Bona Fide travellers

[wmh]

The hotel next door to Kilmarnock Infirmary in Hill Street was called the Station Hotel ,

[Hughie]

Thanks Murray, I hadn't thought about that for some years.

[Bruce]

Not quite the same thing, but I believe the boats on the Clyde were able to sell drink when at sea, but not when tied up at the pier. This is allegedly the origins of the term “steamin’ drunk” or “get steamin’"...

In the early 80s, I worked on the Waverley. It wasn’t allowed to sell alcohol when tied up at the quay, as then it would come under the jurisdiction of the local licensing board. So we’d approach Ardrossan or Largs, with the bar going like a fair. As soon as the boat touched the pier, the bar shutters would slam down. Once we heard the gangways being pulled back and the engines starting, the shutters went back up.