Bowled Over in Alloa
I was in Alloa this afternoon as the guest speaker of the . I went there with Karen MacKenzie, a researcher in our Events department, who volunteered to drive the big Radio Scotland car, while I navigated through every wrong turn possible.
Joyce Stalker, who organises the fortnightly speakers during the winter, had invited us to talk about radio, but I'm afraid I got side-tracked with my childhood memories of Clackmananshire. My Auntie Jean and Uncle Jimmy lived in Tullibody and, every Easter holiday, me and my sister got packed off to stay with them.
As I told the lady bowlers, Jean & Jimmy didn't have children of their own and tended to approach their childcare duties in an eccentric fashion. This included bundling us into their car late at night, driving us to remote spot on the road between Menstrie and Dollar and telling us the story of . Until today, I'd not met anyone else who knew about the tomb and the legends associated with it, but it was common knowledge at the bowling club. I never quite got to the bottom of Tait and his tomb, but everyone knew of the stange happenings on the nearby road. There was, for instance, the bus driver who stopped to pick up a solitary passenger, but when the conductor followed him upstairs to collect the fare there was no one there. A short while later the driver dies in mysterious circumstances.
Yes, it sounds the basic plot of an urban myth told the world over, but it sure gave me a sleepless night when my auntie told it.
Still, a fun afternoon at the beautiful bowling club and the home baking was superb. Back on the diet tomorrow. Promise.
