Call for phone box ideas
British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who designed Oban’s St Columba’s Cathedral was indeed the man behind Britain’s iconic red telephone box. It was the winning design from a 1924 competition to find the look for a national kiosk. The K2 design was i
Dial-a-disco, an aquarium and an out-of-hours cake shop are just some of the light-hearted suggestions for a phone box in Kilmelford bought for £1.
Villagers have given it a bright new coat of red paint but are still debating how to put it to good use.
They bought it from BT earlier this year. So far using it as an information point is the most favoured but there are other suggestions such as it being a safe space to keep the community’s defibrillator.
Connel’s phone box has already been turned into a book swap scheme.
Meanwhile, villagers living in Dalavich are hoping to keep their phone booth just as it is. A condemned notice was slapped on it last year but it is still in working order outside the shop and cafe.
‘Mobile signal is pretty bad here so we need a reliable line to the outside world. A condemned notice was put on it last year but it’s still here and it’s still working - long may it do so,’ said one villager.
Not far away in Cladich, friends Holly Ford and Bron Campbell opened what was possibly Scotland’s smallest cake shop in their decommissioned phone box last May and are hoping to reopen it later this year, further up the road.
Taynuilt’s phone box is looking in a sorry state but is not up for sale. Community council chairman Davie Sloss said if it was, members would probably buy it for £1.
‘We can’t adopt it because BT can’t get rid of it yet, apparently. It’s because there isn’t sufficient mobile coverage in the village for them to do it. But I say if that’s the case, BT should be maintaining it, keeping it painted and in good condition - which they are clearly not.’
Oban’s Rockfield Centre has just taken delivery of its new phone box and will be using it as an information point.
The box caught the eye of Linda Battison from Oban and Lorn Tourism Alliance who Facebooked: ‘Designed by the same architect who build St Columba’s Cathedral, Oban Walking Tours would love to see one sited next to the cathedral. Would be a great talking point on our guided tours.’