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Then and Now
This week’s ‘Then and Now’ differs from the normal format, in that we are not looking at the same scene, from the same location. We are viewing the same area but from a different angle.
The original photo shows Saltcoats East Promenade, looking towards Saltcoats, while the current photo looks in the opposite direction, towards Stevenston.
The reason for including the photos is simply to highlight the difference between the prom in the original photo – well-maintained and attractive – compared to the current situation, where the area is closed to the public due to substantial damage caused during storms that battered the Ayrshire coast last December.
Network Rail cites the storms as the reason for the prom’s collapse – the company also argues it has maintained the structure over the years – but the current photo tends to suggest otherwise. the3towns understands Network Rail, a private company, has declined to make public its records in relation to maintenance of the East Promenade, or to even provide dates of when maintenance was carried out.
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Local buses remembered (Part 6)
Continuing the series of old bus photos from the Three Towns. We are again grateful to the reader who sent us the above photo, showing two A1 buses parked outside the Central Garage on the corner of Princes Street and Montgomerie Street in Ardrossan.
The Central Garage disappeared some years back and the site is now occupied by a residential development called Dockers Gardens. The cranes and shed behind the buses, at the harbour, are now Mariners View.
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Once, twice, three times a clown
The old maxim, ‘Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt’, appears to have been written with Labour councillor Alan Munro specifically in mind.
Bad enough that the Labour man joined with his colleagues to pass a budget that will impose £23million of cuts on local communities and over 100 redundancies at North Ayrshire Council, but every time Cllr Munro opened his mouth at the budget meeting he appeared to be doing an impression of Coco the Clown.
1. SNP councillor Willie Gibson was making the very serious point that the Labour administration intended slashing the Education budget when some teachers were already having to buy books and other classroom necessities from their own money, only for Cllr Munro to butt in and say, “Aye, but Willie is sleeping with one of his informants.”
Cllr Gibson’s wife is a teacher, and apparently Alan Munro thought it was appropriate and even funny to make reference to this during a Council budget meeting.
2. As Independent councillor Ronnie McNicol secured at least £1.9million to refurbish Saltcoats Town Hall, which was closed by Labour councillors in 2009, Alan Munro commented, “I represent Saltcoats and Stevenston, but it seems Ronnie only represents Saltcoats.”
North Ayrshire Council provides information on all Surgeries held by councillors. According to the Council, Ronnie McNicol holds Surgeries in both Stevenston and Saltcoats - Hayocks Hall, Ardeer Community Centre and Saltcoats Library - while Alan Munro holds Surgeries only in Stevenston, at Hayocks and Ardeer.
3. As councillors took their seats for last Wednesday’s budget meeting, they were surprised to find a sheet of paper placed on each desk – all 30 of them. The paper was a photocopy of an e-mail from the ‘inbox’ of Alan Munro, which read:
“What have we learned in 2,067 years?
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
Cicero – 55BC
“So, evidently nothing”
Underneath the quotation from Roman philosopher Cicero, Cllr Munro wrote his name and the Council Ward he represents. For some reason, the Labour councillor had also underlined the word ‘Rome’.
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Where your television licence fee goes
The National Union of Journalists this week highlighted how £10m a year of the licence fee we pay to the BBC is, in turn, paid to Sky television.
By law the BBC pays Sky to show some BBC programmes on its satellite platform. In countries such as America, France and Germany it works the other way round, with Sky paying the companies that produce programmes.
Did you know your licence fee was helping to make Rupert Murdoch even richer?
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Three lions on his shirt
Announcing its candidates for the North Ayrshire Council Election in May, the Labour Party helpfully provided some biographical information, including that Ardrossan & Arran councillor Peter McNamara was born in Liverpool.
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What were you doing when these were number 1?
It's said that music can transport us back in time. Hearing a particular track can instantly remind us of what we were doing when it was orginally a hit. So, on that basis, have a nice time remembering what you were doing when these songs were hits in this week over the past 50 years.
No. 1 this week in 1962 - The Young Ones - Cliff Richard and the Shadows
No.1 this week in 1972 - Telegram Sam - T.Rex
No. 1 this week in 1982 - The Model - Kraftwerk
No.1 this week in 1992 - Goodnight Girl - Wet Wet Wet
No.1 this week in 2002 - Hero - Enrique Iglasias
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Where am I?
Thank you to everyone who entered last week's 'Where am I?'
There were no correct answers, so this week we have two clues, which are the men in the photos, below:
Answers to: gossip@the3towns.com
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Where is it?
Again, thank you to everyone who entered last week's 'Where is it?'
Unfortunately, no-one has yet correctly identified the location. So, this week we have pulled back to reveal more:
Where in the Three Towns was the photo taken?
Answers to: gossip@the3towns.com