IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Nelson Street, TAYPORT, DD6 9DS

Wall of Scott and Fyffe, Links Road.

Until fifteen minutes ago I had no idea that boating ponds even existed. It is denoted as one on the OS big-scale 1960s map. I was initially confused as to why there would be any necessity for a boating pond when the actual sea is in plain sight and only a stone's throw away. Further digging into this hitherto unknown subject to me revealed that boating ponds are designed for the racing of model boats. Even further digging into the subject revealed how complicated this hobby actually is. It doesn't seem to be anywhere near as popular as it once was, which is why the very tame mallards now have the run of the place, but it still goes on. The biggest challenge, which is obvious if you think about it, is that there is no-one actually in the boat to do the sail changes and so on. I have to admit I got a bit lost by this point but it seems that model boating enthusiasts have come up over the years with all manner of clever contrivances in order to counteract this problem. I am in fact so curious now that I would like to see a model boat race myself - if it all goes wrong do they have to sail out in a blow-up dinghy to rescue their crafts? The pond is square and looks fairly shallow. There is a section of reeds at its Northern end and two or three trees, which must be on mini-islands, though it was hard to know for sure, protrude from the surface on the Eastern side.

Textile manufacturers, Tayport. http://www.scott-fyfe.com/en/default.htm

An ornamental pond in Tayport's East Common, close to the holiday caravan park.

Pond on East Common, some tidied up links in Tayport - i.e. a rather pleasant park.

Owned by James Donalsdon & Sons. This was an out of use W H Allen inverted vertical three cylinder compound driving a DC generator and developing 290 bhp. This was very much the same type of engine as used on the Titanic for its electricity supply but a fair bit smaller. It was scrapped in the period 1984-7.

Much to the amusement of people at times I always carry a tape measure with me in my trouser pocket. This used to be for work purposes, but the habit has stuck, and I feel vindicated at least once a week when it comes to an unlikely rescue. However, on this occasion I felt too self-conscious to use it. A delivery driver was popping in and out to load up, and one person was standing in the extremely small waiting area - I did wonder, under the current covid distancing rules, whether it was actually legal to have two people in this tiny building at the same time! My guess is that the main bit of the building is about nine foot square - if not at the top of the smallest takeaway table it must surely be in the top few? Large-scale mapping from about 100 years ago shows that back then there were no buildings at all on this section of Elizabeth Street. The next large-scale map, fifty years on, shows there being a slightly larger building here, and on that map it is, as now, at the bottom of somebody's back garden. Better there than below your living room at least! The plot must predate the houses I reckon.

It is unusual, though not unheard of, to see stained glass windows outside churches, and occasional masonic lodges. There was actually a more abstract one further down the street on the other side. This one may be an obvious nod to some bit of popular culture that has bypassed me, but all I see is a young, quite jaunty boy, from behind wearing a pair of braces!