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Telford Street Park - were you caught on film?


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C4L if you can get a hold of a copy of Against All Odds there's a picture of Kingsmills, literally as it disappeared! Ken MacPherson happened to be on hand that Sunday afternoon when the stand burned down and took a great photo. There may be one or two other photos of the old grounds in there which may interest you too.

Kingsmills! You've just budged a long dormant brain cell of mine! I now remember as a kid being at a match at Grant Street with a huge crowd (Inverness Select v one or other of the OF?). I was on the far side of the pitch and I do recollect a lot more depth behind it than there is now. Presumably a strip of that was sold in order to build Kilmuir Road..... the houses which I now reckon have the highest density of satellite dishes in Western Europe - TWELVE between the two penalty boxes!

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This is the first time that I found out that all three stands burnt down --at Caley, Clach and Thistle.... my my, I wonder why ?

I do remember watching the smoke and flames at the Caley Park (Telford Street) looking  across Howden's Nursery  as a youngster and wondering what was going on but do not recall the other two incendiary events. Maybe they happened aftyer I left Inverness.

Dpo you have dates Charles by any chance? :023:

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Clacher- sorry I've fallen behind in this thread. I'll look up the Lilywhites book for photos to scan.

C4L- I'm sure there's a photo of Pigswill Kingsmills on my site if you look under 'Grounds for Nostalgia'

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I remember the Distillery End rusted iron cover well.  It was red with rust all the time I went to Telford Street.  With poles and posts going off at every angle it made a great climbing frame / adventure playground for kids.

I was always led to believe that it was hastily erected to supply a bit of shelter after the Telford Street stand burnt down in the early 50s.

One of my abiding memories of all three grounds when growing up was that when you arrived, and players were out on the pitch warming up, the smell of linament would knock you flat.  Warming up consisted of 11 men with several footballs which they would kick back and fore between each other.  Nothing too strenuous.

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I can recall the last stand fire from the striking of the match to the glorious blaze.  :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Given that it was in 1950, you're probably the only person who can!

DJS... these smells were so memorable. I don't know what Tokely embalms himself in before games but the whiff of it as he ran past me to warm up on Saturday took me right back to changing trooms in the 1960s. I doubt if it was the horse linament of these days though.

Ther other abiding smell of the Caley Park was that of pies drifting out of the tunnel just before half time. It was perhaps the subtle blend of pies and horse linament (hopefully from separate sources!) which was particularly distinctive.

Oh, and also whisky fumes of the entire gamut of vintages from seconds ago to the previous night as you walked through the packed Howden End. In the days when the Distilleries were still there you could add them in too.

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  • 9 years later...
4 hours ago, Danny Sinclair said:

Does anyone remember a little old man that used to turn up to most Caley home games always well oiled.

He used to be a street sweeper and it was an entertainment in itself just listening to his banter.

I was wondering for a minute if you were referring to "Blondie", who was always tanked up, in the Howden end...usually just in front of the Tea Hut. But he worked for Scottish/Brittish Gas.
He used to be involved with Caley way back in the day and once supposedly, was helping to take an injured player off the park on a stretcher, only to drop him, and resulted in a broken bone for the player. Whether or not that is true..i couldnt say

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There was a supporter back in the 50s who we youngsters at the time nicknamed "Rummel them up".  He favoured the Distillery end where he used to stand at the rail just by the goal, and encourage the team by bellowing several times a game , especially if the opposition were playing well ,  "Come on Caley, rummel them up and baffle their science".  We all thought it was great, and of course would attempt to join in. Happy days.

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