Grangemouth

[mmmender]

I found this picture online, apparently it's a picture of Grangemouth (Scotland) where our beloved Liz and Robin are from.........I have no idea if it is Grangemouth or not as I've never been there myself.

http://www.cocteautwins.org/%7Eleesa/cocteautwins/cgraphix/GRANGEMOUTH.jpg

[frarn]

judging by the chimneys and smoke on the other bank of the river in the picture, I wonder if the location is actually Queensferry (on the north side of the Firth of Forth) with Grangemouth in the distance on the South back of the Firth? .... but then I could easily be wrong ....

[Baddy2shoos]

I've driven past Grangemouth but never been there. Felt quite desolate up there.

[winters]

wow...thank god for the water in the distance.

[ludwig]

It suddenly reminds me that years ago before this forum I chatted with a guy from Grangemouth. He sat in school class together with Liz and told me that she could sing quite well when the music lessons were there. After a month or so we lost contact.

[winters]

Great story. No surprises about Liz.

[ludwig]

Grangemouth docks around 1900's.

http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_a/0_around_edinburgh_-_grangemouth_docks_hay.jpg

[winters]

It reminds me of Connecticut.

[ludwig]

Are you that old?

[winters]

Ha, no. I visited a whaling town as a kid. They had a sailing ship there, an old whaler. Lots of stories there, I would imagine.

[Axiosi]

The picture is taken from the village of Culross in Fife looking over the Firth of Forth with the oil refineries of Grangemouth in the background. Grangemouth at night is amazing a bit like Gotham City.

Funny as I was going to start a thread about Grangemouth to see if anyone on the board lives there or nearby.

I will start I live 25 miles or 40 km but used to live 15 miles or 25 km from Grangemouth.

[winters]

Thank you, Richard! Any pics you have would be welcome, I'm sure.

[mmmender]

The picture is taken from the village of Culross in Fife looking over the Firth of Forth with the oil refineries of Grangemouth in the background. Grangemouth at night is amazing a bit like Gotham City.

Funny as I was going to start a thread about Grangemouth to see if anyone on the board lives there or nearby.

I will start I live 25 miles or 40 km but used to live 15 miles or 25 km from Grangemouth.
Thanks for clarifying!

[frarn]

The picture is taken from the village of Culross in Fife looking over the Firth of Forth with the oil refineries of Grangemouth in the background. Grangemouth at night is amazing a bit like Gotham City.

Funny as I was going to start a thread about Grangemouth to see if anyone on the board lives there or nearby.

I will start I live 25 miles or 40 km but used to live 15 miles or 25 km from Grangemouth.

half right then :)

[Tafkap]

Anyone want to lobby the local council for a 'Cocteau Twins Heritage Trail'?

[winters]

Anyone want to lobby the local council for a 'Cocteau Twins Heritage Trail'?

Great idea! Maybe a virtual could be created.

[JohnnyV]

wow...thank god for the water in the distance.

...that ddin't help Gary, IN.

[fornasetti]

Anyone want to lobby the local council for a 'Cocteau Twins Heritage Trail'?

I'd gladly go for that. I've been to Edinburgh several times and I've thought of going over to Grangemouth but I've never actually done it.

[winters]

...that ddin't help Gary, IN.

Or New Orleans. Well, there's always baptism...

[Pigeonhouse]

There are some splendid pictures of Grangemouth on Flickr. Just go to www.flickr.com and type Grangemouth into the search box.

I’m in Edinburgh, by the way, so not far away …

[Axiosi]

Aurora Borealis

[hebe]

Grangemouth docks around 1900's.

http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_a/0_around_edinburgh_-_grangemouth_docks_hay.jpg


Love it Ludwing, Thanks! is fabulous!

[Wildhearts]

I think that first pic is quaint. I can just imagine Liz walking down the street in that first pic with a bag of chips, hair in a scarf and perhaps an apron.

[hebe]

Grangemouth with snow - march 2006
Grangemouth Docs

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc33/hebeks/Grangemouth_Burn_Mar_2006.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc33/hebeks/grangemouth_docks.jpg

[robin guthrie]

Grangemouth docks around 1900's.

http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_a/0_around_edinburgh_-_grangemouth_docks_hay.jpg

OK, here's an interesting thing. The building with the clock tower was the old town hall. Back in 1980 it was derelict and we used to use it to rehearse in. Last time I was there I saw it had been knocked down....in fact the very first time we played together was there....

[randomrob]

neat! :nod:

[Quisquose]

Wow... thanks for sharing that.

[dprid]

OK, here's an interesting thing. The building with the clock tower was the old town hall. Back in 1980 it was derelict and we used to use it to rehearse in. Last time I was there I saw it had been knocked down....in fact the very first time we played together was there....
Damn, if we'd known we could have campaigned for a preservation order!

[winters]

Agreed!

[Athol Brose]

Some nice wee houses in Grangemouth, but if you went there you would see why Liz and Robin wanted away!!
Everything stops in remote places like this at about 10pm, unless you can drive and go out in Edinburgh or Glasgow.

[Portonian]

I was born in Grangemouth and still live here. A lot of people slag off the town but it really isn't that bad a place to live.

Liz was two years above me at middle school and me and my mates used to talk to her and some of her friends during breaks. I think a lot was to do with the fact I was into the punk scene at an early age.

Robin's older brother Brian used to run the football supporters bus I used to go on and he was another guy who had loads of knowledge about up and coming bands.

For a town its size we have produced two amazing bands in the Cocteau's and Lowlife. So for me it has been a good place to grow up.

[Axiosi]

Welcome Portonian. Never heard of Lowlife will check them out. Drove past on Sunday n way back from Blairdrummond Safari Park but not stopped off since I was selling Aerial views in my student days.

[Portonian]

Cheers Axiosi

Lowlife were the band Will Heggie joined when he left the cocteau's. They are really good you can pick up there albums on amazon quite cheap.

check them out at http://www.permanentsleep.com/

Would love the Cocteau's to tour again. Maybe they could play a one off home coming concert at Grangemouth Town Hall that would be bliss.

[mmmender]

OK, here's an interesting thing. The building with the clock tower was the old town hall. Back in 1980 it was derelict and we used to use it to rehearse in. Last time I was there I saw it had been knocked down....in fact the very first time we played together was there....That's so cool!!!

[SharkoII]

Lowlife were the band Will Heggie joined when he left the cocteau's. They are really good you can pick up there albums on amazon quite cheap.

check them out at http://www.permanentsleep.com/

Would love the Cocteau's to tour again. Maybe they could play a one off home coming concert at Grangemouth Town Hall that would be bliss.

How could a gig at the Town Hall be a 'Homecoming'?
I was always under the impression that they never played Grangemouth.
Not even 'The Nash'?
Robin, could you confirm this for me?.

Like most bands who have gone, maybe it's best to let things be.
Would the antisipation outweigh the reality?

[SharkoII]

Some nice wee houses in Grangemouth, but if you went there you would see why Liz and Robin wanted away!!
Everything stops in remote places like this at about 10pm, unless you can drive and go out in Edinburgh or Glasgow.


There's some nice 'Big' Houses as well.

Whilst not exactly a point on anyones tourist itinary, to describe Grangemouth as remote is patronising in the least:confused:
Like most provintial towns in the 80's, to make any kind of dent in the music market you had to go south to that 'Landarn', not even to Edinburgh or Glasgow!

There was quite an exciting 'scene' :rave:in Grangemouth in the 80's.
Mainly caused by the extraordinary numbers of 15-25 year olds:cheers:.
Robin Dj'ing at the Nash, Brian promoting gigs in the area and a few local bands of note on Brians labels.
http://www.falkirkmusicscene.co.uk/

[SharkoII]

OK, here's an interesting thing. The building with the clock tower was the old town hall. Back in 1980 it was derelict and we used to use it to rehearse in. Last time I was there I saw it had been knocked down....in fact the very first time we played together was there....

Nothing to do with the 'Ladies of the night' that frequented the Queens then?:lol:

[mmmender]

How could a gig at the Town Hall be a 'Homecoming'?
I was always under the impression that they never played Grangemouth.
Not even 'The Nash'?
Robin, could you confirm this for me?

I know that certainly Robin used to DJ at 'The Nash', and that's where he and Will met Elizabeth. I've never heard mention of the band playing the venue though.


Long before Garlands, Cocteau Twins consisted only of Robin Guthrie and his pal Will Heggie. Elizabeth Fraser knew of them because they all frequented the same dance club in Grangemouth ("a toilet," as Robin so eloquently refers to his hometown). Robin was the DJ on punk nights..."Grangemouth is not exactly a hive of social activity," Liz explained. "The only excitement for a 30-mile radius is the 'Nash,' a local hotel disco where Rob was DJ. That's where we all met, although Rob and Will have been in bands together before." [Sounds Magazine, 1982].

[Rosin]

G r a n g e m o u t h
here it goes again:
http://www.zamandayolculuk.com/cetinbal/FJ/grangespi.jpg

- taken from an article called "UFOs In Scotland" from Malcolm Robinson © SPI (Strange Phenomena Investigations) England.

"UFO testimony is one thing, but when you receive testimony backed up with a quite spectacular UFO photograph, well that's another matter. We at SPI received quite an amazing UFO photograph which was unlike anything we have ever seen before.

It was on 12<SUP>th</SUP> November 1991, at around 9.30pm, that friends Phil Trevis (previously known as Peter Muir, a pseudonym used in previous SPI accounts) and Paul Penman (pseudonym) were out taking photographs for a project called 'Light and Dark'. The following is the written testimony by Phil Trevis, as given to SPI.
"My friend and I were taking photographs of the BP chemicals plant in Grangemouth (from Polmont Reservoir) when we noticed a dim, or rather, two small dim flashing lights over by the two 'flashing pylons' at Kincardine Bridge. We watched the object, which we thought was a helicopter, fly slowly over from the bridge to above the brightly lit Grangemouth Stadium. We watched it hover for around five minutes. It was then that we noticed that the 'craft' wasn't making any noise. Normally, if it was a helicopter, we would have heard the blades. It then turned around and faced our direction.
"It was roughly 2,000 feet above the ground, then it dipped and increased dramatically in speed. At the point of the photograph, it was about 200 to 300 feet directly above us. It was then that we heard the light 'pulsing hum' of the object. My friend and I were quite shaken at the time, but afterwards had an overwhelming sense of excitement."
SPI conducted the usual lines of investigative enquiry to try and get to the bottom of this incident. We ascertained that there was no aircraft activity in that part of central Scotland that night. Letters to the British Petroleum plant at Grangemouth, asking them if they had any small light aircraft or microlights in operation above their complex that night (on pipe inspection duty) came back stating that no such light aircraft or micro-lights were flying above the plant that night. (The BP plant at Grangemouth is in controlled airspace; only special authorization can be given for overflights of this highly explosive complex.)
Indeed such was the closeness of this object that Phil Trevis had to bend over backwards to take his photograph, and so what you are actually looking at is the underside of the object - concave, with numerous bright flashing lights being thrown out into the dark night sky, which creates a sort of halo effect. The object is consistent with what was being sighted above and around the small town of Bonnybridge in Stirlingshire, central Scotland; the town of Bonnybridge is still experiencing UFO sightings, but not as many as those which peaked between the years of 1992 to 1994."



And, since we are at it, how many Nu Yawkes saw this shit (as seen identical in mexico, peru, sapin, etc)? :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=5LF30KnyPeE

now, Holly Macro is my best :) :
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=-CewH99F0K0

[Ketamine]

It was in The Nash that I first met both Liz and Robin.

[ludwig]

I was this year in Grangemouth. Here's my impression.


wgoo0EuimzA

[hebe]

I was this year in Grangemouth. Here's my impression.


wgoo0EuimzA






that is ool.. you are the king of the video editions!!!!!

[andylama]

It doesn't seem like a toilet at all.

[garp]

The lack of people, especially in the pedestrian zone, is a little eerie.

Nice video Ruud thanks for sharing.

[andylama]

The lack of people, especially in the pedestrian zone, is a little eerie.

It is vaguely Hitchcockian, isn't it?

[ludwig]

No it's mine.

[riah]

the music is so cool, what song is it?..

[edward]

It's Blood Bitch from Garlands, but an instrumental version. I don't know where it comes from. Perhaps Ruud will tell us.

[Martin63]

The picture is taken from the village of Culross in Fife looking over the Firth of Forth with the oil refineries of Grangemouth in the background. Grangemouth at night is amazing a bit like Gotham City.

Funny as I was going to start a thread about Grangemouth to see if anyone on the board lives there or nearby.

I will start I live 25 miles or 40 km but used to live 15 miles or 25 km from Grangemouth.

Culross is amazing. It's an old fishing port and is twinned with Veere in Zeeland in the Netherlands. Both towns have very similar architecture and were at their peak around the same time in the 17th century. Both are well worth a visit.

My mother was born in the next town to Grangemouth, Bo'ness, so I have visited the area many times over the years. Both are fairly sleepy small towns and once you have been there you can easily understand why many young adults like Robin and Liz would have wanted to leave, especially in the early 80s. Unemployment was high and whole area was pretty depressed with the coal mining industry being on its last legs.

There's an interesting local museum in Grangemouth:

http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/community/cultural_services/museums/museum_venues/grangemouth_museum.aspx

Martin

[crivens200]

The lack of people, especially in the pedestrian zone, is a little eerie.

Nice video Ruud thanks for sharing.

Eerie is an appropriate description. And to expand further . . . . truly fucking horrible.

I don’t understand why anybody would want to live there. It’s the land of the living dead.

If somebody said I had to go back and live in Scotland for the rest of my days, I’d have to consider killing myself instead.

That video just made me really depressed.

Apologies to anyone Scottish on the board.

[ludwig]

the music is so cool, what song is it?..

It's Blood Bitch from Garlands, but an instrumental version. I don't know where it comes from. Perhaps Ruud will tell us.

I do apologize that I read this now and I'm late to respond to this question. This remix is listed as Blood Bitch (Thousandfold Remix).mp3. It should be available in the Dials FTP area for that's where I got it from at that time. PM me if you can't find it.

[Livio]

I love this video.....thanks so much!

Livio from Cocteauland



myspace/liviococteau

[Pigeonhouse]

I was this year in Grangemouth. Here's my impression.


wgoo0EuimzA


No neds in the town centre drinking Buckie? I’m surprised!

(Anybody from outwith Scotland will need a translation of the above …)

[Bettina]

http://www.ratemyeverything.net/image/3811/0/No_Buckfast.ashx

[Quisquose]

What's buckfast?

[Bettina]

A fine tonic wine originally made by monks at Buckfast Abbey. Its health-giving properties have made it popular with young folk.
http://dlaird.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/buckfast.jpg

[Dpressed]

I suspect Bettina is being rather kind to certain elements. The drink is a cheap & easy way for 'young people' to get drunk in 'less savoury' parts of Scotland

Statistics record that Lanarkshire accounts for around 10% of worldwide salesWithin the above areas, Buckfast is alleged to be the drink of choice for drinkers who are prone to committing anti-social behaviour when drunk, especially underage drinkers. Its high strength (15% ABV/14.8% in the Republic of Ireland), relatively low price and sweetness are characteristics that traditionally appeal to underage drinkers (similar to other 'problem drinks' alcopops and cider)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine.

[agcu418]

It also has the same amount of caffeine as 3 cans of red bull which probably helps one get wrecked