The Isle of Bute seaside resort where our writer spent childhood holidays has added a gin distillery and Syrian-made pastries to its perennial charms
It’s the early 1970s and we’re in the Austin 1100. Me, my mum and dad and my granda, and Simon and Garfunkel on the eight-track. We’re heading for the Firth of Clyde and the ferry to Rothesay, where we’ll play pitch and putt, walk along the esplanade gardens, eat fish and chips and, if my granda will watch me, my mum and dad might go for a wee night to Foley’s Hotel, to listen to the “chanters”.
“Rothesay was chockablock during the Glasgow fair,” says my dad. “People went to the dancing and up the road to Foley’s to sing songs. Glasgow people loved getting a mic and getting up and being allowed to sing.” Continue reading...
