AREN'T these young women looking fabulous at the annual Bathing Beauties competition at Prestwick open air swimming pool in 1951, although our eyes are later drawn to the old fellow contentedly puffing on his pipe in the front row behind them. Bet he remembered this day for quite some time. No bikinis for contestants in those days, although one lady has a daring bare midriff, and perhaps another has gone for a Marilyn Monroe look in the hope of impressing the judges.
However the picture caption says it was the contestant on the far left who won the £100 first prize.
Prestwick Bathing Lake as it was called, was Scotland's largest pool and could accommodate up to 1200 bathers, but surely that would have been standing-room only. It opened in 1931, and attracted thousands of holidaymakers, particularly from Glasgow, in the summer, but it went into decline in the sixties as people preferred package holidays abroad, and it closed in 1972.
INSTANTLY recognisable for those of a certain age is Mary Marquis, BBC Scotland news presenter from the mid-60s to the late-80s who always looked elegant, was never flustered, and enunciated with a clarity which for some reason no longer appears to be a requisite for TV presenters any more. She is pictured here interviewing Glasgow artist and caricaturist Emilio Coia, the son of an Italian immigrant who set up an ice cream business in the city. Emilio was educated at St Mungo's and Glasgow School of Art before contributing his stylish work to newspapers, advertising, and on television where his quick sketches were often called for.
The good news is that I met Mary just a few months ago at a charity event in Glasgow and she is as stylish and articulate as ever.
IT is with some trepidation that I write this, as train enthusiasts are such knowledgeable people, and I know the slightest error will be seized upon, but here goes - this is an A1 class 4-6-2 locomotive being built for the London and North Eastern Railway in Glasgow in 1942. The huge overhead crane is moving it above other locomotives in preparation for it being taken out on trials. The 4-6-2 refers to its wheel formation - four leading wheels at the front, six larger driving wheels in the middle and two trailing wheels at the back.
It would have gone into service on the line from London to Aberdeen where it was powerful enough to cope with the heaviest of passenger trains.
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