Undiscovered Scotland

 

Frank Beattie was born and brought up in Kilmarnock, and in 1972 he joined the editorial team of the Kilmarnock Standard. There can be few people who better understand how Kilmarnock came to be the place it is today, and what really makes it tick. He has written several books on different aspects of Kilmarnock's history, including the collection of images in "Kilmarnock Through Time", also reviewed by Undiscovered Scotland.

In "The Kilmarnock Fact Book", the author sets out to provide the reader with some of the many interesting snippets he has unearthed over the years, the sort of thing that often appear as "footnotes... in local history books". The result is a book that should be considered essential reading for anyone living in or around Kilmarnock, or who can trace their origins or roots to the town. The book is divided into a series of chapters covering topics such as "Around the Town"; "People"; "Economic Forces"; "Transport"; "Religion"; and "Fantastic Events" amongst others. Within each chapter we find a collection of paragraph length snippets, accompanied by images of the town.

This is not really a book to be read from end to end. Rather it is a resource to be dipped into, and we suspect that many copies will find themselves providing entertainment and enlightenment in the loos of the homes of Kilmarnock residents. We've found that the best approach to the book is to dive in at random, and it says much for the depth of knowledge of the author that we've yet to be disappointed. Did you know, for example, that the Johnnie Walker striding logo came into being in 1908, but that he has only walked from left to right since 2000? Or that Kilmarnock Bowling Club was founded in 1740? Or that uniquely in the world, Kilmarnock celebrates Halloween on the last Friday in October rather than the last day of the month? You do now...