RETRO WINTER BREAK

Time to shut shop at Retro Dundee for a bit of festive fun.
The door will be locked but you can continue to have a nosey at the window display.
Once again, it's been another thoroughly enjoyable dabble into the past.
Thanks too to those of you who took time to dip into your own treasures to share on Retro. It's amazing what you find when ye hae a wee rake!
Although I wont be posting any new material for 2 or 3 weeks, I'll be keeping an eye on the comments and the Retro Dundee email IN-box.
If anyone wants to contact me, or send any goodies for inclusion next year, the contact address is along the bottom of the groovy graphic.
Now that I've turned over the door sign to show the "CLOSED" side, I'll away and call for my horse & carriage to take me back to my castle.
I've got a smashing log fire burning, warming up my baffies on the hearth.
So as soon as I get home, I'll prise the lid off a tin of Creamola Foam, burst through the paper seal, stir some magic strawberry crystals into my tumbler and drink to your health.
A very Merry Christmas to one and all, and may you still be able to scoff the entire contents of your selection box, all in one day!

SANTA'S CHIMNEY CHALLENGE

Without the aid of safety gear, here's Santa just after completing an Xtreme chimney descent!

Back in the day, before setting off around the globe to deliver toys, Santa would first stop off at Cox's, because knowing they were the world's biggest jute mill, he liked to stock up on sacks.

This picture captured him before he departed after filling up a fresh sack with gifts.

Not a lot of people know that!

Toys made in the North Pole.

Sack made in Dundee.

MECCANO ADS - 1966

These two ads from 1966 reminded me that I wasn't very keen on Meccano.

We had a big box of it at home in the 60's too which belonged to my brother, but I never felt the urge to have a go at it.

This was the era of slick E-Type Jags and space rockets, but to me Meccano just seemed to be stuck in an age of old steam tractors.

There was also an element of Frankensteins hideous monster creations about the concept that was a bit off-putting. Why would you want to make your own ugly sub-standard vehicle when you could get a stunning Corgi ready-made?!

This aversion to it however is more a fault with me than the toy I suspect because I also didn't take to Metalwork at school, and the only time I've ever been sent to the back of the classroom by a teacher because I showed no interest in a subject, was for Applied Mechanics!

Meccano - nah, sorry, not for me.

Click onto the ads and enlarge to read the wee bits.

DINKY v CORGI - 1960'S

See if I was forced into a darkened room when I was a kid, then tied to a chair and had electrodes clamped to my ears by some assertive market researcher who, while turning the current up higher & higher, asked me if I preferred Dinky or Corgi cars to play with?

I think I'd choose Corgi.

I suppose size-wise you got more car for your money with Dinky but I reckon the quality of finish on a Corgi was just a touch more superior.

Having said that, I sometimes had problems with Corgi's rubber tyres slipping off the wheels when cornering. Dinky, who had a harder rubber compound would tend to stay on when put through similar rigorous tests!

Notice the car from "Joe 90"? Well some of the "celeb" cars I had in my collection in the 60's were - James Bond's (bullet proof screen & ejector seat) - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (which I hung "flying" from the ceiling) - FAB 1 from Thunderbirds - The Green Hornet limo, and a couple of others.

One I always wanted but never got, was the Batmobile. Possibly the best of the 60's cars, but unfortunately for me, proved too elusive!

Top ad is 1966.

Mid ad is 1969.

Bottom ad is 1969.

Click on the ads to read the larger versions.

DC THOMSON'S XMAS PARTIES - 1976

Another 2 DC Thomson Xmas parties, this time a decade later in 1976.

The top one captures some of the throng at the festivities at Kingsway.

Still wearing tank tops in 76?!

Underneath are the Xmas celebrations going on at their West Ward Works.

Looks like they even made a grotto for that one. 

DC THOMSON'S XMAS PARTIES - 1966

Many companies organise kids Xmas parties each year.

Some hire rooms, and some are put on at their own work premises.

DC Thomson's having a few properties dotted around town, end up having a handful of parties spread across various locations.

The 3 examples above all took place in 1966.

The top photo is one of the parties held at Kingsway. I say one of because they actually had to split the '66 do into 2 parts. The one above being the 5 to 14 year olds section.

The middle picture is the party gathering at Lindsay Street.

The bottom photo is the kids tucking into their Xmas banquet in Bank Street, with one of the invites having a bit of trouble with their hat!

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

In keeping wi' abody else, I'm gonna have a wee xmas break. So no more posts till January.
A big THANKS for all your comments. Good to know you're enjoying looking back at Dundee life during the 60s,70s & 80s.
Any newcomer to Retro Dundee who is not too sure of the layout, here's a wee guide:
When you visit the blog, not all the material will be on view, you will only see a few of the most recent posts on the page. To view ALL the items, go to the "BLOG ARCHIVE" to the left of the posts and click on any month to view that months material and scroll through them.
If you want to leave a message, there is a small "COMMENTS" feature at the bottom right of each post, again just click onto it if you have something to say.
Those of you who are regulars, my break might be a good time for you to backtrack over the older posts again to read the comments. There are a lot of amusing ones as well as many with added extra info.
I've still got loads of stuff to put on...so stay tuned and I'll be back in full flow early January.
CHEERZ GG

SWITCHING THE XMAS LIGHTS ON - 1980'S

Aaaaaahhh..!! Affy bonnie. This looks kind of cosy and quaint now, but this is how they went about switching the christmas lights on in Dundee in the early 80's. Just a bit of a sing-song....no pyrotechnics.

SANTA IN THE 70'S

What Santa didn't like about Dundee in the 70's was, having to change his outfit in every housing estate he visited - just to be on the safe side!
Here he is during a trip to Fintry in 1973.

CHRISTMAS CARD FROM PETER GABRIEL

Back in the 70's, when I used to get music papers every week, one of the things that cropped up regularly in the small ads were addresses to Fan Clubs. That said, I didn't really have any notion to join any because I didn't devote myself to any band in particular or even any music genre - I was open to all.

However, I still had the curiosity niggling away at me thinking about what kind of correspondence I would get if I did join one.

So in 1977, I decided to subscribe to a new club on the scene that I spotted called 'Friends Of Peter Gabriel', which sounded a bit more intimate than the usual fan club. In return I got regular newsletters containing tour date info, recording updates, special offers, merchandise, that kind of thing, which I rather liked because much of stuff was way before music papers got hold of it, and so it was fun to be one step ahead of the media!
One item I got which was a nice surprise was a Christmas card from Peter himself.
Here it is above - a rather surreal kind of illustration with "Here Comes The Flood" on it, referring to one of his tracks.
Inside, of course, it has his hand written greeting.
Much of the correspondence I got also came with an ink rubber stamp of the postal address - as on the record sleeve of a single I purchased shown above.
So it was all quite enjoyable at the end of the day, but now that my curiosity had been satisfied, I didn't feel the need to re-subscribe the following year.
It was just a one-off thing.

It's probably a good bet that I was the only one in Dundee who got a card from Peter that year!