A bleaching green is an open outdoor space, upon which cloth was spread to dry and by whitened by sunlight. They were especially common in areas where textiles were produced. Linen weaving became the major industry in rural Scotland from the 1750s and in the Largo villages, linen hand loom weaving became a common occupation. The above image shows the bleaching green at the Temple (now a car park). The image shows a small amount of cloth spread out to dry in the corner of the green. The Old Statistical Account (1792) for Largo Parish describes weaving as "the principal manufacture" with "linen and checks" being most common. According to the book "Flax and Linen in Fife through the Centuries' by P.K. Livingstone, linen was "a fabric of plain weave, made from the stem fibres of flax" and check was "a pattern of cross lines forming small squares, as in a chess board". Some flax was grown locally but most was imported. 

Note that the above states that "almost every weaver, and a good number of others, have their bleaching ground, where they prepare linen". Hand looms weavers worked at home, in a room or outbuilding containing a large loom. Some may have used their own outside space for bleaching but others made use of communal bleaching greens. These common greens were leased to the feuars of surrounding properties under long-term arrangements. The linen manufacturing process involved many stages and was not complete until the cloth had spent time outdoors to bleach.

According to the 1932 'Largo Village Book', "up to 1850 there was a loom in every house in Lower Largo, Drummochy and Lundin, and much linen was made." In fact weaving was not limited to those places but also took place in Kirkton of Largo, along at the Temple and of course at Emsdorf. It may even be that the village of Emsdorf was feued from 1802 with weaving in mind. The majority of houses built there had deliberately low ceilings so that loom heads could be fixed to them yet could be easily reached by the weaver. 'Linen HLW' was by far the predominant occupation in Lundinmill (particularly around Emsdorf) in the 1841 census (see example page below).
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Some of the known communal bleaching greens around the Parish are shown on the map below. These are: 

1. Pump Green in Emsdorf
2. Green to the West of Drum Lodge (close to Joiner's Workshop)
3. Temple Green
4. The foot of the Serpentine (known as Tam's Den)
5. The Grove - Upper Largo

All of those of close to a water source - either a burn or a well or water pump, as the linen was sprinkled with water during the bleaching process.
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Woven linen was naturally a tan colour, so bleaching was essential. The linens were laid out on grass for several days. The cloth became whiter by the day until reaching an optimum level of whiteness. It was a slow process but one that was effective and did not result in any weakening of the fabric. However, having the product of your labours lying outdoors came with some risks. High winds, wandering animals and thieving hands could all be a problem.

The newspaper archives are full of reports of thefts from bleaching greens. A couple of examples are shown below. The story from Crail is from the 2 September 1824 Fife Herald and tells of the theft of a "web of cloth" (the web is the result of weaving the weft threads over warp threads) from the village bleaching green, the two women involved being "drummed through the town" as a punishment. The same newspaper on 20 October 1831 cautions readers in Cupar of a series of thefts from bleaching greens there. In 1839, two men were jailed for 40 days for stealing clothes from a bleaching green in St Monance.

The 'Largo Village Book' tells of how owners of the bleaching linen at Tam's Den near the Serpentine in Largo used to "sit on the banks all night in summer to see that no one stole the cloth". No doubt this type of supervision of the wares was a fairly common practice. 

The bleaching green in Emsdorf was known then as 'Pump Green', owing to the water pump sited there. The green covered a much larger area than the remnant left today would suggest.  As Esther Menzies wrote in her 1974 memoires, the green there was... 

"surrounded by a high stone wall following the line of the posts and chain there at present but protruding in an arc for several yards at the south end.  There was a gap of about four yards with an iron pump with a turning knob....The washing was laid out to bleach in the curved end and we did not play on the green if the washing was there.  At other times it was a playground.  The grass patch beyond was near oblong.  It was crossed by paths - one leading round by the curved wall to Emsdorf Place Houses, another at the east edge in front of their doors and another from Woodlands Road cutting through to meet the one passing alongside the Pump Green wall and leading up to the HIllhead."

One of the Emsdorf Place houses was for many decades named 'Green House' owing to its position adjacent to the green but the name was lost as the former use of the space faded from collective memories. Handloom weaving also vanished from the villages as power loom factories took over the manufacture of textiles. The bleaching of clothes became an indoor process thanks to the development of bleaching powders. However, traces of former bleaching greens and surviving weavers cottages still contribute to the character of the villages in Largo and many other towns and villages. Below is an evocative photograph of a green in Pittenweem being well-used in days gone-by.  If you know of other bleaching greens around Largo Parish, please leave a comment.
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Back on 28 November 1959, the village hall in New Gilston Hall was officially opened. The Leven Mail of 2 December reported on the event and featured the photograph below. At the time, the total population of New Gilston, Woodside and the surrounding countryside was around 240. And yet, the community had raised over £800 in a short space of time - such was their determination to have a new hall. The newspaper piece described the area as "extremely isolated, with a bus passing through to Leven only every two hours". The remote location was sited as a reason for the necessity for a hall as it would enable social functions to take place, strengthening the community. Other uses mentioned for the hall were private meetings and a base for the regular meetings of the New Gilston and Woodside W.R.I.. 
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The hall was opened by Brigadier W.C. Black of Teasses and "there was an excellent turnout of the villagers and also many friends from the Largo area". All were welcomed by the local school mistress Miss J.A.H. Thomson who was chairwoman of the hall committee. She explained how, in addition to the funds raised by the locals, a £2,880 grant had been allocated from the Scottish Committee of Social Service towards the cost of building the hall. Major Douglas Brown of Edinburgh was in attendance representing that committee. Perhaps some of those individuals mentioned are featured in the indistinct photograph.

Major Brown commented that in his opinion such a village hall could be likened to a church or school, as it played an equally important role in rural life and he was "really glad to see the end of a long and frustrating period for the villagers themselves". He congratulated the villagers on their "magnificent effort" in raising such as large amount for a small place. He urged support for the hall from the community. Miss Thomson went on to explain how the villagers had elected to have a better hall than would have been allocated by default. In particular, they wanted a better floor for dances. The cost of their extra requirements were met by a St Andrews District Council grant of £50 and a larger amount from Fife County Council's Further Education Committee. Provost John Nicol of Burntisland was in attendance representing the latter. He spoke of how he was proud to have played a part in the hall coming to fruition and hoped that "many happy hours, evenings and days will be spent in this hall for years to come".

As Brigadier Black carried out the opening ceremony he said that "we must all express our thanks to the committee who have done such a wonderful job of work. I think it was the Coronation Committee and the W.R.I. who started off in the old hall making plans for this new one. They are entitled to the gratitude of the whole community". He declared the hall (shown left of centre on the map above) open and it was then dedicated by the Reverend J.S. Paterson, minister of Largo and Newburn Parish Church.

The "old hall" referred to was the Woodside Hall, which was used largely by the New Gilston and Woodside W.R.I.. It had been erected in 1933 and was a wooden structure. The report from the 5 August 1933 Fife Free Press below tells of that hall's official opening. Mrs David Bruce of Charlestown, sister-in-law of the Earl of Elgin performed the opening ceremony. The ladies of the W.R.I. had been collecting for three years for the new hall and local people built and furnished the facility. Interestingly, the structure was previously "four houses....purchased in Largo for £35". Surely, all of those involved in the creation of both the 1933 hall and the 1959 replacement would be heartened to see how well the village hall continues to be used by the residents of Woodside and New Gilston to this day.
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The previous post looked at Largo Cricket Club's four-and-a-bit season run from 1949 to 1953. After that time the club went into abeyance for three decades before being revived in 1983. It was Yorkshireman, Peter Norton, who was living in Largo, that played a pivotal role in the resurrection of the club, along with a number of keen locals. Initially, games were played at Silverburn on the outskirts of Leven (where apparently donkey droppings had to be cleared from the grass before play). Some play also took place at Waid Academy in Anstruther. However, after three years, the club made a return to their Upper Largo playing field at East Drive (pictured above).

The 10 May 1986 Courier piece below tells of the inaugural game at the ground, which was due to take place the following day. The article noted that the return to the home ground had been made possible through a combination of the efforts of local people, funding from North East Fife District Council and the agreement of land owner Charles Makgill Crichton. The opening gala day saw Largo play against "Fife's most famous cricketers" Freuchie Cricket Club. Just the year before, in 1985, the Freuchie side had risen to fame by winning the National Village Championship at Lord's, with a victory against a side from Surrey.

Around 500 people attended this special occasion but unfortunately the Largo team went down by 135 runs to 66 against the National Village Champions. This was in spite of a guest appearance for Largo by Mike Denness the former England and Kent cricket captain. Denness was, and remains, the only England captain to have been born in Scotland. Scotland did not have an international team at the time of his career.

Freuchie's George Wilson was man of the match. President of Largo C.C. Andrew Duncan was delighted that such a high profile opening match could be arranged at the new ground. There was a "carnival atmosphere" with side shows, beer tent, teas and coffees. Since that day many visiting clubs have enjoyed the hospitality and picturesque surroundings of the East Drive ground. ​The Largo club's second period in existence continues its almost 40 year unbroken run to this day. You can read more about recent club history here and on the club's website: www.largocc.org.uk/. Long may the club's second run continue.....
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Largo Cricket Club has been active in two distinct phases. It first existed for a few years shortly after the Second World War. Reformed in 1983, the club's second phase continues to the present day. More than seven decades ago, the 12 January 1949 Leven Mail announced that in Largo a "band of enthusiasts" had started a cricket club and had "acquired a suitable field for play near the Church". On 2 February, the same paper told of the club's "first public appearance" when they hosted a whist drive. This event took place on 20 January 1949 in the Simpson Institute and was attended by 130 people. The Club's Honorary Secretary George N. Donaldson presided and Mrs Muriset of the Lundin Links Hotel presented the prizes. Club President, and minister of Largo Parish Church, Reverend C.W. Fraser thanked Mrs Muriset and all those who had helped to make the occasion a success. 
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The first season included a match against R.A.F. Leuchars in August 1949. The same month a fund-raising dance was held in the Simpson Institute (see notice below). On 12 October 1949, the Leven Mail reported on a "successful first season" which had consisted of six wins, eleven losses and eight draws. Leading averages for the season were listed (see below).
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The fixtures for the club's second season were listed in the 8 February 1950 Leven Mail (see below). A fund-raiser that year was a Grand Fete at Lundin Links Common followed by another dance at the Simpson Institute (the 19 July 1950 notice from the Leven Mail is further below). At that point, everything seems to have been going well for the fledgling club.

The third season, which began in April 1951, saw a new Honorary Secretary take over. This was Harry Williams of Jesmond House, Upper Largo. Below is a list of the fixtures lined up for that year. Social events that year included a November concert in Simpson Institute and Ne'er Day dance to see in 1952. The year that followed would bring change for the club. Perhaps those involved already had an inkling of what was to come, given that the roof had just been removed from Largo House and the contents of the mansion put up for auction.

The fourth season began positively.  On 16 April 1952 the Leven Mail reported on the club's A.G.M. where Reverend Fraser emphasised that "the club was now firmly established and had built up a good reputation, not merely in the district but also among the many clubs they had visited outside the area". Below are more details from that meeting where the officials for the year were elected. A highlight of the season was a friendly match in June 1952 against H.M.S. Largo Bay (an anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy). At this point the team were still playing at The Paddock.

However, by the end of the 1952 season Largo Cricket Club had (according to the 5 November 1952 Leven Mail) applied to Leven Town Council to use one of the cricket squares at King George V Playfield in Leven. This was granted and the club became Leven-based having lost their ground at The Paddock. Details surrounding the move are unclear, however, it seems likely to be connected to the demise of Largo House and local feeling around that. The move to Leven must have been inconvenient and disappointing for the club. The local press also noted concern around the lack of "stripping accommodation" and facilities to entertain visitors at King George V Park. 

So, Largo C.C. began their fifth season, sharing a ground in Leven with Henry Balfour Cricket Club. The season got underway and early matches were played, however, by June it was clear that the club were struggling with their new circumstances. The 1 July Leven Mail noted that "circumstances have compelled Largo C.C. to disband for what it hoped will be a temporary period". It was suggested that any unattached cricketers would be welcomed by Balfour's Club. The situation was confirmed two weeks later when the notice below appeared in the Mail. Sadly, the "temporary period" would last for thirty years but eventually Largo Cricket Club did rise again. More on that in the next post.
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Concluding this mini-series reviewing the 1988 tourist guide entitled "All About Lundin Links, Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Surrounding Villages", this is a review of the Lower Largo-related content. As expected, much mention was made of the village's claim to fame as the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk - the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe'.  The guide explained that the statue had been "temporarily moved to the Glasgow Garden Festival as a centre-piece for the East Neuk heritage trail display". Taken away in October 1987, the half-ton, bronze statue was given clean up and repair job before being painted green for the festival which ran from 26 April to 26 September 1988. ​

Many adverts for businesses based in the village appeared in the guide, including one for Martin Anderson's studio, which continues to this day from the same address. It is pictured in recent times below (photographed during Largo Arts Week when it was one of the open studios).

The Post office was still at its 91 Main Street location in 1988, with the long-serving Mrs Elizabeth Grassick as proprietor. It also sold sweets, souvenirs and other goods. Mrs Grassick would retire the following year. The Post Office later had a brief spell at 68 Main Street (latterly the Baptist Church Hall but now demolished). 
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Another familiar former local business was Very Crafty.  In 1988 it was at 58 Main Street, as this was prior to its move to the Post Office building at number 91 (shown in the photo further below). Among the goods on offer at Very Crafty in the late 1980s was Dust Jewellery. This was jewellery by artist and silversmith Norman Grant, made in a workshop on Mill Wynd in Lundin Links. Eventually Norman Grant left Scotland to work in London but many local people still own examples of his work.
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A. Stephen and Son fish merchant of Durham Terrace advertised their trade and retail produce in the tourist guide too.  Further adverts were the pair below. Christine Elphick offered beauty therapies from 54 Main Street. The Railway Inn, owned by Helen Wallace, highlighted its "friendly olde worlde atmosphere". Established in 1749, the Railway Inn has been a fixture of the harbour area for almost two centuries.
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And if you were wondering what was going on over the summer months in 1988 - here are details of a few of the events arranged that season......

The above scene from the late 1980s was chosen to represent Upper Largo within the guide entitled "All About Lundin Links, Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Surrounding Villages". Included in the description of the village was some information about the Kirk, some facts about Sir Andrew Wood and the fact that the village "nestles at the foot of Largo Law, an extinct volcano up which there is an annual race held in August. The race is quite popular and attracts competitors from all over Scotland." In 1988 (the year that the guide was published) the Largo Law Hill Race took place on 6th August at 3pm.

The adverts below are for Upper Largo businesses of the time: Waverley Antiques, The Salon and Wilson the grocer and newsagent. The antique shop, which was at 13 Main Street, had originally been a grocer's shop and for a spell was home to the Post Office. No doubt paintings, furniture and other antiques from the shop still grace local homes. Shown in the photograph further below (when it was known as J&A White), the building that housed Waverley Antiques was first planned in 1898 by Robert Nicoll, grocer and postmaster. The short piece from the Leven Advertiser of 7 July 1898 below, announces his decision to build new premises on the north side of the street. Robert Gilchrist (who had built the Simpson Institute several years before) was the builder. More about Robert Nicoll to follow at a future date...

R. Wilson at 25 Main Street, pictured below in the 1970s was in a building that had been used for a range of purposes in the preceding years. In the late nineteenth century, Robert Melville's business as a tinsmith and plumber was here. It was later a chemist, with Charles Thomson, and then Peter Cowie, running it. When Peter Cowie died in 1917, James Bowie took over the chemist and later relocated it to the opposite side of Main Street (which George Mackie took over in 1935). Robert Melville's daughter Catherine owned the buildings until the early 1930s when it was purchased by Robert Wilson. 

The Salon is pictured below in the mid-1970s. This building at 12 Main Street has been George Swan Rodger's draper shop and George Mackie's chemist earlier in its history. Like so many former shops in the village, it has long since been converted into a residential dwelling.
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Other adverts that appeared for Upper Largo businesses were those below for Central Garage and J. Purves Service Station. Central Garage was started around 1921 by James Harris (see photo below). It was situated on the south side of Main Street opposite Wilson's and was run by Jim Harley at the time of advertising in the tourist guide. The other car-related advert was for J. Purves, a garage on the north side and west end of Main Street, on the site of the former United Free Church. Jimmy Purves took over the garage around 1960. David Ramage had converted the former church into a bus garage back in 1933-34. 

Finally, there was an advert for the 'Largo Hotel', now known as the Upper Largo Hotel. A hotel with a long history that has been known as the Commercial Hotel, Duff's Inn and Lee's Inn during its long history. The next post will conclude the review of the 1988 tourist guide - with the spotlight falling on Lower Largo.
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Recent blog posts looked at guide books on Largo dating to the 1930s and the 1940s. This post looks at the more modern 1980s take on the tourist information booklet and contrasts this with its forerunners. Above is the front cover of the 1988 guide entitled "All About Lundin Links, Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Surrounding Villages". Like earlier guides it features the Robinson Crusoe statue prominently on the cover, although this time the statue shares the cover with other images.

This guide, which was also a black and white publication as side from the cover, is richly illustrated with photos and adverts. A short series of three blogs will cover its contents - beginning with the content on Lundin Links. The photograph below of Leven Road shows the Royal Bank of Scotland on the right at the beginning of the stretch of shops - most of which had adverts within the guide.
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Below are the featured advertisements for the Post Office, Lundie Salon and the Paperbox. At the time, the Post Office was also a General Store selling bakery goods, fruit and veg and other groceries. The Post Office closed several years ago and the premises is now occupied by gift shop Penny and Black. A mobile Post Office now serves the villages. The Lundie Salon remains to this day at 5 Leven Road. The Paperbox newsagent at 17 Leven Road is now branded Premier Convenience Store. Back in the eighties, the shop offered video hire along with the usual morning rolls and paper deliveries.
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Other local businesses featured were Bob's Butchers at 7 Leven Road, run by Bob Kirkcaldy, and Hogan's Bar on Emsdorf Street. The building that was Hogan's had previously been a shop and snack bar. Now the building is a private dwelling. The butcher's shop is now a branch of Stuart's Bakers and Butchers.
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Also among the Lundin Links based adverts was one for Elisabeth's ladies' and babies' clothing shop and one for the golf professional, David Webster. At the time, Elisabeth's was located in the small premises on Crescent Road, that had previously been the bank manager's garage and a temporary bank and went on to be The Finishing Touch curtains and blinds supplier. Eventually, Elisabeth's did move to larger premises round the corner on Leven Road.

Mercury Motors also featured in the brochure, highlighting its specialism for MGBs at the time. The business is still running today. Of course the two hotels in the village - the Old Manor Hotel and the Lundin Links Hotel -  had placed adverts, and in addition there was one for A. Kirk, Joiner.

The photo below also appeared in the guide, showing the play park next to the Common. The play equipment here has been upgraded and altered a couple of times since then and an inclusive playpark with accessible play equipment now exists on the opposite side of the road down to the Sports Club. This was opened in June 2019.

So, the 1980s tourist guide book was much more visual that those from half a century before which were more formal and text heavy.  There were some paragraphs included in the modern brochure about the history of the area but these were brief and the focus was firmly on promoting events taking place over the summer months and on local businesses offering services to visitors. In the next post - Upper Largo information from the booklet.

Before Andrew Hogg began the Lundin Links Pharmacy in 1903 (pictured above shortly after opening), he had already been trading as a chemist at 56 High Street, Leven for some time. Back in 1887, he had moved from his native Border country and acquired the chemist business of Adam Gibson. His Leven shop is shown in the photograph below. The shop was part of the building that still is 52-56 High Street. Back in the nineteenth century, this whole block was owned by the Adamson family. The Adamsons were fleshers going back generations with a shop on the High Street but, by the 1880s, the building had passed on to the youngest son of the late Armit Adamson - Christopher Adamson - who did not continue in the butcher trade.

In 1885, the 52-56 High Street block (shown below with the 3 dormer attic windows and mortar and pestle shop sign) housed a public house (run by Christopher Adamson who was a vintner at the time), a draper and a chemist. This is not so different from the make-up of the block in more recent times, with the Crown Inn at number 52, Masterton the jeweller at number 54 and David T. Hay the chemist at number 56. In Andrew Hogg's day, the upstairs of the chemist housed a photographic dark room. This space went on to accommodate the optician part of Hay's. 
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The lives of Andrew Hogg and Christopher Adamson, were linked in a number of ways. Firstly, there was the landlord and tenant arrangement on Leven High Street. In addition, both men were directors of Leven Gas Company. Furthermore, Adamson's son, Armit Haxton Adamson, was apprenticed to Andrew Hogg and qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in 1906. Also, Christopher Adamson would go on to become a supplier of goods to Hogg's shops in both Leven and Lundin Links - as in 1890, he acquired the business of the late Robert Wilson, manufacturer of aerated waters. The 1 August 1890 advert from the East of Fife Record below shows Adamson announcing his new business. This went on to become a very successful venture lasting many decades, with bottled drinks sold through numerous local outlets.

The images above show a couple of examples of the bottles used in Adamson's drinks production. One is a stoneware ginger beer and the other a pictorial glass Codd bottle with a glass marble in the neck which would have sealed in the carbonation. Both are marked C Adamson, Glebefield, Leven. Both bear a representation of Leven Mercat Cross, the symbol adopted by the business. The old market cross took the form of an obelisk type sundial with hollow faceted dials on its five-cubed shaft atop a stepped three tier base. Thought to date to the seventeenth century, the cross was lost for over a century before being found and restored in 1889. It must have seemed to be an ideal symbol for Adamson's new business that launched the following year, particularly as it had originally stood close to the premises of Adamson's butcher ancestors. The map further below shows the location of the aerated waters factory at Glebefield, close to Leven station.
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Christopher Adamson, pictured below, was born in 1837, the youngest son of Leven butcher Armit Adamson (himself the son of a butcher). He served for 28 years on Leven's parochial government and was Provost of the town 1903-07. Shooting, bowling, singing, horticulture and draughts were among his favourite pastimes. He died in 1912 at his home, 4 Trinity Place, Leven. Son George Wilkie Adamson took over the business, continuing it for many more years. Latterly, the business moved to Methilhaven Road (see circa 1950 map below) and traded as Glenfarg Aerated Water Company. The business was sold to Robert Barr Limited in 1954.

Interestingly, at the time of the death of Christopher Adamson, a list of businesses that owed the aerated waters firm for goods provided, were Andrew Hogg's chemist shops in Leven and Lundin Links and Somerville the grocer of Lundin Links. These and many other local shops would have stocked Adamson soft drinks and many locals and visitors to the villages would have enjoyed these beverages. The little fragment of Adamson Ginger Beer bottle pictured below, bearing the mercat cross pictorial, was found this summer on the Fife coastal path just east of the Temple. This tiny piece of local history, discarded long ago, could well have been purchased at Andrew Hogg's chemist or Somerville's grocer.
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Many old postcard images of Lundin Links Post Office date back to the days of Miss Margaret Bremner - the first proprietor of the facility from 1896 until around 1917  However, the image above dates from the time of the third name above the front entrance - James Laing Duncan. Duncan took over from Miss Bremner's successor Robert Ferguson in 1931 or 1932. Below is a notice from the 7 August 1931 Courier advertising the business for sale. Note that the property came with the adjacent space on Leven Road, which at the time was let to the National Bank of Scotland.

The postcard photograph, which likely dates to the 1930s, features many interesting details - from busy window displays, to vintage cars, imposing telegraph poles, plus a public telephone box and outdoor weighing scales. The bare trees and warmly clad woman suggest that it's a winter scene. The sign post in the right hand foreground states: St Andrews via Largoward 12, via the coast 25.

Lundin Links was connected to the telephone network in 1903 and the telephone exchange was housed within the linked building to the left of the Post Office on Links Road. The tall telegraph pole shows the many lines in place by the time this image was captured. The Post Office itself was Lundin Links phone number 1. The Post Offices in Lower Largo and Upper Largo were also number 1 on their exchanges. The other single digit numbers in Lundin Links, the early adopters of the telephone, were mainly businesses such as shops and boarding houses.
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Looking in more detail below at the Post Office frontage, the telephone box stands out. This particular box is not the one that stood until very recently on this spot. This was an earlier style of phone kiosk, that appears to be a 'K3' design. This design was introduced in 1929 as an affordable model for use in rural areas. Made largely from concrete rather than cast iron, around 12,000 K3s were installed across the country in the early 1930s. Only the window frames were painted red - the rest was a stony grey colour (explaining why the box appears so light in colour in the black and white photograph). Over time, it became obvious that concrete was not the ideal material for phone boxes as it was too brittle. Also, there was also a drive to standardise boxes nationally. So eventually the Lundin Links one was replaced with a newer model - the familiar red K6.

Also known as the 'Jubilee Kiosk', the K6 was introduced from 1936 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of King George V.  The main differences from the K3 (as well as the construction material) was that there were eight rather than six rows of windows and that that the vertical bars in the windows and door were spaced further apart to improve visibility. The K6 continued to be rolled out until 1968. The K6 box at Lundin Links was not installed until well after the end of the Second World War.

Both the kiosk types used at Lundin Links were designed by designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The image below shows the K6 box still in place a few years ago. Further below is an image of the Post Office in the 1920s, when Robert Ferguson was Postmaster, shortly before the first telephone box arrived. Despite a scheme where communities could purchase their telephone box from BT for £1, the Lundin Links box was removed a year or two ago (after nine decades with a box present on the site). 

A shorter-lived feature outside the Post Office was a set of outdoor public weighing scales. In the top 1930s view, these can be seen immediately to the right of the phone box. Fairly common at the time, particularly in places that attracted tourists, scales would tell you your weight for a penny. The set in Lundin Links look like the 'Peerless' scales shown below. How long they remained in place is unknown but there is still a patch of concrete visible where they once stood.

Further to the right of the scales is a neat shop window display of groceries. The windows prominently feature adverts for both Cadbury's and Fry's chocolate, as did many a shop back in this era and beyond. Cadbury's started in 1824, while Fry's dates back to around 1760. Both companies were keen to promote the 'pure' nature of their cocoa as some alternatives added unnecessary ingredients.

Returning to the name above the Post Office door - J.L. Duncan. James Laing Duncan was born in Ladybank in 1892, son of a railway labourer. During the First World War he was a bombardier in the Royal Garrison Artillery. During that time, while home on leave in 1917, he married Elizabeth Gray, daughter of a vintner, in Lathones. Elizabeth's mother was Jemima Gulland, sister of James Gulland the tailor who had a shop on Leven Road, Lundin Links.

After the war, James set up as a grocer and wine merchant in Kettlebridge. Sadly, his wife Elizabeth died in 1929 aged just 36 years. James gave up the grocery in Kettlebridge later the same year. In 1930 he took over the Railway Hotel in Ladybank, however, with family connections in Lundin Links, James took the opportunity of taking on the grocery and Post Office when it was advertised for sale the next year. Shortly after arriving in Lundin Links, James Duncan married Janet Ness Tod, who was a confectioner. They remained at the Post Office for many years. Janet Duncan died in 1972 aged 79 and James Duncan died in 1977 aged 84.

Finally, in the main image at the top of this post, through the trees, the west end of Emsdorf Street can be glimpsed. The pharmacy at the corner and to the left the shop of Jimmy Brown. Part of the name 'Brown' can just be made out above the shop. More to follow soon on these shops and where the shop keepers moved from when these premises were first built.

The previous post covered the annual guide booklet for tourists to Largo, which was produced in the 1930s by the Largo Parish Community Council. After the Second World War a new style of tourist guide was published covering a wider geographical area. Entitled the 'Tourist Guide to the Vicinity of Largo Bay', this guide was put together by Leven man George Dingwall and encompassed the area from Wemyss Castle in the west to St Monan's Kirk in the east. Like the earlier guides, this one featured Alexander Selkirk's statue on the front cover, contained many photographic illustrations and delved into the history of the area, as well as praising the many amenities and natural features along the coast.

​The guide was re-advertised the following year, with a quote from a Daily Record journalist, stating that the guide was "packed as full as an egg with history, legend, romance and information" (2 July 1947 Leven Mail). Spurred on by the success of his tourist guide book, George Dingwall followed it up in 1951 with a new publication. This time it was a book about Largo's Alexander Selkirk, entitled "The Story of Alexander Selkirk: The True Robinson Crusoe". 

Of course, much had been written before then about Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721) and much more has been written since. It's unclear how successful Dingwall's publication was. This year is the 300th anniversary of the death of Selkirk, which follows closely on from the 300th anniversary two years ago of the publication of Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe'. In fact it was on 13 December 1721 that the eventful life of Alexander Selkirk came to an end. 

On 21 December 1720, the HMS Weymouth set off from Plymouth for the West Coast of Africa with Selkirk onboard. The purpose of the voyage was to seek out and destroy the pirates who preyed upon British ships there. At the end of May 1721 they arrived at what is now Ghana. Within weeks a tropical disease began to spread through the ship. As Rick Wilson put it in the book 'The Man Who Was Robinson Crusoe', "the sounds of distress emanating from the hammocks below grew lounder as the fever and jaundice took its toll. The doomed men vomited, shivered and bled from the eyes and mouth." By late October many men had been lost to what is now supposed to have been Yellow Fever. The ship's log of 13 December noted matter-of-factly that "at 8pm Mr Alexander Selkirk died". The ship lay off Ghana's Cape Coast at the time. He was buried at sea - one of 180 men to die on the voyage.
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