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Street entertainer
3346 We believe this photograph shows a man historically known as Fool Friday entertaining a group of children and adults outside a house in Aberdeen. Fool Friday was a street vendor who sold ice cream in summer and hot chestnuts in winter. He may have also played a barrel piano as shown here.
Fool Friday was an often seen, distinctive character on the streets of Aberdeen. References to him in recorded oral history and newspapers suggest he sold his goods around the town centre, including at the Castlegate. He appears to have been around in the earlier years of the 20th century, between the two world wars. Little seems to be known, or recorded, about the life of this intriguing figure.
He is mentioned in an article of reminiscences by Arthur Bruce from the Leopard magazine of December 1986/January 1987. Bruce writes "I am reminded of another worthy who lived round the corner in Harriet Street, an Ice Cream Mannie, with a home and family. Of Italian origins he was known as 'Fool Friday' - nothing to do with being stupid, I may add, simply the local dialect for foul or dirty. Legend had it that the nickname was well deserved, but as a child I was never aware of his less than hygienic approach to the business of selling ice cream from a 'cairtie'. I have never solved the mystery of the 'Friday' part, although I should be delighted to hear from anyone who knows the answer."
It is possible that this photograph shows not Fool Friday, but someone else entirely. A letter in the Evening Express of 30th October 1979, looking back to this earlier time, describes a man known as Can-Tam who played a barrel organ in the streets. The letter writer suggests that Can-Tam's organ was smashed by a tram and subsequently replaced by the council.
A suggestion received through social media and subsequent further research indicates that this image may show Guiseppe, or Joseph, Bordone (1872-1957). He was an eating house keeper and an ice-cream and chestnuts vendor. A brief mention in the Evening Express newspaper of 15th March 1994, page 8, suggests that Bordone may have been known as Fool Friday, but this is uncertain.
This photograph was printed as a postcard and these were perhaps sold to the families visited by the entertainer. This postcard was lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Bill Cheyne so that we could create and preserve a digital copy for public use. Aberdeen Cinemas: News Cinema / Curzon / Cosmo 2
3427 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Cosmo 2 at 15 Diamond Street in 1977.
The Cosmo 2 was on the site of Aberdeen's News Cinema that had opened 1936. In 1959 it had become the Curzon. In 1963 the Curzon was sold to Singleton Cinemas, a Glasgow based cinema operating firm that had been in the business since 1911.
The venue was renovated and re-opened on 22nd January 1964 as the Cosmo 2. The Cosmo 1 was the former King's cinema in Glasgow, owned by Singleton Cinemas, that is now the Glasgow Film Theatre. The inaugural film at the Cosmo 2 was the Italian film Il Posto directed by Ermanno Olmi.
The Cosmo 2 showed quality British and foreign films that might not have been shown at other cinemas. Michael Thomson likened this valuable role to that of the old La Scala long before. It could also be likened to the role of the Belmont in more recent times.
The Cosmo 2 sadly closed down in August 1977. The closure was credited to a dearth of attractive foreign language films coupled with the now tripled major circuit venues taking a wider range of pictures.
There was much discussion if the venue could be carried on by another party with the Scottish Film Council suggested as a possibility. The smallness of the cinema made this unfeasible however as a Scottish Film Council venue would need adequate meeting and social space.
There were subsequent plans to convert the premises into a restaurant though these came to nothing. The fate of the cinema was sealed in September 1981 when the next-door Palais, then operating as Satchmo's disco club, was destroyed by a serious fire and the site was left roofless. The corner block towards Union Street survives but the rest of the buildings were later demolished and are now the site of a car park.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Treasure 122: Aberdeen Charters and Armorial Seals
345 For one of our final treasures we are travelling further back in time than we have done previously, to look at possibly the oldest items in Aberdeen City Libraries' collections. These are a collection of three charters dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, two of which have their wax seals still attached. They are written in Latin on parchment and describe the conveyance of land or rights from one party to another within the burgh of Aberdeen. The earliest of our charters dates from 13 March 1567 and is a charter respecting the granting by Gilbert Kintoir, senior, burgess of Aberdeen, of 'one half net of the ly fords fishings in the water of the river Dee' in favour of John Arthour, another burgess of Aberdeen. Our next charter is dated 10 May 1597 and is a charter of feuferm granted by Provost, Baillies, etc. of the Burgh of Aberdeen, in favour of William Jaffray, burgess. Our last charter is much later and dates from 1673. It is a charter of James Raite of Findlastoun.
Also on display are two replicas of Aberdeen City's 1430 armorial seal. One, a silver pendant, and the other a replica wax seal, both made by Malcolm Appleby in limited editions for the council in 1979. The permission to use the design of a shield bearing the Royal Tressure of Scotland (parallel lines around the shield with fleur-de-lis), and lion supporters on the 1430 arms, was given to the burgh of Aberdeen by King James I (1406-1437) in acknowledgement of the city's role as one of the four burghs (along with Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee) who had elected to pay the ransom for his liberty from captivity under King Henry VI of England. James had been captured by the English in infancy, and held as a prisoner of Henry V and Henry VI for 18 years.
To learn more about the fascinating evolution of Aberdeen's coat-of-arms, have a browse in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition. |