The little Santa in the window

Lower Methil

'Forgotten Fife Tales’ is all about rediscovering those stories that have been lost or buried beneath the louder headlines through the years.

These little gems can pop up anywhere and when you come across personal recollections you invariably strike a rich seam of memories and anecdotes.

The brief autobiography of Thomas (‘T.T.') Fordyce, provost of St Andrews from 1961-70, does, as you would expect, contain a wealth of stories of his time as the civic head of the Auld Grey Toun. But in his ‘Memoirs of a Provost’ (Alvie Publications, 1981) it was his early days starting out in the drapery trade in Fife that really caught my attention.

T.T. made what must have been a massive leap from life in Banffshire to Methil High Street during the boom time for the pits and, of course, the docks.

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He offers a fascinating insight into what life was like in the months before the 1921 strike when the mining community was prospering, describing how the wives and mothers would hold out their lap to receive the cash that hadn’t been kept for personal pocket money by the menfolk.

But while his recollections capture the bustle of a busy town, the story that made a particular impression on me was an advertising stunt T.T. pulled to boost his festive sales.

“There were many children in the area around Methil, especially in Buckhaven and Leven, which gave confidence to stock toys for Christmas.," he wrote. "Having bought a considerable stock and range of toys it was essential to advertise well and make a good display.

“The greatest attraction in the toy window which brought children and their parents from miles around was a mechanical Santa Claus.”

So far, so good, but the stunt wasn’t from buying a mechanical Father Christmas, but from pretending to have one!

“A boy was employed to enter the shop by the back entrance every evening,” recollected T.T. “He was robed in crimson and white fur with mask, beard and gloves. He was then carried into the window and set on a chair, remaining for a while perfectly still. Then his arms began to move and point to the various toys in the window just as if he was a mechanical toy. After about an hour he was carried from the window and ultimately left by the back door.

“He proved one of the best advertising stunts I have known. The street was packed with people, and children had their noses squeezed flat on the window glass.”

Not sure that gimmick would be tolerated nowadays, but it is a wonderful image.