Peterhead Prison Museum .....
20th
July 2017 (Thursday)
.... 08.30 as forecast, we have rain .... but only ‘light
rain’. It’s forecast to be with us ‘on
and orf’ most of the day; tomorrow is to
be ‘bright and sunny’. Today’s weather
is ideal for visiting Peterhead Prison Museum! Must ‘go’ .... ‘ever so slight flap on’; got to get the camera organised.
 |
| Peterhead prison museum. |
09.45 After a number of distant rumbles of
thunder, the aforementioned ‘light rain’ has turned into a heavy thundery downpour. The sky is beginning to ‘lighten’ in the
Southwest, but the ‘intensity’ of the rain has increased.
20.00 Iain and I had oor day out to Peterhead
Prison Museum; and it was absolutely
fascinating. It felt like being in a
film set.... as in, ‘Slade Prison’ in the TV series “Porridge”. My own ‘feeling’ was that the buildings I
browsed through were something out of history.... which they now are of
course. However this was a fully
operational prison, holding some of the most dangerous men in Scotland, until
2013; the ‘new’ prison that replaces it,
is just ‘over the wall’.
 |
| Jackie Stuart and Iain. |
We
met Jackie Stuart, a former Prisoner Officer;
in fact it was Jackie Stuart who was captured by some prisoners in 1987,
and held hostage for four days, before being rescued, by the SAS. Jackie
was 56 years old at the time, so he is a young 87 year old now.... and one
interesting gentleman to have a conversation with. If you are ever up in Peterhead, this
museum is well worth visiting. You get
a set of earphones etc, and amble round the museum at your own speed: finishing with the ‘Refuge Cafe’! There is a Museum shop, from which I bought
a book about the history of the prison.... it should make very interesting
reading. The weather was perfect for
this mission ....being wet, and miserable, as forecast, for most of the day. We’re looking forward to ‘bright and sunny’
weather ‘ra morra’. My morning ‘plan’
is to ‘touch up’ the car paintwork ... then see what ‘the plan’ is after that.
 |
| New prisoner. |
Photographs
: Top – Peterhead Prison Museum, Next – Jackie Stuart and Iain, Next – new
prisoner, and Bottom – Druggam Farm ... about half a mile from Myrebird... and
where “Rosie” lived. Both Henry (my
brother) and I ‘loved’ “Rosie”... in fact all the boys at Crathes School
‘loved’ Rosie! My mum was friendly
with her Mum so we would walk over there for an afternoon cuppa. “Rosie” was my second ‘girlfriend’; Aileen
Anderson (also Crathes School) was
the first! Henry was six years old ....
I was nine. I wonder where they,
“Aileen” and “Rosie”, are now?
Nowadays Druggam Farm is the site of a Paint ball, and various other
‘weapons’’ Battleground; a completely
different place from what it was in the ‘old days’. Then it was peaceful ... now I imagine it
will be noisy; but creating jobs.
 |
| Druggam Farm ... near Myrebird Crathes. |
