October 1954
Inside the Law Tunnel
You expect a ghost to creep up on you at any moment! - Inside the Law Tunnel - What's it like inside the Law Tunnel? This week I decided to find out (writes a "People's.Journal" reporter). Stirling Park, off Kinghorne Road, was where the entrance tunnel started. The City Engineer's Department told me, "You'll need a torch".
I took one. Odds and ends of rubbish lay about in the partly bricked-up opening. A hundred yards of the tunnel had been reinforced as an air raid shelter during the war. I went through a doorway at the end of the shelter marked "emergency exit".
The rotted wood and metal of the narrow gauge railway lines still showed above the muddy floor. And from the roof hung white shining stalactites.
Right in the heart, the very heart of Dundee, it's the loneliest and eeriest place. Any moment you expect something ghostly to creep up and touch you on the shoulder.
Four hundred yards along, the tunnel ended in a mound of rubbish. The "emergency exit" was filled in.
I looked up the history of the Law Tunnel when I got back.
It runs under the eastern shoulder of the hill - was opened in 1829 when Scotland's first railway, from Dundee to Newtyle, was laid down. It was used for 30 years.
It has been used twice since 1860. In 1899 an Edinburgh company obtained permission to grow mushrooms there, but the tunnel proved too damp. Then in 1939 the air-raid shelter was built.
Sportswomen Leave City
Two girls are leaving home because they can't afford to be champions
You can say farewell, Scotland, to your two top women athletes.
In January Scottish sprint champion Pat Devine, of Dundee, will pack her grip and head for London. And with her from Bridge of Earn, in Perthshire, will go Elspeth Hay, her "constant runner-up".
For both have made the same discovery - you can't be a first-class amateur athlete and live in Scotland. Pat's father is a doctor. Elspeth is a "daughter of the farm". Yet neither girl can afford any longer to be an amateur living in Scotland.
Take the case of Pat. In the past two seasons she has brought honour to her country. She helped keep it to the fore at the 1952 Olympics. Outside of the swimming events, she was the only Scotswoman to travel to Vancouver for this year's Empire Games.
What was her reward for services rendered? In the running season between May and September she lost £80 of the money she had put by from her wages as a comptometer operator. Most of it was spent on travel.
An athlete needs the incentive of competition. To run 100 yards against Olympic-class opposition Pat must go 400 miles to London. It cost her about £20 to take part in the British championships.
For "invitation meetings", her rail travel and lodgings are paid. But the athlete herself must foot the bill for all the "incidentals" involved in a week-end in London. Pat hopes her move will affect her times as well as her money.
For the 100 yards, the Scottish women's record is 11.4 seconds. This year both Pat and Elspeth have made almost a habit of covering the distance in as little as 11.1. But you won't find it in the record books.
Said Pat: "There has always been one of three things working against us - a wind blowing, a shortage of timekeepers, or the event was a handicap and therefore not official. "If we remain in Scotland, it will be a case of 'handicap events only' almost every weekend".
So Pat Devine of Dundee will next season be "of Wimbledon", or "of Chelsea", or some other southern suburb. Exactly which the girls have not yet decided. "It will depend where the work is and where we manage to find accommodation.
But already they have picked their coach. He is Austrian Franz Stampel, the man who trained the mile wonder, Roger Bannister, the European long jump champ, Jean Desforges, and the Empire's best high jumper, Thelma Hopkins.
Special Autumn Holiday Bargains
Velvet hats and halfhats in lovely shades from 12/6
Felt hats to suit all ages from 14/9
The popular all-feather hat from 12/11
I.L. Geddes, Milliner, 56 Wellgate, Dundee, Phone 5010.
Tony Will Produce "Oklahoma"
Dundee Operatic Society have secured the services of two professional producers for this season's production.
Mr T.C. Fairbairn of Covent Garden, Drury Lane, Royal Albert Hall and Scarborough Open-Air Theatre will produce "Aida" and Anthony Oakley, late of Dundee Repertory Theatre will produce "Oklahoma".
Mr Oakley, former Regular Army Officer with the rank of Major, came to Dundee Rep in 1949 to play the lead in a new play called "Shooting Star". He played many parts with the company, but about two years later gave up the stage. His wife had been wardrobe mistress.
Tony changed over to a job in Lochee factory of Dundee Linoleum Co Ltd. Now he is in the publicity department.
Dundee Operatic Society's productions will be staged at the Gaumont in March.
Resident Mothers
Help wanted to assist in running household (two adults, two children) ideal situation for young person interested in domestic work or older person requiring good home by seaside house in Troon. Apply in writing giving full particulars to P.O. Box 4075, People's Journal, Dundee.
Dutch Apple Cake
A very tasty pudding and you don't require an egg.
Take one large cupful self-raising flour, pinch salt, two level teaspoons baking powder, &frac;1/2 teacupful sugar, a little cinnamon, one ounce margarine, &frac;1/2 teacup milk and cooking apples.
Mix all dry ingredients. Mix in margarine with fingers add the milk beat well. Spread into well greased shallow tin.
Cut apples into wedges, press into top of mixture, sprinkle with a little cinnamon, sugar and bake in mod oven for 30 mins. Serve with thin custard.
Try This for a cold?
On Saturday moring I did not feel too good. By midday I was much worse. By evening I felt too miserable for words. A friend advised me to eat a raw onion before going to bed. No onions being available, I made do with a very large shallot. Having disposed of this after a severe struggle, I drank a cup of hot tea and went to bed. Next morning I was completely cured.
New System at Tannadice
Manager Reg Smith is starting a new system at Tannadice. All the players will have their height and weights tabulated. Other details will go down on the cards. From time to time the weights will be checked. "A regular check on weight can tell you a lot about players form" said the United Manager.
G.L. Wilson Autumn Fashion Fair
A display of Autumn Fashions in which manufacturer's of all types of fashion wear have co-operated in making this one of the finest and most comprehensive fashion parades ever seen in the city at Dundee's Own Exhibition, Caird Hall, September 22nd to October 4th at 3 pm, 6 pm and 7.30 pm.
Dial M for Murder
Dundee Repertory Theatre, Phone 3530
Monday October 4th - Final Week
Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott
Monday to Friday 7.15 pm, Saturday 5 pm & 8 pm.