The Boob City Strollers 'Shang-a-Lang’ at The MoonWalk Scotland!

We are the Boob City Strollers, five friends who met several years ago as a result of our shared fondness for the Bay City Rollers. We were all big fans of the band during their heyday in the 70s and we’ve built a lovely friendship over the years – we’re all in our 50’s now - from that common beginning. 

We just completed The MoonWalk Scotland – for some of the team, this was our third consecutive MoonWalk in Edinburgh. With the theme of “Swing Your Tartan,” it was a perfect opportunity to wave our tartan again and re-live our youthful years as Roller fans. We were so lucky and thrilled to meet original Roller/founding member Alan Longmuir at MoonWalk City for a photo shoot the day of the walk – what a treat to meet Alan, pose for photos and have a chat. As we told him, we often listen to Roller music as we complete The MoonWalk each year.

Our shared MoonWalk history began in 2014, our first MoonWalk Scotland. One of our team members, Laura, is a cancer survivor who completed the 2013 MoonWalk London. She so enjoyed the challenge and camaraderie that she encouraged two of us, Gail and Audrey, to enter The MoonWalk Scotland with her the following year. It didn’t really take much arm-twisting – we wanted to help raise as much money as possible for research in to breast cancer after Laura’s experience. Thankfully, she has been cancer-free for over ten years now. 

Despite living in far-flung areas of the country, we were able to get together for routine training walks that first year, always with a few Bay City Roller songs on our playlists. We so enjoyed the experience that we added another friend, Vikki, to our team for 2015. Although the weather was horrible for walking last year, we finished the challenge and decided soon after that we’d do it all again in 2016. This year, we’re a team of five and our newest member, Janette, is another of our years-long Roller friends who has conquered a serious illness.  She has recently recovered from Chiari, a very debilitating brain and nervous system condition. Training for this year’s MoonWalk provided her with a goal to focus on during her rehabilitation. Not only did Janette complete this year’s MoonWalk (we never had any doubt!), but she was often the pacesetter for our team and kept us moving and inspired whenever we got tired along the way.

The MoonWalk Scotland has become an annual event that we look forward to, not only because of the personal training challenge and the opportunity to support a great charity, but also because we share so much fun and laughter as we prepare for the event.  Because we live in different parts of the country, our get-togethers for training walks and bra-decorating sessions usually take place over a weekend, and we truly enjoy the time together as friends preparing for the challenge and creating fabulous bras and costumes. 

The MoonWalk Scotland has a fantastic atmosphere and a real sense of team spirit. As Bay City Roller fans, walking in their hometown of Edinburgh is especially meaningful to us. It’s become a tradition for us all to sing along to their hit, “Rock and Roll Love Letter” as we walk along the Promenade at Portobello Beach in the morning. We also always link arms as we cross the finish line together.

We all agree that completing The MoonWalk Scotland has added a nice dimension to our friendship and has brought us closer together as we train for and complete such a physical challenge. MoonWalks are never easy, but with good friends to share the experience and give support, they are always memorable.

We’ll see you all in 2017 – come and join us, and bring your friends!