The Invergordon Archive

I am glad to note that the brass post box still seems to be kept well polished. In the '50s the Postmaster was Mr Ross who lived in one of the prefabs in Joss Street. The Arts Centre used to be referred to as the Picture House but was used for concerts and dances as well as showing films. In my day it was the main place of entertainment and many couples must have met or had their first date inside. When films were shown they always played God save the King/Queen at the end of performances but as soon as the first note struck there was a stampede for the exits.
I quite often picked up fleas while at the pictures. Staff tried to deal with this problem by spraying the place with insecticide before the first house. If you went in very early the (wooden) arms of the seats were still wet from the spraying. These infestations were blamed on tinkers from the little colony who lived in "bender" huts beside the Black Ditch at the back of the town. What a hard life they must have had and they were treated like lepers in the town.

In regards to the Post Office, I know it has since moved. However I still get mail from Invergordon but lately all have been post-marked Inverness. My question then is do they not sort the mail anymore at Invergordon or is this another bit of progress and cost saving?
Billy, I remember the stampede for the exit from the Picture House, usually through the crash-bars of the side entrance and we never waited sometime for the first note. Also remember the tinker's huts both at the Black Ditch and behind the canteen on the recreation grounds, and speaking of the recreation grounds. Does anyone remember "groundy"? the groundskeeper. He kept the place well groomed and god help you if he caught you on the grass after he had cut and marked it....

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