Balnain House 2005, Inverness
Balnain House 2005, Inverness Ref: I25728
Memories of Balnain House 2005, Inverness
Grandmother Lived at Balnain House
My grandmother was widowed in 1920, her husband having stayed in the Army to tend the graves in France where he succumbed to influenza. Grandmother was left to bring up 6 children on her own with little money. She was given a brand new council house (Dunain Road I think) but could not afford the rent and had to move into a 2 room flat in Balnain House. How on earth she managed I will never know - there was one toilet for 4 families.
It was great to see the old house being renovated but an absolute disgrace that it is no longer a music venue but offices for SNH - most of the rooms are unoccupied meaning it will once again fall into disrepair.
Inverness & local memories
Read and share memories of Inverness and Inverness-Shire inspired by Frith photos.
Caledonian Hotel Ballroom
This wondeful hotel was a show-topper in 1948. I could never have afforded to stay here. However my friends and I often came here Saturday evenings to enjoy the party atmosphere and dance the night away.
The highlight of this hotel's ballroom was the 'sprung floor' Plus the advantage of having two stages, one at each end of the ballroom, This meant that on one stage held a 'Modern' dance band, and a Highland Dance Band on opposite stage. Each would play a fifteen minute set and then the other band would play a set. This allowed for continual dancing and everyone had a fantastic time.
The sprung floor made it easier to dance on and we looked forward to our regular Saturday nights here.
I understand the sprung floor and twin bands is a thing of the past,
Can anyone confirm this?
INVERNESS
Thoughts of Inverness come flooding back when I remember my time off work at the Glen Affirc Hydro Electric Project in 1949-1950. My two friends from work Bill Collins and Andy Anderson and I would climb into my Morris 8 roadster and head for the 'big city' for a night out. We'd enjoy a lovely venison dinner and a few drinks at a good hotel. Then later on we'd go to the Caledonian Ballroom to their saturday night dances. The young ladies were lovely and we never ran short of dance partners.
This was a wonderful ballroom. It had a sprung floor, making it easier to dance on and less tiring for the dancers as the night wore on. There were two orchestras, one played Old Time Scottish Music the other Modern Dance Music. Each would play a set for about fifteen minutes and then the other would take over. We always had a great time here and then we'd head back to camp at Cannich in my little... Read more
Family
My name is Philip Beach- my Grandmother hails from Inverness. Her maiden name was Isabel Martin, born about 1890, her sister's name (married) was Euphemia Archibald who lived to be 101 in my hometown of Rochester, NY USA. Isabel married Powlus (or Paulus) Beach, and moved to Nova Scotia, Canada in the mid 19 teens. They had 6 children- 5 girls and a boy, my father Charles Osker Beach. I currently live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and I am 50 years old. Does anyone have a memory of my family?
