Fife Open Studios

For the past 18 years, a wide range of artists across the north of Fife have opened their studios to the public over the May bank holiday weekend. It is an opportunity to quiz local creative people about their methods and sources of inspiration and see the environment in which the work is crafted. Naturally, the artists offer product for sale during the event.

Nicole and I decided to check out a few of the participating studios. My mother and sister often attend a similar programme in the East Neuk of Fife and have always enjoyed the experience. From their feedback, we knew roughly what to expect. Our first port of call was the small town of Ladybank, where Nicole's friend Kirsty Lorenz has a workshop within the A-listed railway station buildings. Now, this was starting to sound interesting! I knew exactly how to reach Ladybank and finding the station would be easy enough. The event website had detailed directions to each studio, as well as information about disabled access and parking availability. An interactive map allowed visitors to pinpoint the exact location. There was also a brief biography of each participant, along with links to the studio websites and online shops. All the information was clearly presented. Full marks to the designer. We parked by the station and found Kirsty's premises on platform 2. She was delighted to see us walk through the door and the walls were adorned with her flower themed artwork. Inspired by the medicinal properties of plants, Kirsty's output is informed by research into 15th to 17th century illustrations and old herbal remedies. She has scoured the archives at the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens and Kew Gardens, London. The studio opened in the former station restaurant in 2009 and a newspaper article about the development was on display. Ladybank Station is on the East Coast Main Line and dates back to 1847. Services to Dundee, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Perth call here, but I suspect the London trains speed right through. The station ticket office is open at limited times and the whole place was obviously once a far grander affair. Scotrail launched an adopt-a-station scheme in an attempt to find a use for surplus building, many of which feature spectacular Victorian architecture. Tenants have to fund renovation costs out their own pockets (perhaps aided by grants) but rents are levied at a peppercorn £1 per year. The former stationmaster's dwelling has also been given a new lease of life and now hosts the Off the Rails Arthouse. This venue was next on our list but we purchased a handful of greeting cards and postcards from Kirsty before we left. The Open Studio weekend attracts many Joe Public types as well as art connoisseurs, therefore most places offer economy products for sale, as well as lavish paintings which can cost up to several thousand pounds.

The Arthouse was established in 2011 and the property is B-listed. There are two good-sized studios, a smaller workspace and a fully-fitted kitchen. The adjacent garden can also be utilised, weather permitting. On offer are weekend workshops, lectures and talks, day classes, summer schools, training days and exhibitions. I picked up a leaflet showing forthcoming events and a typical workshop cost is around £50 per day, including all materials. Lectures are priced around the ten-pound mark. We walked up the stairs leading to the main entrance and perused Grant Newell's display of handmade diaries and journals. He uses upcycled materials wherever possible and each product is unique. Inspecting the wares, it was obvious that each book was sturdy and lovingly put together. They cost between £25 and £50. Nicole has an interest in journaling and picked out an item to purchase. Amusingly, Grant informed us this particular book was the only one he'd placed on his own website as a preview for today's event. He had jacked up the price online to discourage anyone from actually ordering it and the book safely made it to Ladybank for us to take home. Back in the car, we set a course for Balmerino, the tiny village on the Tay shore where a ruined abbey is situated. Right by the water is the home of Derek Robertson, a native Fifer and fluent Gaelic speaker who has achieved considerable success with his bird and wildlife art. We had previously seen an exhibition of his work in Dunfermline Carnegie Museum and I had also encountered a similar display in Forfar. Derek's work has been exhibited in the USA on numerous occasions and he has sold items to private collectors in over 50 countries. His paintings have found their way into the portfolios of the Tate Gallery and Royal Family. Not content with winning multiple awards for his artwork, Derek has scripted and presented several television programmes, including Drawn from Wild Places, which was nominated for a Scottish Bafta and a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His books have received critical acclaim across the globe.

We entered the garden studio where Derek was on hand to welcome guests and - in his own words - have a blether. I mentioned straight away that I'd seen his Dunfermline exhibition, while Nicole (something of a bird artist herself) was able to extract nuggets of information regarding the finer points of the craft. The tour continued in Derek's house, where his wife Sheila made cups of tea and coffee for visitors, instructing everyone to have a wander around the various rooms adorned with paintings. We could see right across the Tay estuary and I recalled walking right past the house when my sister and I completed this stretch of the Fife Coastal Path a few years back. A heron stood in the water and Derek appeared to speak about how he draws inspiration from his surroundings. Unfortunately the wading birds prefer a spot on the opposite side of the river, near Dundee. We grabbed a handful of A5 cards and I surmised that Derek probably made a few hundred pounds over the weekend from this side-line alone. Not to be sneezed at, and ample recompense for having a bunch of strangers tramp around your living quarters. Our final stop was in the village of Gauldry, a couple of miles up the road. Eileen Gardner paints contemporary seascapes from her home studio, overlooking an extensive garden. Her principal medium is pastel and some of the scenes were certainly captivating. We had a quick look around and headed back down the road. An added bonus was calling at Morrisons for a sandwich and discovering the takeaway salad bar. I hadn't seen this type of self-service since my student days, and proceeded to load my box to maximum capacity. It had been a most interesting day and a real slice of Fife culture.

Water of Leith trail

Scotland's capital city is served by the Port of Leith on the Firth of Forth. A lesser known river in Edinburgh is the Water of Leith. It rises in the Pentland Hills and its 22-mile course runs right through the city en route to the Forth estuary. At one time over 70 mills harnessed the current to produce paper, fabrics and flour but today the river forms an eco-corridor through the bustling urban area and is home to a wide diversity of plants and animals from wild garlic and orchids to brown trout, heron, kingfisher and otter.

The Water of Leith Walkway tracks the river for almost 13 miles, from the suburban village of Balerno to the regenerated Leith Shore. I had previously completed the entire trail twice with colleagues and had done several short stretches over the years. Today I was back for another go with my sister Linda. Another project for the Fraser walking team and a chance to refresh my route knowledge in order to create a report for this humble blog. We rendezvoused outside Haymarket station and jumped on the Balerno bus just around the corner. Payment can now be made by tapping upon entry and there is a flat single fare of £2 across the Lothian network. The daily cap is £4.80 and the days of scrabbling for coins in order to find the exact fare seem like ancient history. Definitively one positive aspect of the cashless society! Balerno previously boasted flax, gain and paper mills but these days serves as a commuter base. The walkway begins next to the high school and the first five miles follow the exact alignment of the old branch railway that paralleled the course of the river. The loop line opened in 1874, primarily as a goods operation but passengers were also carried. The tracks left the main Edinburgh to Carstairs corridor at Slateford Viaduct and re-joined six miles further on. By the end of WW2, local bus services had eroded passenger demand on the Balerno railway and it became a freight-only concern until the last train ran in 1967, coinciding with a sharp decline in the domestic paper industry. It was easy to walk upon the old trackbed and the gentle downhill gradient enabled us to make rapid progress. A couple of deviations were required due to path resurfacing but we negotiated these hurdles and passed the villages of Currie and Juniper Green. It's often hard to determine exactly where a city begins. Urban sprawl swallows up outlying settlements that previously had their own identity and council boundaries often encompass areas still physically separate from the conurbation. However, as we left the walkway to have lunch in the adjacent Spylaw Park in an area known as Colinton, I think it's safe to say we were now on the edge of Edinburgh. At any rate, certainly within the city ring road.

The B-listed Georgian mansion house within the park was once the home of snuff and tobacco merchant James Gillespie (1726-1797). He commissioned the building of Spylaw House in 1773 and part of the adjacent snuff mill (dating from 1650) still stands to the rear of the house. Gillespie left no heirs and requested that his considerable fortune should fund the construction of a school and hospital for the poor. He also had a reputation for treating his mill workers fairly. Spylaw House has now been converted to private apartments after previously serving as a youth hostel and the headquarters of the Scouting Association. The grounds were acquired by Edinburgh Corporation and a day-trip to the park was popular among city-centre dwellers between the wars. The tram line was extended to Colinton in 1926, which probably abstracted passenger traffic from the railway. The park today features mature monkey puzzle trees and redwoods. It was a tranquil spot to enjoy a bite to eat. Back on the trail (and still on the old railway), we soon reached the entrance to Colinton Tunnel. The portals were bricked up after the railway closed and the 150-yard subterranean passageway became a forgotten relic. This changed in 1980 when the Water of Leith Walkway opened and the tunnel was transformed into a community asset. A painting of the Balerno steam pug adorned the interior brickwork, although this became increasingly difficult to spot due to accumulated grime, anti-social graffiti and gloomy lighting. In recent years, the tunnel has been given a spectacular facelift by the installation of a stunningly colourful mural running along the entire length. Artist Chris Rutterford designed the project around the Robert Lois Stevenson poem From a Railway Carriage. The 16 lines of verse describe the view from a window of a fast-moving train. Stevenson has connections to the area. His grandfather Lewis Balfour was the minister of Colinton Parish for over 30 years and young Robert would often visit by train. The poem text appears on the tunnel walls and each line is linked to images of local heritage. Around 600 people - many from the surrounding community - contributed their skills and enthusiasm to create the mural over a two-year period. Tunnels are often susceptible to water ingress and the wet patches were concealed by plywood sheeting. This solution had the added benefit of allowing finer detail to be painted on the boards. The contemporary artwork records the line's literary, artistic, church, military and industrial connections. The social history of Colinton can be absorbed by simply walking through the tunnel. Studies have confirmed a significant uplift in footfall and the number of first-time visitors has increased. If you can't manage the entire walkway, make sure you see this part!

Beyond the tunnel, the railway turned away from the river to meet the main line at Slateford Viaduct. Walkers can continue this way, branching on to the canal for a stretch (Slateford also boasts a mighty aqueduct). Another possibility is to amble through a wooded valley known as the Dells. Having seen the main railway sights, we took the latter option as it stays close to the Water of Leith and offered a change of habitat. Across the river stood Redhall Walled Garden, once part of a grand estate and now functioning as a training centre for people with mental health difficulties. I'd like to attend their open day sometime. Finally we emerged on the busy Lanark Road at Slateford. Ahead of us loomed the viaduct and aqueduct, running parallel to each other and spanning the river. The Water of Leith Visitors Centre is located here and we ducked inside to use the toilets and grab a cold drink from the café. An excellent map of the trail can be purchased here for a token £1. A small exhibition is on permanent display but I'd seen it before and we were soon on our merry way, the weather now significantly colder, with the onset of an April shower seemingly imminent. We were now in the heart of Edinburgh but the trail shielded us from the vast majority of the traffic. We entered a district called Saughton, well known for its prison which lay beyond the opposite bank. After passing a cemetery and a set of allotments, we skirted Saughton Park & Gardens. This private estate was acquired by the city authorities around the turn of the 20th century and hosted a major public extravaganza in 1908. The Scottish National Exhibition was opened by HRH Prince Arthur and proved a great success, attracting a total of 3.5 million visitors during its six-month run. Attractions included a Senegalese village, Canadian pavilion, industrial hall, concert & conference hall, gondola rides on the Water of Leith, Irish cottages, a helter skelter and figure-of-eight fun railway. A nearby main-line halt allowed visitors to arrive by train. As was often the case back then, the whole caboodle was dismantled or demolished after the show had ended. Little trace of the exhibition remains today. The mansion house - known as Saughton Hall - was burned down under controlled conditions in 1952 after an infestation of dry rot rendered repair costs prohibitive. It had formerly been utilised as an innovative mental asylum and had also provided care for injured members of the Women's Land Army during WW2.

After passing under the main Edinburgh to Glasgow railway, we emerged at Murrayfield Stadium, home of Scottish rugby. Housed within the wider Roseburn Park, our rugby Mecca was constructed upon an old polo field in 1925 and the first fixture (Scotland v England) drew 70,000 spectators. The ground was transformed beyond recognition in the 1990s and now seats 67,000 people under cover. I've never actually seen a rugby game there, or anywhere else for that matter. But I have been inside the stadium a handful of times when the Scottish Claymores American football team played there. I also saw an Eagles concert in 1995. Murrayfield Ice Rink is located close by and there are pitches for football, cricket and more rugby within Roseburn Park. We crossed the A8 and were soon back down in a leafy valley by the river. A high stone viaduct crossed overhead, carrying a cycleway that was once one of many suburban rail routes. Dean Village lay a short distance ahead and we passed the exit point for the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, established in 1984 inside the old John Watson's School. I viewed the galleries a couple of years back and also did the river walkway upstream as far as the visitors centre. On that particular day I noticed a plaintive statue of a man, standing in the middle of the water. The AIDS memorial bench (adorned with the red ribbon symbol) is situated on the riverbank at this point and I simply assumed the two installations were connected. That turned out not to be the case and today we spotted a couple of similar statues further downstream. They are the work of Turner Prize-winning artist Antony Gormley and the cast-iron life-sized series of standing figures watch over the river as it winds its way through Dean Village and down to the sea. Four are positioned within the water. The men are all naked and I came across a humorous story while researching their background. Someone had waded into the river and covered the fellow's modesty with a pair of boxer shorts emblazoned with the Tennent's Lager motif. Quite how this operation was achieved when the statue's legs are presumably fixed to the river bed, I'm not entirely sure. Scissors and safety pins is my guess.

Back on the trail near Dean Village, the Britannia Hotel overlooks the water and occupies the site of the last mill to draw its power directly from the river. Bell's Mill was wrecked by an explosion in 1972. At the time, it was grinding wood flour for use in the linoleum industry. A dozen mills once operated in this locality. Dean Village today is a quiet oasis sitting just below the hustle and bustle of the throbbing streets above. You can't miss the Old Tolbooth on the cobbled corner just before the original bridge over the Water of Leith. Painted yellow and reaching a height of four storeys, the A-listed building has the year 1675 inscribed on the lintel and is a rectangular-plan construction with crowstepped gables. It was a granary for the Baxters Incorporation of Edinburgh (the bakers trade guild - one of 15 such associations in the city) and the carved symbol of the crossed paddles is easily seen just above eye level. Another striking building by the waterside in Dean Village is Well Court (pictured above). The A-listed social housing complex was commissioned in the 1880s by Sir John Findlay - owner of the Scotsman newspaper. Legend insists he paid for the redevelopment because the old slum tenements were spoiling the view from his elevated stately home. The flats were leased to artisan tradesmen for affordable rents in return for the tenants respecting rules of temperance and attending church on Sundays. The design had several other social measures, including the provision of a common hall for reading and recreation. We passed under the pre-Victorian bridge that carries the A90 high above the river and made our way towards Stockbridge, which has many independent shops (including several antique dealers) along with a healthy choice of pubs, cafés and restaurants. On the way we passed St Bernard's Well, a natural spring supposedly discovered in 1760 by three schoolboys while fishing. The Roman temple structure was added in 1789 and features a statue of the Greek goddess of health, Hygieia. She is enclosed within a circle of eight tall stone pillars. The well takes its name from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who - according to local legend - had spent time living in a nearby cave. Beneath the statue is the pump room where the spring emerges. Ostentatiously designed with mosaics, this chamber has been largely closed to the public since 1940. Today, the well is owned by the Edinburgh City Council and maintained by the Dean Village Association, who organise public viewings on a handful of Sundays during the warmer months.

The route curved past the Grange cricket ground, where Scotland play their international matches. We then swung by the Stockbridge Colonies - a rent-controlled housing project built between 1861 and 1911. The original aim of the stone terraced dwellings was to provide accommodation for the dozens of skilled craftsmen employed in the city centre during Victorian times. They are now highly sought-after properties. We were now on the final leg with the finishing line just a couple of miles distant. Part of the old North Leith Railway has been incorporated into the walkway and we followed this to our final destination. Having checked the map since returning home, it looks as if the official path leaves the trackbed at the remains of Bonnington Station where the river meanders, but we were too weary to care either way and happy to be following a level footpath, watching the fractions of a mile tick down. The branch to Leith ceased carrying passengers in 1947 but freight ran to and from the docks until 1968. The Water of Leith forms a natural harbour as it meets the Firth of Forth. The town remained a politically separate burgh until 1920 before being absorbed by the capital city. At the boundary on Leith Walk, it was necessary to change from an electric tram to a cable-hauled vehicle until the whole system was united and electrified under the Edinburgh Corporation. The walkway ends at the historic Leith Shore - now thriving with several options for eating and drinking. The modern dock complex has extended outwards and remains a busy port, featuring a cruise liner terminal, a large shopping centre and the decommissioned Royal Yacht Britannia - now a major tourist attraction. Several departments of the Scottish Government are also situated here. The whole area underwent regeneration in the 90s following the decline of traditional quayside industries such as bonded warehousing, shipbuilding and the production of rope, sails, bottles and soap. A harpoon gun sculpture stands at the end of the walkway, representing the whaling ships that once set out from here. Thankfully this trade is no more. New apartments have arisen on the cobbled shore and Leith is a shining example of a successful reversal of severe economic hardship and its associated issues.

Footsore and thirsty, we approached the Malt & Hops watering hole - a haven for ale aficionados. Unfortunately it was now around 5.30pm on a Friday and the pub was full of people having an after-work drink and it was strictly standing room only. I needed to rest my legs and we popped along to the King's Wark on the corner of Shore and Bernard Street. It's a traditional-looking pub that serves cask beer and I dimly recalled being in there on a night out a couple of decades ago. We strode towards the bar, only to be collared by an employee who asked whether we were in for food, drinks or both, before ushering us to a table. We had a nice seat in the corner by the window and duly ordered a couple of pints. The King's Wark now markets itself as a bar/restaurant, hence the table service. My ale was in fine condition and we enjoyed some well-earned refreshment. Afterwards, we wandered along to the foot of Leith Walk, noticing the new tram rails in place and the digital screens informing us that services would be starting soon. Hopefully a switch of traction won't be required at the Boundary Bar! Today the bus would have to suffice and we hopped on a number 25 that whisked us up the hill and back to the city centre.

Kirriemuir Heritage

I had a free Friday and Nicole was heading up to Dundee for her university course. As I've done on several occasions, I hitched a lift and then took the car out of the city for an explore. Today I headed north to the small town of Kirriemuir - sometimes known as the Gateway to the Angus Glens. We had stopped here briefly on an earlier occasion and this time I planned to conduct a more thorough investigation.

For over a century, Kirriemuir's heritage has been bound up with Sir James Matthew Barrie, creator of the Peter Pan character. In more recent times, the town has become known internationally as the birthplace of Bon Scott - former frontman of rock giants AC/DC. I pulled into the car-park where Scott's statue is situated. It was this location I'd previously sought out while passing through Kirriemuir. A handful of overseas visitors were milling around, having their photo taken and reading the extensive information boards about Bon's life. The monument is a tourist draw in itself but a far bigger AC/DC themed attraction is the annual Bonfest. Several thousand fans come from across the globe to attend the three-day event which features a wide programme of bands. I'll write more about the AC/DC connection later in the post. My next port of call was the museum located within the old Town House. Officially titled Gateway to the Glens, the museum is open from Wednesday to Saturday all year round. I was the only visitor but two French women arrived shortly afterwards, asking for directions to the Bon Scott statue, proving my earlier point about music tourism. I was mightily impressed when they lady behind the counter switched from Angus brogue to mellifluous francais! The 1604 B-listed building (the oldest in Kirriemuir) hasn't had an administrative function since the 1880s and was subsequently converted to a post office, followed by various retail use. By the end of the 20th century, the premises were in a dilapidated condition and the local council stepped in to establish the museum. The restored facility offers displays over two floors and the ground level is dedicated to the history of Kirriemuir and its people. I learned the town came into being in 1459 as a free Burgh of Barony. This conferred different rights to those of a Royal Burgh. Kirriemuir had no foreign trade links but was permitted to hold a weekly market and employ resident craftsmen. I saw a model of nearby Forter Castle, built in 1560 by local landowner James Ogilvy, Lord of Airlie. It was burned down in 1640 in retribution for the family's loyalty to the House of Stuart and Catholic religion. The castle lay in ruins for centuries but in 1988 was purchased by Robert Pooley, who restored the building in cooperation with Scottish Heritage. It is now marketed as a luxury retreat and can host weddings and other intimate events. I picked up a leaflet outlining a town heritage trail and stashed it in my pocket.

Kirriemuir grew around the weaving industry. Initially performed on handlooms within cottages, the production process expanded into factories as demand rocketed during the second half of the 19th century. The town also has a tradition of baking and confectionary which is evident today as you stroll around the winding streets. The County of Angus contains rich agricultural land and a railway branch to Kirriemuir was completed by 1861. The line closed to passengers in 1952 and goods traffic was withdrawn in 1965. A similar fate befell several other local routes. Kirriemuir's main literary export is of course JM Barrie, who was born in the town in 1860. His best-known work is Peter Pan. Generations of children around the globe have been enchanted by tales of the mischievous young boy who never grew up and had the ability to fly. His adventures on the Island of Neverland saw him interact with a colourful array of characters and Barrie's creation has crossed over into cinema and TV productions many times. Barrie was a close friend of famed polar explorer Sir Robert Falcon Scott and a letter to Barrie was retrieved from Scott's final encampment - where the remaining men perished in blizzard conditions. Barrie eventually died of pneumonia in London aged 77. He was interred alongside his parents and siblings in his home town. His birthplace on Brechin Road is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to the public. I proceeded upstairs to view the second gallery in the museum. The space is given over to the wider Angus Glens area but a cabinet full of AC/DC memorabilia was also present. The southern part of Cairngorms National Park (established 2003) contains the Angus Glens. Ten Munros (mountains over 3000 feet) can be found here. Indeed, Sir Hugh Munro himself hailed from around these parts. Generations of farming communities faced major change as the 20th century wore on. The mass mechanisation of agriculture saw working horses and manpower fall by the wayside. This ultimately led to depopulation of the glens. Many areas now rely heavily upon tourism and commercial game shooting. The gallery contained extensive information about the local wildlife and a glass case exhibited several stuffed specimens. Fortunately the red squirrel thrives here. I also discovered a network of Roman camps, forts and signal towers had been erected between 80 and 400 AD. The museum didn't neglect flora and I was surprised to read that larch isn't actually a native British tree - having been introduced from the continent in 1629. I can thoroughly recommend the museum and entry is free. You can see everything comfortably in just over an hour. It was time to move on and I found Barrie's birthplace after a few minutes walk. Three plaques were prominently displayed on the white harled wall of a weaver's house. Barrie and his seven siblings lived in two upstairs rooms, while his father’s loom clattered on the ground floor. The budding author began performing his own plays at the age of seven in the property's wash house. It is said this outbuilding may even have inspired the famous Wendy house in the Peter Pan stories. An exhibition tells the story of his life and work, and includes the writing desk from Barrie’s London flat. A jungle-themed garden lies to the rear. Admission was a reasonable £8.50 but I wanted to complete a walking circuit of the town before heading back to Dundee. I opted to leave the Barrie Birthplace for another day. A striking statue of Peter Pan stands in the centre of Kirriemuir. Cast in bronze, the horn-playing figure was unveiled in 1994 to replace an earlier artwork that had suffered damage.

Next on the agenda was a wander through The Den - a peaceful area of green space just a short stroll from the main square. The land was gifted to the public in 1867 and there are paths at various levels. I walked alongside the Gairie Burn which enters the parkland via an impressive waterfall at the northern end. I cut through a modern housing estate (passing Bon Scott Place) as I headed towards Kirrie Hill on the edge of town. I skirted the cemetery where JM Barrie rests, but decided to push on towards the 633-foot summit. Barrie Pavilion stands by a cricket field, where the man himself played in his youth. He paid for its construction out of his own pocket and donated the building to the townsfolk. A camera obscura (one of only three in Scotland) was installed in a purposely designed turret room. The device uses lenses and mirrors to project an image through a hole at roof level and downwards onto a circular screen, housed in a darkened room. The device can be rotated to produce a 360-degree panorama of the outside surroundings. Visitors are treated to projections of the Angus Glens, Sidlaw Hills and the distant Grampian Mountains. Operated by the National Trust, the camera obscura is open during the summer months. Viewers in the old days must have marvelled at the colourful imagery in a time when cinema screens showed only black & white. I pressed on towards the modest summit and was rewarded with nice views across Strathmore. A standing stone - almost eight feet tall and thought to date from the Bronze Age - loomed nearby and is apparently one of several ancient monoliths erected in the local area many moons ago. Their exact use remains a mystery but could have involved religious ritual, boundary marking or even an early type of calendar. I certainly felt the energy! It was time to head back towards the town centre and a straight course took me down a charming old street called simply Roods. The Star Rock Shop trades here and is reckoned to be the oldest confectionary retailer in Scotland, having been established in 1833. JM Barrie apparently had a few treats mailed to him down in London on a regular basis. A taste of the homeland! I passed the Tayside Police Museum and made a mental note to return to Kirriemuir and visit the attractions I couldn't fit into today's schedule. The Star Rock website offers all manner of sweets for sale and I resolved to place an order to give the business some support.

Back at the Bon Scott statue, I sat in the car and listened to a bit of AC/DC. Ronald Belford Scott was born in 1946 and his father worked in the local family bakery. Seeking a new challenge, the family moved down under in 1953, settling in Freemantle, Western Australia. Here, young Ron was swiftly christened Bon by his new classmates, the term being a contraction of Bonnie Scotland. AC/DC were formed in 1974 but Bon was almost a decade older than the Young brothers (Angus and Malcolm), fellow emigrant Scots who shared guitar duties and ran the band. Bon had already experienced success fronting an assortment of groups on the Australian scene and one of them - Fraternity - tried their luck in the UK. Following the demise of this venture, Bon hooked up with the Youngs, replacing original frontman Dave Evans and through sheer slog, AC/DC worked their way up to domestic success before flying to London in an attempt to gain wider appeal. A series of well-received albums saw the band make firm progress in Europe, but the American market remained out of reach. That changed when Highway to Hell, released in 1979, propelled the band to global headlining status. The next recording was widely expected to cement AC/DC as one of the biggest rock acts in the world. Back in Black did just that, but unfortunately Bon wasn't present. He was found unresponsive in a parked car in February 1980, at the age of 33. His death certificate lists acute alcohol poisoning as the cause. The band recruited Brian Johnson and to this day fill stadiums across the world (Malcolm Young passed away in 2017). Back in Black is one of the most successful albums of all time, selling around 50 million copies. Bon may not have been on vocals but his trademark turns of phrase percolate the songs' DNA (although he's not formally credited). Bonfest 2023 offers a slew of bands (many of whom perform AC/DC material) across local pubs, the Town Hall and the main arena, a marquee holding 2000 spectators. Tickets cost £40 per day and range of accommodation options are available. Kirriemuir will be rocking for years to come!