13/10/2026
Shared with permission👇
Jimmy Logan, Harry Gold, a Spanish Prince and other memories of the Sally
I’m sure many Auld Perth Bairns remember the wonderful Scottish comedian Jimmy Logan.
Around 1952–53, when I worked at Perth’s famous Salutation Hotel, Jimmy would bring his family up from Glasgow for Sunday lunch. He was just one of the many colourful characters I encountered during my early years in the Scottish hotel business.
As the new boy, I also had to stay behind until 9 P.M. on Saturday evenings to serve bandleader Eric Winston his supper before he appeared with his orchestra at a local dance. The same went for Harry Gold. Does anyone remember him and his Pieces of Eight?
I managed to get to some of those dances myself, although after seventy-odd years, I’ve completely forgotten the hall’s name.
Perhaps someone can jog my memory! I’d left school at fifteen, rather glad to see the back of it, and soon discovered that working in hotels was an education in itself.
On another memorable occasion, I remember the hushed whispers among the staff the night we served the young Prince Juan Carlos of Spain, accompanied by his father, the Count of Barcelona. The future King of Spain was visiting Perthshire amid rumours of a romance with a local wh**ky heiress. Quite an occasion for the Sally!
My journey began much earlier, when the outbreak of war took me from Glasgow to the shores of Loch Tay when I was just eighteen months old.
The years that followed brought some extraordinary experiences. Famous faces, royals, eccentric guests, unexpected kindnesses, unwanted advances, ghostly happenings, moments of humour and moments of fear. I also discovered love when some kinds of love were best kept hidden.
Now, at 89, I’ve looked back over those years and put my memories into a book, Footsteps: A Boy’s Journey From A Highland Hotel.
It’s a story of growing up in Scotland in a very different era, finding my way in the world, and the people and places that shaped my life.
The photograph shows me strolling down a Perth street around 1952–53, while I worked at the Salutation Hotel, before leaving to do my National Service in the RAF. I’ve forgotten which street it was. It’s a long shot, but can any Auld Perth Bairns identify it?
