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Dundee
By Toni McPherson
‘A chance meeting with Edinburgh STGA Guide Ann Lister who was sharing part of the Scottish Tourist Board’s Stand at the Travel Trade Exhibition led to the formation of the Dundee Branch of the STGA. As Tourism Development Officer for Dundee District Tourist Board I was there promoting the City when she asked why Dundee did not have any tourist guides. After a short discussion I immediately notified my boss at the time, Paul Buchanan, who thought it was an excellent idea.
We immediately got it approved by the Dundee Tourist Board, got STB approval and contracted or contacted? Dundee University who were keen to get involved supplying all lectures and staff to train potential guides. Ann Lister was appointed as Course Director. During field trips she had assistance from another two Edinburgh Guides namely Elizabeth Seton and Jean Duncan. One hundred applicants were interviewed, 25 from all over Tayside were selected. The Course was to cover two terms and start in 1989-1990. Lectures were held in the evenings only with weekends devoted to field trips. Nineteen Guides qualified, I was happy to be one (I had paid my own way because I was still employed) and one of my many duties was to take visiting journalists and VIP visitors to the City Council around Dundee and the surrounding areas to show off what a great touring centre we were being only 90 mins. away from 90% of Scotland’s population and with the added bonus of being the sunniest City in Scotland. We believed and still do that once we got people to visit Dundee that they were ours forever. The only problem we had was that we needed new attractions.
‘Christine Wade, Graham Hepburn, Jean Kidd, Alistair McGillvray, Sheila Scott, Eveline Chaplain, Les MacInulty, Rosemary Thomson, June Riches, Val Rennie, Linda Mudie, Hazel Batcheler, Sally Spaven, John Howie, Gwen Wood, Sheila Marshall, Veronica Clark, Isobel Sinclair and me congregated in Camperdown House for a short Ceremony where we were all presented with our Diplomas by the Convener of the Tourist Board, Councillor Charles Bowman.
The Dundee Branch was formed in 1990. Things were fairly slow in starting as Dundee was short of visitors. However nothing daunted our valiant guides. A few of us took Ann’s suggestion of escorting passengers for Blue Chip Tours whose tours ran mainly at the weekends. We decided that it would be a good way to practice our guiding skills en route. We reckoned that the passengers would be getting a bargain with us telling them all about the Lake District and introducing them to William Wordsworth and his sister and visiting Shakespeare’s hometown. However, I think our passengers got more than they bargained for. Other enterprising guides set up walks in St. Andrews and Dundee, while some came to an arrangement with the local Transport Department Buses Service to take them on board which proved a hit. One or two managed to get a part time job in the Museum. However things started to pick up considerably when the following year Dundee held it’s Octocentenary.
‘In the early days Dundee Jute Barons had invested their money in opening up America, ploughing money into the railroads and opening up one of the largest Cattle Ranches in Texas called the Matador,’ Toni continued. The Director of the event was a Canadian who invited the owners of the now Matador Ranch to visit the City whose money had started it up in the first place. Not only did the Director market the Octocentenary superbly, she brought a considerable number of visitors to the area. This was right up our street and guides took advantage organising tours and were appointed the official guides for walks. As Rosemary Thomson said with feeling and on behalf of all of us: “Getting and doing our first official tours was a nerve-racking process for all of us and it is a tribute to our training course that we not only survived but were still keen to move forward.”
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