Alyth Voice 106th Edition, October 2006 Tel. 01828 633045 Minimum Circulation 1600 Email address: [email protected] Website: www.alythvoice.co.uk A ROYAL OCCASION TO REMEMBER THE COMMITTEE of the Alfred Anderson Memorial Fund is delighted to announce that The Prince Charles Duke of Rothesay, and The Duchess of Rothesay will unveil the Cairn near the War Memorial on Sunday morning, 1st October. Exactly four years ago, the Voice reported that Prince Charles visited Alfred at his home in Isla Road for tea and a wide-ranging chat, not least about the First World War veteran's personal memories of the Prince's Great Uncle, Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, who was killed in action in 1915. It is a fitting tribute to Alfred, that the future Head of State will once again visit Alyth, this time in an official capacity with his wife, to unveil a lasting Eagle-eyed residents will have noticed the new impressive memorial not only to Alfred, but to the whole generation flagpole erected on 24th August beside the War Memorial, who survived the atrocious First World War. courtesy of the Royal British Legion Alyth branch. Jim A large crowd from near and far is expected in Alyth O’Brien raised the Saltire the same day, which will fly as st standard, but on occasion will be replaced by the Union Jack. on the morning of the 1 , and the Committee hope every- one will turn out to catch a rare glimpse of the Royal ALFRED ANDERSON MEMORIAL COMMITTEE couple, while respecting security measures which will be WELL THE CAT is well out of the bag! And can I say what an in place. Alyth is renowned for its warm hospitality, so honour it is to be involved with a committee paying due respects to the memory of a modest man, representing a generation of our let’s make it a Royal occasion to remember! ancestors, who did and suffered so much, that we could all live the life we have today. Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince Charles Duke of Rothesay, and The Duchess of Rothesay! What an honour to have them visit the town and a day many people will remember for a long, long time. A secret well kept for some time by a small number of people, who said “walls have ears?”! The Committee’s thanks are due to many people, the cairn erection team of Jeff Colville, Andy Wallace, Murray Pennycook and not least Bardon Concrete from Perth who delivered on a Saturday morning to fill the base at short notice. Then we move on to the Town Hall. Under the hardest working volunteer I have met for a long time, Walla Mollison managed and cajoled a team of Ian Strachan, Rab Kidd, Arnie White and Ian Milne. Dennis Melloy, with Sean and Andy Wallace (the joiner), inspects the And Irene Robertson’s research into its past, provided the information concrete pour on 9th September for the cairn foundation. for the foyer display. Now refurbished to a most remarkable standard, it will provide a fine enhancement to the Hall for many years to come. The town crest in the foyer, courtesy of Alan MacFarlane, and Alfred’s bust in the display cabinet, sculpted by Tony Morrow. All A CONCERT TO REMEMBER! things coming together at last! I must mention the Committee – Dennis Melloy - a remarkable PERTHSHIRE BRASS Chairman, Irene Robertson – does she ever stop?! Michael Kay – with providing a central hub and collating donations of over £3000, Jim MacFarlane, Marguerite McKenzie, Prof. John MacKenzie, Nigel ALYTH & DISTRICT Dalziel and Derek Mowatt, all playing their part. PIPE BAND We must not, of course, forget you residents who put your money into the project, and a particular thanks to those Clubs/Associations to celebrate the lifetime of Alfred Anderson both in and outwith the town who provided such valuable support. 1st October 2006 - 7pm I have now finished an enjoyable series, and look forward to the Perthshire Brass/Alyth & District Pipe Band concert on Sunday TOWN HALL evening. I trust that many others will have tales to tell in the coming Donation at door (first come, first served to capacity) weeks and again I look even further forward to reading the planned Buffet ~ Refreshments ~ Raffle special edition of the Voice. I am not begging, but I am sure that the Voice would appreciate any donations to help with a possible colour souvenir edition. Jim O’Brien, Secretary Useful Telephone Numbers Email: [email protected] CHIANGMAI, THAILAND – September 12th, 2006 Airlie Street Hall (contact-Fiona Dorchester) - 01828 632455 DEAR SIR, Blairgowrie Police Station - 01250 872222 Perth Police Station - 01738 621141 The following epistle is the result of an email I recently sent to a friend, George Davidson, residing in Grangemouth. I was relating my memory of Hydro-Electric Emergencies - 0800 300999 getting lost in Perth en-route to Alyth in 1950. His cousin’s daughter is a cur- Scottish Gas Emergencies - 0800 111999 Scottish Water - 0845 6008 855 rently a teacher at Alyth School, and it has been suggested to me that you may be interested in my memoirs of Alyth from a bygone era. It came as a surprise Alyth Post Office - 01828 632301 to me, as I didn’t realise that Alyth, once again, had a newspaper. From mem- Alyth Health Centre - 01828 632317 Alyth Primary School - 01828 632462 ory the previous one became defunct in the early 60’s. It is good to learn that the old town is still thriving and that the community spirit is as strong as ever. Blairgowrie High School - 01250 873445 I had just started to read through the August issue of your on-line version of Alyth Environmental Group - 01828 632907 NHS 24—new 24 hour health service - 08454 24 24 24 the newspaper, but unfortunately we had a power outage when the monsoon If you offer an emergency or breakdown service started again. The passage asking what a “Mid Yoken” was, caught my eye as I e.g. Plumber, Electrician, Locksmith, Glazier, Central Heating or any other trade, often made up a rather large size sandwich for my Mid Yoken consumption please send us your name and number for our useful numbers section while on my bicycle journeys through the Glens. Hopefully I will get to read more of the local news later. Best regards, Peter Webster Alyth Voice Team MY MEMOIRS OF ALYTH Paul Ramsay 01828 632992 Editor THOUGH I was born and lived all my working days in the outskirts of Glas- [email protected] gow, all my summer holidays, until the age of seventeen, were spent with my Irene Robertson 01828 633045 Compositor/Secretary Mother’s Auntie Jessie at Westpark on St. Ninians Road. Auld Jessie was quite [email protected] proud of the fact that hers was the first house outside the boundary and so she Margaret Stanford 01828 633083 Advertising only had to pay the Perthshire County Rates. Suppose this accounted for the reason why we had to drag the rubbish fifty odd yards down the road to the [email protected] telegraph pole every Wednesday morning so that the Town Council would lift Paul & Barbara Prettyman 01828 633725 Distribution it for free! She was also pleased that she got seventeen shillings and sixpence Margaret MacKenzie Advertising every year from the Hydro Board for the pole that stood on her ground. So too Marjory Macpherson Advertising was I, as the sixpence always came my way. Michael Kay 01828 632252/632690 Treasurer My earliest memory is of getting lost in Perth at the age of four years and ten [email protected] months en-route to Alyth. Perth was where we changed from the train to the Derek Todd Webmaster Bluebird bus. That took us to Blairgowrie where we made the final connection. We always ate lunch in Perth and after my parents had a look at the shops, we [email protected] In order to avoid disappointment please ensure that articles/ads for publication are then caught the bus from the stance at Alexander’s parcel office in Tay Street submitted before the 21st day of each month. Note: The views expressed in the Alyth overlooking the river. Since I liked to see the Beech Hedge, we always took the Voice are not necessarily those of the team nor can they accept any responsibility for 1.30pm bus as it ran via Guildtown. I also liked to get old Christiesons bus accuracy and spelling of any article. from Blairgowrie that ran four times a day to Kirriemuir rather than the Blue- bird that went to Dundee. Christiesons ran an old bull-nosed Bedford with a ARTICLE SUBMISSION to the Voice Please note ALL articles must be accompanied with a name and address sliding door operated by the driver pushing or pulling on a big lever, and that BEFORE they will be published in the Voice. fascinated me as we had nothing like that in the city. Of course, it might also On request, the name and address may be withheld from publication. have had something to do with the fact that his fare to Alyth was a halfpenny Any submission without these details will NOT be included. cheaper than Alexander and I got the penny. Since I wasn’t yet five, I travelled free – more’s the pity or I would have had another farthing to spend! Anyway this day was to be like no other as one minute we were together in *~*~* Dates for Your Diary *~*~* Perth looking in a shop window and the next I found myself all on my own – OCTOBER ‘lost’.