#temperance — Public Fediverse posts

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A quotation from Euripides

CHORUS: May I know the blessing of a heart that is not passion’s slave; no fairer gift can the gods bestow. But may the dread Cyprian never inflict upon me quarrelsome moods and insatiable strife, firing my heart with love for a stranger; may she rather show respect for marriages where peace reigns and judge with a shrewd eye the loves of women.
   
ΚΥΚΛΩΨ: στέργοι δέ με σωφροσύνα, δώρημα κάλλιστον θεῶν:
 μηδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμφιλόγους ὀργὰς ἀκόρεστά τε νείκη
 θυμὸν ἐκπλήξασ᾽ ἑτέροις ἐπὶ λέκτροις
 προσβάλοι δεινὰ Κύπρις, ἀπτολέμους δ᾽
 εὐνὰς σεβίζουσ᾽ ὀξύφρων
 κρίνοι λέχη γυναικῶν.

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 636ff, Second Stasimon, Antistrophe 1 (431 BC) [tr. Davie (1996)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/82632/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #adultery #calm #faithfulness #marriage #moderation #passion #restraint #temperance

A quotation from Euripides

CHORUS: May I know the blessing of a heart that is not passion’s slave; no fairer gift can the gods bestow. But may the dread Cyprian never inflict upon me quarrelsome moods and insatiable strife, firing my heart with love for a stranger; may she rather show respect for marriages where peace reigns and judge with a shrewd eye the loves of women.
   
ΚΥΚΛΩΨ: στέργοι δέ με σωφροσύνα, δώρημα κάλλιστον θεῶν:
 μηδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμφιλόγους ὀργὰς ἀκόρεστά τε νείκη
 θυμὸν ἐκπλήξασ᾽ ἑτέροις ἐπὶ λέκτροις
 προσβάλοι δεινὰ Κύπρις, ἀπτολέμους δ᾽
 εὐνὰς σεβίζουσ᾽ ὀξύφρων
 κρίνοι λέχη γυναικῶν.

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 636ff, Second Stasimon, Antistrophe 1 (431 BC) [tr. Davie (1996)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/82632/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #adultery #calm #faithfulness #marriage #moderation #passion #restraint #temperance

A quotation from Euripides

CHORUS: May I know the blessing of a heart that is not passion’s slave; no fairer gift can the gods bestow. But may the dread Cyprian never inflict upon me quarrelsome moods and insatiable strife, firing my heart with love for a stranger; may she rather show respect for marriages where peace reigns and judge with a shrewd eye the loves of women.
   
ΚΥΚΛΩΨ: στέργοι δέ με σωφροσύνα, δώρημα κάλλιστον θεῶν:
 μηδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμφιλόγους ὀργὰς ἀκόρεστά τε νείκη
 θυμὸν ἐκπλήξασ᾽ ἑτέροις ἐπὶ λέκτροις
 προσβάλοι δεινὰ Κύπρις, ἀπτολέμους δ᾽
 εὐνὰς σεβίζουσ᾽ ὀξύφρων
 κρίνοι λέχη γυναικῶν.

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 636ff, Second Stasimon, Antistrophe 1 (431 BC) [tr. Davie (1996)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/82632/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #adultery #calm #faithfulness #marriage #moderation #passion #restraint #temperance

A quotation from Euripides

CHORUS: May I know the blessing of a heart that is not passion’s slave; no fairer gift can the gods bestow. But may the dread Cyprian never inflict upon me quarrelsome moods and insatiable strife, firing my heart with love for a stranger; may she rather show respect for marriages where peace reigns and judge with a shrewd eye the loves of women.
   
ΚΥΚΛΩΨ: στέργοι δέ με σωφροσύνα, δώρημα κάλλιστον θεῶν:
 μηδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμφιλόγους ὀργὰς ἀκόρεστά τε νείκη
 θυμὸν ἐκπλήξασ᾽ ἑτέροις ἐπὶ λέκτροις
 προσβάλοι δεινὰ Κύπρις, ἀπτολέμους δ᾽
 εὐνὰς σεβίζουσ᾽ ὀξύφρων
 κρίνοι λέχη γυναικῶν.

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 636ff, Second Stasimon, Antistrophe 1 (431 BC) [tr. Davie (1996)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/82632/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #adultery #calm #faithfulness #marriage #moderation #passion #restraint #temperance

A quotation from Joseph Addison

Temperance and abstinence, faith and devotion, are in themselves perhaps as laudable as any other virtues; but those which make a man popular and beloved are justice, charity, munificence, and, in short, all the good qualities which render us beneficial to each other.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1711-12-08), The Spectator, No. 243

More info about this quote: wist.info/addison-joseph/78835…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #josephaddision #abstinence #behavior #beneficence #character #charity #devotion #faith #giving #goldenrule #goodperson #justice #loveyourneighbor #qualities #temperance #traits #usefulness #popularity

Illusia – Mind over Matter Review

By Killjoy

In the music business, the line between hobby and professional endeavor is often blurry. For brand-new musicians, the line might even be non-existent. And, every once in a while, a record graces our promo pile that is undeniably pure and authentic in a way only possible if its creator pours something deeply personal into the music. There is little doubt that this was the case for Jason Tyler when he formed Illusia in Manchester, UK. He took on a few bandmates and guest vocalists to help bring his progressive metal debut Mind over Matter to life, though he retains most of the songwriting and recording duties. How well might his passion project connect with a wider audience upon first exposure?

In some respects, Illusia is to prog as Fellowship is to power metal. In addition to an overarching affirming narrative,1 Mind over Matter boasts tons of colorful, sing-along choruses and tunes that will surely strike some as corny. But, like with Fellowship, no one can deny that they come from a place of earnestness. Sonically, Mind over Matter is a joyous mashup of Neal Morse’s sentimental prog rock and Ayreon’s zany keyboard wizardry. Tyler is skilled at leveraging the instruments at his disposal in complex yet catchy ways. Organ, guitar, synths, bass, and piano are layered in lockstep to weave a rich melodic tapestry, often paired with intricate drum rhythms in a fashion reminiscent of Seventh Wonder or DGM. In lesser hands, this might sound like a complete jumble, but Illusia demonstrates a compositional maturity beyond its fledgling status.

Illusia generally prioritizes emotional resonance over technical showmanship. Perhaps the most defining characteristic of Mind over Matter is its heavy reliance on tranquil ballad-esque songs. Of these, “Daydream” is by far my favorite, its piano arpeggios and poignant strings creating an affecting mood. The softer tracks are generally interspersed well with the more upbeat ones, although the back-to-back placement of “Anemoia” and “Shine Through the Night” leads to minor engagement snags. Still, a record with this many ballads should not work as well as this one does. The more technical aspects of Mind over Matter manifest in somewhat subtle ways. Dec Doyle’s guitar solos and Tyler’s keyboard melodies, while primarily uplifting, can be dazzling as well (“Delirium,” “Solace Divine”). Also, though not the main highlight of Mind over Matter, Tyler is a sneakily talented drummer, deftly brandishing syncopated rhythms throughout “What If.”

However, the vocals are where the consistency fluctuates and falters. Jason Tyler handles the majority of the singing, though in Ayreon fashion, he enlists the talents of several guest vocalists to bring the story to life. When possible, Tyler sticks to his more comfortable mid-to-low ranges while letting the guests take the higher ones, a strategy which works well with DGM’s Mark Basile (“Solace Divine”) and Chrysalïd’s Emannuel Thorsen (“Delirium”). But when he reaches for higher notes (“Arrival,” “Alone”), his vocal strain weakens the music’s emotive impact. Additionally, his harmonization with the other vocalists often feels tenuous, particularly with Alessia Scolletti’s near-shouting in the final chorus of “Shine Through the Night,” an unexpected letdown given her outstanding prior work with Temperance. Mind over Matter’s lush compositions are crying out for similar-caliber vocal talent, a taste of which comes from Lisa Skinner’s (Sorceress of Sin) gritty and occasionally operatic performance in the punchy “Dream Dance.”

While much of progressive metal is meant to tug heartstrings, Illusia displays an unflinching degree of tenderness and vulnerability that I haven’t heard too often. Mind over Matter may be unpolished, but not nearly as much as one might expect from the very first attempt of a self-produced artist. The songwriting, musicianship, and production are warm and inviting, with few moments during the hour-long runtime during which my attention wavers. Despite—and maybe because of—some vocal imperfections, Mind over Matter feels genuinely and profoundly human. And in a world where art is becoming increasingly artificial and superficial, that’s ultimately what matters most.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: illusia.bandcamp.com | instagram.com/jtptyler
Releases Worldwide: August 22nd, 2025

#2025 #35 #Aug25 #Ayreon #BritishMetal #Chrysalïd #DGM #Fellowship #Illusia #MindOverMatter #NealMorse #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveRock #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SeventhWonder #SorceressOfSin #Temperance

Today's mood is all about Jupiter and moons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDWOifwGpKY

#Temperance #Music #MoodOfTheDay #DailyMood #Mood #Monday

Lavender tranquility

#impressionism #painting #art #abstract #semiabstract #inspiration #travel #adventure #explore #inspire #horizon #inspirehorizon
#virtue #wisdom #courage #temperance #justice
#landscape #nature #trees #lavender #magicforest #forest #path #plants

This thread was originally written and published in January 2024.

The pub in the picture below has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently but, despite its rather forbidding appearance these days, it’s a very important pub. It is a surviving example, serving its original purpose, of only a handful of such inter-war hostelries that were built in Edinburgh; the roadhouse. But these nine public houses didn’t just appear for no reason, they were the culmination of and response to a long political and social struggle around public drinking in the first half of the 20th century. Shall we unravel their story?

The short version of the roadhouse story is this: they are a blend of 1930s architecture and design glamour that were used by the licensed trade to entice a new generation of sophisticated, Holywood-inspired, upmarket, car-driving drinkers. That’s partly true, but is by no means the full story.

To understand how Edinburgh got its roadhouses we have to go back to 1913 when the Temperance movement was at the peak of its power and the Temperance (Scotland) Act was passed. This was also known as the Local Veto Act as it allowed localities to force referendums on going dry – although this only applied to public houses, not restaurants or hotels. The veto ballots could be called by 10% of registered electors in a burgh, parish or ward petitioning for it. There were 3 options on the bill:

• No Change, i.e. the area would stay wet
• Limitation – there would be a 25% reduction in licences in the area
• No Licence, i.e. prohibition

The No Licence option required a supermajority of 55% to pass, representing at least 35% of all electors in the area. If that hurdle failed to be passed, these votes were then counted towards Limitation.

The Act had unforeseen consequences though: the brewers and licensed trade circled their wagons and got organised, forming defence committees to coordinate their response. They also put off investment in their estates in case of an unfavourable ballot; why spend money with the threat of a loss of licence hanging over you? As a result the quality of pubs got worse, not better. But the Temperance Movement had to wait until the conclusion of WW1 before making their next move. This came in 1920 to coincide with local elections and they launched their Pussyfoot Campaign to coordinate mass petitioning for local veto ballots across Scotland. This was named after an American prohibition campaigner who arrived in the UK in 1919, who had a tactic of pussyfooting around pubs incognito to gather evidence against them. And so in December 1920, Edinburgh (amongst many other Scottish localities) held its first Local Veto ballot. The terms of the act meant that public houses had to shut during polling hours. The Evening News reported record trade in Musselburgh as the city’s drinkers fled to the sanctuary of the Honest Toun for the day. 

But after the last pint glasses had been emptied, the last drams downed and the ballot papers counted, the Temperance Movement were in for a disappointment: Edinburgh voted firmly for No Change in every ward – 68% overall. No Licence got 29%, less than half of what was needed, with a small minority voting for Limitation. The city would stayed wet. The Movement tried again in 1923 and although the polls shifted a few percent, once again every ward voted for a majority of No Change. Things were closest in Morningside where it was 51:46% between status quo and prohibition. You can spot something of a definite inner city / suburban and social order based split in the numbers.

So it was now 1923, 10 years since the Temperance Act was passed, and neither the Movement or the more moderate Reformers were any further forward in the city and the trade still refused to invest in their estates. And so the quality of pubs continued to deteriorate. Many in the trade did recognise the need to improve, however they wanted the threat of the 1913 Act pulling the rug from under their feet to be gone before they put their money where their mouths were. They were supported politically in this by reformers, led by Lord Novar in the House of Lords and Lord Salvesen of the Scottish Public House Reform League. The Reformers took as their template the New Model Inn developed by Harry Redfern for the Government in the Carlisle district after WW1 which aimed to use better design and an improved service offering to reduce drunkenness.

Despite the deliberately anachronistic appearance, these were a modern ideal of a public house, full of design innovations that we now take for granted. These included the practice of seated drinking around tables in open saloons where all corners and entries and exits could be viewed from the bar line; traditionally most pubs indulged in drinking standing around a small service bar, or in small rooms where what happened in the room stayed in the room. Public bars were accompanied by relaxed lounge bars, where women were tolerated in the company of their husbands, hot food was served and other wholesome diversions such as reading, writing and games rooms were included. The Scottish Reformers called these the Improved Public House on the Carlisle Model. Interestingly, they declined to follow a different but more local and established form of reformed public house; the Gothenburg. The Goth movement grew out of that city and had been established cooperatively across Scottish mining communities, but particularly in the Lothians and Fife. It is likely that the Goth principles were too Temperate and too verging on Socialism for the trade to accept.

Reform was all well and good in practice, however the trade still had to get through the Licensing Courts, which were stuffed with conservatively-minded councillors who were frequently aligned with the Church and were heavily lobbied by well organised Temperance campaigners and their lawyers. The Courts were able to make it very difficult for new licenses to be obtained and all too easy for old ones to be lost. Over time they managed to reduce the overall numbers of licences in the City by granting fewer than were removed or expired.

The end result of all this was that there was a period of almost 20 years when no new pubs were built in Edinburgh. Things came to a head in 1933 when the President of the Edinburgh Local Veto Defence Association petitioned for a licence for a new inn in the new district of Balgreen. Robert Russell Hogg had kept a pub next to the City Chambers for 21 years, which the Corporation now wanted him to give up to allow them to extend that building. He pushed a test case to allow an Improved Tavern in an otherwise dry district as a direct challenge to Temperance – stipulating he wanted to be out of the city centre and in an area where he would not have to compete with established trade. Hogg was a keen reformer and stated he wanted “an inn after the English type, something the trade would be proud to have in Edinburgh“.

The Temperance Movement had thus far managed to keep all of Edinburgh’s new peripheral council housing schemes effectively “dry” by preventing licenses for pubs and off-licence grocers. They had a lot to lose here and rallied their troops; a petition of 181 owners and occupiers in the district against Hogg’s application was organised. The ministers of Saughtonhall Congregational Church, the Cairns Memorial Church and Stenhouse Church of Scotland all lodged protests. But lose lose they did, by 9-1 votes at the licensing court. And so on December 24th 1934, Edinburgh’s first newly built pub in at least 20 years opened; The Wheatsheaf Inn on Balgreen Road. It was in an Scottish interpretation of the Arts & Crafts style by architects Lorimer & Matthew. Hogg took out adverts calling it “Auld Reekie’s New Modern Inn“.

When it opened it was almost 1/3 mile from the nearest house. It was spacious, with a large, open “tap room” with no corners that could not be observed from the bar line, a kitchen and dining room, a garden, car park and a flat for the landlord upstairs. To cock a snoot at the Temperance Movement, Hogg had an ornamental sculpture added with a legend taken from Omar Khayyam installed above the front door: “AND AS THE COCK CREW THOSE WHO STOOD BEFORE THE TAVERN SHOUTED OPEN THEN THE DOOR“.

The Lord Provost was supportive of the new initiative, and hoped it would help put an end to the scourge of Vertical Drinking (or Perpendicular Drinking as he particularly called it). This was the practice of drinking standing around a serving hatch or bar (which many howffs at the time basically were), rather than seated politely around tables. The Improved Public House genie was now out of the bottle, but others in the trade held back a bit to see how Hogg got on. When it was clear he wad a success on his hands, others decided to join in on the action. The Licensing Courts sat twice a year and so the next two applications had to wait until April 1935.

First up was a widow, Mrs Johan Thom, who kept the Stenhouse Inn by Liberton. She wanted an Improved Pub to replace this old country tavern which she had run with her late husband and her application was successful. The Arts & Craft style Greenend Inn opened on Gilmerton Road on March 23rd 1936, but it has always almost been known by the nickname of its predecessor, The Robin’s Nest. You can see that particular bird on the prominent external sign. These elaborate, painted tavern signs were an import from England where the brewery trade had been trying to revive their ancient art. Mrs Thom had gone all out on the latest facilities, with lounge and public bars, a tea room, restaurant, “parking and accommodation for cars” and a skittle alley! The skittle alley (or space devoted to such other such traditional, wholesome games) would become something of a feature of the roadhouses.

The other application made at this time was something altogether different from these Arts & Crafts reinterpretations of the traditional Olde English country tavern, something instead inspired by the glamour of Hollywood and the ocean liner. This was the Maybury Roadhouse; “Scotland’s premier commercial establishment of the 1930s“.

Gone here were old world comforts of wood and the fireplace and in were sleek Streamline Moderne architecture (by Paterson & Broom) and the glitz of neon lights and jazz bands, the cocktail bar, the grill restaurant, the ballroom, balconies, a mezzanine gallery and rooftop garden. The Maybury opened on 19th November 1936, despite 260 objections by the Temperance Movement and the usual protests of local ministers. Its licensees were Messrs P. McDougall, who had been in the trade for over 40 years, and it cost them £10,000 to build (c. £584k in 2023). Although sometimes referred to as a “roadhouse hotel“, actually a defining feature of the roadhouse was that they were not hotels, the Dundee Licensing Court defined them in 1937 as “a house which supplied all the services of the hotel without sleeping accommodation“. Certainly it was the ultimate expression of the roadhouse concept in Scotland, and endures (as a casino) as one of the finest monuments to Art Deco in the country.

The scale and ostentatious glamour of the Maybury was a one-off, but it influenced subsequent applications in the city. Six months after its licence was granted, in October 1935, Mrs Jemima Hood Gair petitioned for a new roadhouse on Niddrie Mains Road to serve the housing estates there with all the latest features, including a billiards room. She had been in the trade herself for 11 years after the death of her husband and kept a licensed grocer at West Adam Street and a pub on Couper Street in Leith. The Temperance Movement were furious – this was a blatant attempt to introduce the public house to a housing scheme they considered to be dry (even though men who wanted to just went into town to drink) and sent in their lawyer, Duncan Maclennan SSC, to lead the objections. By 8 votes to 1, she prevailed, on the condition she relinquished her two existing premises, a compromise position that resulted in a net reduction in licences of one in the city. She was also obliged to serve hot meals as had been proposed. The White House opened on 18th October 1936, in an Art Deco style by Leith architects W. N. Thomson. It featured two public bars, a saloon, cocktail bar, a lounge bar, a skittle alley and billiards and darts rooms, as well as a cafe-cum-restaurant.

The April 1936 licensing committee takes us back where we started, the Anchor Inn on West Granton Road. This application, by James Birrell Rintoul, was approved that year to an Art Deco design by Thomas Bowhill Gibson, better known as a cinema architect (including The Dominion in Morningside). The Anchor is probably the furthest from the model of the Roadhouse of the lot; in reality it was just a modern and vaguely upmarket public house decorated with contemporary architectural details. The Temperance Movement were probably right to see it as merely a way to get a public house into an otherwise dry estate. They managed to make it a close run thing at the Licensing Court, again Duncan Maclennan SSC opposed, as well as all 36 church ministers in Leith. Rintoul relied on the casting vote of Lord Provost Gumley to get it through and was obliged to provide “hot luncheons, high teas, cooked food“.

The year following The Anchor, three roadhouse licenses were granted. The first to open was the Hillburn Roadhouse which was the project of John Maclennan Oman and his wife Nellie who kept a number of pubs across the city and been in the trade over 40 years. Despite it being, then, well away from anything else, they still struggled to get a licence and had to have it granted on appeal.

It featured all the usual roadhouse facilities, with three bars, a “first class restaurant” (serving luncheons, snacks, afternoon teas, grills, dinners, suppers etc.), an off-licence shop, car parking and “commanding a fine view of the Pentland Hills“. Latterly run as the Fairmile Inn and suffering the indignity of a Scottish & Newcastle ski chalet-themed 1970s refurbishment, the Hillburn sat empty for a number of years, unloved and unwanted, and was demolished in 2013. It’s the only Edinburgh roadhouse to suffer this fate.

Johnnie Oman died in 1942. Nellie continued to run the Hillburn, living in the flat above, until retiring to the Grange in 1956. One of their other bars, the Duddingston Arms in Craigmillar, has long been known as Oman’s in their honour. It’s proximity to The White House can’t just be a coincidence, the Omans can’t have missed this new establishment along the road from them and were undoubtedly inspired by it.

The following month after the Hillburn opened, James Daly opened the Abercorn Inn on the Portobello Road, near the Northfield and Piershill housing schemes. He too had to go to appeal to get permission for it. His establishment was back to the Arts & Crafts Style of the Robin’s Nest (and although I can’t find an architect name for either, I’d put money on them being one and the same)

It opened “in the Old English Style” on September 16th 1938 and had almost exactly the same facilities as its lookalike. The opening announcement proudly concluded that “Only First-Class Ales and Finest Whiskies and Wines Stocked“.

The last of the trio of 1937 roadhouses opened on 11th October 1938, the House O’ Hill on the Queensferry Road at Blackhall. The licensee was Edward Cranston, a wine and spirit merchant whose premises included that now known as The King’s Wark on the Shore in Leith. Again it followed the Arts & Crafts style, but contrary to some sources was a new building and not converted from an older tavern or coaching house.

It too proved controversial, not because it was in a dry scheme this time, but because of its genteel surroundings. Lord Provost Gumley struggled to be heard over cries of “No!” and “Shame!” when announcing the granting of its licence. The 238 objectors claimed it was not Temperance that was their objection, but that the Queensferry Road was too busy during the day and too quiet at night to be acceptable for the motor car traffic “of the young and gay” that such an establishment would undoubtedly attract. But once again they failed to block it, and it opened with a mock-Tudor main bar with an “Old English style brick fireplace” and equipped with “small tables and comfortable modern chairs“. The “high-class restaurant” could seat 100, there was a games room with its own bar and a cocktail bar with feature lighting. Outside there were decorative gardens with fir trees and Japanese shrubs, and a car park for 25 vehicles. For as many years as I can remember, the place has been used as offices, but still retains its Olde English style pub signboard out front

Not all roadhouses got through the Licensing Court however, and the objectors were able to stop a few. One on East Milton Road was declined due to its proximity to two boarding houses for girls. Another at Stenhouse Road was knocked back, as was one on Northfield Broadway. The latter would eventually be built post-war, with the curious name of the Right Wing. This came from its landlord, Hibs’ legendary “Famous Five” right winger, Gordon Smith. It was demolished in 2018 for a speculative development which has yet to be built five years later.

But that’s a postwar roadhouse, and we’re here to talk about inter-war roadhouses. The last of these was approved at the licensing court of April 1938 and was one of two competing schemes on opposite corners of Parkhead Gardens at Sighthill, then a new and somewhat upmarket estate of privately rented houses and flats. Messrs. Mitchell, caterers, were successful in their application, but the opening was delayed until February 1st 1940 owing to the outbreak of war. The named it the Silver Wing in connection with the glamour of aviation. The green-tiled pagoda tower over the entrance is distinctive, but it’s not an early prototype for an all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet! No, one of the directors of Messrs Mitchell & Co. had a pilots licence, and wanted the place to have an aeronautical theme. That pagoda is actually a control tower! The main bar floor was laid out as an aviators compass, the cocktail bar was called “The Cockpit” and painted panels and engraved mirrors around the bars represented flight-themed scenes, including of the Luftwaffe bombing raids over the Firth of Forth in October 1939. As well as a skittle alley it had a ballroom with capacity for 200 dancers.

The Silver Wing was a forces favourite for dances during WW2 – being conveniently close to the RAF at Turnhouse (the officers preferred the Maybury) and also a prisoner of war camp a bit along the Calder Road.

Although only nine roadhouses were built in Edinburgh in the inter-war period, they did a fairly comprehensive job at positioning themselves on the principal approach roads from the city; staying true to the roadhouse ideal, even if some were really just glorified local pubs.

The Temperance Movement and the Local Veto polls never went away despite these reformist pubs, indeed it may have galvanised some in the movment. The last such referendum in Edinburgh was in Corstorphine & Cramond ward in 1938 where 76% voted for No Change. Polls continued in Scotland into the 1970s, before final abolition in 1976. You can still drink in the Anchor Inn, Robin’s Nest, Silver Wing and the Maybury (although the latter is a Casino, so you need to join first). The White House is looking good, but is a (dry) community facility. The Abercorn, House O’ Hill and Wheatsheaf are commercial premises.

If you have found this useful, informative or amusing, perhaps you would like to help contribute towards the running costs of this site (including keeping it ad-free and my book-buying budget) by supporting me on ko-fi. Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends.

These threads © 2017-2023, Andy Arthur

https://threadinburgh.scot/2024/01/25/the-thread-about-edinburghs-roadhouses-when-the-glamour-of-art-deco-hostelries-took-on-the-temperance-movement-and-won/

#architecture #ArtDeco #Balgreen #Blackhall #Edinburgh #Liberton #LocalPolitics #Niddrie #publicHouses #pubs #temperance #Written2024

started a #wikipedia article on US temperance activist, suffragist, Sarah A. McClees (1822-1913): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_A._McClees She lived long enough to vote once, at age 90, in #oakland . @wikiwomeninred #voting #suffrage #temperance #WCTU #YWCA

Escaping “a gulf of sin and misery”: the thread about the Edinburgh Emigration Home for Destitute Children

This thread was originally written and published in August 2020. It has been edited and corrected as applicable for this post.

Looking up something else in a Post Office Directory, my eye was caught by a rather sad sounding listing for the Canadian Home for Friendless Girls in Lauriston Lane, Edinburgh; a street long since built over. The Home was formed at a public meeting in December 1871 in Queen Street Hall which was organised by the Reverend and Mrs Blaikie. Its goal was establishing a mission to send “poor homeless and destitute girls” to the “rescue homes” in Canada of a Miss Macpherson. Annie Macpherson was an evangelical Scottish Quaker who, moved by the poverty she saw in the East End of London in the late 1860s, had set up the Home of Industry in Spitalfield. She organised a scheme of assisted emigration for destitute children from London to new and better lives in Canada. After education and training they would be placed with a suitably Christian host family as a domestic servant. To this end she set up “reception” and “distribution” homes in Canada and made arrangements with a network of children’s homes back in Britain and Ireland who would provide the “recruits“.

Annie Macpherson addressed the meeting in Edinburgh to testify to the success of the scheme; 800 children had already sent abroad to Canada. The Reverend William Garden Blaikie stated that premises had already been secured for the new venture in Edinburgh and a matron – Miss Tait – appointed. Margaret Blaikie, the minister’s wife, was to be secretary of the society and it was she who was the driving force behind the Home in Edinburgh. A Temperance advocate and long-time president of the Scottish Christian Union (a women’s Temperance society), it was during a visit to Canada in 1870 that she had met Annie. She was so impressed with the work that she resolved to get involved when she returned home. Finding that there was no existing organisation in Edinburgh to become involved through, she decided to set one up of her own and invited Annie back to Scotland to speak in public at its formation.

The Home in Edinburgh took in “young women who have fallen from virtue and desire to redeem their character” or “young girls who have lost one or both parents or have living parents… of loose character.” (Boys were sent to Mr. Muir’s homes in either Yardheads in Leith or Musselburgh). Those girls admitted to the Home would be “clothed and taught and cared for” and “brought up in the ways of godliness and industry“. Ultimately they would be sent, suitably reformed and trained, to be placed in domestic service in Canada.

We are therefore as thoroughly convinced as ever that our scheme presents a merciful opening for many destitute children who would not otherwise escape the gulf of sin and misery on whose borders they have been born and reared.

Margaret Blaikie, writing to the North British Agriculturalist, May 1875

The name of the Home had quickly been changed to the Edinburgh Emigration Home for Destitute Children. In 1874 it reported that it had 16 girls resident, awaiting the journey to Canada. In 1875 it was 31. It was run by voluntary donation and fund-raising; Margaret Blaikie made it a point of founding principle to never make public appeal for funds. It obviously prospered as in 1880 the Home bought its premises at Lauriston Lane, and briefly closed them to refurbish and enlarge them, adding an additional wing with 4 extra bedrooms. It reopened in November 1881.

In its 20-or-so years of existence, some 700 children were removed from the homes of destitute and drunken families, and some 300 were “assisted” to emigrate, others were adopted or found relatives or positions in Scotland. Most of the girls sent from Edinburgh went to Annie Macpherson’s Marchmont Distribution Home in Belleville, Ontario,

An 1892 publication noted that of the girls sent to Canada from Edinburgh, “at least ninety five percent have done well, and less than five percent have been unsatisfactory“. Its success was put down to distributing the girls widely over the country in family homes, rather than keeping them massed together in a central institution. The expansion of the Royal Infirmary in 1889 saw a compulsory purchase impending for the Home; advancing in age and noting that there were now larger organisations in Scotland carrying out work such as her own (in particular Quarrier’s Orphan Homes of Scotland), she decided it best to wind up her institution and retire. The proceeds of the sale and the remaining funds of the Home were gifted to the Society for the Protection of Children.

It was while minister of the Pilrig congregation of the Free Kirk that the Rev. Blaikie had commissioned both the original church building (the second purpose-built church for that Kirk) and its replacement by a more lavish and permanent building on the opposite corner. It remains a landmark to this day on Leith Walk, even though it has long since been within the established Church of Scotland.

Margaret publicly wrote that she and her husband had become “total abstainers” in the 1870s and “always worked in conjunction with [eachother].” As well as sharing a zeal for Temperance with his wife the Rev. Blaikie was also a prolific writer and pamphleteer and advocate of improving conditions for working people. He formed a society which commissioned the Pilrig Model Buildings to provide model workers housing, one of the first such instances in Edinburgh. They are now known as Shaw’s Buildings or Shaw’s Street / Terrace / Place and were a sort of progenitor of the later Colonies housing.

Around the same time that Mrs Blaikie stepped back from her work with the Home, the Reverend resigned as minister at Pilrig and took up a chair in theology with the Free Church’s New College, rising to become Professor of Divinity. He resigned in 1897, aged 77, and the couple retired to North Berwick where he would die in 1899 and Margaret in 1915, aged 92. Annie Macpherson died in 1904.

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