Recollections

1.

Betty McGill (née Harvey)

Edinburgh

Thank you to Betty for leaving a message in the gust book.

Betty wrote:

Queuing for Teabread

"I was brought up in Hutchison Road.

Does anyone remember queuing at McVities in Dalry in the dark early mornings for auld teabread, as my dear sister and I did with our pillow slips to put the bread and buns in?

These were hard times but as children we never noticed it.  I am now 76yrs young !!!!! and am enjoying reading all the happenings of days gone by but not forgotten."

Betty McGill (née Harvey), Edinburgh:  December 26, 2007

Recollections

2.

John Clark

Ontario, Canada

Thank you to John Clark who wrote:

Old Radio

"I was fascinated with Frank Ferri's account of the old radio days.

I remember also that heavy accumulator I had to carry back to the shop and have it exchanged for one that had been charging.

 Our shop was at the junction between Dundee Terrace and the approach to Ardmillan Terrace.  I forget the name.

We had to change the big Ever Ready, battery probably about once a year too."

Radio Programmes

"The radio programmes were great:

-  Mrs Dales Diary

-  Dick Barton

-  ITMA

-  Family Favourites

-  Saturday Night Variety Show featuring, among others, 'Tosh the Spiv'.

I can remember so many more, but my poor old head just cannot bring up the names. I'm almost in tears right now just reminiscing about these great, great old days."

Reminiscences

"Thank you, all of you contributors for making my life so much happier through reminiscences."

John Clark, Ontario, Canada:  May 8, 2008

Recollections

3.

Bob Henderson

Burdiehouse, Edinburgh

Thank you to Bob Henderson who wrote:

Radio Programmes

"Here are a few more radio programmes to jog John Clark's memory

-  Ray's A Laugh

-  Take It From Here

-  Workers' Playtime

and my all-time favourite:

-  Valentine Dyall as 'The Man in Black' billed as 'Your Favourite Story Teller'.

He told mainly creepy stories like 'The Monkey's Paw', etc."

Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:  May 20, 2008

Recollections

4.

Harry Woods

Pembroke, South Wales

Thank you to Harry Woods for leaving a message in the EdinPhoto guest book.

Harry left Edinburgh in 1965 to live in South Wales, but still has good memories of his youth in Edinburgh during the war years when he lived in Whitson Road.  Harry attended Balgreen School throughout the war years.

Harry wrote:

Whitson Road

"I just spent an hour reading comments re Betty Harvey.

I used to go for bread with my brother and mates from Whitson on the bus every Wednesday and Saturday, so we must have stood in the same queue.  It's nice to remember those days."

Harry Woods, Pembroke, South Wales:  July 3, 2008

Recollections

5.

Betty McGill

Pembroke, South Wales

Thank you to Betty McGill who wrote:

Ronnie for Radio

"Can I add that I think the radio shop that John Clark of Canada  was referring to in 2 above was called 'Ronnie For Radio'.

I used to work in that shop.  I was 15 yrs old.  People would come in with their accumulators to be charged.

Sometimes, the acid would spill over from the new ones on to my overall.  They were covered in burn holes, and the taste of it was horrible as it got on my fingers.

So, I've lots of memories to share with Harry Wood or others, if anybody would like to email me."

Betty McGill, Edinburgh:  July 4, 2008

If you'd like to contact Betty, please email me, then I'll pass on her email address to you.

-  Thank you.    Peter Stubbs:  July 3, 2008

Recollections

6.

Jim Cairns

Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Thank you to Jim Cairns who followed up "Recollections 5' above by writing:

Radio Programmes

"Can you imagine nowadays what would happen if you were caught sending your children to carry heavy glass batteries, full of acid to the local shop to change them?!!

Your contributors mentioned old radios, and old radio programmes.   I remember:

-  'Down at the Mains'

-  'Tammy the Troot' read by Lavinia Derwent

-  'The MacFlannels'

-  Jimmy Logan, whose catch-phrase was 'Sausages is the boys!' on a programme I can't remember the name of.

Readers may enjoy this Whirligig web site.  It's a terrific site that gives information on old radio programmes, and lets you hear clips of many of them. There's also a TV section on the site."

Jim Cairns:  Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland:  April 22, 2009

Recollections

7.

Danny Callaghan

Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland

Thank you to Danny Callaghan  who wrote

Bobbie's Bookshop

"Bobbie's Bookshop was, I think, at 181 Dalry Road.  I stayed in a flat almost above it, on the corner of  for West End Place and Dalry Road from 1964 to 1970.  The flat was No 5.  There was  a butcher below as well.

Bobbie's was a Book Exchange.  It was very popular.  You took back books you had read and got credit, then you selected other books.  Who says recycling is new? 

Bobbie's was also a newsagent.  I remember that Bobbie did not open  to sell newspapers on new years day 1967.  It was a Sunday.  He was blacklisted by the Sunday Mail and Daily Record who refused to supply him papers for a long time.   Most of the locals supported him and switched to buying other papers - the Record's loss."

Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire:  November 4, 2009

Recollections

8.

Dave McKinlay

New Zealand

Dave McKinlay left this message in the EdinPhoto guest book

Rab Turner

"I'd like to contact Robert [Rab] Turner, originally from Prestonfield.  He would be about 69 years old now.  He worked in Binns workshops Caledonian Crescent .as a carpet & lino layer from about 1955 up until I left for New Zealand in 1965.

He married Thelma and had a daughter, born about 1963. Does anyone know of him or his whereabouts?  A reply would be appreciated. Dave McKinlay"

Dave McKinlay, New Zealand:  Message posted in EdinPhoto guest book:   January 25, 2010

Reply to Dave?

If you'd like to contact Dave, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.    Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:  January 28, 2010

Recollections

9.

John Clark

Ontario, Canada

Thank you to John Clark for writing again about life in Dundee Street.

John wrote:

Local Shops

"I remember the small shops, the local shops, the shops that kept us alive and well.  Where I lived in Dundee Street, Yeaman Place was directly across from my stair at number 146.

At the bottom of Yeaman Place there was 3 or 4 shops next to each other, but the two main shops that kept the whole surrounding community alive was Peter's chip shop and Lawrence the baker.

Lawrence, the Baker

"Every morning, from about the age of 6 or 7 onwards, I would run across to Lawrence the baker and buy 4 well fired rolls.  I think they cost about a penny or a penny ha'penny each, freshly baked.

During the summer holidays from school, I would have to hurry, and get my pals out of the house at 11.45am, and break up our Monopoly game, to run over to Lawrence for 2 meat pies, one for my Dad and one for me.

My Mum was at work, and my Dad came home from McEwans brewery along the road at noon.  He would open up his pie, take all the meat out (mince) and discard the pastry, then make a bread sandwich with the meat.

What a guy, I loved him. Just before New Year everyone would hand in their ashet pans to Lawrence, and your name would be stuck on the pan.  Later, you would later pick up a delicious steak pie for New Year's Dinner.

I don't know if the bakery is still going, but it was a terrific bakery.

Peter's Chip Shop

Oh, my goodness the memories.  When I first started going in there for my Mum, again about 7 years old, it was amazing.

I don't know the reason, but chip shops always had very high serving counters.  When I went in in the early years, they had to look over the counter to see me.  I could barely reach the counter with my fingertips.

Then as the years progressed, I was starting to see what all the big secrets where about. When you went over on a Friday about 5 o' clock, there would be a long line up. We seemed to have more patience in these days, because of the constant hardships of the war.

I think a fish supper was about 10 pence in old money.   For our family, I would typically order 2 single fish, and either fourpence worth of chips or maybe sixpence worth. The total would be about one and sixpence."

John Clark, Ontario, Canada:  February 24, 2010

Recollections

10.

Alan Stewart

Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland

Thank you to Alan Stewart who wrote:

12 Springfield Place

"There has not yet been much mention of Springwell Place on the EdinPhoto web site, so I'm sending this photo of my Gran, Christina Stewart standing outside her home at No. 12, around 1930.

     ©

Our Family

My Stewart family were resident at 12 Springwell Place from around 1900 to around 1960.  We were quite poor, so there are not many photos around.

No. 12 was a one-bed flat which, even in the 1950s, held three generations of our family for a while:

-   my grandparents

-   their daughter Jessie and her husband Frank, a Canadian sailor who was on leave from the WW2 Russian convoys when they met.

-  their two children.

My earliest recollections are of sitting on my dad's knee in the 1950s, hearing him call an old fellow sitting opposite him 'dad', and saying to him:  'He cant be dad.  You are dad'.

He was, in fact, my  grandfathers brother, who had married the wife of his late brother Hendry (my grandfather) after Hendry had been killed in the Somme in 1916.  He was a bookie's runner amongst other things.  He spent most of the time sitting in his chair, smoking a pipe;  at least he did when he had visitors."

Alan Stewart, Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland:  October 28, 2010

Recollections

11.

John Donaldson

Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland

Thank you to John Donaldson who wrote:

Family

"I resided at 197 Dalry Road, Edinburgh from about 1944 until 1953 and attended Dalry Primary School.

My mother was employed at Dunlop, the Bakers in Dalry Road opposite the Haymarket Picture House.  My father was employed at Airlite Engineers in Duff Street."

Request for Picture

"I am looking for a picture of the 197 Dalry Road.  It was located directly opposite Dalry School.  I believe the building was destroyed circa 1977.  Does anybody have such a picture?"

John Donaldson, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland:  January 4, 2011

Reply to John

If you know of any pictures of 197 Dalry Road, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to John.  Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:  January 8, 2010:

Recollections

12.

Douglas William Garry

Hutchison, Edinburgh

Douglas William Garry wrote:

School Photo

"About a year ago, I submitted this photo of my class at Dalry Primary School in Edinburgh, taken 1956-ish."

Photo

1.

    ©

"Shortly after, another photo of  a Dalry school class appeared on the EdinPhoto web site, this one taken in1957-58."

Photo

2.

©

Friends

"Some months later, I spoke to my good friend, Peter Stewart, about how photos and comments on the web site had brought people together.

The following day, he looked up the web site then told me that he had found himself, 3rd from the right in the back row of Photo 2.

After 25-30 years of friendship and working together, we had never realised that we had been at the same school, just one year apart.  He had been one year behind me at the school and in my sister's class.  How small the world has become!"

Douglas William Garry, Hutchison, Edinburgh: January 23, 2012

Recollections

13.

Lydia Markham (née Davis)

Edinburgh

Thank you to Lydia Markham who wrote:

Home

"I, too, enjoy reading everyone's memories of living in Dalry. I was born in 1961 at 41 Caledonian Crescent and was one of 7 children.  Looking back I don't know how my parents coped in a one-bedroom flat with no bathroom or kitchen.  Things were not always easy but they left us all with so many happy, loving memories."

Freedom

"In the 1960s, we were allowed so much freedom.  We walked everywhere and thought nothing of setting off for the day and returning at tea time.  We went to all the parks in the area and beyond, Saughton, White, Roseburn, Princes Street and Harrison Park.  We also ventured to the 'tips' , the Water of Leith at Dean Village and Arthur Seat."

Bottles

"At Binns Warehouse (?) a lovely man we called 'Jimmy the Juice Bottle Man' used to collect all his workmates' bottles and stash them for us behind the rubbish bins."

Local Shops

"The local corner shops were the hub of the neighbourhood in those days.  John and Chris Kuriluk with their handsome son Alex owned a shop and across the street from  Dot and Jim's shop.

I have fond memories of both shops.  I delivered Sunday papers for Chris.  She had a bacon roll and coffee ready for me before setting off and huge bag of sweets and money when I finished.

I was once in Dot and Jim's shop when it was robbed.  I alerted them and for my bravery they surprised me with the biggest most beautiful doll.  This particular doll was the centre piece of their Christmas window display and every girl wanted it from Santa - such a wonderful, wonderful surprise and such kindness."

Pigs' Bin

"We used to also raid the Pigs' Bin at McVitie's.  If the cakes were not too stale, the women turned a blind eye.  If they were off, they would shout at us to leave them alone.  I only realise this now!"

School

"I attended 'Normal Primary School'.  It later changed its name to 'Orwell Primary School'.  I remember my mum sending me to school with trousers on.  Girls at that time were not allowed to wear trousers.  I was threatened with being sent home and told them my mum didn't have anything else for me to wear.

At break, my friends agreed to wear their trousers to school next day, arguing they can't send us all home.  They didn't send us all home and not long after girls were allowed to wear trousers, as long as they were dark.  Feminism at an early age!

Lydia Markham, Edinburgh:  February 12+16, 2012

Recollections

14.

Lydia Markham (née Davis)

Edinburgh

Thank you to Lydia for writing again with more memories of Dalry

Lydia wrote:

The Pends

"Kelly's Engineering Works was entered via the pend next to our stair.  The pend is still there but where Kelly's works and Binns warehouse used to be, it is all now one large housing complex.

That pend was where we sheltered when it was raining.  We played in there and instinctively knew to stand to the side when the lorries came and went.  We also used to squeeze under the gate at Davie's pend a few stairs up.

Up this pend was a woodmill type of place.  We used to love exploring, and when the railway stopped being used we used to have hours of fun exploring that and all the disused buildings, making gang huts."

Sweet Factory

"I remember my brothers and sister coming home with boxes of sweets from a sweet factory that closed down.  I can't remember the name of the factory.

The Subway

"My dad worked in the Rubber Mill and most dinner times, from an early age, we used to run up the subway to meet him.  We were delighted to see him and him us.  We rushed to greet his outstretched arms with delighted yells and he'd pick us up and burl us round.  This was a highlight as my dad worked long hours and when he wasn't  working he was catching up with his sleep.

The subway was dark, dank and creepy at the time and we were not allowed up there when it was dark." 

The Laundry

"I also remember my mum struggling up and down the subway stairs with a huge piles of washing in her tin bath going to the laundry in Murdoch Terrace (?)

Given my dad was working 24/7 it was hard for my mum to get someone to watch 7 children while she went to the laundry. More often than not we'd have to go with her and wait in the pram area for what seemed like hours.

Children were not allowed in the laundry.  We played with everyone's old washing prams, and got into lots of trouble from people whenever they saw us playing with their pram."

Happy Memories

"Ach, I could go on!  I have so many many happy memories of a wonderful childhood."

Lydia Markham, Edinburgh:  February 16, 2012

Recollections

15.

Lorna Taylor (née Fitzsimmons)

Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland

Lorna Taylor (née Fitzsimmons) wrote:

Normal Primary School

"Oh!  How some of the comments above brought back memories.  I was born at 36 Caledonian Crescent.  Like Lydia Markham (Orwell School, Recollections 1)  I too attended Normal primary school before it became Orwell.  It was associated with St Luke's Church.

St Luke's Church

"The church was just opposite our house in Caledonian Crescent.  It held a youth club on a Monday evening but, in order to go to it, you had to attend Sunday Evensong! This we did, albeit very reluctantly.  Our usual church was St Brides` in Orwell Terrace."

Caledonian Crescent

"At what would have been No.32 Caledonian Crescent was Willie Boland's cobblers shop and next to that was my Dad's joiners workshop which went around the corner into Orwell Place.

Opposite that was Shaws` the general shop which seemed to sell everything, and next to that was the pend where there was a removal firm (called Lunn's, I think).

Of course the area in front of Binns' Repository, where the pigs bins were kept, was a great play area and many a good game of rounders was played there."

Library

"There was the library up the subway in Dundee Street.  I can still recall that special smell and the silence that met you when you opened the door - not to be had in to-days libraries!"

Baths

"Then, of course, we had Dalry Baths where we not only went to swim but also to have a bath. It cost something like 1 shilling (5p) if the water was turned on by the attendant outside the bathroom or about 1/6d (7¹/2p) if the taps were in the room for you to turn on yourself - such luxury!

Picture Houses

"Our Saturday mornings were spent at The Scotia Picture House - they weren't called cinemas then!  We also had The Tivoli and The Roxy.  We were spoilt for choice.

Café

"Does anyone remember the Café on Dalry Road, just around from Orwell Terrace, where we used to 'hang out', listening to the juke box while drinking our Vantas and thinking we were really 'hip'?"        
UPDATE:   The cafe was Mimosa's.  Please see Recollections 26 below.

Memories

There wasn't a lot of money around then, but we knew how to have fun and it was a great place to grow up.   I'd love to see some of my childhood friends again now."

Lorna Taylor (née Fitzsimmons), Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland:  May 18, 2012

Recollections

16.

Lorna Taylor (née Fitzsimmons)

Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Lorna Taylor for writing again, this time sending photos of Normal School, Dalry and of a Street Party in Caledonian Crescent in 1953, for the Queen's Coronation.

Lorna wrote

Normal School

Around 1958-59

"Here is a photo of my class at Normal School, Dalry, taken probably around 1958-59-ish.".

©

Street Party

The Queen

"The photo above may be of interest in  this year of the Diamond Jubilee.  Does anyone remember the Caledonian Crescent street party to celebrate the Queen's Coronation in 1953?"

The Tables

"I'm 2nd from the right at the very front.  I've just noticed the big bandage around my knee!

I'm not sure, but I think the tables were set up between Shaws` shop and the Baths.  I do remember that there was an open- backed lorry in front of the baths where the Highland dancers performed."

Shopping

Local Shops

"Other shops that I remember are:

-   Paul's the chemist.

-   Banks haberdashery (where I had a Saturday job).

-  a newsagent's shop which, for some reason, I think was owned by Paul's too, but I could be way wrong on that."

The Store - Bakers

"On the corner of Orwell Terrace and Dalry Road, there was 'The Store' bakers, where I was sent for a 'pan loaf'.  The loaf was wrapped in tissue paper and was usually still warm.

The smell was so good that by the time I got it home there would be a big hole in the side where I'd been picking at it!  Oh! Happy days!"

Lorna Taylor (née Fitzsimmons), Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland:  May 19, 2012

Recollections

17.

Dave O'Reilly

Edinburgh

Thank you to Dave O'Reilly who wrote:

Orwell Terrace

Home

"I was born and grew up at 1 Orwell Terrace on the first floor, middle flat:

-  Miss Binnie lived on one side

-  I forget the name of the family that lived on the other side.

 -  Above us, lived the Browns and their son.  He was a singer with the stage name, Lorne Gibson.

Church and School

"My Dad was the Church Officer at St Brides and I went to Normal Practising School in Orwell Place.

-  The school was Scottish Episcopalian.

-  St Brides was Church of Scotland

 so that created some confusion for me."

Shops and Neighbours

"I remember:

-  The Battery Shop.

-  The Store Bakers.

-  The Store Grocers.

-  Leadbetter's Bakers.

-  Bobby’s Bookshop.

-  Isa's shop, with a fruit machine on a milk crate.

-  Mrs Young looking out her window.

-  delivering milk and rolls for Hermiston's.

-  'poor oots' at weddings.“

Dave O'Reilly, Edinburgh:  November 26, 2013

Recollections

18.

Simon Bates

Cannock, Staffordshire, England

Thank you to Simon Bates who wrote:

Dalry Lane

then

Dalry Road

"My father is the driving force behind my investigations.  He was born at 104 Dalry Lane in Edinburgh in 1936 and lived in Dalry Road for several years until he left for a life in the RAF, then made a home in Cannock, Staffordshire, England."

Washington Lane

"My grandmother (my father's mother) wa:

-  a dynamo polisher, somewhere in Edinburgh, and

-  a house servant for a family that lived in Washington Lane

My father has fond memories of his mother, but cannot remember who she worked for in Washington Lane.  So, I'm trying to find information about the families who lived there in 1935. 

Perhaps, through the power of the web, I'll get some answers."

Simon Bates, Cannock, Staffordshire, England:  January 8 + 10, 2013

I've looked up a couple of copies of the Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directories.  I don't have the 1935 edition here, but I do have editions for 1930 and 1935.

Both list Washington Lane in a short section that also covers Washington Cottages and Street.  Please see below.

Recollections

19.

John Archibald

Hastings, Victoria, Australia

Thank you to John Archibald who wrote:

Home and School

"I used to live in Orwell Terrace, at No 7 or 11.  I first went to Orwell School.  That must have been about 1939."

Memories

"I remember:

-  Hermiston’s shop and the Store’s bakery shop.

-  being in the Life Boys at St. Bride’s Church

-  going for a swim at Dalry Baths

-  walking up the subway to see my grandparents at No.1 West Fountain Place.

-  the Oil Cake Works at the bottom of west fountain place and all the mill workers coming down the street when they finished work.

Grandad

"My Grandad was a cooper at Youngers' Brewery.  He served his apprenticeship at McEwans.  His family lived in Yeaman Place.  He was in his 70s when he retired.

They kept him on to repair what wooden barrels they still used after they had started putting the beer in steel barrels."

Parson's Green

"We shifted to Wolseley Place and I went to Parson’s Green School.

Emigration

"I finished  Finished my schooling at Moray House, then came out to Australia in 1950 with my parents.

Our family were Hearts supporters!  P.S., remember.  Kind regards to all in Dalry.

John Archibald, Hastings, Victoria, Australia: April 8, 2014

Recollections

20.

George Ritchie

North Gyle, Edinburgh

Thank you to George Ritchie  who wrote:

The Back Green

"I have memories from the age of five (in 1945) to 15 of growing up in Caledonian Place, Dalry.  As children, we played all the usual street games as, elsewhere, but there was one big bonus, the Back Green.

After the Air-raid shelters were taken down, a long strip of land was left.  It was affectionately known as 'The Longie'.  It served as a Football, Cricket and Rounders pitch."

Church and Public Baths

"At the top of Caledonian Road was the Congregational Church Hall where the Cub/Scouts were held on a Tuesday evening.  Down the Crescent, was the Dalry Public Baths."

Dalry Primary School

"Into Orwell Place, there was Dalry Primary School, staffed with dedicated Gentlewoman Teachers.  I remember:

-  Miss Simmons was the Head.

-  Miss Munro the Deputy Head.

- Miss Ferguson was my favourite teacher.  Her top floor south-facing classroom was bright, and she let me be one of the class story tellers."

Dalry House

"Next door, in Dalry House, was the jewel in the crown, Dalry Youth Club.  It had a Woodwork Room and a gym  that was used for:

-  Boxing

-  Football

-  Snooker

-  Table Tennis

-  Dancing (with girls)."

Cinema and Industries

"Finely, to complete the circular walk around the streets, there was the Haymarket Cinema.  I remember the smells from the Rubber Mill and the Distillery, every day except on a Sunday."

Sundays

"Sunday was a quiet peaceful day.  After Bible Class, we would go for long walks or take the tram to Joppa.  The old Scottish  Sabbath was severe by today's standards, but that never bothered me."

All gone!

"Now, it's all gone!  It's very sad!

-  Caledonian Place is now 'jam packed' with cars

-  The back green is overgrown and neglected.

-  The Church Hall is flats

-  The School, Youth Club and Cinema are closed.

These are some of my post-war childhood memories from a time when childhood lasted until age fifteen (unthinkable nowadays).  Childhood came to an end for me with my first girlfriend, Margo.

Everybody thinks their era was the best. Mine had no drugs little vandalism and lasted for ten years!"

George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:  August 18, 2014 (2 emails)

Recollections

21.

George Ritchie

North Gyle, Edinburgh

Thank you to George Ritchie for writing again, telling me some more of his memories of 1945.

George wrote:

Waste Ground

"There was a large area of waste ground, about 100 x 200 meters, opposite Orwell Place, where there is a statue of two men rolling the whisky cask today. We called it the 'The Garricks'.

The older boys built a cycle speedway track there, and from time to time there were fun fares there.  It was not until many years later that I heard it was originally the site of a company, the Garrick Crane Works.  (Maybe this could be verified.)"

Ghost

"Of course, no self-respecting big house would be without it's resident ghost.  Dalry House had 'The Grey (or Gray) Lady'.  I never actually saw her myself, but we kids did not stay long outside the house at night."

Cars

"It's now hard to imagine Caledonian Place without cars, but in the mid-1940s, I remember there being only one car there.  It was a pre-war American Chrysler (like the one in the movies).

It was my grandfathers taxi.  My father did the night shift on it..  In these days, a Hackney stile cab was not a requirement.

My grandfather had a garage in Duff Street Lane where I used to play.  Once, I was given a tyre to roll.  When I took it back to 'Caley' all my pals wanted a shot with it."

Winter 1947

"The winter of 1947 was the coldest on record for years.  I think it lasted till March, but for we kids it was a winter wonderland.

The snow lasted for ages and with no cars around the street, it was a playground for sledges and slides."

School

"At our primary school there was a teacher Miss Smart.  She wore a blue smock.  (They all wore smocks.) She gave us a project to make a Christmas Card, and I was chastised for writing Xmas instead of Christmas.  Even today, some 65 years later i don't write Xmas."

Comics

"From Dobson's newsagents, on the corner of West Park Place, I bought the first edition of the Eagle Comic out on Friday's) as well the Adventure, Wizard, Hotspur, Dandy and Beano.

There were also plenty of American DC comics from the 'golden age'.  These originally came from the American Air Force Base at Kirknewton.  They sell for about £10 to £15 a copy today, and I had dozens of them.

George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:  August 18, 2014 (2 emails)

Recollections

22.

George Ritchie

North Gyle, Edinburgh

Thank you to George Ritchie for writing again with more recollections of Caledonian Place.

George wrote:

Bonfires

Caledonian Place

"Twice a year, we had bonfires at Caledonian Place, Victoria Day in the spring and of course November 5.

The bonfires were at the junction of Caledonian Place and Caledonian Crescent.  At that time, the streets were still paved with granite setts (cobbles) so they were able to withstand the heat

It was great fun collecting for the 'bonie' anything that would burn from all the shops and businesses around Dalry."

Rival Bonfires

"Every day the bonfire would get bigger.  To guard against marauders from rival bonfires who would rob from ours, we were armed with a 'cudgel'  -  a stout piece of timber  -  but it was all in good fun and no one was ever hurt.."

Fireworks

"When the flames were at their height, the heat was intense.  I remember the fireworks (squibs) that you could buy then, individually:

-  Penny bangers( Little Demon)

-  Roman Candles

-  Jumping Jacks

-  Rockets (fired from a milk bottles)

-  Sparklers. 

We used to throw the bangers into the bonfire  (Health and Safety, eat your heart out!)"

The Next Day

"In the morning the bonfire was still smoldering and we would put a tattie in and leave it till it was burned black.  It tasted terrible, raw on the inside and burned on the outside.

Later in the day the fire was was gone, leaving just a black circle on the road.

Of course it was all dangerous, but so were a lot of things then.  We never looked on it as being unsafe (just as well) as was a different, long gone age!"

George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:  September 23, 2014

Recollections

23.

George Ritchie

North Gyle, Edinburgh

Thank you to George Ritchie for writing again with another memory of Caledonian Place.

George wrote:

Pigs' Bins

Caledonian Place

"Another of my memories of Caledonian Place, around 1953, is of the 'Pigs' Bins' there.  They were supplied by the council.

They were large alloy bins with lids, and to stop them being knocked over they fitted in to a circular concrete ring.

In these days everybody had coal fires and burned their waste, so this was attempt to get householders to recycle their waste (vegetables peelings etc.) and so to reduce smoke pollution.

Unfortunately the scheme did not last.  Perhaps people were set in their ways and it was ahead of it's time.  It shows that recycling is not new."

George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:  November 7, 2014

Recollections

24.

Ron Forbes

Mallorca, Spain

Thank you to Ron Forbes who wrote:

Late-1950s

'Rikki and The Eagles'

"I fondly remember days in Gorgie & Dalry in the late-1950s. 

I played in a local group called 'Rikki and The Eagles', doing:

-  Sighthill

-  local dances

-   Weddings

-  Dalry House

-  Murrayfield Ice Rink

-  etc. 

The group were:

-  Myself and Derek Burton on guitars

-  Reg Gray on drums and

-  Graham White on vocals"

Marr's Hotplate Café

"Our favourite spot was Mrs. Marr's Hotplate Café in Dalry Road.  She paid the musicians in Coca Cola. "

'The Blackjacks'
and
'Jonny and The Sidewalkers'

"Our favourites there were 'The Blackjacks'.  Being guitarists our hero was Frankie Connor  -  also Aly Dawson from 'Jonny and The Sidewalkers' over at the Locarno.

Strangely enough, I met him 15 years later when we were both playing in bands in Durban, South Africa.  I was courting a girl from Wardlaw Place then so spent many cheap nights out at the Tivoli.  There was no 'going out to restaurants or pubs' in those days!"

George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:  November 7, 2014

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