GATHERING WINTER FUEL ITEMS

Continuing with the fuel theme (minus coal) here's a few bits & pieces from the past you may remember.

First up is a 1968 photo of the Shell & BP Scotland depot down at the Stannergate. This was a modern installation at the time and had a total storage capacity of 9,000 tons. 8 delivery tankers could be filled simultaneously. Not a place to visit if you smoked!

"High Speed Gas" was a slogan used by the Scottish Gas Board, with the ad above dating from 1968, and a reminder that the Dundee showroom could be found in the Overgate.

You didn't need to have coal to have a fireplace of course, and by the mid 80's, imitating real coal fires was a popular alternative. The next 2 ads competing with each other selling these effect fires are both dated 1986 - Dundee's Fireplace Boutique in North Street and the Fire Surround Centres in Arbroath Road & Broughty Ferry.

Finally, yet another alternative fuel was paraffin, and this badge of mine goes way back to the 60's. No idea if the wee earless elephant creature had a name, but the freak didn't seem to put people off buying the pink stuff!

FOOD ADS AND SOME HOME COOKING

After a wee flurry sampling some of the gastronomic delights from around the eastern side of the globe - it's time to get back to a few of our own homely spots in town who served up delicious delicacies for those of us who weren't too concerned about our westernized diet.

Going in date order this time - the Keiller Restaurant ad is from 1963 and is for their place in the High Street, while reminding us where their other eateries were located.

The ad for Nelson's is dated 1965 and is for their shops in Nelson Street and the Wellgate. Although it was a confectioners, I think their place in the Wellgate may have had a wee corner sitting area.

You'll all be familiar with the T-Bone Steakhouse I bet - their joint doon Union Street. The ad is from 1977 and the place would be doing a roaring trade around this era.

Raffles in the Perth Road was a nice cheery restaurant/café that had a very good reputation for it's food and service.

I just thought I'd include this basic ad from 1984 to remind you of their logo.

The ad for Shepherd's and the Baked Tattie & Pizza House is conjoined because they both shared the same address in Perth Road. It's dated 1984 - so pre Peking.

The Brooklyn Diner ad is dated 1985, and its location was on the corner pf Panmure Street and Meadowside. Typical American-style food, and lots of neon lighting as part of its look. You could also hire the place for private functions too.

The Town House ad is a 1988 one and emphasizes their pub lunches - Farfir bridies an' a' that.

But can anyone remember what David did? It says Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays were music nights, but they don't put David's appearance in that category. So what was in store for everyone - did he come up to you and smash you in the face with a frying pan, or what??

Mondays and Tuesdays to be avoided??!!

VANISHING VICKY - EARLY 70'S

Another group of photos from the early 70's showing the demolition around Victoria Road.

Top picture is of the upper area of the Vicky.

2nd image, from the edge of the crater, was taken in Charles Street off the Wellgate. The derelict building at the opposite end, was the Kings Road location.

The 3rd view is where the buildings I displayed on yesterdays post would have been positioned.

Lastly, a look back over from the other side - the photographer was standing in Kings Road at the time.

Photos from Gordon C.

VICTORIA ROAD BACKIES - 1970

A couple of interesting photos showing the back of the buildings along Victoria Road.

You may recall a similar view of this section of the Vicky I posted back in November 2010, but the difference is, on last years, the buildings were all empty - on these 2 photos here however, there is evidence that they are still being lived in.

The pictures were probably taken around 1970ish, so they didn't have that much longer to go before the arrival of the bulldozers.

The top photo shows the segment where it joins onto Idvies Street.

The image below it is further down a wee bit going towards Wellgate, with the tell tale sign of life - the washin' hingin' oot!

Not quite sure what the small building in the foreground beside the lampie is mind you, because I don't know what address it would come under. If it's in Charles Street then the only place that crops up in my 1970 directory on that side of the street is D. Todd, a coal dealer. Could be - could no be - hopefully maybe one of you will be able to nail that one.

Photos from Gordon C.

CHECKING OUT THE SCROTUM POLES

One of the local account holders at the bank featured in yesterdays item, was The Scrotum Poles.

They may not have had much money to burn at the time mind you, but 30 years on their music is still creating interest..!!

Just this year they have been played on Gideon Coe's show on Radio 6 and I even heard them get an airing on WFMU in New York this summer. Also had write-ups in The Word magazine and Record Collector magazine this year.

Anyway, a good time to include this rare photo of the band caught in rehearsals up at the Coffin Mill, with a couple of mysterious onlookers dressed in black.

Were The Stranglers in town?

Big thanks to Craig.

DUNDEE SAVINGS BANK - PART 2

Just along the road a wee bit from their previous location, this branch of the Dundee Savings Bank in Arbroath Road was photographed in May 1976 - the month it opened for biz.

The building was brand new and purpose built at the time - this spot being where Johnston's Stores was situated in earlier years.

Sometime around the early 80's the "Dundee Savings Bank" wording was ditched and it became a fully fledged TSB.

Photo by DC Thomson.

DUNDEE SAVINGS BANK - PART 1

2 items from the mid 70's featuring the Dundee Savings Bank.
Top one is an ad dated 1974.
In '74 the DSB had loads of banks spread around Dundee as well as plenty further afield.
One of the local branches was this one above in Arbroath Road at Craigiebank shops.
This image was captured in May 1976 when the bank shut its doors to move into new premises just a few steps away, with this corner location turning into a bookies.
In 1975, Dundee Savings Bank merged with other banks dotted around Scotland and formed the Trustee Savings Bank. The 2 existed in tandem for a while, as you can see by the TSB sign present, top-right of the entrance area.
Click onto the picture for a closer look.

Photo by DC Thomson.

CRAIGIEBANK POST OFFICE - 1983

This image of Craigiebank Post Office in Arbroath Road appeared in the local press in February 1983.
The reason it was receiving attention back then was because the place was robbed.
I have a hazy memory of this and think this may have been the time when a guy was hiding in a recess around the back of the shops, then when the owner was letting himself in - he leapt out and did his "Get the loot out of the safe" introduction.
Looks like the robber also made off with the "EM" from the chemist and the "I" from the chip shop - then possibly started up a mediocre record company!
I'm pretty sure this P.O. has been done more than once during its history.

Photo by DC Thomson.

ADAMSON'S - ARBROATH ROAD - 1972

Adamson & Son had this workshop/factory at 140 Arbroath Road.

It was a place I'd pass regularly as a schoolboy, but didn't have a clue what went on inside!

Well after recently finding an advert for them dating from 1970, I can now let it be known that in this Wire & Metal Workers building they called Riverview Works, they made a wide variety of items.

Their wire based products included - guards for windows, fires, fans and similar stuff - then there was fence enclosures for sports grounds, animal pens, works security etc and they also made more general items like baskets, sieves, trays and so on.

Their sheet-metal products included - lockers, bins, pipes, signs, storage tanks, things like that.

This picture of the premises was taken in March 1972 - but not long after, they had moved biz to Clepington Road and by around 1973/74 this building was demolished.

Photo by DC Thomson.

GROSSETT'S OPENING DAY - 1978

2 days ago I put up film footage showing Grossett's (next door to The Hap) being demolished in the mid 70's, well here is their other shop further along Arbroath Road at Craigiebank shops, preparing for their grand opening on 15th May 1978.
The shop is still going strong, although it has since had a bit of a facelift.
Photo by DC Thomson.

THE DISAPPEARING CORNER - 1980'S

These images were all taken around the corner wedge area where City Road meets Milnbank Road.

Most of the main buildings you can see in the photos have vanished, replaced now with landscaping.

If you want to do a Google Street View comparison, here are their locations.

Top pic - Baxter Street shot from City Road in April 1986.

2nd pic - Baxter Street looking back down towards City Road in March 1984.

3rd pic - Blyth Street on a rainy day in November 1984.

last pic - The back of Blyth Street and Fleuchar Street in February 1985.

Photos by Neale Elder.

HAPARANDA DEMOLITION - MID 70's

I have put up a couple of items on Retro in the past showing the buzz there was at the Haparanda in Arbroath Road - the haven for Dundee's fashionable youth in the 60's.

Well here below is some film footage showing the moment in the mid 70's when the building was demolished.

The shop to the right of The Hap was Grossett the butcher and Andrew G Kidd was the baker on the left of it on the corner of Baffin Street.

The area has of course since been rejuvenated into...er...a car park!

POSTERN GATE AD & PHOTO

The Postern Gate was a pleasant wee arty gift shop in the Nethergate in the 70's & 80's, run by Edith Cunningham.
It had all sorts of craft styled goodies as you can tell from the advert.
I used to pop in quite regularly to top-up my art postcard collection!
The ad is dated 1977 and the photo was taken in 1985.
They changed the intrusive traffic light into a quaint lamppost for the illustration too!

PERTH ROAD'S CANADIAN SHOP - 80'S

Those of you who frequented places like the Centre Bar, Club Feet and other youthful dens in town in the 70's & 80's will probably remember (Fast) Eddie Donnelly.

Well after his first trade went bust, he opened up this fashion shop in the Perth Road, the clothing on the racks being stuff he imported from North America.

The shop may have been called Dan Rivers, not 100% sure, although that's a name that crops up on the funky interior design.

Eddies co-owner was George Craigie, and Billy Shaw helped out in the shop - this was sometime around the mid/late 80's period.

Photos by The Bear.

OLD STAMPING GROUND - 1982

I forgot all about this wee shop until I saw this photo - Dundee Philatelic Supplies at Sinderins, on the Perth Road / Hawkhill junction.
Can't say I was ever in it mind you, but passed it often enough.
The shop itself was being stamped out at the time of the photo which was taken on 23rd September 1982.
The corner seated area still remains today, but the wedge of shops that are boarded up, have all been demolished.
And is that a couple of Harris pupils plunking? Surely not!
The 3 white posters on the boards are for Hot Chocolate, who were playing at the Caird Hall in Sept '82, a review of which can be found in the Nov 2009 Retro Archive.
Leading us nicely into the start of another music theme in May.
It'll be mega. So stick around!
Photo by Neale Elder.

AUDIO VISUALS IN THE 70'S

This ad for The Audio Visual Centre in Perth Road is dated 1973.
They were a photographic specialist, although obviously, as their name implies, they must have sold recording equipment, stereos or something like that too.
In fact, it was the name of the place that reminded me of this item below, a piece of newsreel I have from 1979 introducing the Laser Disc. This was technology I didn't indulge in, but it got me wondering, who would have been the first shop in Dundee to stock Laser Discs? I thought it might be an audio/visual store like Dixons or Comet rather than a record shop such as Bruces. Laser Disc content featured bands as well as movies, similar to video releases at the time.
Also, I don't recall video rental stores renting out Laser Discs, they just seemed to go onto DVDs after videos.
Anyway, I'm sure one or two of you out there must have treated yourself to Laser Disc gear, before they ended up in the shed alongside your 8-Track!

RETRO CARS ON PARADE

Just as a wee reminder, I stitched this slide-show together featuring many of the cars that were on the go in the 60's and early 70's.
Being schoolboy age at the time, much of my knowledge on cars from this era was gathered by trying to avoid them all when playing futba in the streets and down at Craigie lock-ups.
I can still name lots of them from memory - Minx, Consul, Herald, Corsair, Imp, Elf, Zephyr.... all of which crop up in the video below along with around 40 others, including the quirky bubble car!
See how many you can name (I don't have a list by the way)!
My neighbour a couple of doors along from me in Kemnay Gardens had a Zephyr and he used to speed into the culdee about 60mph then slam on the brakes to a scary sudden stop. It was like the batmobile zooming into the batcave (they used to speed the film up for that bit)!
When I was around 12 (1970ish) he once took me to a match at Muirton in his Zephyr and drove all the way at 100mph.
Dundee to Perth in 2 minutes!!

DOWN WILLIAM LANE - EARLY 70'S

Last year I posted an image of William Lane looking up the steps to Victoria Road.
Well here's the opposite view, this time from the steps looking down towards King Street.
Everything in the picture has disappeared, with the exception of the building with the roof ladder across the other side of King Street.
The photo was taken by my brother around 1973ish.
The previous item on William Lane is in the November 2010 archive, if you want to have a dip and compare scenes.

CHRISTMAS BOOZE AD - 1987

At least there's nae messin' with their name - BOOZE.

May not be subtle but they must have been doing good business as they had 2 places in 1987, one in Perth Road and one in Blackness Road.

Here they are trying to entice you with a rather nice case of wine, to get you to put in an order for Christmas!

WILLIAM LANE STEPS - EARLY 70'S

William Lane ran from Victoria Road down to King Street.

It consisted mainly of the steps in the photo, although there was a wee bit of road at the bottom of the lane before reaching King Street.

The building on the left of the steps photo (or to the right of the billboards on the top photo) was a stone engravers called Carnegie & Son. It's a place I remember passing on the bus regularly as a youngster because it's window display was made up of gravestones. No need to stop off there with your pocket money!

You can consult yesterdays map to find the location of William Lane. It was to the left of Dens brae, opposite Wellington Street.

I checked Google's satellite map, and if you zoom into the area you can still see the ghost of the steps showing through from the undergrowth.