WHERE IS THIS?

I’m ploughing my way through mounds of papers and books at the moment to clear a relative’s house which, as you can imagine, results in a mixture of laughter and tears. Old photos of people I never knew but in the background is the town I know and love – changed but still familiar. There are also lots of books about Oban and its past, some of them I’ve read and others I’ll be taking home to read.

The history of Oban and its people is fascinating, especially when you can relate some names to families still in the town today.

I learned a lot about the history when I trained as an Oban Walking Guide, but I’m still learning all the time. It’s the quirky things that fascinate me, such as the fact that llamas were once kept in Station Square and that the herring girls on the pier used the sea wall to sharpen their knives – you can still see the indentations.

I’ve also rediscovered a list of old nicknames, many of which referred to the jobs people did and often followed families down the generations to today. One of our family ones was Biddy, though I have no idea why, but it made me investigate what a Badge Porter was which led to pictures of very smartly uniformed men with barrows transporting luggage to the hotels.

Oban thrived as a tourist destination in the past and I’m sure it will again in the not too distant future. We’re lucky enough to live in an area that draws people and then calls them back time and again.

The photograph last week was of the door into the hall at the Congregational Church and this week also has a religious flavour.