The Orkney Image Library
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The date is a guess, looks like a summers day early in the morning. A fella with sweeping equipment and a couple of painters outside Bains. [And the legendary green 'Where-o-graph' with the map and bulbs at points of interest which should have lit up when a button was pressed, but never did. Obviously the sophisticated electronics of 'the switch' were still in their infancy at the time. Whatever happened to this? - Steven]
View Large VersionPicture added on 18 May 2008
The lights did work when it was new.
Added by Marion Mcleod on 18 May 2008
The door to the 'Cosy Cafe', which was owned by John Falconer, can just be seen at the extreme left of the photo. The painter nearest the door of George Bain's paint shop looks like Fred Rorie. I think the chap sweeping the street was a Mr Guthrie who lived up School Place. J & W Tait's grocery shop was turned to 'self-service' - probably the first such shop in Orkney. If I remember right, the two windows to the left of the Town Hall door, would have been in the Town Clerk's office, where monies due to the Town Council could be paid.
Added by Rob Thomson on 18 May 2008
I think the company that ran the illuminating street map may be the same one that produces the Orkney street maps today. I mention this as a few years back I paid for a years advertising in the Orkney Street map, the company contacted me the following year demanding another years payment- they insisted that I had signed up for two years. Calling several of the others who had advertised it transpired that they were also being pressured for a further years payment, even though they had no recollection of having signed up for this.
I mentioned this to my father in law and he said the very same thing had happened when PA Sutherlands had placed an ad in that old sign.
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I mentioned this to my father in law and he said the very same thing had happened when PA Sutherlands had placed an ad in that old sign.
Added by Alan on 18 May 2008
Kirkwall
