How did Dundee look as the city said farewell to 1994?
We have opened the DC Thomson archives to look back at how Dundonians celebrated Hogmanay in 1994 and how we entered 1995.
Did you ring in the bells at the Post Office Bar?
Maybe you didn’t make it to midnight with 80p nips on sale at the Ferry Inn.
Why pay over-the-top prices and be crushed 10 deep at the bar?
Maybe you stocked up with booze and stayed at home.
In December 1994 a 12-pack of Tennent’s Special Ale cost £6.79.
Cider?
A two-litre bottle of Strongbow was £2.99.
Buy two and get the second for £1.50.
Chin, chin.
How to handle the inevitable hangover?
You could blow off the Hogmanay cobwebs with a 10p ride on the Terminator at Horne’s Carnival or a New Year’s Day splash in the River Tay at Broughty Ferry.
Charge your glasses and check out how we were celebrating 30 years ago.
Can you spot anyone you know?
Post Office Bar
Gordon Paterson shows off the kegs and the stock of booze in the cellar of the Post Office Bar in Broughty Ferry in December 1994.
There was enough to keep the masses happy as the clock ticked towards midnight.
Every pub would have been packed to the rafters in Dundee at Hogmanay in 1994.
Where did you party at Hogmanay in 1994?
Where did you ring in 1995?
Maybe you decided to party in the city centre or go to a scheme boozer.
These Courier adverts showcase some of the entertainment, including a Hogmanay party in Dexter’s and £1 a pint at Global Beer Company in Nethergate.
Horne’s Carnival at Hogmanay 1994
Secure all loose articles, please.
The New Year carnival opened in Dundee city centre on December 30.
The carnival was operated by Horne’s and opened from noon until 10pm every day until January 3 with all rides 10p during happy hour between 5-6pm.
The magic of the funfair
There were white-knuckle rides among the attractions including Top Flip, Enterprize, New Music Express, Simulator, Terminator and Meteorite.
In addition to the major rides there were all the old favourites including the dodgems, waltzers, ghost ride and a big wheel.
As always, there were plenty of stalls to test your luck.
The spinning tea cups
The spinning tea cups have always been great fun at the carnival.
All the rides were free for the first half hour of the opening day, after the funfair was officially opened by Lord Provost Tom McDonald.
Horne’s funfair is still going strong to this day.
Bundles of joy in Dundee
These youngsters made the front page of The Courier‘s Hogmanay edition.
Darrel Fox, Bethany Lorimer, Andrew Gearie and Tom McConnachie were photographed looking forward to 1995 by photographer Dougie Nicolson.
Darrel shed a few tears during the session!
Stocking up in the aisles for New Year’s Eve
Dundonians prepared to stock up for the New Year celebrations.
What would you have bought on a trip to Tesco at Kingsway Retail Park in 1994?
A 12-pack of 500ml Tennent’s Lager was £7.49 and 12 275ml bottles of Beck’s cost £9.95, although you could save £3 by purchasing two boxes.
Special Dundee reunion for Hogmanay 1994
Parties were held all over Dundee on Hogmanay, but few will have matched that of the Burns family in Fintry.
The six sisters and two brothers, who were scattered around the globe, had not all been in the same room together for 40 years.
They enjoyed a traditional Hogmanay party with steak pie and the sound of Jimmy Shand resounding through the house in Finmore Street.
The Ferry Inn
Raising a glass to an old friend at the Ferry Inn before Hogmanay.
Pub manager Simeon Stewart decided to see the quarter gill measure off in style by offering nips at a bargain price before a change to metric on January 1.
The pub had been selling quarter gills since 1969.
First baby born in 1995
The first baby born in Dundee in 1995 was Megan Tait.
Megan arrived at 2.03am and weighed five pounds and 15 ounces.
Parents Mark and Jennifer were from Tayport and seven-year-old son Julian was looking forward to meeting his sister for the first time.
An unexpected arrival…
There were four new arrivals at Ninewells Hospital on New Year’s Day.
Shirley Dunlop of Tweed Crescent gave birth to baby Shannon four weeks early.
Shannon weighed six pounds and eight ounces and Shirley had only found recently that she was pregnant after going to her GP because she was feeling sick.
New Year’s Day Dook
Brave souls took part in the annual Broughty Ferry New Year Dook.
Ye Amphibious Ancients Bathing Association, more commonly known as the Phibbies, started hosting the past-time at Broughty Ferry in 1891.
Phibbies secretary Ian McIntosh said the water was the coldest he could remember.
Blowing off the cobwebs
George McLaren was the oldest participant, at the age of 80.
He joined in the fun by dressing up as King Neptune and was last out of the water.
The 80 people who took part included a woman from Johannesburg.
Swannie Ponds ice hockey
The beginning of 1995 was so cold the Swannie Ponds was frozen.
The ice was thick enough for safe skating, which was good news for members of the Dundee Discoveries under-12 ice hockey team.
They had been without a place to practice since the closure of Kingsway Rink.
A cold start to 1995
The ice hockey team enjoyed a game on the frozen surface.
They were joined by dozens of people eager to take advantage of the chilly temperatures, including some ice skaters.
Some were rather less graceful and shod only in trainers, although the odd bump didn’t spoil the fun, which included an impromptu game of football.
So some people moved from ice in their drinks in 1994 to ice under their feet the next day, in what was a chilly way to begin 1995.
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