News

Elvis has left the building but Bill is still here!

January 8th was a very special day for two reasons and both of them were related to our Pentlands Club which meets every Wednesday at 1.30pm at the Hub@531 on Lanark Road in Juniper Green. 

So glad to be back – we missed the club 

This was their first meeting after the Christmas break. The comments from members and volunteers made it so special and served as a reminder of how important these weekly clubs are for the well being of all.  

• ‘I needed that, thanks everyone for a great session’ 

• ‘It was a good boost and a good start to the year’ 

• ‘Agreed, it was great. 3 weeks worth of nonsense to get off our chests! Our members braved the icy weather so they could have a good catch up’ 

• ‘Yet again another excellent afternoon’ 

A little more conversation 

People may look at our members and sometimes volunteers and think “That’s a bunch of oldies – slippers and cups of tea” They perhaps forget that our members were once cool young dudes rockin’ to the records in the 50’s and 60’s. Their idol may well have been a young Elvis Presley whose birthday it was also on the 8th January. Indeed had Elvis lived he would have been 90 years young this year. Would he still be All Shook Up? We hope so. 

To celebrate The King’s birthday one of our members, Peter Heatly presented a short talk on Elvis focusing on his all too brief stopover at Prestwick Airport on March 3rd 1960. Elvis was finishing his army national service and on his way home when his aircraft had to stop at Prestwick to refuel. Word soon leaked out that Sgt. Presley would be on that flight and without the miracles of mobiles, the internet and social media very soon a sizeable crowd of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their idol on British soil. 

Taking care of Elvis in 1960 

You may be asking what has Elvis at Prestwick to do with Sporting Memories Juniper Green. What if we shared that one of our members was there. He wasn’t just a fan in the crowd craning his neck to see the superstar, he was right up close to Elvis. A very young Bill Wood was in the Ministry of Aviation Police. You can spot him below – the fresh faced young man with the white cap at Elvis’s back just before he made a short speech. Bill was then and still is now a fine singer. Two great singers with Scottish roots. Now that would have made even more headlines. 

Bill, today, can be seen below with his back to the camera and left hand raised. We bet he was the envy of all his friends with a tale to tell for years to come. 

New members are always welcome and if you are an Elvis fan you could stand next to the man who stood next to Elvis!