Scoop Taylor Reunion Saturday18th June 2011.

This date is almost solid, just tying up a few details with the Duke and I'll make it public very soon..hopefully.

I am trying very hard to publish the first of the Scoop Taylor books to co-incide with that date, I prepared a draft copy of the book back in November and it looks quite promising.

The idea is to have the upper and lower public spaces at the Duke available for that day starting at around 12 lunchtime. There will be an exhibition of photos downstairs and a book launch upstairs, followed by the evening shindig upstairs. The exhibition downstairs will be open for viewing throughout the evening.

The ballroom accommodates 160 people so it will be interesting to see how many we get. Watch this space will update in the next 24 hours.

Scoop

Scoop Taylor Re-union new date.

The Scoop Taylor shindig will now not take place in August 2011. The new date is probably going to be Saturday 18th June at the Duke Of Gordon Hotel to co-incide with the Kingussie Bikeathon being held that weekend.

Watch this blog for confirmation.

Scoop on Radio Scotland

Jumbo has re-connected with Karen Mckenzie (from Rothiemurchus) on Facebook. Karen and I went to school together and have not met or spoken for..well a long long time!  so its brilliant to be back in touch.

Karen co-presents the show 'MacAuly and Co' on BBC Radio Scotland, she loves the Scoop Archive and has invited me on the show for a wee chat with her and Fred on Wednesday 29th December 2010 at 11.30 am approx, I hope you can tune in!.

You can pick the show up on Sky as well as your radio and I believe BBC i player will have it also.

Here are links to the BBC webpage and also to Freds own webpage.

BBC show.

Fred MacAuly

The Scoop Taylor re-union will be happening on Friday August 5th 2011 at the Duke Of Gordon Hotel in Kingussie so please make a date for your diaries. The first Scoop Taylor book will be launched on that day also, so its very exciting for me. 2011 is going to be a busy year!!.

later!!

Jumbo.

Scoop Taylor Archive Book, Volume 1.

Finally getting my teeth into this book after a difficult but very productive summer. I had hoped to get the book out by christmas but being distracted by my own photographic works and being troubled with my health ( I've had M.E. over 20 years ) it might not happen this year. There are so many pictures and bits of text to pull together its proving harder than I thought. However its coming together now and I think it will be a good book.
I have started my own publishing company called 'Jumbo Editions'...yes very inspirational name ha ha!! This is something I've wanted to do for many years and its quite a complicated game but I'm determined to make it happen so happen it will!.
Below is my chosen 'Jumbo Editions' logo appropriately a photo taken by dad in 1973 at the summit of 
Cairngorm.

 

Arrival

Margaret says.. 


One cold, cold frosty morning in January, many moons ago, I was woken with a loud bang on the door and a commotion in the lobby at 22.
Traipsing down the stairs on the cold linoeleum, I saw dad talking to Dr Ramsay our GP.
The great news was Lil had delivered her 6th child in Aberdeen Maternity and low and behold it was the first son John!!!!
I remember standing shivering in the lobby, no central heating ,solid cold lino floors with the odd rug here and there.One coal fire for the whole house which was in the sitting room ,and this had gone out overnight, dad didnt have time to re light it,to get it warm for us bairns to come down to. I had been farmed out that week to Uncle Willies and Auntie Beths in Buckpool as mum was taken into Aberdeen Maternity early,Auntie Jess stayed at 22 to look after the rest of us.For no rhyme or reason I was sent back to 22 ( well there may have been a reason but i can't remember it) I just remember walking back up Yuill Aenue on the Saturday.
Dad then said to me get dressed and take the bike over to Buckpool and tell Uncle Ernie and Auntie Vi the good news.That was the first I knew about you John !!!!!!!

Another story from Margaret

In our time of being comfy or well off or whatever you called it,dad decided to get a local Jock Thain to come and tame our unruly garden at 22, Dad was never a gardener or handy man or anything to with DIY.
So Jock came and tamed the garden and planted lots and lots of vegetables.He tended the garden most weeks and we lived off the spoils.
On Sundays whilst we were all at Church /Sunday School,mum was at home with the baby of the time and getting Sunday dinner ready for us all.
We would all walk to the North Kirk, berets on at a jaunty angle ,Clarks school shoes shone like the silvery moon because dad had polished them that very morning,shiny shoes were a badge of your decent upbringing, and dad in his best pin stripe suit,we were really part of the business mans community ,here at the kirk we had our own pew on the right handside half way down the isle. Werent we posh ??? Mid way thro the morning service the youngsters we be chaperoned off to Sunday school ,which was held in the church hall at the back of the church.This heralded 11 am, and by 11.30 am it was all over,father collected us and off we trooped back up High Street, left into Well road and right into Yuill Avenue.The comfort that I get from that mental picture is one of indescribable pleasure, we were so happy, so content,and wanted for nothing, not even our parents love,because at this time in our life we got it in abundance. OK they never told us they loved us , but their actions spoke a thousand words and there was I cocooned in their arms. I didnt give a shit, but I also didn't know what was ahead of us.

12 September 2010 09:46

New post using one of my sister Margarets comments.

1960's early ish. saw us move to Killin with the Coop butcher,dad had been a peripatetic butcher for last 12 months.So at long last after the bankruptcy and the possiblitiy of going to Canada YES we nearly went C/O P&O dad working his and his family passage as master butcher on board.Not sure what went wrong & why we didnt go, and I guess we will never find out now, unless it was dad's diabetes holding him back.Whilst we waited for a permanent posting for dad, he sent through his wages evey week to mum in Yuill Avenue along side a real Red Cross parcel,fresh butcher meat,??? sausage, mince,stewing steak.Most times it arrived the next day so mum could cook it all and sort of preserve it for the coming week,enough to feed all of our hungry faces ,I remember on two occassions in the hight of the summer (in Buckie ???? ) the parcel arrived and had turned sour and you could smell it as far away as Well Road,so it had to be buried in the garden as deep as possibly.So no meat dinners that week.
Dad then got his permanent postion with the Co-Op in Killin,this is where I fisrt came accross dad's flair and ambition to be a news reporter,journalist, author or anyone or all three.I think he may have neglected some of manegerial skills at this stage to pursue his dream.
he would freelance for the PA Perthshire advertiser,The Courier (Dundee )and even the Scottish Nationals if they would print his story or use his photo.
The Hydro were just starting to build the dams in tayside and dad got in with an employee who took him into Glen Lyon to see what was going on and how the develepoments were progressing.He gained many stories from this source and of course his foray into black and white photography with his box brownie.Many were published.
After this dad took us up to Glen Lyon regularly.
Last year 2009 I went to climb the Ptarmigan Ridge at the back of Killin beside Ben Lawyers and before i did that I sat on the same dam wall as dad and I did all those years ago.
Do you know I was like a fairy on that climb, i think Jim was there in spirit.Cheers dad x