PRESTWICK LIBRARY - Tea & Talk

Keeping an Eye on Prestwick - Insights of a Victorian Journalist

Golf, problems with the railway, delectable sweets called Bang-Bangs, the debate about whether Prestwick and Ayr should amalgamate were subjects explored.

Wednesday 29th July, 2026

How delighted I was to see the library filling up with an audience eager to do a bit of time travelling, as I offered them a glimpse of life in Prestwick and Ayr in 1898, seen through the eyes of my great grandfather, writing under his pseudonym, OCULEUS.

The Q & A that followed allowed me the chance of sharing research I’m currently doing for a second social history book, focusing on the experiences of Oculeus and the people of Ayr, in 1918.