We’ve taken a look back in our archives to see what the good people of Edinburgh were getting up to in the 1980s, looking in particular at 1980-1984.
From enjoying the annual Festival Cavalcade through the city centre, to carol singing at the Mound, to a tragic incident in the Meadows and a chefs’ race along the promenade in Portobello, these photos provide a snapshot of life in the city back then.

5. Milkman
St Cuthberts Co-op (now Scotmid) milkman Ronnie O'Connor and his milk horse Ben on their rounds as the sunrises over Edinburgh in January 1984. Photo: Ian Brand

6. Tragedy
Firemen in the Meadows in Edinburgh in December 1982, where a 50-ft tree was blown down and fell on a truck, killing the driver Stanislaw Jakubanes of Largs. The passenger, Danuta Maj was trapped in the cab and broke both legs. Photo: Bill Stout

7. Closing down
The last few customers at RW Forsyth Princes Street, one of Edinburgh's most famous department stores, before it closed in October 1981. Photo: Hamish Campbell

8. Demonstration
Young unemployed people demonstrate outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh in June 1981 about the Youth Opportunities Programme. Photo: Denis Straughan


