Image and Image About 300 metres north of here, there is a similar group of benches in the area around Image They commemorate the following people (given here in no particular order): ● "Wee Bourax/Boorocks" (pronounced [ˈburəks], and more a spoken than a written name, so the spelling varies): nickname of James MacFarlane (1817–1870), Town Crier and general odd-job-man in Bonhill; short in stature, but a local worthy. He is said to have disliked his nickname. One of the local church ministers, through a misapprehension, would address him as "Brooks", believing it to be his surname. ● Colin M Liddell: a local cinematographer and historian; his film archive serves as a valuable record of life in this area. ● Alexander Govan: a local industrialist, associated with Image Govan Drive (Image), near that building, is named after him. ● Richard "Skeets" Gallacher (1925–2013): World's Best Amateur Flyweight Boxer, 1946; born in Renton, and a relative of mine. Gallacher Way in the Cordale is named after him (see Image). His nickname came from the American actor Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher (note the different spelling of the surname), and was acquired when, at the pictures as youngsters, Richard and his friends saw the actor's name appear on screen. ● W F Frame (William Flint Frame): a music-hall comedian (1849?–1919), sometimes listed as a "comic tenor"; born in Partick. The panel says that he was popular in Alexandria and district, but this does not seem, to me, to be a very strong local connection. I suspect, though without anything other than my intuition to back it up, that his commemoration here may be an attempt to salvage something from the results of confusion with a different William Flint Frame (1905–64), who was born in this area (Alexandria) and later moved to Toronto. It is possible that there are more of these benches elsewhere in the area; those listed above are simply the ones that I have, up to now, noticed in passing. I should add that the panels include more biographical information than I have provided above.."> Bench by the River Leven
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Bench by the River Leven

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Bench by the River Leven by Lairich Rig as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

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Bench by the River Leven

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 30 Jan 2015

The bench is by the footpath / cycle route, near Image and Image The upper part of it has a small information panel attached to it, as does another bench nearby. These panels were installed by the Leven Group. On the two benches in this area, they commemorate: ● Renton-born poet Katherine Drain (1868-1904), the daughter of a block printer in the local textile industry. ● Roderick Random, the main character from Tobias Smollett's picaresque novel "The Adventures of Roderick Random" (first published in 1748). See also Image and Image About 300 metres north of here, there is a similar group of benches in the area around Image They commemorate the following people (given here in no particular order): ● "Wee Bourax/Boorocks" (pronounced [ˈburəks], and more a spoken than a written name, so the spelling varies): nickname of James MacFarlane (1817–1870), Town Crier and general odd-job-man in Bonhill; short in stature, but a local worthy. He is said to have disliked his nickname. One of the local church ministers, through a misapprehension, would address him as "Brooks", believing it to be his surname. ● Colin M Liddell: a local cinematographer and historian; his film archive serves as a valuable record of life in this area. ● Alexander Govan: a local industrialist, associated with Image Govan Drive (Image), near that building, is named after him. ● Richard "Skeets" Gallacher (1925–2013): World's Best Amateur Flyweight Boxer, 1946; born in Renton, and a relative of mine. Gallacher Way in the Cordale is named after him (see Image). His nickname came from the American actor Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher (note the different spelling of the surname), and was acquired when, at the pictures as youngsters, Richard and his friends saw the actor's name appear on screen. ● W F Frame (William Flint Frame): a music-hall comedian (1849?–1919), sometimes listed as a "comic tenor"; born in Partick. The panel says that he was popular in Alexandria and district, but this does not seem, to me, to be a very strong local connection. I suspect, though without anything other than my intuition to back it up, that his commemoration here may be an attempt to salvage something from the results of confusion with a different William Flint Frame (1905–64), who was born in this area (Alexandria) and later moved to Toronto. It is possible that there are more of these benches elsewhere in the area; those listed above are simply the ones that I have, up to now, noticed in passing. I should add that the panels include more biographical information than I have provided above.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Image Location

coordinates on a map icon
Latitude
55.981954
Longitude
-4.576635