For all the local information go to the main entry for Aviemore

• Re: Aviemore in the early 1970's by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 11-Oct-2004
  I did similar stuff in the early eighties (funny how drink causes that aint it!), sad to say but most those "landmarks" gone now, all in fact bar Loch Morlich. Never mind just have to sample the new stuff and make new memories!

• Re: Aviemore in the early 1970's by Syd Tough (Member 10154302) on 18-May-2005
  Yes it was a truly unique place in the mid 80's.
  I totally loved the place to be honest - what more could you want in one place - Santa land,ice rink,cinema,go karts,swimming pool,crazy golf,the osprey centre !!
  The criticism it recieved has always puzzled me - the place was always busy so must have been doing something right - I for one miss it
  Any one got any pictures or more info!?

• Re: Aviemore in the early 1970's by minty reid (Member 10171133) on 4-Dec-2005
  i attended the first sunday opening of the centre @ 17 , and it was jist mega, the feelgood factor was 100%, couple of hours on the ice, couple of hours in the pool, rest of the day spent trawling the centre for local talent of the female variety( poofs were people from another planet in those days, or london)if knocked back, down to granton for a bag of chips and another try for the talent.hit ra
  te was about50%was only in the early stages of becoming a LADIES MAN.remember seeing manfred manns earth band , and thought they were sheite, not like the original, met a dolly bird from edinburger , even remember her name from 38 years ago, MARY BURNS, if you ever read this MARY , hope like me you have had a great life, spent many happy sundays in the centre with a busload of friends from SPEY BAY AND FOCHABERS AREA , if any of them read this , awa yi numptys.
  
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• Re: Somewhere to rent for the weekend??? by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 11-Oct-2004
  Plenty available!
  Contact the tourist board in aviemore.. if all else fails write again and Ill post an address.

• Re: Bill Paul by shane (Member 10132529) on 21-Sep-2004
  hello gayle - you probably dont remember me - I'm Piglet, Also known as shane warde
  
  bill paul died of cancer - he'd been suffering for a while and it just got worse and worse until unfortunately, he died.
  
  he had a massive funeral, hundreds of people tu
  rned up!
  
  hope life is fine with you and yor not missing Capers too much
  
  kind regards
  
  shane
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• Re: Bill Paul by gayle lightbody (Member 10120367) on 30-May-2005
  Thanks for the info Shane. I can only really remember faces but names are a nightmare!(alcohol is a killer!) Anyway give me some info to jog my memory. Hope all is well in Aviemore. I now live in Italy but I really miss the good old days. I'm really sad for the loss of Bill Paul as a lot of my memories of my time spent there are connected to him! Anyway let's have a JD on ice and spare a little th
  ought for the man who just wanted everyone to love having fun as much as him (even if he had to do Coylum every now and again!!) Ahhh!! the good old days...and can I also ask you if old Archie from maintenance is still knocking around? He always used to lecture me about hoping too much for the future and not living enough for today and several cool fishing tips!!These were the perks of working in the funhouse and having fly fags with the old maintenance men down by the river. Wise words.That's what I liked best about Capers...everyone thought you were stupid so they had to teach you about life. I've got my surrogate grandfathers all over the shop in Aviemore!! But old men are sooo sweet!! Hope you reply soon.
  Regards Gayle!
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• Re: Bill Paul by Tracey Millar (Member 10164004) on 15-Sep-2005
  Hiya Gayle
  
  Don't know if you will remember me but worked with you in Capers. Hope you are well! Left Aviemore myself in 2003 and unfortunately don't keep much contact with anyone but knew about Bill Paul. I was friendly with his daughter Hayley and he was a trooper til the end. He is sadly missed especially with who the f*** is Alice!!!!
  Take care

• Bill Paul (Bye Bye American Pie) by Mick (Member 10164597) on 22-Sep-2005
  Bill Paul was certainly an entertainer --
  
  On one occasion, in Crofters, he managed to get me up to sing and I have to say I was rather worse for wear. I was singing a version of the Wild Rover and somehow took the notion to strip all my clothes of mid song.
  
  Like a great many others back in the eighties I followed Bill Paulto every drinking hole in Aviemore, farewll Bill.
  

• Re: Bill Paul by Chris & Vee (Member 10173738) on 6-Jan-2006
  Hi
  Know i'm a bit behind the times for you guys up in Aviemore (Kingussie even) but just wanted to say how sad we were to hear about the passing of Bill Paul. Back in the good old nineties we came up from Stratford-on-Avon every year if we could to ski. But our trip was not complete if we did'nt see Bill. I took many a photo of him back then performing the various venues in town and strangely, ev
  en though we were south of the border Bill always remembered us. We had almost at one time decided to get married on the spur of the moment and Bill was all for coming down here to perform at the gig. Here we are still thinking about it but what the heck, weve only been together 31 years. But that was the thing with Bill I dont think he knew any borders between people he was just a qenuienly nice person..... we were privelidged to have known him.
  God speed Bill.
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• Re: Bill Paul by Jennifer Wilson (Member 10174751) on 18-Jan-2006
  We will miss him. Every visit to Aviemore the first thing we used to do was stop at the Tourist Information to get the Whats On to hear where he was playing. Now I know why he hasnt been listed for ages. We have his tape though for memories. Jenny and John

• Re: Bill Paul by carol whalley (Member 10211969) on 9-Aug-2007
  I met Bill in the late 80's and you could not have wished for a nicer bloke. My partner and I travelled from Leeds to Aviemore every other weekend just to ski and spend Saturday nights listening to Bill Paul. It didn't take long before he took us under his wing. He would give us lifts back to our B&B so that we could enjoy a drink. He was the sort of bloke who would do anything for anybody. On my
  special birthday he came down to the Yorkshire Dales to play for about 250 of my friends. He did it for free or at least he would have done but I took the hat around and got £100, which was a lot of money in those days. My friends couldn't believe how I had found this amazingly talented person. They absolutely loved him to bits, as did we. I remember one Easter Bill inviting us round to the Osprey, he and Alan were playing. I think they were called the Elm Street Boys then. John and I walked in when he was singing "Tweeter and the monkey man" and my hair stood on end. What magic he had! Bill smiled and waved at us and we were so proud to have him as a friend.I went to his house and met the girls, they were of course little then, and I met Norah his wife who made us very welcome. Bill, and his music, and his innate friendliness will live in my heart forever.
  Good Luck to all who knew him!
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• Re: Coming to rock boat of garten! by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 10-Aug-2004
  Not a lot in Boat of Garten but try Carrbridge Landmark centre, some water slides and woodland fun for all ages.
  otherwise get the elders (over 18) to pop into aviemore for a night, try Mambos cafe/bar, The Vault nightclub (open till 3am). Could go paintballing £20 a time though, arranged through cafe Mambo (Rapidfire paintball). Ospreys to see at nearby Loch Garten (if you like the feathered var
  iety of birds!). Highland wildlife park outside Aviemore (Kingussie),plenty of traditional scottish hospitality in the hotels and bars. The impressive new swimming pool at aviemore with water chute and wave machine is worth a visit.
  Write to or E mail highlands tourist board for a "whats on" brochure for details,
  Have a great time
  cheers
  Ian
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• Re: Stag Night by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 10-Aug-2004
  See above post, Mambos in Aviemore and the Vault for a good night out, believe me!

• Re: Stag Night by gayle lightbody (Member 10120367) on 30-May-2005
  Right!!! You want some clay pigeon shooting at Rothiemurchus Estate, and some 4X4 there also. Then some sailing on Loch Morlich or Loch Insh. A little walk around Loch an Eilan and horse riding in the vicinity (lots of stables). At the Coylumbridge hotel you can swim (and book any activity you want) and have lunch or supper. There's a funky architect designed house in the village of Coylumbridge w
  hich you can rent for about £1,500 a week, but it sleeps 10 so no probs there and it's cool as!!(Just think of the pulling power!!)aviemorehouse.com. You need lots of alcohol and BBQ food and taxis to the village are not expensive. My advice is to do a pub crawl and round up as much totty as possible to have a party in the house. Do this even the night before!! I used to do this for a living in Aviemore, so trust me...I'm a holiday rep!! My advice for the area is to hire mountain bikes and look as cool as possible when you go into town and you'll be sorted!! Us local lasses love outdoorsie types, even if they're faking!! And just remember...never reveal your true pasty office worker identity!! If this works...let me know and I might start up my own company!! LOL Gayle xx Hope you have one to remember!!
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• Re: Stag Night by gayle lightbody (Member 10120367) on 30-May-2005
  One last thing...for the best night out you'll ever have, book a table at the Skiin' Doo restaurant(opposite Littlejohn's) and order a steak, and if there are loads of you they should offer you the shooters for free after the meal and be careful because they may try to sell you a daughter or two!! And have a fucking blast because I can't and I'm jealous!!

• Re: The centre by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 10-Aug-2004
  Just come back from Av, pop up there a lot.
  Well its still like a bloody building site in the "Resort" (where the hotels are). Freedom Inn is now the Mcdonalds academy inn £50 quid a night!
  Big new impressive swimming pool/leisure centre i must say, with water chutes and wave pool etc, steam room, sauna and gym (free to those staying in a resotr hotel).
  big new car parks popping up and highland
  lodges dotted around. Old Go Kart track gone, but new conference suite and picture house under construction. (sheduled to be ready early next year).
  Aviemore main street much the same, new nightclub "the Vault" open till 3 am though.
  Building plot on main street still rumoured to be a supermarket though!
  This site badly needs a makeover on the nowhere pages!
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• Re: Out of date by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 25-Oct-2004
  I am going to update this site with detail in february when I next return from av, (if no one does it earlier!)
  I am a little concerned, cos I take 49 or so people up to av each winter for a good old weekend, and have allways stayed in the resort centre, getting group booking rates at £25 quid per person per night. Now that Mcdonalds leisure have taken over all the resort hotels, they have the ma
  nopoly on prices. (for group bookings anyway cos no other hotel is big enough!).
  Its now £170 per room per night!
  By God thats gone up a bit!
  I Fear they are catering for the buisness corporate clientel, and not for those who made Aviemore what it is.
  yes they have invested a lot of cash, and the place looks better for it, but I fear custom from the regulars will be lost to smaller guest houses and hotels such as the Cairngorm or MCKenzies (both excellent but dont do groups).
  I await my visit in February to say if we will be going back again or if we head over to Fort william in 2006 instead!
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• Re: Out of date by gayle lightbody (Member 10120367) on 30-May-2005
  Man you have to set them up against themselves. Tell them what the other has offered and if they can give you a better deal!! Shop around, because the small places need you and will be willing to accomodate your price. Don't give up 'cause Ft. Willaim is boring and not as pretty as Aviemore!!

• Re: Out of date by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 11-Jul-2005
  Gayle, did as you suggested,getting a decent deal for next year at £33 per person DB&B at the Aviemore Inn, &70 for two nights inc meals aint bad. Also booked a party at RDs on the Saturday night themed around fancy dress!!!(thats what they wanted!), and arranged paintballing for the Friday! so Im taking bookings now!
  Cheers

• Re: need accomodation by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 10-Aug-2004
  Contact highland tourist board in aviemore, I KNOW there are a few B&B who take people such as yourself, Ive done it myself a few years ago!

• Re: the good ol days by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 10-Aug-2004
  That was my eara up in aviemore Too! Probably bumped into each other (litterally!) at some point, especially at New Year!
  Aviemores doing ok mate, same old faces (just older!), plus plenty of new ones coming onto the piste!
  Ian

• Re: the good ol days by gayle lightbody (Member 10120367) on 30-May-2005
  We probably did (bump into each other that is) but you know how everyone had their group...I tried to expand on that, but it's such a transient place that it's the moment that counts!! And what moments I had and I'm sure you too!! Keep us up to date with local alkis and low-lifes and sporty good-looking bastards because they're the ones you remember the most...but I wish I had some mad photo album
  of everyone, but unfortunately it wasn't to be!! But Glaswegian criminal or olympic hopeful alike...I loved them all and have fond memories of lying on the railway tracks, too drunk to move as the Intercity approached, and my mate too wasted to do anything but laugh (it would have been a different story if I hadn't moved out the way in time!!) And by the way, do you know Lee Spawnton? I shared a house with him for a year and had an education and a half on the Grateful Dead and drug dealing in the Spey valley!! He worked for Badenoch Ski School and was too cool to live!! At the time, you understand, everything was TOO cool. Well must go now...laters!
  Gayle
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• Re: the good ol days by Tracey Millar (Member 10164004) on 15-Sep-2005
  Hiya again Gayle, I've got some photos of my time in good ol Aviemore and I do believe I have one of you looking worse for wear at one of Kate's parties. It was when she was in the bedsit in Dalfaber.

• Re: the good ol days by Ian whittle (Member 10129753) on 21-Jan-2006
  For fucks sake Gayle, we must have met sometime, you on the railway, that was my trick too! christ those were the days!!!
  we used to stay at the speyside Holiday park in a caravan in minus fucking 20 over new year with no water or bog!
  The pop was freezing on the living room table in the morning, and sheets stood up by themselves!
  I cant remember the name of the woman we used to book the carava
  n from every year at new year but i think it was fiona Armstong?, a ski instructor at the time1
  Bring back the good old days!
  ian
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