To Stirling

In the 'Primary 7' blog I began writing about the explosion of pop music that we were lucky enough to witness and be part of in the 1960's. However, unbelievable as it may seem in these days of downloading and streaming music, we couldn't buy records in Dunblane. We had to go into Stirling and visit Hay's music shop which at that time stood in Murray Place.

Many an hour was spent in there, browsing through record covers and fantasizing about having enough money to actually buy one! A single cost 6/8, an EP (with 4 to 6 songs) 10/6 and an LP 32/2. In modern currency 33p, 53p and 1 pound 62p respectively.

If we had a shilling or two to spare then Stirling was an option for us on a saturday. Getting there was easy enough. There were regular bus and train services. And what trains! We travelled almost exclusively on steam trains, hanging out of the door windows and getting soot and sparks in our eyes. But never mind, it was the macho thing to do. To this day I can close my eyes, imagine myself standing on the railway footbridge at Caledonian Place and I swear I can smell the sulphur and smoke as a steam locomotive thunders past beneath me. Whereas folk today get excited about steam engines we were awestruck by the first big diesel locomotives; we were so used to steam!

Dunblane station in those days had a kiosk which sold newspapers, cigarettes and all the other things a station kiosk sells. The station had lavatories and there were waiting rooms on both platforms. Between the station and Springfield Terrace was a small goods yard used as a shortcut sometimes, despite the best efforts of the station staff to stop the practice.

Jokes about anoraks aside, I think that most of us lads did a bit of trainspotting. My favourite place to watch the trains was Springbank Crescent where I had a great view of the viaduct. With pen and notebook in hand, I would wait expectantly for my favourite locomotive to appear. If I remember rightly it was about 6:30 pm on each weekday that she (old trainspotting habits never die......a locomotive is always a 'she') would appear. The first indication was when she blew her whistle on entering the short tunnel in the Laighills. Then the unmistakeable sound of a Gresley A4 Pacific as she approached . Finally, the sight of the great iron dinosaur thundering over the bridge towards Dunblane station.......engine number 60031, the Golden Plover!

From the same point it was possible also to view the Dunblane to Callander line , alas long ago closed following Dr.Beeching's cuts in the early 1960's. Modern trainspotters turn green with envy when I tell them that I travelled to school in Callander each day behind a steam locomotive (albeit only for a couple of months)!

However as ever, I digress. Let us return to Stirling.

In the shadow of its ancient castle we could spend our time as mentioned earlier, browsing records, or perhaps have a tour round Woollies with its wooden floors creaking underfoot. The best thing, however, was a visit to the 'Flicks'.

Stirling had three cinemas in those days. The Picture House, otherwise known as the Fleapit, the Allanpark and the Regal. The Regal was our favourite as it had a saturday morning matinee for the kids. For a tanner (6d), they showed one major feature, a shorter film or series and the cartoons.

Almost every week the manager had to come out on stage and admonish us for making too much noise or for throwing empty cartons around. We would sit eating our ice cream and lollies or tubs of butterkiss (a popcorn kind of thing) then, when the cavalry came to the rescue of the beleaguered wagon train, all hell would break loose. The whole of the cinema was packed with screaming, shouting kids stamping our feet and yelling support for the onscreen heroes.

Then came the muffin in a suit out on stage and threatened to cancel the cartoon segment. Normally that was enough to quieten us but occasionally, just occasionally, he was met with a barrage of the earlier mentioned cartons.

Sometimes we felt cheated. For example I remember seeing an episode of Flash Gordon (complete with rockets propelled by penny sparklers) where our hero fought the baddie beside a pit full of monsters. They fell into the pit and the episode ended with the deep voiced american exhortation 'Remember to come and see next week's exciting adventure with Flash Gordon!'

So we did and they showed us a brief recap of the previous week's episode.  But this time Flash Gordon never fell into the pit!

That bit of underhand marketing didn't dissuade us from attending the matinees and when the cartoons were finished we would charge out of the cinema reenacting the most exciting scenes as we made our way to the bus stop or station on our way home to Dunblane.

The Regal, which opened in march 1932, was doomed however and in 1968 was demolished to make way for a new road.