Stuart Roy McIvor

Episode 54 of Lifestory takes us from the Punjab in the 1940s to 2020s Edinburgh in the company of married Sikh couple Akbal and Jagdish.  We hear tales of facing racism at school, fighting for the right to wear a Turban on Lothian buses, becoming the first Sikh bus driver in Edinburgh, building successful businesses, raising a wonderful family and following traditions which have lasted thousands of years.    Thanks to Setuniman for the use of their music at freesound.org.

The 53rd episode of 'Lifestory' is an unreleased show from our audio archives, an interview with the wonderful Evelyn Whitfield who sadly left us on 18th December 2023.  In this episode (at the age of 77) Evelyn tells us about growing up in Auchtermuchty, of her teaching career and a huge range of volunteering posts, from St Columba's Hospice to the RVS, Reading Newspapers for the blind and The Wee Museum of Memory.   Many thanks to Setuniman on Freesound.org for the use of their music.

In the 51st episode of Lifestory we are joined by the wonderful Margaret Ann Rutter in our Wee Museum studio.  At the age of 80, Ann takes us through her family history via a rocky relationship with her Mother, vacations in Cornwall, teaching and lecturing in Edinburgh and a near death experience on the water, as well as everything in between! 

Episode 52 of Lifestory sees us joined by the remarkable David Flucker, who is still volunteering for the St Columba's Hospice charity shop in Ocean Terminal at the wonderful age of 102 years old.  David begins by taking us back in time to his childhood growing up in a family of fishermen and attending school in Newhaven in the 1920s and on to a wonderful series of adventures.   We travel with David from Scotland to Australia, and later hear tales of standing up to racism in South Africa at the height of apartheid and being shot down over Egypt in the second world war.  David only retired for the second time at 95 years old, and has packed an awful lot into those years!

In the 51st edition of Lifestory we are joined by regular Wee Museum visitor William Van Der Velde, who looks back on 78 years of life in Edinburgh.  We travel back through his attending David Kilpatrick school up until the age of 14, reaching the ABA boxing finals at the Royal Albert Hall, accompanying Ken Buchanan on his rise to the world championship and a long working life at Scottish and Newcastle breweries despite not being a drinker!

In the 50th edition of Life Story, we are joined by Sophia. She takes us through stories from throughout her life, from growing up in Newhaven, to her father's gambling, to singing lessons in school and delivering mail and packages over college breaks. Eventually she tells of life working in Conveyance with the National Service and finally about her work after retirement with the Newhaven Heritage Society.

In the 49th edition of Lifestory, at the age of 86, Melvin takes us through the ups and downs of his life. Starting with his childhood playing on the train tracks in his back yard, to his time studying Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. Later his time in the national service, and eventually his life studying and then subsequently practicing law, first with his father's law firm and later with British Gas. Mel also tells the story of how he met his wife at the sailing club and about his life since retirement.

In the 48th edition of Lifestory at the age of 80 Alistair looks back on 40 years of working life with the store, from joining Alloa branch as a clerk at 15 to becoming Chief Executive of Borders Co-Op.  

The 47th edition of The Living Memory Association's 'Lifestory' podcast sees 85 year old historian Andrew Grant looking back on his working life in the 1960s after he had returned from time spent on the ocean waves.   Taking us from the Royal Infirmary to record shops and driving Globe Juice bottles around in search of a daily wage!

The 46th edition of our Lifestory podcast features the colourful life of Stuart Roy McIvor, who spent 30 years in the Metropolitan Police and 5 years as a City Councillor in Edinburgh for the SNP.  At the age of 78 with a great appreciation of the where he is now, Stuart looks back on a life packed to the full with both sunshine and shadow.