Blog Archives

Along those tracks...

29/3/2019

Some may recall the poem above. It featured in a cine film made by Ernest Mackie in the 1960s about the closure of the railway line through Largo and Lundin Links. It's a beautifully-written, sentimental piece that must have had particular resonance during the period immediately following the withdrawal of service. As the images below show, the stations lay derelict and overrun with weeds for some time before final demolition. The condition of the closed station at Largo at that time was a stark contrast to its appearance in years gone by, when the award-winning gardens were carefully tended and a shell-covered sun-dial, statue and model of the Flying Scotsman (created by James Young) graced the station.

The line had been in decline for some time before Dr Richard Beeching (referred to in the poem) made his recommendations for the restructuring of the railways around the country. The photograph of him at the end of this post was taken in 1962 at Edinburgh Waverley on his study trip which ultimately led to this line being cut, along with many others.

1 Comment

Mr James Curr

24/3/2019

0 Comments

James Curr was born at Cupar in 1851 - the eldest son of Thomas Curr (cabinet maker and undertaker) and Christian Simpson. Educated at Madras Academy, James began his career with Thomas Davidson (solicitor and Procurator Fiscal for the Burgh of Cupar). He went on to specialise in estate management (like his uncle before him) and from around 1870 he gained experience on estates around Scotland.

Late in 1882 the Fife Herald reported that James had been appointed agent to Baroness Willoughby-de-Eresby and the Right Hon. Lord Aveland, covering their estates in Lincoln and Rutland. The newspaper noted that his "burly form and cheery voice will be missed in many a Parish around Scotland". On 23rd April 1885, James married Margaret Ligertwood (eldest daughter of another factor - Alexander Ligertwood) at Mount Hamilton, Ayr. Around that time, James relocated to Scotland with his wife - first to Kirkcudbrightshire, where his children Thomas and Margaret were born. Then, around 1890, he became factor on the St Fort estate in Forgan, Fife. His son Christopher was born there. Over these years, James Curr became an acknowledged authority on forestry, dairying and farm buildings.

In 1902, James took up residence in Largo, acting as factor for the estates of Lathrisk, Largo and Monzie for Mr C.J.M. Makgill-Crichton. The following year, the Currs took up residence at 'Homelands' in Lundin LInks (pictured above) and remained there for around four years. Also a member of Fife County Council and a Justice of the Peace, Curr was much involved in local affairs. He was instrumental in the controversial division of Largo Parish into three wards - Kirkton, Lower Largo and Lundin Links in 1904. The newspaper clippings below show that there was considerable resistance to sub-dividing a parish that had been a single unit "for a thousand years".

The following year, the 'Fife News Illustrated Almanac for 1905' featured the photograph of James Curr shown above. Alongside this image was the description that James was "full of energy and enthusiasm, he hides beneath his handsome physical proportions a warm heart that prompts to many a kindly deed the world knows not of. His only relaxation is sailing or fishing in Largo Bay, where with a few friends on board his smart little yawl on a summer evening he may be seen at his best".

However, in 1907 the health of James broke down. He removed to Glasgow - presumably to access suitable medical care. James died from a kidney tumour at Bath Street in Glasgow on 28 December 1908. The 29 Dec 1908 Dundee Evening Telegraph, noted that "he has been cut down in the prime of life by an insidious illness that baffled all medical skill".

0 Comments

Tutti Frutti

19/3/2019

0 Comments

The six-part BBC Scotland drama series 'Tutti Frutti' (which follows the fortunes of rock and roll band 'The Majestics') is currently being shown again on TV. Many will know that Episode Two of the series was partly filmed in the Lundin Links Hotel in the summer of 1986. The above photo shows cast members Stuart McGugan, Harriet Buchan, Maurice Roeves and Jake D'Arcy taking a break outside the front entrance of the hotel. First broadcast on 3rd March 1987, the series also starred Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Richard Wilson, Katy Murphy, Ron Donachie and Fiona Chalmers.

Below are a couple of stills from the second episode, 'On the Road Again', showing 'Vincent' at the hotel foyer and staircase. Alongside these stills are two promotional shots of the hotel for comparison. Note that, for the purposes of the show, the foyer was made smaller by boxing in the area to the left where the ornate pillar is. Presumably the hotel had to be made a bit less elegant to be in-keeping with band's budget.

The images below show some of the cast in the 'lounge', off to the right of the entrance hall. This room was opposite the reception/office (see floor plan at the foot of this post). Robbie Coltrane's character famously wore a silver lurex suit in this episode - ready for the band's performance at Denbeath Miner's Welfare Institute. Incidentally, Coltrane was no stranger to the area, as his mum lived in Largoward.

The series, written by John Byrne, won six BAFTAs in 1988. In 2006, Byrne re-wrote it as a stage play. Finally, after years of music licensing issues which prevented its re-screening on television, the series is being rerun on BBC Scotland - catch it quick on iPlayer. Episode 1 is due to drop off iPlayer in a matter of days, although the series is also available on DVD.

0 Comments

Dolly Pop Boutique

17/3/2019

0 Comments

The above advert appeared in the 17 September 1969 East Fife Mail, to herald the opening of the "Dolly Pop" Boutique on Leven Road, Lundin Links. The venture was run by Mieneke Addison, wife of Ian Addison who would launch the 'Yellow Carvel' in Emsdorf Street the following year (tickets for its opening event were on sale through both the boutique and the Crusoe Hotel, Lower Largo).

Advertising dresswear, knitwear and jewellery, the shop brought contemporary and exciting clothes shopping experience to the village for a short spell. This was a contrast to the original clothing shop at this location - James Gulland the Tailor, Clothier and Draper. The 'Coro Craft' jewellery mentioned in the advert above was made in the UK from post-World War Two until 1980.

0 Comments

Opening of Yellow Carvel

15/3/2019

0 Comments

Back in the Summer of 1970, a 'Grand Opening' took place of a new enterprise on Emsdorf Street in Lundin Links. The Yellow Carvel offered food and dancing in what had formerly been La Scala cinema. Named after Admiral Sir Andrew Wood's ship, the opening was reported in the East Fife Mail as follows:

"A new entertainment centre for all age groups opened last week in Lundin Links. The 'Yellow Carvel', the brainchild of Mr Ian Addison, was launched with a buffet dance on Friday. Mr Addison has converted what was the La Scala cinema into a centre which will provide entertainment ranging from the latest on the pop scene to folk singing and a village hop. It will be open Tuesday to Saturday inclusive with a different programme each evening and during the day it will be open for coffee and other refreshments."

Mr Addison felt there was a need in the community for such a venue as there was little for locals or visitors to do. Tom Clayton the former La Scala owner, who had a wealth of experience on providing entertainment locally, had been helpful during the preparation for the opening of the Yellow Carvel. The venue's original weekly programme was a discotheque two nights a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays), dancing to "Fierce" on Tuesdays, folk singing on Thursdays and a village hop on Fridays. Timings and prices are shown in the advert below.

The opening buffet dance attracted more than 200 guests. However, the 'Yellow Carvel' name continued only until 1972, when it was rebranded as 'Seaway'. Below are a range of adverts for 'Seaway' from the mid 1970s. Note the wide range of live acts that performed there. Hogmanay 1975 saw the well-known jazz musician Chris Barber perform with his band.

Finally, the architect drawing further below, dating from 1981, shows the front of the building annotated with proposed alterations. Soon afterwards, another re-branding of the venue took place, when it became the 'Admiral's Bell'.

0 Comments

La Scala Cinema - Final Showings

8/3/2019

0 Comments

Following on from the previous post about La Scala cinema, above and below is another example of the programme produced to advertise the month's film screenings. This example was one of (if not the) last ones produced, as the cinema officially closed in November 1968 when owner Thomas Clayton retired.

Although the 'screen went blank' in November of 1968, that was not quite the end of the story for La Scala. The local children had become accustomed to an annual treat of a free film show under the auspices of the children's gala day committee. So, on 11 January 1969, just weeks after the official closure, the children had their film showing as usual when Tom Clayton opened the cinema again for this special show. The kind gesture was much appreciated by the children of the Largo villages. As the clipping from the East Fife Mail below states, the special show was a double-bill of "The Gnome-mobile" and "The Million Dollar Collar". The following week's paper reported that a full-house of 330 children and nearly 40 adults attended.

With many thanks to Russell McLaren for sharing the above La Scala programme.

0 Comments

La Scala Programme for August 1968

3/3/2019

1 Comment

La Scala cinema was a feature of Emsdorf Street in Lundin Links from 1920 until 1968. The programme shown above and below dates to the final months of the picture house, which closed in November 1968. The front cover above indicates that the cinema was open every day except Sunday at that time and that there was only one showing at 7pm. However, if it was raining, continuous screenings would begin from 6pm (as people would be looking for something to do if they couldn't be on the beach, playing sports, etc).

Below is the centrefold and the back cover, giving full details of all the films showing from the end of July until the start of September. This included the 1966 'Batman' movie featuring Adam West and 1967's 'Barefoot in the Park' with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. Did you see any of these films at La Scala? If so - please add a comment.

As well as showing films, La Scala hosted a wide range of events. Some early examples from the 1920s and 1930s are shown in the newspaper clippings below. One of these clippings mentions the Motor Club Dance - one of the attendees of that event became part of a news story, dating from 2 March 1929 in the Fife Free Press. One man travelled from Dysart to La Scala by car but unknown to him, two young, daredevil Dysart lads had hitched a ride on the back of his vehicle by clinging onto the spare tyre...

"The lads had apparently intended to jump off before the car left the town, but the exhilaration of the surreptitious ride, like stolen fruits, seemed too good to miss, and so they hung on and hung on until not to hang on would have resulted, at the best, in serious injury. Thus was a pleasure trip turned into a grim and hazardous enterprise. Along the undulating Standin' Stane Road, through Windygates, past the top of Leven, up Scoonie Brae, and thence along the Leven-Largo highway sped the car at a speed which often touched fifty miles per hour. Nine miles, an icy cold wind, the wheels of the car churning up slush and snow, and the young lads clinging onto the back like leeches!"

Eventually upon arriving at Lundin Links, the driver of the car went into the dance - still unaware of the stowaways. Around ten o'clock a local lady noticed the lads sitting on the step of the car, shivering and splattered with mud. The boys told of their experience and explained that they were waiting in the hope of a ride back. The owner of the car was informed and "more in sorrow for the plight of the boys than in anger at the foolhardy thing they had done, he put them into a passing Kirkcaldy-bound bus and paid their fare home."

In the next post - another cinema programme from the final days of La Scala.

With thanks to Russell McLaren for the above La Scala programme.

1 Comment

Largo's Flax Spinning Mill - Part 2

1/3/2019

2 Comments

The previous post looked at flax cultivation and the preparation of the harvested flax for spinning within the mill that once operated in Lower Largo (shown in the photograph above in a later guise as an oil and cake mill). Following on from 'part 1', the drawing below shows the mill first floor plan and describes the "wet" spinning process, as well as providing other contextual information. To view this in a new window as a zoom-able PDF, please click here.

Once the flax was spun, 'reeling' or 'winding' took place. This was a labour-intensive process and described below. In the census of 1851 there were several folks described as 'yarn winders' in Largo, including 81-year-old George Kidd Senior and 13-year-old Isabel Bell. There were also a few recorded as 'pirn winders', which included 10-year-old George White and 12-year-old Caroline Lindsay. After winding, the spun yarn was dried. Full details of this and more are given in the drawing below - click here for a PDF version.

Finally, to round off this two-parter, the drawing below shows the three levels of the main mill building in relation to the water wheel and the boiler and engine. The annotations indicate that the preparation of the flax took place on the ground floor, the spinning on the first floor and the reeling in the level above that. To view this as a PDF - click here. It was quite an operation and one that brought significant employment to the villages. In a future post it might be interesting to look more closely at some of the people that worked in the mill and what happened to them when it closed.

Below are a couple of photographs taken inside a flax spinning mill in Arbroath. To see a film of a more modern (1940s) version of the flax spinning process, click the link below....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nspGz6xYzvg