A final farewell to Kinghorn showman Collett Salvona

Collett Salvona was a community councillor and well known in Kinghorn for the number of local businesses he ran.

Collett Salvona, who was known for being a real character who always had a cheery word for everyone he met, has passed away at the age of 80.

The retired businessman, who established a bingo and amusement arcade, followed by Collet’s Bar, the Carousel and later an ice cream shop on the beach in Kinghorn, died peacefully at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy on January 28.

Born just outside Edinburgh to parents who were showmen, Collett travelled all over northern Scotland with them as part of a open-air travelling circus. It was known as Salvo Company with Open Air Circus.

Collette came from a showman family known as the Salvo Company with Open-Air Circus which toured Scotland.

From the age of 13, Collett played the part of a clown called Buttons which he did for many years until the age of 17 when his family stopped doing the circus and then moved to Aberdeen.

His family then became involved in running fairground shows at the pleasure beach in the city.

Collett married Charlotte in 1961 and they travelled for a few years with the shows after that before they came to Kinghorn in the late 1960s.

They had two summers in the village where they had prize bingo and show stalls at the arches in Kinghorn, near the railway station.

The Salvonas were then invited by the council to stay on and they took up residence on land which is now occupied by The Harbour View restaurant and bar.

They established a prize bingo and amusement arcade initially before relocating it to the picture hall across the road in the 1970s and in its place, they put in Collett’s Bar, which had a function room upstairs known as the Carousel.

Collett and Charlotte ran the businesses for many years until the late 1980s. They also opened an amusement arcade and a chip shop in Burntisland before coming back to Kinghorn to open an ice cream shop which they had for several years.

The couple retired and Collett became involved in local politics. He served the people of Kinghorn for many many years as a community councillor on the Royal Burgh of Kinghorn Community Council and he also stood for election as a Labour Party candidate for the ward of Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy in 2007.

He is survived by his wife Charlotte, sons Collett Junior, William and Michael (deceased); sister Doreen Bell, five grandchildren Stephanie, Cassia, Steve, David and Paige and a great-grandson Michael.

His funeral took place on Tuesday at Kirkcaldy Crematorium.