As you may well have noticed over the last few years Dalry has gone under a lot of transformation. As you read this, you will note that work is ongoing on to revamp our town centre to bring it back to life. A glossy leaflet was posted to every household about Dalry's Town Centre Regeneration Programme called Living Dalry published by North Ayrshire Council. The Regeneration Programme is to inspire and encourage us to shop in Dalry, either as local residents or visitors to the town so that local trade can flourish once again. Part of the Regeneration Programme is to create a lovely safe environment in which to live, work and shop in, with lovely new landscaping, paving, lighting and CCTV installed. Shop fronts will be changed to their original traditional look. A new website dedicated to the Regeneration Programme will soon be here called www.livingdalry.com which will inform residents of up-to-the minute news of all the going's on.

Like everywhere else, Dalry is no stranger to change. Sometime change may feel for some the better or for some the worst, i.e., the older we get the more changes we see in our lives, especially in our local environment. So with so much change going on in our wee beautiful Ayrshire toun or town or village whatever you may call it, I (as your local s1dalry.com correspondent) would like to open a light hearted discussion and debate on what we miss about Dalry that has now gone, or things you are glad to see the back off?

Can you remember when Dalry town centre was once a hive of activity full of a whole range of different little independent shops, where you were probably marched around with your parents or grandparents, etc, and remember buying things with great fondness? Do you remember the shops such as Dalry Co-operative Society which was an independent Co-operative Society which not only sold food, but once had Drapery, Electrical and Hardware Departments, as well as a Butchers and a Shoe Shop? Do you remember Ruxton's the Greengrocers, old Carrick's shop, King's Shop, Anderson's,Miller's or the Wonder Loaf bakeries, Morton's Newagents and Printers, McClymont Butchers & Deli shop, Sound & Vision, Loudon's The Chemist's, Ladbrokes the old betting shop, or the Fishmongers in Main Street? What about Visionhire or even earlier, Thomson's of Beith where you rented or bought a television set, The Wool Sack , At May's (Travel Agents) and all the main Scottish Banks like The Clydesdale or Bank Of Scotland, RBS and the TSB Savings Bank? What about Dales Of Dalry Furniture Centre now long gone? Do you miss going to any of the 3 Cinemas that the town once had (if you are of a certain age)? Do you miss the Public Park which once boasted a Curling Pond, Rugby Pitches, Tennis Courts, Putting Green and a Boat Pond too. What about the organisations which the town once had like the football team such as Templand Rovers? Do you miss the old Main Stand at Merksworth Park where Dalry Thistle play their home matches or the big home crowds that used to support them? Do you miss particular buildings that dominated the Dalry Skyline, the old Schools that used to be here? Do you miss some of the Pubs that used to be here like The Plough Inn, The Blair Arms, The Fairfield Bar, or The Thistle? Do you miss the old characters that made up the town with great fondness?

Dalry used to have loads of things to do before the age of television beamed into our homes. What is it that you miss the most or don't miss, or would like to see in Dalry that isn't already here? What ties do you have, or did have with our Town. Did you work in any of our forgotten industries such as the Brickworks, Mines, Dye Works, or Mills that employed plenty of people when unemployment was vitrually unheard of? Did you meet the love of your life here in one of our well known beauty spots around our beautiful countryside? Do you miss some of the Churches that used to be here where you or a member of your family were either baptised, married, or went to Sunday Service?

Did you miss the little communities within Dalry Parish like The Den, Barkip, Highfield, Borestone which were thriving little communities with their own services? Can you remember some of the eating places such as the cafe's, restaurants and Hotels we miss that are no longer there, such as The Hotel De Croft? Do you remember the Old Railway Station on Dalry near the Blair Scheme with its own Ticket Office, Station House, large gangways down to the four Platforms where they had wonderful heated Waiting Rooms and Toilets, where you could catch a steam or diesel train, not only to Glasgow/Largs/Ayr/Stranraer, but to Kilmarnock and Kilbarchan too? Do you miss the local bus services like the Western, SMT buses, or Paterson & Brown and their bus trips on the Summer? Can you remember the James Street Centre, the old Doctor's Surgery, School Dining Centre and Library?

And what kind of things do you miss like the old Councillors, Ministers, Parish Priests, School Teachers, Sunday School Teachers, Police Officers, and the people you once met on the Street that are long gone? What about getting your hair cut at Robert Ward's, Miller the Barber's, or Nisbet's? What do you think about the good things that are in Dalry today and thriving that you like? Do you think with all the changes in Dalry over the years it has made it lose its innocence, or made it better? What do you think about it all? How far back is your earliest memory of our town?

Let us know, but remember folks, lets keep it clean as it is meant to be a fun and light-hearted topic and nothing malicious can be said!