The Museum of Edinburgh, on the Royal Mile, will be running an exhibition on the full social and cultural impact of alcohol and drinking in the Capital going back over 500 years.

The exhibition, entitled “Here’s Tae Us!” and will be at the museum from December 10 to March 3.

It will chart the history of some of the Capital’s oldest bars, the rise of temperance societies in the 19th century, the cultural change in the 1960s - when women first began to regularly socialise in the city’s bars - and the relaxation of laws curbing Sunday drinking in the early 1990s.

Famous landlords and landladies will be recalled, including Willie Ross, the famously rude boss of the Oxford Bar in the city centre, and Betty Moss, who used to signal last orders at the Old Chain Pier, in Newhaven, by firing a starting pistol and would clear drinkers with the use of a sword.

It will also have a large collection of products featuring the Tennents “Lager Lovelies”, who began appearing on the Tennents’ cans and remained a staple for over 30 years.

They came about by accident after Tennent’s, which was already featuring scenic pictures of Scotland on their cans, started using pictures of model Ann Johanson, who featured in a series of images.

TV presenter Carol Smillie has previously spoken of her disappointment at missing out on the chance to be a “can-girl” when she was an aspiring model.

Edinburgh Evening News: Show cheers bevvy of beauties

Tennent’s Lager Lovelies Archive

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