Charles Bannerman

Whilst trailing home from Dalneigh School at lunch time to the strains of the Hovis advert I used to dream of an ideal lunch of Broth, Mince and Tatties and Fairy Pudding... which was a kind of frothed bit made frrom egg white and a custardy sauce made from the yolk.

Caley 100 - I think many of these brown or formerly brown harled houses in Kessock Ave, West, North and South Drives, might be 1930s, possibly in common with bits of Bruce Gardens and Dochfour Drive. The immediate answer to the post war housing shortage was the Prefab, some of which are still there in Sunnybank Rd off Culduthel Rd. Then Dalneigh and Old Hilton saw a lot of expansion in the 50s - hence also the construction of the similarly designed primary schools in these areas. For 14 years, from 1958, I lived in a Swedish House in St. Andrew Drive which I believe was 50s construction (and when the Beatles "Submarine" came out, we all sang "We all live in a Yellow Swedish House"!). I also remember a "Tom Fraser" Old Inverness piece in the Courier a few years ago detailing the creation of the "Electric Flats" in Bruce Gardens, Dalneigh Road and St. Valery Avenue. The houses down the middle between St. Mungo and St. Margarets are definitely mid 60s because I remember them being built. So it's not just in recent years that Inverness has seen rapid changes to its housing stock. Jock... you would be able to tell us definitively about the Ferry Houses etc. And I suppose if these houses weren't down the Ferry by 1940, there could have been no West Drive Platoon of the Home Guard under Captain Dyce to repulse invading Panzer Divisions!

Apparently there is an elite group which includes Germany, France, Italy, Greece and England. The withdrawal came from within that group so first choice of replacement also has to be offered within that group.

Never mind, Jock. I'm sure that, with Dan Dyce around, the Germans would never have been able to mount a successful invasion of South Kessock in 1940. Dan would doubtless have hit Rommel on the head with a large boulder. In fact, I'm sure that the gentlemen of the Wehrmacht were fully aware of the inadvisability of attempting to invade South Kessock at any time! What chance would a mere Panzer Division have against the West Drive platoon of the Home Guard?!

bigmack.... I have to admit to having lived in Wick for my first 2 years although I was born in Inverness. Gringo... I think even Berriedale may be better than it was way back in 79. And, switching to your preferred mode of transport, it's geographical features like Berriedale that force the railway line right inland on the last stage of its route North.

Caley 100 .... the journey "up ee rodd" isn't that bad. It's about 107 miles from the Caley Stadium to Wick .... it's closer than Perth.... and if "ee rodd" is fairly quiet it can be done in a couple of hours. "Ee rodd" isn't all that bad either apart from The Ord and Berriedale, and much better than it used to be, for instance before the Kessock, Cromarty and Dornoch Bridges and the improvements at Dunbeath. As someone who has joint Caithness and Inverness roots, although essentially an Invernessian, I'm delighted to hear that there's support in the far North for the Highlands' SPL club.

Bonzo.... don't get too wound up about this! You'll soon realise that Johndo is unique and often not to be taken literally.

R reg? Youngsters! My first car was a Simca NJS 829 K, bought for £825 from Ian MacKenzie (147 club and ICT Management Committee) when he worked at the Inverness Motor Company in Strothers Lane. Sometimes it did feel a bit steam driven!

Indeed, by now that seems highly unlikely!

Markies' front door and Burger King to be sure!

Hey... footballer's wife... you're spoiling your image by showing able to describe motors of that vintage! If you're not careful, people will start wondering if the footballer you're married to is somebody like Ginger MacKenzie or Jupie Mitchell!

Thanks A96... just couldn't remember the name. Was the Cafe George not quite close to the Balmoral as well? Remember also the old style waitresses in the Carlton on Inglis Street... much loved by under age drinkers of the 60s? (The Carlton I mean - not the waitresses!) There's a classic photo of Eastgate in late Victorian times - I think probably by George Washington Wilson - which I've seen in various locations about town over the years. I don't THINK it's one of those they now have in Morrison's Supermarket where there's certainly a good one of The Haugh about 1950 and the Friar's Shott round about the same time. There's another one too. I don't think it's Eastgate... more likely the Town Hall with the Forbes Fountain in front of it. I'll check when I'm in tomorrow.

A96 I think you might be talking about the Cafe George but on the other hand there might have been another cafe quite near that too on the same side. Then in an earlier era (late 50s) there was The Queensgate ?Snackbar? just to the Church St side of Frasers the Butchers on that side. I think it disappeared quite early on though. Did there not also used to be an office of Duncan Duffy, travel agents, on Queensgate. PS - the reason I wasn't sure if it was called the Snackbar was that when I was about 4 I used to call it the Queensgate Talbot beause I once spotted a Sunbeam Talbot outside!

Although not food, there was (is?) also Fornari's hairstylists on Academy Street, opposite Bar Pivo (Inverness Royal Academy in a previous existence). NB - I was a Diggar's man myself! David Balfe, of course, wrote the ICT song "Bring It On Home". I remember sitting beside him at a Suporters' Club Dinner in, I think, 1997 where I was guest speaker.

I'd forgotten about Dorandos and the Turrianis. So who ran the other cafe in Academy Street.... was it The Locarno which ran right through to a back door in the Market? I think it eventually became as sports shop but can't remember what's there now.

CMIB... I do believe you are right. Do you also remember the little blue Pagliari's ice cream van that used to go all over town, summoning customers with the Harry Lime theme? **** good ice cream it was too, like so many of the Italians. That's the trouble since the Tally Cafes steadily closed down in Inverness - you can't get a decent ice cream anywhere. As far as I remember, the only decent non Italian ice cream you could get was from Stratton in Church Street. EVA 11 is, I think, still running about Inverness, presumably originally the property of one Eva Pagliari. So how many Italian food retail families did we used to have? Pagliaris, Serafinis, Salvadoris, Coffrinis (Ness Cafe), Bernardis... any more? I'm sure there are. Were there Capaldis in Inverness?

Forkhandles! There was a similar "period" ambience in the other ironmongers in town, Gilbert Ross on Hamilton Street and was it Mitchell and Craig on Academy Street between Station Square and the La Scala? Nails bought by the pound and weedkiller by the scoop. I suppose the closest there is to that these days is Farm and Household. Frankie Jew of course was also a devotee of the brown overall.

I went along Eastgate 2-4 times a day on foot/ bike/ moped for six years en route from Dalneigh to the Royal Academy. Does anyone remember Oddjob at lunch time going down Stephen's Brae via Greenwald's the Bookie's to one of the pubs on Eastgate and then staggering back up the hill at 2pm? The BB HQ on Hamilton Street, just along from Gilbert Ross's ironmonger's, was called Washington Court. Does anyone else remember being put into line there for Church Parades by Scoobies.... back in the days when Gordy Bus and John Beaton were a young and aspiring officers. Maybe the Ferry Boys who gave A96 the doing were from the 4th Company. Chippers.... you need go no further than the excellent fare cooked up by Caley D's brother at Mike Guibarelli's in Hilton. Difficult also to beat prices like 50p for a bag ofc hips and £2.50 for a chicken supper. The chipper which used to be on Academy Street many years ago, opposite the Phoenix, was pretty good at the time too. I remember a boy in my class got a place as an extra in the Culloden film. It was probably ahead of its time for blood, guts and brutality.

Sorry, I have no record of thsat. If there's anyone out there with a copy of Bill MacAllister's "Highland Hundred" therHL's official history, it may be in there. Jock.... there can't be many people around who can still remember old Bridge Street down to the numbers!

Jock... the Highland League was founded in a Working Men's Club in Bridge Street which in these days had rather more architectural attraction than it has since the 60s travesty.

Jock... the Highland League was founded in the Working Men's Club on Bridge Street which in these days had a good deal more architectural integrity than it has since it was demolished and rebuilt during the 60s.

The Highland League was formed in a club on Bridge Street in 1893. The founder members included Caley Clach and Thistle all of which had their origins in the 1880s. In contrast Dundee FC was formed in 1893 while Dundee United are very much New Kids on the Block, having been formed in 1909. Until the 1930s there was also a fourth Inverness club, Citadel, in the Highland League. For allegedly not having a football tradition, Inverness seems to have done rather well, finishing for the last two seasons ahead of both clubs from the City of Discovery. I suppose Inverness can also lay claim to being a "football city" on the strength of long term support here for Celtic (founded 1888) and Rangers (founded 1690).

The interview I did for the HN with David Sutherland will be on the Official part of the site tomorrow (Fri).