FUN IN THE FERRY - 1970'S

Here's a wee reminder from the mid 70's of the Broughty Ferry go-kart track and crazy-golf course.
Click on image to enlarge.

AWA' AT THE BERRIES

Have to hang my head in shame at this point and admit I never went to the berries. Looking back, I can't think why I didn't go because all my mates went, all my neighbours and all my cousins too, but for some reason it just didn't make my agenda. Perhaps it seemed too much like hard work! I can remember my mates coming back with their arms & hands all scratched, their clothes stained and then rattling all the dosh they made. Sometimes during the 7 weekies I'd go to a mates house and the mother would reply saying "He's awa at the berries" and so off I went to try somebody else.
In the 70's, the "Berry Bus" was used a lot as a derisive term for an old bus in general. For example, if you went on a bus to Blackpool or travelled to an away match and the bus you were on was shooglin' along at a crawl or if it broke down during the journey, you'd describe it as "like being on a berry bus!". So at least I can claim to having been on a few of those anyway..!!
Below is some footage of local pickers getting stuck in.
Photo by The Scotsman.Tints by GG

BUBBLES, WINDMILLS AND SPARKLERS

A variety of things on sticks can keep young kids entertained for ages.

A matter of simple but effective.

This is me (yes it's GG) playing aroond the backies in Craigie in the 60's.

I put it on view not because of me but because of the bubbles container. Notice, no product packaging, no logos, no manufacturing details, and yet that's how they were sold in shops. Just the plain tin with the stick inside. As basic as that.

Windmills too were as basic as it gets. A wooden stick with 4 plastic petal-like blades. The fun was derived running around pretending to be an aeroplane or attaching one to your bike. Then at the end of the day when you were puggled, you would plant it in the garden and pretend it was a flower!

Sparklers, however, well they were more of a luxury stick! Only allowed to indulge one week a year!!

I couldn't resist animating the photo (see below).
A circular breathing technique was needed to do this!

 

 

THE BAXTER PARK DISPLAYS

On one summer weekend each year in the 60's and 70's, Baxter Park put on a display that attracted hundreds of visitors. All the entertainment and action took place in front of the Pavilion, and around the edge of the cordoned off square, they had Army vehicles, Air Force tents, food stalls, ice cream vans and so on.

Performing in the square would be things like motor cycle stunt teams, a dog handler's obstacle course and the highlight would be the Red Devils sky-diving team. They would drop from the sky wearing their smoke flares and land dead centre on a cross marked out in the middle of the square.

I remember one time in the late 60's they ended the show with an old fashioned biplane that flew extremely low over the pavilion, over the crowd and off down across the Tay. A few people in the crowd even ducked by instinct, but it wasn't as low as that!

(By the way, in the late 60's, psychedelic rockers Jefferson Airplane released an album called "After Bathing At Baxter's" and had an image of a biplane on the cover.
However, theirs wasn't about a trip to the park, but more to do with a trip on LSD..!!)

Anyway, one of the quirkier side show attractions was a 6 ft robot that claimed it could answer any question you asked it. I wish I had asked it how it worked!

The above photo was taken on 22nd July 1976. Not much of a crowd for this one though compared to earlier shows. The sky-divers on this occasion are from the Golden Lion Team. The 2 guys are, Jim Conway from Mid Craigie and Mike Colligan from St Marys.

Below you can see the original Red Devils in action that may bring back a few memories of this Baxter's annual event, although it wasn't filmed there.

Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG

GUSSIE PARK CARNIVAL

I think most people will look back at visiting Gussie Park with fondness, despite its rather ramshackled appearance.

I certainly recall having fun there as a schoolboy in the 60's & 70's, usually during the easter & summer holidays.

I also remember it being a place where skirmishes took place when there were matches on up the road.!

The image of the carnival was taken in September 1965.

The Horne's advert is dated April 1986 and lists some of the attractions.

Photo by DC Thomson (with tints by GG).

DUNDEE - EUROPE - DUNDEE - 1983

I started using Inter Rail cards in 1980, and this one from 1983 was my 4th and last year of travelling this way. I chose to go to Greece going through the former Yugoslavia (despite lots of advice not to take that route). So the place names on the card are - DUNDEE - LONDON - DOVER - CALAIS - PARIS - NICE - VENTIMIGLIA - MILAN - VENICE - TRIESTE - BELGRADE - BAR (near the Albanian border) - THESSALONIKA - ALEXANDROUPOLIS (near the Turkish border) - ATHENS - KALAMATA - PATRAS, then pretty much the same route back up to VENICE. The trip from VENICE to LONDON was the direct Orient Express route through Switzerland. Then of course, back home to DUNDEE.
Click on the image to enlarge.

THE TRAIN LEAVING DUNDEE

It was good to get away from Dundee from time to time. I enjoyed travelling by train, so in the early 80's I pounced on the chance to get an Inter Rail card, which allowed unlimited travel around Europe for 1 month. Dead easy to use. Just write the destination on the card and away you go. No need to queue for tickets.
Unlike nowadays, when most people tend to choose their own holiday dates, back then most folk were stuck with the "Dundee fortnight". On the Friday everybody came off work, it seemed like half the town teemed down to the rail station to depart!