzie set to my step daughter - she was mighty impressed.
Liked the Bundy clock drawing (where the bus conductor stamped his card and it went DING)
And the price of tickets for Queen at Caird Hall. And all the rest. Ta
I really miss Retro, used to read it before looking at the Tele online every night, Retro has retired, the Tele online has really gone downhill recently, life is not good!!!
No such thing as journeys end. Time, life and beyond is endless. Or maybe that's just me. The thoughts, ideas, memories and comments of Dundee folk are neverending - as we all know. Just as a Dundee Mither! So please, every now and then, give a little thought to those of us still reminiscing. In 20 years time we'll want to know what's goin' on now! Thanks. x
Fast eddie just found you all not many pointers in birmingham lots. Of catching up to do
In the 1981 edition of the NME's Xmas edition there was a question in the CrossWord. It asked " What was the name of the first Punk Rock band in Scotland? ". The answer was "The Running Sores"., ( fronted by Bread Poultice & leader Stevie Reid. Also featuring Pete McGlone-sexy sax, Steve Knight-booming bass, Jog-drums, Chris Marra-rhythm guitar & finally joint roller & early Banksie stencil artist- Bob Carroll "The Wizard", said CrossWord had a £500 prize!
Keep'emPeeled, ASTR0N.
yeah, well known punks they lot ????
Sorry I was late finding Retro. I lived at No 24 with my brother, just beside you, so all your info and pictures brought back happy memories of Craigie, thanks again.
Lynn
Great job, GG!
I was late in finding this and have just spent several hours going through it.
I left Dundee in 1964 at 19, and much of the stuff is about later eras, but never mind, there was still plenty to prompt me to leave a few notes.
From my earliest memories of going to the Caldrum Street steamie with my granny - who worked in a jute mill at 14 and danced in shows in the city centre - I knew Dundee and its people were unique and going to be unforgettable wherever life took me.
Aged 10 to 19, I grew up in Mid-Craigie and somehow gained a perverted pride in modest success in my working life, knowing I had come from a scheme whose name made people step back a little when you answered the question "where do you live?"
Naw - let's be honest - sometimes I ducked out and said "near Pitkerro Road".
Character-forming city for better or for worse we've got to love it!
Again, well done GG for co-ordinating this magnum opus in the first place.
I've been told that Retro (GG) is the main man behind electronic music makers, Calabar Cult, a collective that have links with Dundee.
Not sure if it's true or not, they are a bit of a mystery act it seems but I have listened to their stuff on Soundcloud and it's awesome!!
Hope I've not broken any secrets mentioning it??!!
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