Bristo Street
Southside, Edinburgh |
Bristo Place
still exists
Bristo Port still exist.
BUT
Bristo Street
has now been demolished. |
Recollections and Replies |
Recollections |
1.
|
Eddie
Davies
Dunfermline |
Pub at Potterrow / Bristo Street
- Question |
1.
Reply
1.
|
Jim
Cairns
Dunfermline |
Hole in the Wall |
1.
Reply
2.
|
Terry McGuire |
Empire Palace Bar |
1.
Reply
3.
|
Eric Gold
East End, London |
Empire Palace Bar
Empire Palace Theatre
Centenary |
1.
Reply
4.
|
Vi Crouse
Canada |
The Argyll Arms |
1.
Reply
5.
|
Neil
Lawrence
Fountainbridge, Edinburgh |
Pub at Potterrow / Bristo Street
- The Argyle Arms
Pub at Nicolson Street
- Empire Palace Bar |
1.
Reply
6.
|
Brandy Simpson
Corstorphine, Edinburgh |
Pub at Potterrow / Bristo Street
- The Argyle Arms |
1.
Reply
7.
|
Florence Reynolds |
Pub at Potterrow / Bristo Street
- The Argyle Arms
Other Pubs Street
- The Argyle Arms
- The Empire Bar |
2,
3, 4, 5.
|
Please don't look for these
numbers
These recollections have been renumbered. |
6.
|
Stewart Connolly
West Highlands, Scotland |
Bristo Street / Potterow Pub
- The Argyle Arms |
7.
|
Stuart
Lyon
Blackford, Edinburgh |
Confusion
Empire Palace Bar |
7.
Reply
1.
|
Jack
Wardell
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
|
Confusion
Empire Palace Bar |
7.
Reply
2.
|
Jack
Wardell
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
|
'The Rat Trap' tie
The other 'Empire Palace Bar' |
7.
Reply
3.
|
Jack
Wardell
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
|
'Empire Palace Bar' / 'The Rat Trap'
'The Rat Trap' tie |
8.
|
John
McKechnie
Brentwood, Essex, England |
Potterow Bar |
9.
|
Peter
Butler |
The Coort
Games
Shops
Coal Deliveries
Poor-oot |
10.
|
Peter
Butler
Hennenman, Orange Free State, South Africa |
Chapel Street Shop
1931 |
11.
|
Peter
Butler |
Woolpack Inn
Lannie's Ice Cream
Old Acquaintances |
12.
|
Kathy Bainbridge
Hexham, Northumberland, England |
The Gluepot
- Question
|
12.
Reply 1.
|
Brandy Simpson
Corstorphine, Edinburgh |
Union Bar
|
13.
|
Peter
Butler
Hennenman, Orange Free State, South
Africa |
Lannie's |
14.
|
Neil
Lawrence
Fountainbridge, Edinburgh |
The Gluepot
- Reply
|
15.
|
Jimmy
Davidson
East Lothian, Scotland |
Bristo Street / Potterow Pub
- The Argyle Arms |
16. |
Joe
Telfer
Lysterfield, Melbourne, Australia |
Bristo Street |
17. |
Brenda Cunningham |
Coffee Joe's
Parker's Store
Shops
Undertaker
Society Buildings
Pubs
Changes |
18.
|
Stewart Connolly
West Highlands, Scotland |
May's Chip Shop
The Coort |
19.
|
Bob
Sinclair
Queensland, Australia |
Frank Demarco's Café
Cards |
20.
|
Florence Reynolds |
Lannie's Ice Cream Shop
Bus conductor
Dante Lannie |
21.
|
Christine Wicksted |
Bristo Street Chemist |
22.
|
Rob J
Penman |
Bristo Port
- The Pewter Pot |
23.
|
Davie
Taylor |
No. 40
Milk Rounds
The Gushet
Friendly Fitba' |
24.
|
Jane Zeitlin
(née
MacLennan)
Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, Scotland |
Funny Street
- 'Abbott and Costello' |
25.
|
Jim
Little |
Thursday Nights Out in the 1950s
- The Empire Bar
THEN
- Palais de Danse
|
26.
|
Dino
Lannie
Glasgow, Scotland |
Lannie's Ice Cream Shop
|
Recollections
1.
Eddie Davies
Edinburgh |
Eddie Davies has asked the question:
|
Question
Pub
"Can anybody tell me the name of the pub that
stood on the corner of Potterow and Bristo Street in the 1950s and 1960s?"
Eddie Davies: Edinburgh: July 23, 2010 |
I don't know the answer to Eddie's question. If you know the
answer,
please e-mail me
then I'll pass on your message on to him.
Thank you. - Peter Stubbs:
July 28, 2010
|
Recollections
1.
Reply
1.
Jim Cairns
Dunfermline |
Thank you to Jim Cairns who replied
The Old Hole in the Wall
"I think that the pub between Potterow
and Bristo Street was 'The Old Hole in the Wall'. It was demolished
before I had chance to try it out."
Jim Cairns, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland: July 29,
2010 |
Recollections
1.
Reply
2.
Terry McGuire
Coventry, Warwickshire, England |
Thank you to Terrence McGuire who replied
Empire Palace Bar
"I think that the pub on the corner of Potterow
was called the 'Empire Palace Bar'."
Terry McGuire, Coventry, Warwickshire, England: July
29, 2010
|
Recollections
1.
Reply
3.
Eric Gold
East End, London |
Thank you to Eric Gold, East London, who read 'Reply 2' above and
commented:
|
Empire Palace Bar
"The pub that Jim cairns asks about, on
the corner of Bristo Street and Potterow was not the The Empire Palace
Bar.
The Empire Palace Bar, to give it its proper
name was situated in Nicolson Street next to the Empire Palace Theatre. Hence its
name. It still stands, but is now a Pound Store, I think.
The Empire Palace Theatre has now become the Festival
Theatre. We on the south side always referred to it as 'The
Empire'.
My first job, before going to work on the Queen Mary, was as a
mechanic in the Empire Garage, just behind the theatre."
Eric Gold, East London: July 30, 2010 |
Empire Palace Theatre
"The Empire Palace Theatre burnt down in 1911,
The famous magician, Lafayette, died with his animals in the fire.
** "
Eric Gold, East London: July 31, 2010
Lafayette's Funeral
Procession
**
Thank you Neil Watson for sending me
a photo of Lafayette's funeral procession.
To see this photo, and to read more about the death
of Lafayette in Edinburgh in 1911, please click on the thumbnail image
below:
©
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: August 4,
2010
|
|
Centenary
I believe there are plans to commemorate the centenary of the fire at
the theatre in some way during 2011. (I have been asked about using
one of my postcards of the 1911 funeral procession as part of these
commemorations.)
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: July 31, 2010 |
Recollections
1.
Reply
4.
Vi Crouse
Canada |
Thank you to Vi Crouse who wrote
|
The Argyll Arms
"I believe the pub was called the Argyll Arms.
I grew up on Charles Street."
Vi Crouse, Canada: August 1, 2010 |
Recollections
1.
Reply
5.
Neil Lawrence
Fountainbridge, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Neil Lawrence who wrote, giving the same answer as Vi
above.
(These two answers were reached independently. The reply from
Neil came before I had updated the web site to include Vi's comments
above.)
Neil wrote
|
The Bristo Street / Potterow Pub
The Argyll Arms
"There seems to be a bit of confusion about the pub name at the corner of
Potterrow and Bristo Street. It was called 'The Argyle Arms'
formerly 'The Gushet'. It was demolished in 1970.
|
The Nicolson Street Pub
Empire Palace Bar
***
"The other pub people mentioned was the Empire Palace Bar which was on the
corner of Nicolson Street and Nicolson Square
Other
names for that one were:
-
The Palace Bar
-
The Rat Trap
and latterly
-
Doolittles
before it was converted into Ladbrokes betting shop."
***
Confusion! See
Recollections 7 below
|
Map
"This
map
is an old copy that I had. I've marked it up with the two locations.
Southside Pubs
©
As you can see
(if you click on the thumbnail image
above), there were a good many other Public Houses (marked 'PH' on
the map) all around that area."
|
Neil Lawrence, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh: August 3+6,
2010 |
Recollections
1.
Reply
6.
Brandy Simpson
Corstorphine,
Edinburgh |
Thank you to Brandy Simpson who suggested yet
another name for the pub at Bristo Street that
Eddie Davis asked about.
Brandy wrote:
|
The Bristo Street / Potterow Pub
"I
think this pub was called the
Argyle Arms, although I was too
young to be in it. I remember playing by the stairs there.
Great times!"
Stewart Connolly, West Highlands,
Scotland: August 2, 2010..
(Stewart's comment arrived a
few days ago,
but it took me a while to add it to the web site.) Peter Stubbs:
August 7, 2010
|
Recollections
1.
Reply
7.
Florence Reynolds
|
Thank you to Florence for also identifying the pub on the corner of
Bristo Street and Potterow as being the Argyle Arms.
Florence wrote:
|
The Argyll Arms
"The public house on the corner of Bristo
Street and Potterrow was the Argyle Arms. It had once been the
mansion of Captain Hugh Dalrymple of Fordell."
Argyll Bar
"There is an Argyle Bar in Argyle Place, but
presumably it was named after the old Argyle Arms was demolished in the
early 1960s."
The Empire Bar
"Can anybody verify that the pub known as the
'Rat Trap' was officially The Empire Bar?"
Florence Reynolds: December 23, 2012 |
Recollections
2, 3, 4, 5.
Please don't look for these
numbers
These recollections have been renumbered. |
Recollections
6.
Stewart Connolly
West Highlands,
Scotland
|
Thank you to Stewart Connelly for confirming Neil
Lawrence's identification (1
above) of the the name of the pub at the corner of Bristo Street
and Potterow:
|
The Bristo Street / Potterow Pub
"I
think this pub was called the
Argyle Arms, although I was too
young to be in it. I remember playing by the stairs there.
Great times!"
Stewart Connolly, West Highlands,
Scotland: August 2, 2010..
(Stewart's comment arrived a
few days ago,
but it took me a while to add it to the web site.) Peter Stubbs:
August 7, 2010
|
Recollections
7.
Stuart Lyon
Blackford, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Stuart Lyon who wrote:
|
Confusion!
"I think some of your contributors
have confused the now closed
Empire Bar (known as the Rat
Trap) which was on the corner of Nicholson Square and Nicholson Street
with the Empire Palace Bar."
Empire Palace Bar
"This page on the National Library of
Scotland website has a photograph (No. 55) of the
Empire Palace Bar taken by
Alfred Henry Rushbrook in 1929 on behalf of the City
of Edinburgh Improvement Trust.
Here is the National Library of Scotland's caption for this photo."
'Photograph of a four storey building with business
premises on the ground floor. On the left there is a small sign for
Draught Bass which is beside the entrance to a public house.
A lamp hung over the front of the building has the
words 'Empire Palace Bar' painted in white on its sides. Outside, in the
centre, parked under the windows of the bar is a pram.
At the next entrance to the building which is arched
there are two men standing looking at the camera. There is a third person
but the image is blurred too much to see clearly.
On the right there is a woman pushing a pram away
from the camera and two more men also standing with their backs to the
camera.'
|
Stuart Lyon: October 13, 2010 |
Stuart added:
Rushbrook Photos
"There are 137 photographs in total in
this collection taken by Alfred Rushbrook. They may be of interest
to visitors to the EdinPhoto website."
Stuart Lyon, Blackford, Edinburgh: October 13, 2010 |
Rushbrook Photos
I photographed the complete
set of Rushbrook photos from another source a couple of years ago and have
permission to add them to the EdinPhoto web site.
I found these photos to be
appealing - good quality with lots of interest - and would like to add
them to the EdinPhoto web site when I can find the time to Do that.
But it's unlikely to be in the near future as I have many other photos
waiting to be added to the site first, and it usually takes me between
about 1/2-hour and 1 hour to add each photo to the site!
Peter Stubbs,
Edinburgh: October 16, 2010 |
Recollections
7.
Reply
1.
Jack Wardell
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland |
Thank you to Jack Wardell for replying to Stuart Lyon's comments
above.
Jack wrote:
|
Confusion!
"Stuart Lyon's referenced photo in
Potterow is undoubtedly a (probably earlier) Empire Palace Bar.
However, by the 1960s, this was
also the name of the pub on the corner of Nicholson Square and Nicholson
Street.
I worked there as a part-time barman
for a couple of years in the mid-1960s when I was a student.
Many of the locals still thought of it
as the Rat Trap, I think Scottish and Newcastle changed the name when
they took over the pub.
I still have a Rat Trap pub tie in my
cupboard upstairs, though it is not that fashionable these days!
I recall one old regular that I enjoyed
having a chat with. It was Tam Greig, father of John Greig."
Jack Wardell, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland 8 July 2016
(2 emails) |
Recollections
7.
Reply
2.
Jack Wardell
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland |
Thank you to Jack Wardell for sending a photo of his 'The Rat Trap'
tie. It's a blue tie that has the words 'THE RAT TRAP'
below small white shields
(UPDATE: No, they are not small white
shields. See Reply 3 below.)
I've not added Jack's photo of the tie to the web site, because I felt
that it would not reproduce very well on the site. However, I've
added Jack's comments (below).
Jack wrote:
|
The 'Rat Trap' Tie
"Here is a photo of my 'The Rat
Trap' tie. I recall a coach outing around 1965 on which the
Regulars described themselves as 'Rat Trappers' rather than
'Empire Palacers'.
The other Empire Palace Bar
I also recall a Regular who worked at
the Museum. He talked about the 'other' Empire Palace Bar that he
passed on his way to and from his work. He occasionally stopped
for a drink there. I think the 'Empire Palace' name was in use in both
pubs at the same time."
Jack Wardell, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland 10 July 2016 |
Recollections
7.
Reply
3.
Jack Wardell
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland |
Thank you to Jack Wardell for writing again sending me:
- a link to a web site page with a photo of 'The Empire
Palace' taken in the 1950s
- a comment correcting my understanding of 'the little
white shields' on 'The Rat Pack' tie. (That comment
amused me: it's obvious when you know the answer!)
Jack wrote:
|
The Empire Palace / The Rat Trap
"There is a link to a photo
of the Empire Palace Bar on this page from the
Living Memory web site. It's the second photo on the page.
The photo was taken in the 1950s.
You can see that the old name 'The
Rat Trap' is still displayed. It's painted on a window above
the 'Wm Younger's Beer' sign on the gable end of the building.
The photo resolution is not great but
you can just about make out the new name, 'Empire Palace Bar' in the
signwriting above the ground floor windows."
The 'Rat Trap' Tie
"On the Rat Trap tie, each of the
'white shields' above the name is actually a pair of rats either side of
a pint of beer."
Jack Wardell, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland 11 July 2016 |
Recollections
8.
John McKechnie
Brentwood, Essex,
England |
Thank you to John McKechnie who wrote:
|
Potterow Pub
"My great grandfather, my
grandfather until 1940, and then my grandmother, for some time, ran the
Potterow Pub. I think it was on the corner in Potterow. The
pub also had two other entrances.
John McKechnie, Brentwood, Essex,
England: October 22, 2010 |
Recollections
9.
Peter Butler
Hennenman, South
Africa |
Thank you to Peter Butler who wrote:
|
The Coort
"We lived at 44 Bristo Street,
'The Coort' a 4--storey tenement with open balconies. We were all
quite poor and most of our mothers went out to work as char-ladies,
dinner-ladies, etc - but they were happy times.
Names that come to mind are:
-
Ella Clark
-
Honor Garrity
-
Jeff Daly
- Donald Kerr.
I'd like to hear from anyone who may
remember me, my brothers Drew and Pat, and my sister Annette."
|
Games
"Games played in 'The Coort' included:
- rounders
- kick-the-can
- dodge-the-ba
- cricket, with the stumps
represented by 3 chalk lines drawn on
the wall."
|
Shops
"I remember:
-
Davidsons Dairy.
-
Mays Chip Shop.
-
Shearers Grocery.
-
Wrights Newsagency.
-
Young Brothers Bakery.
I delivered milk, newspapers and
groceries for these shops."
|
Coal Deliveries
"My dad Peter, and his brother Jimmy,
both had coal delivery businesses in the Leith Walk area - horse drawn, of
course.
I acted as 'tick-boy' for my dad on a
Saturday morning, i.e. collecting money due for coal delivered
during the week on credit."
|
Poor-oot
"Does anyone remember the 'poor-oot'
,when the prospective bride left her home to be married, scattering
handfulls of coins to be scrabbled for by us kids?"
|
Peter Butler, Hennenman, South Africa: January 18, 2011
|
Reply to Peter?
If you'd like to send a reply
to Peter,
please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: January 24, 2011 |
Recollections
10.
Peter Butler
Hennenman, Orange
Free State, South
Africa |
Thank you to Peter Butler for writing again with more memories of the
Bristo Street area of Edinburgh.
|
Peter wrote:
Chapel Street Shop
"While living in Bristo Street, I
remember being sent on SUnday mornings to a very small shop in Chapel
Street, opposite the Post Office.
Not only did this shop sell 'skeechan',
but it also recharged the accumulators required for "'he wireless'.
I remember hoping that the respective liquids never got confused!
The 'skeechan' must have been quite
potent. Its stopper was held down by a U-shaped wire clip.
Incidentally, the mine workers, out
here in South Africa, used to have a similar brew called 'skokian'."
|
Peter added:
1931
"I was born in 1931, which I think
makes me a few years older than your average contributor, but then it also
means I have more memories - not so?"
|
Peter Butler, Hennenman, Orange Free
State, South Africa: January
30, 2011
|
Recollections
11.
Peter Butler
Hennenman, South
Africa |
Peter Butler wrote again with more memories of the Bristo area.
Peter wrote:
|
Woolpack Inn
"On
the subject of local pubs, I've seen no mention of the Woolpack Inn.
It was situated in Bristo Place, half way down the block bordered by
Lothian Street and Marshall Street. It was one of my Dad's favourite
pubs."
|
Lannie's Ice Cream Shop
"Further on was Lannie's ice cream shop, a great
favourite after Mass at St. Francis' church. Mr Lannie was always in attendance,
sometimes assisted by his oldest son, Ernest, who I believe went on to become a
doctor.
I was in the same class as his other son,
Dante, at Holy Cross school. I understand, he went into business of
another kind later on."
|
Old Acquaintances
"I am still hoping to be contacted by old
acquaintances. I will most certainly be in touch again."
|
Peter Butler, Hennenman, South Africa:
February 9, 2011
|
Recollections
12.
Kathy Bainbridge
Hexham, Northumberland, England |
Kathy Bainbridge wrote:
|
Question
The Gluepot
"I wonder if anyone can remember the name of the
little pub opposite 32 Bristo Street where I lived from 1967 until the street
was demolished.
Everyone called it 'The Gluepot' but I've forgotten its 'official' name."
|
Kathy Bainbridge, Hexham, Northumberland, England:
April 1, 2011
|
Recollections
12.
Reply
1.
Brandy Simpson
Corstorphine, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Brandy Simpson
for replying to Kathy Bainbridge's question above.
Brandy replied: |
Reply
Union Bar
"The pub at the top of Bristo Street was called The Union
Bar"
Brandy Simpson, Corstorphine, Edinburgh |
Recollections
13.
Peter Butler
Hennenman, Orange
Free State, South
Africa |
Peter Butler wrote again in response to reading comments that Lannie's
was opposite about Young Brothers on the
Parker's Store page (recollections 2 and 4).
Peter wrote
|
Opposite Young Brothers
"The
shop opposite Young Brothers
was, in fact, Jock Whitton's Newsagent. It had a display
window in both Marshall Street and Bristo Street. I worked there
after school hours delivering the 'News'.
Lannie's was just slightly further up Bristo
Street, towards Lothian Street. There might have been a stair in
between Jock Wilson's and Lannie's, but I'm not sure about that."
Peter Butler, Hennenman, Orange Free
State, South Africa:
April 4, 2011
|
Recollections
14.
Neil Lawrence
Fountainbridge, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Neil Lawrence who
sent a reply to 'Recollections 12' above.
Neil wrote: |
Reply
The Gluepot
"I have it listed as being the Union Bar, 27 Bristow
Street. It had a CPO (Compulsory Purchase Order) in 1977. This was a
Council demolition order."
|
Neil Lawrence, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh: April 8, 2011 |
Recollections
15.
Jimmy Davidson
East Lothian,
Scotland |
Thank you to Jimmy Davidson
who wrote, agreeing with others above.
Jimmy wrote
|
Argyle Arms
"The
pub on the corner of Potterow and Bristo Street was definitely
Argyle Arms.
I used to live above it at 68
Bristo Street, in an old tenement that was accessed by a flight of
external stairs just round the corner from the pub."
Jimmy Davidson, East Lothian, Scotland:
April 12, 2011
|
Recollections
16.
Joe Telfer
Lysterfield,
Melbourne, Australia |
Thank you to Joe Telfer who
wrote:
|
Bristo Street
"I was very interested in the comments from Peter Butler in several
of the recollections above. I have a faint recollection of Peter,
but age dims the memory. I'd certainly like to here from him if he
is interested.
I also grew up in Bristo from the early-1940s, with my sister Jeanette who
is younger than me, until I came to Australia in 1952.
I lived in 35 Bristo and enjoyed all the activities Peter described in the
Coort.
My
friends were:
-
Pete Smith.
-
Norrie Wilson.
- the Colemans.
- the
O'Donohues who lived in No 40.
-
Bobbie Much was in our stair in the top flats."
Joe Telfer, Lysterfield, Melbourne,
Australia: June 10, 2011 |
Reply to Joe Telfer?
If you'd like to send a reply to Joe Telfer,
please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: June 15,
2011 |
Recollections
17.
Brenda Cunningham (née
Fairley) |
Thank you to Brenda Cunningham who
wrote:
|
Coffee Joe's
"I was brought up in 15 Forrest Road
above Coffee Joe's Café. I remember playing around the Potterow/ Bristo
area with pals. There was a whole community living and working in
that area."
|
Parker's Store
"Parker's Store was the equivalent of
today’s Primark and it sold everything from clothes to clothes pegs!
There was also a Parkers furniture store further along but this closed in
the late 1950s."
|
Shops
"I remember:
-
Wilson the butcher
-
Mrs. Duffie’s grocery shop where my mum used
to send me for 1/4lb boiled ham and Mrs. Duffie cut it with a sharp knife.
-
The ironmonger just next to the baker's shop
which was on the corner.
- Dante Lannie who had the Café across
from the bakers and the newsagent on that same corner.
-
Lannies, who had the chip shop in Forrest
Road. I think Dante was related to them.
-
Paris Gowns, a dress shop further up the
road diagonally across from Napier's herbalist (very posh).
|
Undertaker
"In Forrest Road, I recall Louis Costello the
undertaker who used to stand outside his premises and my used to say
there’s Louis looking for business. I never understood the humour of that
until later in life!"
|
Society Buildings
"There were houses in Society Buildings, which
were where the new part of the museum is now. That wasn’t such a
nice area and I wasn’t allowed to play there."
|
Pubs
"There was a pub called
The Hole in the Wa'.
Another
was called The Territorial Bar.
My dad used to drink the Territorial on a
Friday night. He once had his pay packet stolen from the back pocket
of his trousers when he was there.
There was always a few fights on a Saturday
night and we used to look out the window and watch the fights and the
police arriving. Well, there was only one channel on the telly and
it made better viewing!"
|
Changes
"I took my grandson to the museum in Chambers
Street only last week and had a wander round the area. I was
saddened to see how it has changed over the years.
When I was living there in the 1950s/60s, it
was a lovely residential area with shops galore and the shopkeepers knew
all the locals."
|
Brenda Cunningham (née Fairley):
July 17, 2011 |
Recollections
18.
Stewart Connolly
West Highlands,
Scotland
|
Thank you to Stewart Connelly for contacting me
again.
Stewart wrote |
May's Chip Shop
"Peter Butler mentioned May's chip shop in his Bristo Street
recollections
(13 above).
Although a lot younger than Peter, I remember May very well. Her full
married name, as I recall, was May Cardosi and here husband was Nello.
They stayed at 53 Bristo Street and knew my mother very well.
My mother was born in Bristo as was her mother."
The Coort
"I remember the coort as a play area, for football, tig, hide and seek,
etc.
There was a Mr Wilson, ex policeman, who lived in the coort. He
would bang his window when we were getting a bit to loud.
In those days you paid heed and scarpered, because he knew everybody's
mum and dad."
Stewart Connolly, West Highlands,
Scotland: August 19, 2011
|
I asked Stewart Connelly where 'The Court' was.
He replied:
|
The Coort
"Imagine walking down towards Chapel Street
from Parkers Store. Half-way down on your left-hand side (east) is
where the coort was.
It had a proper name
(something-Entry?) but I can't remember, what it was. To us, it was
always: 'Ah'm ower by the coort, playin'."
Stewart Connolly, West Highlands,
Scotland: August 21, 2011
|
Recollections
19.
Bob Sinclair
Queensland, Australia |
Bob Sinclair wrote: |
Frank Demarco's Café
"I remember Forrest Road in the later-1950s, when I used to go into Frank
Demarco's Café, after dancing at the Central on the corner of Drummond
Street and South Bridge."
Cards
"At the Café, it
was a night for cards. One old gent used to be in there when we
arrived and he spent about twenty minutes arranging his cup and saucer and
cutlery before his pie and chips appeared - it was fascinating to watch.
The card games were either Nap or Brag and on a bad night, within the
space of two hours, playing for halfpennies, the worst player could lose a
couple of bob.
- My mate, Charlie Morrison was the worst player. He was a
good Catholic.
-
His mate, Selby Kougaltz always won. He was, a Jew and
known to all as Spud.
- The
others generally came out about even.
It was an interesting mix of blokes: Jew, Catholic, Methodist,
Church of Scotland, Agnostic, Atheist.
Frank used to shut the door and join us. I think it was his only
relaxation. Sometimes, the undertaker from nearby would come for a wee
while and crack some enlightening jokes about the dear departed.
I wondered if it was his only relaxation. Sometimes, at about one in the
morning Charlie would walk Spud back to Arthur Street then come home to
walk his dog Major in the Meadows. By that time I was in my pit."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
August 22, 2011 |
Recollections
20.
Florence Reynolds |
Thank you to Florence Reynolds
for sending another message about Bristo Street, this time after reading
Peter Butler's comments above about Lannie's ice cream shop in Bristo
Street.
Florence wrote: |
Lannie's Ice Cream Shop
"Like Peter Butler, I also remember Lannie's ice cream shop in Bristo
Street. In the late-1950s, Dante Lannie ran the shop. It was
almost at the corner with Marshall Street."
Bus Conductor
"When the 41 bus stopped at the traffic lights, outside his shop, a
certain bus conductor (of Italian extraction) would lean off the bus
platform and shout 'Lannie Bananie'.
At this point, Dante would burst out of the shop waving a huge meat
cleaver and threatening all kinds of dire consequences as the bus
accelerated away.
This
would be repeated every time this particular bus went past, much to the
amazement and amusement of bus passengers and passing pedestrians alike.
Dante Lannie
"Dante
was a 'larger than life' Southside character - a great miss! His
elder brother Ernest was an optician.
I never walked straight down Bristo Street coming from Mass at St Francis
Church. I always went via the two pends."
Florence Reynolds: January 1, 2013 |
Recollections
21.
Christine Wicksted (née
Alexander)
West Edinburgh |
Thank you to Christine
Wicksted who wrote:
|
Bristo Street Chemist
"My Grandfather was a chemist in Bristo Street from late 1940 to
early-1970s. His name was Robert Alexander.
When
he retired in his 80's he was meant to be the oldest dispensing chemist in
Edinburgh. I remember helping him count tablets into little bottles.
The shop was full of large coloured jars, full of all sorts of
concoctions!
If I was lucky I would be given 2/6d (half a crown) to spend in Parkers
Store.
Happy memories."
Christine Wicksted (née Alexander), West
Edinburgh:
August 25, 2012 |
Recollections
22.
Rob J Penman |
Rob
J Penman wrote: |
Bristo Port
The Pewter Pot
"I recall that there was a pub at Bristo Port called 'The Pewter
Pot'. I Think it was rumoured to be Edinburgh`s smallest bar."
Rob J Penman:
10 March 2016 |
Reply to Rob
The Grassmarket
Thank you, Rob,
for your memories of the bar at Bristo Port.
Last summer, I
came across another bar nearby. It was on the north side
of Grassmarket, set back from the pavement. It was then
claiming to be Edinburgh's smallest bar."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: 23 March 2016 |
Recollections
23.
Davie Taylor |
Davie Taylor wrote: |
No.40
"I was brought up at 40 Bristo Street.. It was right next
door to General's Entry ('The Coort') mentioned by Stewart Connolly
in his Recollections 18 (above).
Milk Rounds
"Sinclair's Dairy was on one side of 'The Court'. My brother
Harry Taylor had a milk round that I took over when he left school!
The Gushet
"The Gushet was our first pub, at the age of 15. Three pints
and a Carlsberg - and we were singing!"
Friendly Fitba'
"Dante Lannie also used to referee friendly fitba' matches doon
The Meadows."
Davie
Taylor: 2 March 2016 (2 emails) |
Recollections
24.
Jane Zeitlin (née
MacLennan)
Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, Scotland
|
Jane Zeitlin wrote:
|
Funny Street
'Abbott and Costello'
"When I read Brenda
Cunningham's Recollections 17 above
about Costello the undertaker, it jogged a memory. I used to
pass his establishment on my way to work in the 1960s.
Mr Costello was a cheery
fellow. One of his quips regarding Forrest Road was it was the funniest
Street in Edinburgh since it had Costello at one end and Abbott the
jeweller at the other end was just behind Greyfriars Bobby's statue."
Jane Zeitlin (née MacLennan), Giffnock, East
Renfrewshire, Scotland: 22
October 2016 |
Recollections
25.
Jim Little
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
Thank you to Jim Little who wrote:
|
Thursday Nights Out in the 1950s
The Empire Bar
THEN
Palais de Danse
"I remember the Empire Bar
being round the corner from the Empire Theatre, near Bristo Street.
In
the mid- to late-1950s, for a few bob you could have a good, cheap
Thursday night out.
-
Empire Bar sold draft cider for 1/- a
pint.
After 3 pints, you were quite mellow.
- You got
10 Woodbine fags for about 10 pence (old money).
- Then
it was off to the Palais de Danse, 1/6d to get in.
Oh happy days!
Someone mentioned that the bar
had 3 doors. That allowed the under-age drinkers to escape if the
polis came."
Jim Little: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: 10
November 2016 |
Recollections
26.
Dino Lannie
Glasgow, Scotland |
Thank you to Dino Lannie who wrote:
|
Thank You
Lannie's Ice Cream Shop
"Thank you to everybody
who remembered my Dad's ice cream shop in Bristo Street, and wrote about
it above"
Dino Lannie, Glasgow, Scotland: 18 November 2016 |
|