Graeme Strachan

1 week ago | thecourier.co.uk | Graeme Strachan

Rewind the clock with these newly colourised photographs of Dundee which capture streets, people and everyday life in 1975. They provide a glimpse of what life was like 50 years ago. The black and white photographs from DC Thomson’s archives have been enhanced and colourised using advanced AI technology. Here, we see them in a new light for the first time. What was happening in Dundee in 1975? Village and city were lumped together in the local government re-organisation.

2 weeks ago | thecourier.co.uk | Graeme Strachan

Joanna Lumley has never been shy in stating her love for Dundee. The Absolutely Fabulous actress, who has turned 79, made several trips to Dundee in the 1980s and 1990s, describing it as her “lucky city”. Her down-to-earth demeanour endeared her to Dundonians. A fish supper at the Deep Sea or visiting the Skarne blocks in Whitfield was as far removed from the glamour of a James Bond movie as it’s possible to imagine. Yet Lumley took everything in her stride. And she loved it.

2 weeks ago | thecourier.co.uk | Graeme Strachan

Do you remember the Dundee Highland Games? Big names and all the events loved by Highland games followers made Dundee’s own offering a must-see back in the day. The stirring skirl of bagpipes, the beat of massed pipe bands, Highland dancing, light and heavy athletics and tug o’ war would draw thousands to Caird Park. In their present form, Highland games go back to a visit to Edinburgh in 1824 by George IV, which led to a revival in matters Highland and the wearing of tartan.

2 weeks ago | thecourier.co.uk | Graeme Strachan

Grab your suitcase and start packing. These images take us back to the Evening Telegraph Holiday Exhibition, an annual event that took place in Dundee from 1988 until 1995. The 1980s and 1990s was a heyday for high street travel agents, which was the only way to book a package holiday before the digital age and smart tech. It was known as the “sunshine weekend”. It was the perfect place to plan for the Dundee Fortnight. There were “offers galore”.

2 weeks ago | thecourier.co.uk | Graeme Strachan

These images document the agony and ecstasy when thousands hit the streets for the 1985 Dundee Marathon. More than 30 runners suffered hypothermia when winter returned with a vengeance. Driving snow fell for six hours. The Courier said the 2,215 “soaked” and “freezing” runners overcame the “most atrocious conditions in the three-year history of the event”. The City of Dundee People’s Health Marathon became an annual fixture from 1983. And 1985 was the most dramatic race.