Finlays Van..

[clacher_holiday2]

Does anybody have any info on this guy and his service?  He was basically running a shop on wheels that would go round the ferry in the afternoon from 19xx to about 1994/5 (from possibly anytime and he covered anywhere else in Inverness but I wouldnt know), selling all kinds of things but definitely cakes, which I used to get as pudding after a meal..  :022: (cheers Finlay whoever you are)

If my memory is serving me well he used to own a big blue van, but there was also a rival white and red one as a (skummier) rival, selling less decent desert cakes.

Suppose my question is, what the **** ever happened to him and how did somebody manage to make a living driving a van round a scummy area like ours?

I know later he ended up taking over a store on Lochalsh Road, think it was the farmers store, I do remember buying some lovely fresh sausages of him back in the days when I worked in the bookies next door.

Maybe all I'm really after is a picture of the van  :015:

[SMEE]

There used to be Campbell Allans Mobile Shop that did the rounds in Merkinch and Dalneigh till early 90s. There was a guy who came into Birnie Terrace in the 70s, and that maybe the same guy you ask about CH2....but i dont recal too much about him. Am sure his name was George or Eddie?

Off tangent slightly....a local hero of the Merkinch/ferry areas of the 70s was...Les the Ice Cream van man. I am positive he lived down Madras St/India St ot thereabouts. He had the bestest ever lemonade ice lollies. very refreshing they were too on a hot day.

[RednBlackComeback]

Remember it well. Think he went all over town though?

We pronounced it 'Finluh'...........was this just an Inverness way of saying it?

[Scarlet Pimple]

Probably--one of my mammy's best pals was a lovely lady named  Mrs Finlay Fraser who lived on  Lochalsh Road.

Ma pronounced it Finlah Fraser.  :002:

[canuck]

Finlay Morrison had the mobile van. Finlay has been retired for a few years and spends some of his time golfing at culcabock. 

Finlay and his wife Isobel stay in Telford Avenue. I will probably see them when I am ''home''  in a week or two as they are long time family friends.

[Charles Bannerman]

Remember Jocky Lawson's grocer's van (and the bellicose Mrs. Lawson!) and also Bobby MacKay's butcher's van?

[SMEE]

Remember Jocky Lawson's grocer's van

I think thats the one I referred to earlier. Did he stay in Merkinch? Am sure it may have been Glendoe Terrace :024:

[Scotty]

Off tangent slightly....a local hero of the Merkinch/ferry areas of the 70s was...Les the Ice Cream van man. I am positive he lived down Madras St/India St ot thereabouts. He had the bestest ever lemonade ice lollies. very refreshing they were too on a hot day.

Les was great - always cheery yet sarcastic at the same time. I met him long after he stopped doing the ice cream stint as he was an Innes Bar regular right up until his unfortunate death (cancer I believe) a few years ago.

[SMEE]

Yeah...I certainly remember Les making us laugh all the time. My memeories are vauge tho as i was only 5-7 at the time....but recal him with fondness...well, his Lemonade lollies :021:

[Charles Bannerman]

Remember Jocky Lawson's grocer's van

I think thats the one I referred to earlier. Did he stay in Merkinch? Am sure it may have been Glendoe Terrace :024:

I doubt it since Jocky ran the van in the 50s and early 60s before the "new" shops were built in St. Margaret's Road. At that point he took over one shop (I'm not sure if he kept the van going for a while) while Christisons took over the other. It was always a bit strange to have two grocer's shops facing each other but the perception was that Christisons did that bit better because of the aformentioned bellicose Mrs L whose churlish attitude put a few people off. Christisons certainly did a mean penny box and were also the pioneers of frozen Milky Ways in Dalneigh. They also did a good line in penny bangers and we used to annoy the **** out of the local residents around Guy Fawkes time by chucking them into their gardens. The thought of 10 year olds beng sold these explosives over the counter these days to throw about the place or to owen up to make "genies" is actually quite remarkable.

I think Bobby MacKay's butcher's van lasted a bit longer. He lived in one of the houses backing on to the cemetery, beside the Torvean Bridge.

[Kingsmills]

The contents of bangers didn't make particularly ood genies on their own but mixed with the guts of a rocket and at least one Roman candle could be quite spectacular.

[CaleyD]

"Charles Bannerman and Kingsmill arrested under

Anti Terrorism Act for posting bomb making instructions on public forum"

[Charles Bannerman]

:015:

OK, we confess! I'm the organisation's Chief Chemist and Kingsmills is my defence brief!

[Kingsmills]

:003: :003: