Memories of Aviemore by Fiona Davie
1973—1974

(Me 1973)
 
In the summer of 1973 I decided to return to my roots and move to Scotland.
My father was born in Glasgow and both his parents were Scottish, so I thought
it was high time I learnt something about Scotland and its inhabitants!!

(Post House 1973)

In 1973 the Aviemore Centre had not long been built and consisted of The
Badenoch Hotel, ice skating rink, swimming pool, Austrian restaurant,
hairdressers, RS McColls, ski hire shop, theatre/cinema, Strathspey hotel and
chalets. Aviemore village had a Fine Fare supermarket, post office, a collection
of shops beside the station: café, electrical shop, ski clothes, garage, and the
Altn-na-craig was opposite the station. At the other end of the village was an
old fashioned shop that sold everything from paraffin to wellies, bread and milk!!

(Housemaids 1974)
 
So, after answering an advertisement in The Lady magazine from the Badenoch
Hotel in Aviemore requesting seasonal staff, housemaids, bar staff etc,
I found myself boarding the sleeper train from Rugby in late September 1973.
I arrived in Aviemore on a bright, sunny Autumn morning with the smell of
damp heather in the air!
The taxi journey from the station to the hotel was very quick but expensive;
I think he charged me a fiver!! I was met by the housekeeper who took me down
to the basement where her office and the laundry room was situated. I was to
be a housemaid and duly told and shown what my duties would be - cleaning 10
guest rooms on the first floor. Duvets were just coming into fashion but in Scotland
I was told “we call them downies”!!

(Easter bonnets competition 1974)
 
The female staff accommodation at that time was on the north end of the first
floor consisting of tiny rooms which slept two people. We had to be very quiet
in the evening as guest bedrooms were just round the corner!!
There was just room for a bunk bed, handbasin and wardrobe.  The bathrooms
were across the corridor.  There were several girls from Scotland... Anna from
Glasgow (Housemaid), Grace (Hotel Nanny), her mother, Isobel (housemaid?/cleaner?)
and Grace’s sister Isobel was to join the housemaids a few months later, came from
Kingussie, Alice (housemaid) from Newcastle. Rosemary (waitress) came from the
West Country but was only there a couple of months.  She had recently trained as
a teacher and was waiting to hear about a teaching post and was highly delighted
when a letter arrived offering her a post in a school in Bournemouth!  Sue arrived
from Birmingham to gain more experience in the hotel trade (I think her parents
had a catering business in Birmingham) and it wasn’t long before she was made
assistant restaurant manageress.  We didn’t have any particular uniform, had to
supply our own overalls but the waitresses wore tartan skirts and white blouses.
We started at 8am with breakfast! The breakfast cook was a lovely woman and
always made sure we got plenty to eat.  However, if the hotel was very busy we
just got tea and toast and had to go back at 10am for bacon, eggs etc.  Staff
lunch was served in the staff dining room at 12.15.  We usually finished work about
3pm and the rest of the day was our own.  Staff were given an evening meal about
5pm, but we usually had something to eat at the local café beside the station!
Rosemary and I would more often than not walk up the hill at the back of Aviemore as
the view from the top was fantastic!  We once took the ski lift to the top of Cairngorm
and having got our cup of tea discovered it was 10 minutes to closing and the fog
had come down!

(Grace & Isabell 1974)

Towards the end of September the housemaids were moved down to live in a bungalow
at the other end of the village, just past the pub that sells the best selection of whisky!
I had a room to myself for the first week but was woken one morning by the housekeeper
bringing another housemaid. Diana came all the way from Poole in Dorset and we have
remained friends ever since! The only other occupant of the bungalow was a polish
gentleman who worked in the kitchens, I think he was a prisoner of war and ended up
here in Scotland.  Not only was Aviemore and the surrounding area a lovely place to
walk, we hired bikes from Coylumbridge and rode for miles!
The social life and evening entertainment was brill — there was something on somewhere
most nights! We were given staff cards so we got in free to most events!

As far as I can remember:
Sunday: Folk music with Barbara? at Post House Hotel
Monday: Ice Skating
Tuesday: THE Trampies!!! !Songs and Jokes!!
Wednesday: Disco at the Post House
Thursday: Ice skating
Friday: Coylumbridge Disco — a must!!
Saturday: Entertainment in the theatre. The MacCalmans, Isla St. Clair,
Billy Connelly, Stefan Grapelli to name but a few!

(Rosemary 1973)

Diana and I sometimes got days off together and we would take the bus to
Grantown on Spey, or the train to Inverness for shopping. When we felt like a break
and wanted to return home for a few days the housekeeper use to arrange for us to
take our days off over a week as we lived so far away from home!! It was much
appreciated and I enjoyed going home to Leicester to see family.
At Christmas the hotel was very busy as the snow had stayed!  I worked Christmas Day
and Boxing Day and Diana worked New Year.  I remember I made £15 in tips and bought
myself a pair of sheepskin gloves!  On Hogmanay we found ourselves in a local hotel —
the Red McGregor hotel - and proceeded to “first foot” several people in the village
ending up at the Doctors house listening to somebody playing a guitar and singing
Scottish songs!! It was 5am before I got to ma bed!!
I do remember it snowed heavily that winter and the village was cut off for three days!
An RAF rescue helicopter was left stranded in the snow behind the centre for about a
week and we had to take the long way from the bungalow through the village to get to
the hotel for work!  There were long tailed tits singing away in the bushes in the centre
one freezing cold day... I seem to remember the temperature was minus 28 degrees!
Fortunately they had turned off the fountain!

(Sue from Brum 1973)

It was also the time of the 3 day week (miners strike) and we only got power for about
six hours a day! It was quite chilly in the bungalow so we bought ourselves extra
blankets and hot water bottles.
Easter arrived and the weather warmed up a bit. There was an Easter bonnet competition
in the square at the back of the hotel.  Cairngorm still had snow so the hotel was busy.
Diana left Aviemore, I think, at the end of April and I followed at the end of May to return
home. I thoroughly enjoyed my few months in Aviemore.

(Donnie 1974)

When I returned with my family a few years ago the Centre had been completely flattened,
apart from the theatre which was boarded up!  Although the Aviemore hotel was still
standing and looked as if it had been recently painted, and there was nothing left of the ice
rink, shops or swimming pool!

Though the Centre has been re-built but I have yet to return for a second visit!

From Fiona Davie
Perthshire.