BANGLAR ROBI - DOCKS - 1984

The jute industry was still going on in Dundee in the 80's, but it has to be said, it was nearing the end of its life.

Here was one vessel that was still supplying the foreign fibre back then - Banglar Robi.

This picture of the jute liner was taken on 24th December 1984 at King George V wharf.

Photo by Neale Elder.

ROBERT SCOTT STAMP - 1972

In February 1972, the Royal Mail brought out a set of stamps on the subject of British Polar Explorers, and needless to say, Robert F Scott was included.

I know he himself is not from Dundee or the Retro decades, but his name will always be linked to the city because of the return of the Discovery in the 80's, so I'm going to allow him a guest of honour spot.

Here he was, all dressed up ready to make an appearance on the Sgt Pepper album cover, but he just couldn't escape from that giant spider web in time!

DISCOVERY'S TEMPORARY HOME - 1986

This shot was taken on the 4th April 1986, the day after the Discovery had arrived back to Tayside and still wearing it's "Home to Dundee" banner.

The Victoria Dock here became it's temporary home until it was moved into it's now more familiar position on the waterfront.

You won't need me to remind you the name of the other ship in the foreground!

Photo by Neale Elder.

DISCOVERY - BACK HOME - 1986

This was the scene down at the docks exactly 25 years ago today - 3rd April 1986 - the moment the Discovery came back home to Dundee.

The Discovery hitched a lift inside the other vessel in shot - Happy Mariner - then after a few days sail from London, was removed like a Russian doll and placed back into the Tay where it had first originated.

The photos are more or less in "time" order, starting at the top, so those of you who weren't present at the unpacking, as it were, you can conjure up the sequence from the images.

And if it puts you in the mood, you could always backtrack to Retro's March 2010 archives and listen to the Lowland Folk, who recorded a song about this very occasion.

I can see a guy with a TV camera in the crowd, which reminded me that not only did it make the local news, the event also cropped up on national telly.

Kids tv show, Blue Peter, broadcast a feature about the Discovery on 24 April 1986, with host, Simon Groom, who followed the ships progress from London to Dundee.

Photos by The Bear.  

BROOKE BOND CARDS #1

I reckon most of you who were kids in the 60's will remember collecting Brooke Bond picture cards. This was when tea packets contained loose tea rather than tea bags, and we needed a tea caddy & sieve to make a cuppa.
There were a variety of subjects cropped up on the cards as they changed from one set to the next. Some I can recall are, wildlife, space, famous people and butterflies, but there were only 2 themes I managed to collect the complete set of, motors cars and ships.
These were hard earned too, having to go around the primary playground trying to find swaps with the doublers!
The 2 books above are from around the 1968/69 period and not only contain the full set of cards (50 in each) but they also had a lot of illustrations and extra info on the subjects.

UGANDA'S SCHOOL TRIPS - 1970's

Popular in the 70's were the "educational trips" on board the ship, Uganda. I wasn't on any myself mind you, but I do recall some Cragie High schoolmates ventured on trips in the early 70's to places like Gibraltar and Malta. These voyages were on offer to most UK schools, Dundee being just one of the stop-off points of departure.
Here below is a short film clip of the Uganda berthed at Dundee in 1973/74 dropping off some local lassies at the end of a Scandinavian tour. You may even recognise someone you know!