Family day will be vintage fun

The good old days are being brought back to life at a Vintage Family Fun Day.

The free fun event – which includes film footage from more than 60 years ago – is being staged by Renfrewshire Leisure, at Johnstone Town Hall, from 11.30am, on Saturday, August 25.

The films are from the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive and the Paisley Museum Camcorder Club, whose members have recently discovered previously lost films showing the Johnstone area from the 1950s and 1960s.

As well as the films, there will also be vintage arts and crafts, playground games from a bygone era, balloon modelling, face painting, a treasure hunt and badge-making arts and crafts.

The former film projectionist from the former Alex Cinema, in Paisley, Douglas Boyle is also coming along with his popular children’s cartoon show.

The Paisley Museum’s Camcorder Club’s films includes colour footage of Johnstone Gala parades, a Royal visit by The Queen to Kilbarchan, footage of old Johnstone Town Hall as well as rare scenes of Johnstone Burgh FC winning the Scottish Junior Cup. These were filmed by local resident Robert McCrimmon.

There is also unique footage of the very last steam train from Johnstone and film of Kilbarchan’s Lilias Day in 1968, when it was revived after being cancelled in the 1930s. This was filmed by William Major, the former projectionist at Johnstone’s Globe Cinema.

Joyce McKellar, chief executive of Renfrewshire Leisure said: “Nostalgia certainly isn’t a thing of the past and there’s lots of interest in our heritage from all ages.

“Particularly, these not-to-be-missed films make up a fantastic record of Johnstone and surrounding area in the mid-20th century. They are a great way of learning about and reliving the past.”