November 1987
Fire-damaged School - Out of Use for Months
Blackness Primary School Dundee, which was severely damaged by fire early yesterday morning, is expected to be closed for the remainder of the school year.
The cost of repairs was put at between £150,000 and £200,000 by Tayside Regional Council in preliminary estimates late yesterday.Blackness is the second primary school to be affected by fire within a week. On Sunday morning West March in Downfield, suffered £20,000 damage when fire swept through four classrooms.
A police spokesman said they were satisfied there was no connection between the two outbreaks.
The fire at Blackness in not thought to be suspicious, although the cause is still being investigated. Preliminary investigations revealed, however, that it probably started in a section of the building undergoing repair. Structural damage was originally feared in the school – a landmark in Hawkhill at the foot of Peddie Street – but late yesterday engineers reported that the blaze has spread upwards but not outwards from its base at the south-east end on the building.
A beat policeman raised the alarm at 5.30 a.m., when smoke was seen coming from the building. Four fire appliances initially raced to the scene. Their crews used eight sets of breathing apparatus on relays, a monitor jet on a hydraulic platform and four jets to bring the blaze under control. They confined the blaze to the south-east end, but floors gave way in the flames.
A spokesman for Tayside Education Department said later “The fire was contained within a small part of the school and spread up in a column through the central part.
“There is no external structural damage and little smoke damage. The main problem is water damage.”
“The school will be out of action until next March. Refurbishment will take until well after New Year so classes could be wiped out for the current school year”.
He said the education department was conscious, in the light of what was likely to be a lengthy closure, of the need to keep the school together as a community. This would play a large part in the search for an alternative suitable accommodation for the 240 pupils.
A decision on providing a temporary home for the children, who include those attending the unit for the partially sighted, is expected today. In the meantime the pupils have been excused from classes until Monday.
Firemen were at the scene throughout yesterday morning carrying out damping down operations after the blaze had been brought under control.
The school outbreak completed one of the busiest nights in recent years for Dundee’s fire services. Appliances were called to two fires in the same house in the space of only two hours on Tuesday night. At 10.15 p.m. they attended a small kitchen fire at 184, Balunie Avenue and extinguished a blazing pot on a cooker, which caused £200 of smoke damage. At 11.58 p.m. they were called to the same house and extinguished a larger fire in the kitchen, caused by an electrical fault. Extensive damage of around £1200 was sustained by the kitchen and there was some smoke damage to the rest of the house. No-one was injured in either outbreak.
AT 12.13 a.m. yesterday firemen were again in action, dealing with a chip pan fire in Hazelhead Court. It was extinguished before their arrival.
All Hands on Deck!
After a highly successful open season with 44,000 visitors welcomed aboard, a programme of winter maintenance and restoration is under way on Captain Scott’s ship Discovery.
It includes deck recaulking, the overhaul and cleaning of equipment, painting and varnishing and preparatory work in areas of the vessel, like the boiler room, not yet open to the public.
Discovery’s restoration and maintenance team is led by Bill MacGregor, ship’s master. “Winter is a very busy time for us” said Bill “As soon as we have said goodbye to our last visitor, we step up the restoration, and maintenance programme. Volunteers are making a most valuable contribution to this and more are needed.”
Longer-term restoration plans include the complete refurbishment of Discovery’s interiors to the original condition, as well as major work to the stern and counter areas.
Discovery is being restored by Dundee Heritage Trust, which needs a wide range of volunteer skills and support.
Danny Wilson are Back Home
Dundee band Danny Wilson are back home after an exhausting but hugely successful tour of the United States and Canada.
They were on the road for two months and played over 30 towns across North America, supporting Simply Red.
Despite the gruelling schedule, brothers Kit and Gary Clark and Ged Grimes, come out of their biggest challenge with flying colours.
The former Murraygate buskers have been recovering from jet-lag since arriving back in Dundee on Wednesday.
“We’re shattered” said Kit “We’ve been travelling for a few days and I couldn’t sleep a wink when I got back”.
However, the band are delighted with the way the tour went. “It was brilliant. We were getting standing ovations and encores every night” he continued. The single “Mary’s Prayer” was a big hit in the States, staying in the charts for 32 weeks.
“It the first few gigs we were ending with “Mary’s Prayer” and when they heard it the audiences were saying “Ah that’s who they are”
“After that we played it at the beginning of the set and they were going mad”
However not everything went smoothly during the tour and most of the problems that did occur were because of the ‘dodgy’ bus the band and their entourage travelled in.
The journey from Montreal to Vancouver took six days and they missed two concerts after the van broke down on a desolate road in the Great Lakes.
“It was like in the middle of nowhere” said Kit “One of the lads walked for an hour before he found a building. It was a motel but was closed for the winter. Luckily the owner put us up for the night but we were keeping an eye out for the grizzly bears”.
“The bus was always breaking down. It was a standing joke with Simply Red, who had other travelling arrangements that they could go out for a drink after the gig but we always had to leave straight afterwards to give us a chance of making it in time for the next one”
The band are now having a week’s holiday after being away from Dundee since the beginning of June. Initially they re-recording their new single “Girl I Used to Know” and making a video.
After their break the band will be promoting the single in this country and also doing promotional work in Europe.
Kit said there could be the chance of playing in Dundee before the end of the year. “It’s too early to say but we could maybe do a one-off. The problem is that all our gear is locked up in England and we would have to see if we could afford to bring it up. We’re not the richest band because all our singles have flopped” he laughed.
However, after conquering thousands of new fans in the States, Danny Wilson can now concentrate on achieving the recognition they deserve in this country.
Jackie Pop Special
No. 14
• Interviews
• Pin-Ups
• Features
• Quizzes
If it’s to do with pop, it’s in
Jackie Pop Special
It’s got the faces, the facts, the stories
And the scandal (if we can find any!)
It’s Looking Good – and Sounding Better!
Jackie Pop Special
Now On Sale Price 70p.
Top Ten Singles
1 – Faith…..George Michael
2 –You Win Again…..Bee Gees
3 – Barcelona…..Mercury and Gaballe
4 – Whenever You Need Somebody…..Rick Astley
5 – Love In The First Degree…..Bananarama
6 – Little Lies…..Fleetwood Mac
7 – China in Your Hand…..T’Pau
8 – Got My Mind Set On You….George Harrison
9 – Crockett’s Theme…..Jan Hammer
10 – Walk the Dinosaur…..Was (Not Was)
Top Ten Albums
1 – Faith……George Michael
2 – All the Best…..Paul McCartney
3 – Meet Danny Wilson…..Danny Wilson
4 – Seduced and Abandoned…..Hue and Cry
5 – Mainstream…..Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
6 – Nothing Like the Sun……Sting
7 – Chronicles…..Steve Winward
8 – The Christians……The Christians
9 – Tunnel of Love…..Bruce Springsteen
10 – The Original Soundtrack…..Dirty Dancing
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Rocktalk^^^^^Rocktalk^^^^^Rocktalk
Fans of Hue and Cry who saw them in Dundee last week were shocked to read reports that the band had split at the weekend.
Greg Kane was quoted as saying that the tension between himself and his brother Pat had come to a head.
But a spokesman for their record company, Circa, said yesterday that the brothers have made up and Hue and Cry are planning an extensive European tour.
There were warning signs at the group’s concert at Dundee University that all was not well – it seemed to be a one-man performance by Pat while the rest of the group merely went through the motions.
As a result, it wasn’t as good a performance as their other Dundee shows at Fat Sam’s, but there were still some great highlights.
Rocktalk^^^^^Rocktalk^^^^^Rocktalk
A very different way to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night will be to go to the Marryat Hall in Dundee tonight, where a “galaxy of stars” are performing a benefit charity for the Action Aid Charity.
The line up includes Joe Public, the Torandos, Visions and the Dissidents plus a disco and a good selection of gargle blasters, the drinks Zodiac Mindwarp recommended to us this earlier this year.
Titled “Megabop” the concert starts at 8 p.m. and continues until 1 a.m. – tickets are not on sale at the door but can be bought from Groucho’s or Virgin in Dundee.
Rocktalk^^^^^Rocktalk^^^^^Rocktalk
Mr Motormouth himself, Ben Elton, will be causing fits of laughter with his live show at Dundee University’s Students’ Union tonight.
According to Ben’s hilarious press biography, he went to a school in Guildford where “some of the kids were so rich the school tuck shop took American Express”.
After a great deal of scriptwriting and some groundwork on the London cabaret circuit he was catapulted to infamy on the Saturday Live show. With “Blackadder Three” showcasing his writing talents, Ben’s last Dundee appearance was at Fat Sam’s where some of his newly released live album was recorded.
Some tickets should still be available today for students and guests, and Ben will be onstage at 8.30 p.m.
Lord Provost Launches National Tree Week
Today Lord Provost Tom Mitchell will launch Dundee’s contribution to National Tree Week when he plants a tree in Dunholm Place, Charleston.
The planting will take place on an open space next to Camperdown sheltered housing complex and Charleston Primary School and tenants and pupils are expected to join in.
Over the last 12 years the district council has planted over one million trees, but, said Mr Mitchell, “much remains to be done”
“Dundee’s trees are under constant threat,” he said yesterday “On average 7000 to 10,000 trees annually are vandalised in open spaces and parks in the city. This is a very acute problem costing up to £50,000 a year. New building developments within the city also puts pressure on the existing mature trees, especially in the development of old gardens and grounds of large houses.
“Disease plays a part, too. Dutch elm disease has killed off 10% of the city’s elm population.
The parks department would like to take the opportunity to thank members of the public who have already felled infected trees on their property, and remind the rest who have been notified of infected trees to try to have them removed by next spring.
On behalf of the tree council who organise National Tree Week, the district council I s not inviting Dundonians to plant a tree in ’87.
Marquee
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Monday, December 7
Wednesday, December 9
Monday, December 14
Sorry all other dates fully booked.
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Constable Street, Dundee.
Dark Blues too Strong for City
Brechin City1, Dundee 3
Dundee proved too strong for a battling Brechin in this Forfarshire Cup tie and while the tow opening goals might be put down to defensive mistakes, these were made as the visitors applied intense pressure on the home defence.
In the 26th minute the speedy Steve Campbell nipped in to take a Stevens pass off the toes of John Inglis and ran on to side-foot the ball past the advancing keeper.
Four minutes later the Dark Blues went two ahead when a rushed Doug Scott clearance went straight to Angus. His shot was parried by Smart but only into the path of Vince Mennie who didn’t hesitate in knocking the ball in to the net.
It was more than composed City in the second-half with Lees on for Paterson and they continued to contribute to an entertaining game, although Dundee emphasised their superiority with a third goal in the 62nd minute, Mennie going clear on a Lawrence pass and have the simplest of tasks to net.
Throughout the match Lawrence impressed with his ability to find space.
Brechin’s stars were in defence where Bobby Brown was outstanding. In the 68th minute he crashed a header against the post and in the 74th minute it was full back Chris Canlish who was up in support to complete a fine sweeping move involving Bourke and Buckley to score City’s well-deserved consolation.
Attendance: 400.