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My Father
"My father,
Thomas Wilson Archibald (Tam), lived for a while
in the Jewel Cottages with one of his relations. Unfortunately I
don't know their name.
Bookmakers
"At one point he
started being what, in those days, was called a
Bookie`s Runner. That is, he collected bets from the locals and passed
them on to a Bookmaker who in turn paid him a commission on the turnover.
This business was done at the back of one of
the rows of the Cottages. He eventually went out on his own, moved to an
office in St. Leonard's Street, and went on to
become a successful Bookmaker in his own right.
Anyone who lived in the Jewel Cottages in the
late 1940s and 1950s will remember him.
He was quite a prominent figure then."
Grocery Store
"In the early
1950s, my parents took over a general grocery
store at the Jewel. It was situated at
the Portobello end and was previously owned by a man called Jimmy Rennie.
My Mother (Rose) ran the shop with great success and employed a lady
called Lily Miller who lived in one of the cottages along with her husband
Alec.
I was about 10 when they acquired the shop and
I did help out in various ways. I helped
behind the counter when I was a bit older, and also
delivered the papers. My brother Albert also worked there, but he
was full-time, being five years older than me.
The business lasted until the late-1950s
when it eventually closed through lack of demand.
After a brief spell it re-opened
as a Betting Office, until its
eventual demolition in the late-1970s."
Eric Archibald: January 13, 2011 |