Auld Aviemore website, what a great idea!

 

You have certainly brought back some fond memories of my time in the Highlands.

 

I worked at the Post House Hotel in 79/80 with a great bunch of people, comprised
mainly of misfits from around the world and especially Glasgow. As a very naïve 19 year
old I was soon introduced into the Scottish way of having fun, which seemed to involve
a lot of drinking! A pint of heavy was around 50p in ‘the old days’.
There was around 600 residential staff for the centre, mostly young folk with a zest for
partying, there always seemed to be a party of some description going on somewhere.

 

I recall many a good evening in the illicit Still bar being entertained by ‘The Trampies;’
Donny McDonald and Arthur MacLean, or watching Skiing videos shown by the local
instructors, who always kept on their ‘Ski instructor’ tops, presumably to impress the girls.

 

Skiing was the reason for my living in Aviemore, I was lucky to be there when it
snowed properly. In 1980 there was so much that I was able to ski on my birthday, May 15^th!
I had some fantastic days on the mountain; one of my best was on a warm spring afternoon
with friend’s Simon and Wendy. Simon being the adventurous type decided to show us an
extreme off-piste run, called ‘The Wall,’ this was extremely steep with scattered exposed
rocks. A couple of inches of fresh powder had fallen overnight presenting us with perfect
conditions, the skiing was sublime, at the bottom we looked back to see our tracks carved
into the virgin snow. It was truly an unforgettable and awesome run, happy days.

 

My fondest memory has to be meeting a girl called Jenny, who was visiting Aviemore.
We fell in love, must have been my tight ski pants! Or maybe too many drinks in the
Freedom Inn, or a combination of the ‘Aviemore effect’.  Anyway we got married two years
later and now live happily in Kent, with our two boys 18 & 15 years.

 

Best wishes to all the ‘Auld Aviemore’ crew.

 

Tony Watson