Charles Bannerman

Jill... Thursday was maybe NOT the best day to go into Diggar's for a haircut. There would be quite a lot of people sitting patiently on that bench that ran the length of the shop, reading the Beano or whatever while Diggar made very slow progress with the clippers. The reason, of course, was that he would only get a few snips done and somebody else would come in with their coupon and of couse it would not only be the handover of cash and coupon but also the exchange of banter as well before Diggar would get back for a few more snips. Then there would be another break to allow Diggar to go out on to the street to hurl amiable abuse at John Brooman or whichever other innocent passer by would be his next target. As for Grieg Street not being the same, I was brought up round the corner in 70 Kenneth Street for about 2 years (and continued to go to Diggar for about another 15 after we moved to Dalneigh!)and at the age of about 3, a trip to Grieg Street was a huge adventure. I'm sure fellow Olde Invernessians will remember Frank Hill's newsagent, Cushnie's Post office ("Post Office" is still there on the pavement in brass lettering), Jimmy Munro's grocer shop, Baddon's bike shop through the wall from Diggar, Salvadori's amazing ice creams, the Cooperative etc etc. An era never to be revisited (although I suspect I'm now revisiting stuff I probably originally included in previous posts on this longrunning thread two or three years ago!)

In what capacity was he there? As an "ex Royal Marine" perhaps?

Jill.. let me share an anecdote which I heard way back I think in the early 70s when you would have been a young girl. The residents of Ballifeary Road were having a meeting about energy supply at which Diggar pipes up with the legendary quote "I'm all gas, me!"... which prompted hilarious mayhem! This, I am told, is a true story and is just what you would benevolently love to hear from Diggar!

I think I can clarify this for you with the version I got from Jimmy Falconer who did the paperwork for his contract. Originally Caley Thistle thought it was Blomstein and I believe the initial version of the contract had this spelling. However Gil (which is what will be on the back of his shirt) produced his passport to confirm that it is in fact Blumanshtein and the correction was made. It's interesting, though, that if you Google a number of different spellings, Blumanshtein does not come up as the most common version, even though it is the correct one.

Barry admits that his studs were the last thing the ball came off before it went in but says he's quite happy to give up the goal so the young lad can have his deserved hat trick! :022:

No, neither do I but it was just that I wasn't sure from a post earlier on if a barber's nearer the back door of the Locarno was being referred to. (I was actually in Billy's shop having my hair cut on Monday.)

ITS ACTUALLY THE 1ST TIME SINCE JOINING the highland league we have had a game cancelled due to a waterlooged pitch! so not sure where u get ur info from! a lot of time and money been spent on the pitch during the close season,and playing on it tonight would churn it up for the new season,there was puddles every where at 10am this morning I can exclusively reveal that the foot of snow which had been on the Grantown pitch since December 19th suddenly melted last night and flooded it!

Treasurers was the barber's shop, the family stayed in Lilac Grove, #1 at the corner of Caledonian Road. Where exactly was the Treasurer's you're talking about Canuck? I seem to remember relatively recently that Billy Treasurer, who lived in that house on Lilac Grove but will be in his late 50s or maybe early 60s and hence probably the next generation down, had a barber's shop in the main front Market Hall off Academy Street. However there's also a bell ringing about a barber's in New market Hall between the Fishmarket and the main hall. Was the original Treasurer's nearer the back of the Locarno?

That would therefore indeed be what I have now been reminded is the Locarno which did have a back exit into the market. I can't say I remember a barber's there, certainly from my first clear memories which would have been around the late 50s. What I do remember in that avenue of the market between the main hall and Queensgate are Bruce Miller's music shop, Morrison's baker's plus cafe and the legendary "Hughie Pram's" which was a sheer delight and Aladdin's cave of toys for any young child to be taken into.

Thanks Morris. It's clicked now. Dorandos was the cafe further up Academy Street nearer the Phoenix and Jimmy Wilson was the barber nearby. Come to think of it, I knew Jimmy slightly but had forgotten. The Locarno was the cafe nearer the Market and in fact had a back door into the Market. As I said before, I don't remember a barber's near there but do remember Fornari's the hairdresser's more or less next door. (Not by direct experience though - I was a Diggar's man for almost 20 years!)

Now there's a wonderful idea!!! The guy who gets the ball into all 18 holes the quickest is the winner and it's each player's strategic decision as to how many clubs he encumbers himself with, but no caddies. Maybe not all that well suited to a mass start but could be arranged like a cycling time trial with players off at minute intervals or whatever. The more I think about this, the more I like it and for the big competitions you could have an Open All Mics reporter exclaiming "HOOOOLE at the 15th" or whatever. I mean, they've dramatically livened up cricket with the excellent Twenty20 format ... so why not this? Can't see the Culcabock Committee volunteering to run an inaugural competition though. :D

Another rather sweeping extrapolation! Let's just say that I'd never really thought too much about it before that remark which, as a result, did prompt some rather more critical thinking about the individiual in particular and to a lesser extent about the sport of golf in general.

Er... no! Are you confusing athletics with sports which require athleticism? By that I mean the likes of football, rugby, basketball and yes, athletics as well. Others which do not include darts, snooker and golf. I make no relative value judgement. Interestingly enough though, curling has moved from the latter category into the former, in Scotland at any rate, since these guys now undergo extensive fitness programmes through the Scottish Institute etc and the transformation in performance has been quite dramatic over the last 10 years (hence the number of major medals Scottish curlers have won in that time.) Unfortunately the term "athletic" or more specifically "athlete" has tended to be used overgenerously, especially by our cousins across the pond, to mean anyone who takes part in any sport - even a non athletic one. Some years ago I heard an American commentator make the statement (after a putt had been holed) that "Colin Mongomerie is a great athlete!" After I picked myself up off the floor and dried my trousers, I found myself from that moment onwards adopting a rather more critical viewpoint of the man and that is where my fundamentally negative take on him began.

Yes indeed I do! It seriously sticks in my throat that anyone with a body form like that should be capable of becoming a millionaire in any activity defined as "sport". Worse still, there is then the absurdity of this man being made captain of the GB and Europe team in one of the world's highest profile sporting events. Especially in an era where society is making serious efforts to eliminate obesity, this is a high profile role model which we most definitely could do without. Mind you, at least if golf comentary went on to the Open All Mics format, Montgomerie might start to get the much deserved Mark Yardley treatment!

Perhaps I should have used the term "obese" which seems to be a bit more acceptable to the PC lobby. I am merely making the point that I find it extremely unjust that people with unacceptably high Body Mass Indices can make large sums of money from activities defined as "sport" (I suppose Sumo Wrestling would have to be included here.) As such they are also being projected as extremely poor fitness role models at a time when this issue is very high on the social agenda. Come to your own conclusion as to whether a certain golfer is very high on my "hit list" here.

Now my problem here is that I forget which of the Academy St. Italian cafes was the Locarno.... the one just up from the Market or the one up almost opposite the Phoenix. There's still a barber up on the other side from the Phoenix by the name of Cameron I think but I'm not sure if this is the same premises as the one you remember and which I do slightly. Then between the other cafe and the end of Queensgate there was Fornaris but that was a ladies' hairdresser!

Oh well, that's hour after hour of reverential whispering over again for another year. Maybe one of the broadcasting organisations could liven it up by adopting a sort of "Open All Mics" type commentary. "HOOOOOOLE at the 15th!!!!" Can't say I'm a great fan of these "long trousers" sports like darts and snooker and golf where fat people can become millionaires.

He did that gramophone gag the last time I was there! 2006 Pre-season friendly at Grant Street, 6 - 0 to ICT and best entertainment was the announcer. Think Charles Bannermann said it was Billy Nelson. Was it him this time around What was the gramophone gag? Unless there has been a chage this season, it would indeed have been Billy Nelson. I was away on holiday so missed this game but I'm glad to hear that Billy is in his usual fine form. Did he play his recording of his own composition "Westering Home To The Ferry"? (Message to the uninitiated - I kid you not!) By the way, is response to a question earlier in this thread, to my knowledge ICT's biggest ever score in any game is 12-0 against a local side in Montecatini during the Italian trip of 2006. I was at that game which broke two other ICT records - the smallest ever crowd which, excluding an Inverness press corps of about five, nembered something like eleven at the start of the game. (In the best traditions of the Clach Park it doubled during the match. My other recollection of that game was that there was so little crowd noise that the main thing you could hear was all these Italians driving about on their scooters outside the ground in their usual mental fashion.) We also saw the fastest ever ICT goal that night which I think was something like 19 seconds and from Rory MacAllister. And Gringo... you are quite right - the 15-0 against Golspie Sutherland was indeed in the HL days by Caledonian FC in the first round of the North Cup in January 1994. I was there as well, but only stayed until half time because I remember I had to go up to Kingsmills to see the second half of what, in the final season of Thistle and Caley, was the bit of history of Clach's very last derby visit there. ICT's biggest score in a competitive match was 8-1 against Annan Athletic at home in the Cup in about 1998. And Annan scored first!

Now that is absolutely hilarious!! :015: Here was young Brooman in Finlay's on that iconic Sunday afternoon in September 1993, lamenting what Diggar would have thought about what, OK, looked like a potentially risky move at the time but which has ultimately brought SPL football to Inverness. So in that case, what would Diggar have thought about his grandson becoming a County fan?? :008: I suspect that Diggar, had he been alive during the merger, would initially have been verging on the rebel side but would have become a staunch ICT supporter sooner rather than later. Fond memories of reading the Beano, Dandy, Victor (loved Tough of the Track!) on that bench in Diggar's shop waiting for my turn while Diggar (occasionally) cut hair, sold Coupons and dashed out on to Greig Street to heap friendly abuse on the said young Brooman's grandfather.

No at all. This is just the good manners of making an effort to reply, despite not being responsible for the removal of the most obvious means of doing so. I would have thought that IHE, as a former "Academy Boy", who got the opportunity to go there against the odds of a mis spent youth, might at least have taken the chance whilst Up the Hill to learn a little bit about manners from the more refined members of society with whom he surprisingly had the opportunity to rub shoulders.... but apparently not. :)

This is just to let Marty know that I have been unable otherwise to respond to his request to provide him with an article for the Strathyjags programme for their friendly with ICT since he seems to have forgotten that he blocked me from responding to his Personal Messages (I seem to recollect this happened when a "debate" he initiated with me started going rather badly for him! ) So, Marty - my response is that I am currently on holiday and only read your request by chance but would suggest that somebody (maybe best leave it to one of your committee members) should do an interview with Jimmy Calder. Charles.

... which presumably then inspired you to go away and write the said Anglophobic Dirge. :) Interesting to note the Irish origin of these Corriejumpers. I therefore stand corrected on the spelling which hence has just a single "r".

I see what you mean. However as I write the SPL website still has this as 3:00. I'd be interested to see what kind of demand there would be for football, either live in the stadium or on TV, on a Saturday night two weeks before Christmas and at the peak of the "office night out" season. The other consideration is that, IF the request had been made, how the police would have reacted to a football match decanting itself into Inverness city centre at 10 o'clock on a Saturday night. And that's before you consider that it's this football match - on that Saturday night.

I see what you mean. However as I write the SPL website still has this as 3:00. I'd be interested to see what kind of demand there would be for football, either live in the stadium or on TV, on a Saturday night two weeks before Christmas and at the peak of the "office night out" season.

So you're conveniently ignoring, for instance, the 1988 Qualifying Cup replay at Telford Street. Caley 0 Jags 3. ;) Any more instances you'd like to remind us of ? Scottish Cup third round 84/85 Inverness Thistle 3 - 0 Kilmarnock Hearts 6 - 0 Caledonian Yeah the Jags got beat 6-0 by Celtic in the next round. Out of interest was looking at Highland League Championships since formation of league to 1994. Thistle 8 Caley 18 and Clach 17 Back to subject. I once found a mortar shell at Achnacarry and played with it for ages till all hell broke loose when one of the older residents of Roy Bridge recognised it. Thought the whole village was going to be blown up. Police, Soldiers etc. Turned out to be a dud. The Inverness teams actually sustained three 6-0 defeats to top league sides in the Scottish Cup in about a year in the mid 80s because apart from Caley's defeat by Hearts and Jags' by Celtic in 1985, Caley also lost 6-0 to Rangers at Telford Street in 1984 in the only one of these three to take place in Inverness. Interesting statistics about the number of Highland League titles won by Inverness clubs up to 1994 but if you look at the first 25 HL titles up to 1923, 13 went to Clach, 6 to Caley, 3 to Jags and 1 to Citadel. The only teams outwith Inverness to take the title in these early days, when the HL was rather more embryonic, were Buckie and Aberdeen "A". This also means that in what we might call the "modern" Highland League, Clach have won 4 titles, Jags 5 and Caley 12. It's also interesting how the centre of gravity of the Highland League has moved so firmly out of Inverness where it was founded in Bridge Street in 1893. It's gone from a situation where Inverness, which once had SIX Highland League clubs (Union and Camerons were the other two by the way), won 23 of the first 25 titles but within the last few months has only been able to hold on to any representation at all in that league by the skin of its teeth. Finally, presumably the mortar shell at Achnacarry was one of a huge amount of ordnance left behind after Commando training there during the war. I actually marvel at the fact the as few buried bombs, mines etc now seem to be left around, given the amount of the stuff that was flung about during hostilities.