OUR feature on massed pipes and drums which attracted enormous crowds to Princes Street in 1951 conjured up memories for Joan Smith, of Saughton who married her husband Ian on that day.
She remembers vividly the effect the march had on her wedding. Back then she was a 22-year old shorthand typist, while Ian was a 25-year-old accounts clerk.
"Regarding the pictures of the march of 1000 pipers (Evening News, June 21), it brou
ght back memories as that took place on our wedding day and caused chaos," said Joan.
"Some guests didn't make it to St Aidan's Church in Stenhouse and the photographer didn't turn up. It was some day I can tell you.
"I would say about ten to 12 guests didn't make it to the church but they did make it to the reception at the Silver Wing in Sighthill.
"After the reception we made our way to Waverley Station where we were to catch a train to Glasgow and on to Ardrossan, but it was hopeless. The station was full of people.
"We managed to persuade a taxi driver to take us on to Glasgow. He realised that there was realistically no other way for us to get there. He drove us to Glasgow for £5, which was a lot of money in those days. We got a train to Ardrossan there.
"By this time it was late at night and the hotel we had booked into for one night was all locked up, but eventually the night porter opened the door."
The full article contains 270 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
