Ken Abbot was tickled by Rob Boag’s very descriptive piece about Lochee and some of the inhabitants on October 15.
In particular, Frankie Davie’s pub, which is now Sandy’s Bar.
“I can remember drinking in Frankie Davie’s in the early 1970s, just before I emigrated to Australia,” said Ken, who still lives Down Under in Broken Hills, New South Wales.
“My mum and dad, Margaret and Sandy, would drink there, too, as it was just down the road from the family home in Lansdown Square.
“There are several tales I remember about this bar.
“I was in there once when a bloke from customs and excise came in and demanded a sample of every whisky on the gantry.
“This was to test to see if any had been watered down.
“On another occasion, when my mum and dad used to sit in the wee snug just off the front door, there was also a trapdoor just along leading down to the basement where the barrels were kept.
“One day, a barman forgot it was open and walked right over it and fell down into the basement.
“I also remember domino nights being very keenly contested.”
Ken, who worked for Dundee Tool and Gauge in Gourdie before he left for Australia, continued: “I didn’t play football at all but my dad helped out at Dundee Violet.
“One day, Violet won the cup and everyone went back to Frankie Davie’s to celebrate.
“Late in the night, everyone gradually went home, leaving my father with the cup.
“The next morning, he woke up rather worse for wear but couldn’t remember what he had done with the cup.
“He thought he had lost it.
“It was a couple of days before it was found under his bed where he had put it for safe keeping.”
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