HARRY CROWNED KING OF THE CHALET
I’m informed that this column is updated and is on the internet at 7.30 am every Friday morning . . . in Vancouver in Canada.
Ex-Dundee pat HARRY ROSE was the informant, and he seems to have done rather well for himself since emigrating in 1965.
“I attended Lawside Academy with the likes of Chic Dunn, Billy Doyle and Jimmy Gabriel, and my favourite teachers were Alex. Kiddie and Gerry Follon,” said Harry.
“I later played for a Dundee ex-pats team in Vancouver and Gerry and Jack Cowan, both, of course ex-Dundee FC players, guested for us.
“Our family home was 14 Stirling Terrace and we had grocery shop, ‘Harry Rose The Grocer’, on the Hawkhill from 1942-65.
“It was just up from Kincardine Street, opposite Mount Pleasant.
“I worked/ran the shop after my parents died and later emigrated to Canada, where I owned and managed restaurants and a nightclub, including a spell back in the UK managing the world famous Ivy Restaurant and the Wheeler’s group of Restaurants.”
Harry and his wife now own and run the CurveMaster Ladies Only Gyms (www.ladiesonlygyms.com) and, since its inception in 2003, have opened a further four units around the country.
“We are continually AND pleasantly surprised when ex-Dundonians, some with ties to relatives, school, &c., come unannounced to our gym in White Rock BC,” continued Harry.
“My niece in London is opening a unit in Bromley, London, in the spring of 2007, so a visit to Dundee is planned.
“Hopefully, Dundee FC will be close to promotion.
“I’m a lifetime Dundee FC supporter and a daily visitor to the club’s website and a frequent poster (HPR).”
Continuing his reminiscing, Harry remembers the Chalet dance hall in Broughty Ferry.
“I was the former ‘King of the Chalet’ and some of my best moves were there.
“However, my main claim to fame was having one of the first Vespa scooters in Dundee, which would take me to such exotic destinations as the Hap, Chalet and Palais . . . and even Paris, France!
“These were happy days, and never forgotten.
“I look forward to reading your column every week on the web.
“Have you ever considered a book, ‘The Best of Blether with Brown’?”
Harry concluded by inviting anyone to contact him by email on hprose@shaw.ca (home) or cwgetfit@telus.net (business).
He can also be contacted by phone on 604 313 2548.
I’m quite happy for Harry to be crowned ‘King of the Chalet’, but it also has lasting memories for me.
It was there that I met my wife for the first time, when she approached me and asked me to dance (true!).
So, 30-odd years on, we’re still side by side . . . and they said it would never last!
See photos at foot of page.
DID IT WITH STYLE
Dundee ex-pat TOM McGOVERN reckons he knows where the English international team have gone wrong in recent years.
He said, “England’s failure in this year’s World Cup simply confirms they were managed by a coach whose off-field exploits overshadowed his football abilities.
“Apart from this, the Premiership contains too many foreigners who cannot represent England. The English team lacked cohesion and self-belief.
“In the 1960s at Dens Park, Bob Shankly performed a football miracle similar to the one his more famous brother performed at Liverpool.
“He gathered a group of mainly Scottish players and welded them into a very efficient football team.
“With no unlimited funding, he instilled them with self-belief and they defeated some of the best teams in Europe.
“We don’t just require more good players, we need more Bob Shanklys and Jock Steins — managers with the ability to identify players who will fit into their set-up and function as a team.
“Bob Shankly did not believe in winning at all costs. He liked to do it with style.
“With a bit more luck, he would have brought the European Cup to Tayside.”
See photo at foot of page.
HAINEYS KEEP IN TOUCH
My colleague BRIAN FOWLIE, of The Sunday Post, was interested in the story about Dundee United and their dinner to mark 40 years in Europe (BwB, Sept. 1).
“I did a piece with Billy Hainey not too long ago and I recall him telling me he visits Dundee quite regularly,” said Brian. “His son was born in Dundee and the Haineys were friendly with a couple in the same maternity ward and have since kept in touch.
“From memory, I think the two lads were celebrating their 40th birthdays last year or this.”
IT’S WASN’T HIM!
n BETTE CONNOR, of Waverley Terrace, Dundee, noted mention of her uncle in September 22’s BwB.
“Your article suggested that my uncle, Allan Craig, who was killed while fighting in the Spanish Civil War, played for Lochee Harp JFC,” said Bette.
“He never did.
“However, both my brothers, Peter Craig and Alf Craig, played for Harp.”
|
