Findochty TV star Isla St Clair turns clock back four decades to vital fundraiser for Buckie Thistle
There were tunes from days gone by for a group of Highland League fans when a famous face from the past came to visit.
Buckie Thistle Memory Group recently played host to singer and former TV star Isla St Clair when she came to visit.
The Grangemouth-born performer, who spent many years living in Findochty and attended Buckie High School, visited the group prior to the Jags’ Scottish Cup tie against Formartine, an encounter they went on to win.
There was a special significance to the event for fans, as memory group chairman Ian Coull explained.
“We were delighted to welcome Isla to our recent meeting.
“She talked about when she helped raise funds for Buckie Thistle back in 1983 to help keep the club solvent and ultimately survive to go on and become what it is today.
“It was certainly a major boost for the club at the time.
“At the time she had just finished appearing in the The Generation Game with Larry Grayson at the time, I think.
“At our meeting we reminisced about those times and she sang a couple of songs. The Jags were playing Formartine in the Scottish Cup the next day and she signed a good luck card for the team - it certainly seemed to work as we won!
“It all brought back quite a few memories and it was super to have Isla back.”
Buckie Thistle Memory Group are run by a small committee of seven people dedicated to preserving the history of the club. They meet on every second Thursday of the month at the ground from 2pm to 4.30 during which they look back at seasons gone by. They also try and attract guest speakers who have a connection to the Jags along to their meetings, which can see 30 or more people attend.
It was while living in Findochty that young Isla, aged just three, gave her first stage performance at her mother Zetta’s Brownie concerts. Her big break was to come in 1978 when she became co-host of BBC TV’s Saturday night prime time show The Generation Game.