To Brechin

For the first time in ages Mandy's visit to her Mum's in Brechin was planned for a weekend so instead of being left at home, the whole family headed north. If you needed a case study in the decline of small market towns, Brechin would be ideal. It has loads of historical wee buildings but neglect, economic decline and social change have taken their toll. Between charity shops, pound shops and a staggering number of chinese takeaways, not to mention the boarded up shops, it's a sad wee place Brechin.

Still, it does have a nice wee shop with many old cameras at fairly reasonable prices so I couldn't help picking up a couple: a Kodak Art Deco Six-20, which I doubt I'll be able to use because the 620 spool is smaller than a 120 spool. The other one I'll post a picture of tomorrow.

This photo is an art deco cinema built in 1927 which had its modern hey day in the mid-1980s as Flicks nightclub. It was so popular that bus loads of people would travel to Brechin from Edinburgh, Glasgow and as far afield as Newcastle. It even hosted The Hitman and Her. Imagine, Michaela Strachan in Brechin. What would be the equivalent these days? Now it's on the Buildings at Risk register.