Brought up in Stobswell

I have lots of happy memories of Dundee in the 50's and 60's. I was brought up in the Stobswell area in Morgan Street. My gran lived in Baldovan Terrace and my aunt in Raglan Street. I spent a lot of my time at dancing class after school. Jean Pringle was my first ballet teacher. She had a studio at the corner of the King's Theatre (Gaumont Cinema) then moved to King Street.

I then attended Esther Clarke's in Albert Street. Esther lived in Park Avenue in the Stobswell area. She took us to France in 1958 to dance round various villages. We had a great time and were made very welcome.

Esther also had us dancing at Baxter Park during the school holidays and Castle Green Broughty Ferry. We were never bored. We had all our dancing displays in the Caird Hall every year and even at the City Square at Hogmanay we would put on displays in the freezing cold but they were good days and everyone enjoyed the entertainment. My mother also (Irene Dand) started the first marching band at Douglas Community Centre over 40 years ago - she dedicated a lot of her time with the youth club there when Douglas Community Centre opened. I also have lots of memories from the Palace Theatre when I used to appear in shows.