Recollections Canonmills 1950s |
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1. |
Emerald, Victoria, Australia |
- Golden Wonder Crisps - Shops and Cinema - Fame - Tenements |
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2. |
Ripley, Derbyshire, England and reply from New Brunswick, Canada |
- Jackie Dennis |
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3. |
Edinburgh |
- 'Oblah De' |
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4. |
Orpington, Kent, England |
- La De Dah |
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5. |
New Brunswick, Canada |
- Street Party Coronation 1953 |
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6. |
Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
- Coronation Celebrations |
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7. |
Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
- Jackie Dennis |
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8. |
Hazelmere, Buckinghamshire, England |
- Ian Scott |
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Recollections 1. Eric Sloan Emerald, Victoria, Australia |
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Thank you to Eric Sloane for his recollections below. Eric lived in the Boswall area of Edinburgh from the 1940s until 1963. Eric wrote: |
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Golden Wonder Crisps "In the mid 1950s my uncle, Ian MacDougall, worked for the then fledgling Golden Wonder crisp company. There was a factory down Canonmills in a row alongside the Water of Leith. I used to go with him to the factory which was like a Heath Robinson machine. I was fascinated by the place. It worked automatically peeling and slicing the potatoes and dropping them into the fat vats for cooking, then out again for drying. Ian drove a delivery van around the retailers and I used to help him dropping off the tin boxes containing the packets of crisps. Another job was pasting the labels on to the side of the boxes. That was kinda messy." |
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Shops and Cinema "Later, around 1956 or '57, my Nan and Pop bought a shop in Rodney St. We were next to a milliner just north and across the road from Broughton Primary (which I attended for a while) and nearly opposite to the Ritz cinema. I used to go to Saturday morning pictures there taking the tram from Granton Rd alone from as young as 8 year old. The shop was a bit of everything, like an Australian milk bar. We sold sweets to the kids from the school and all kinds of groceries. They bought a large van and Ian left Golden Wonder to come drive it. We operated a mobile shop going all over North Edinburgh." |
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Fame "The last of that row of shops, at the southern end, was a chippie and next to that a block of tenements. Jackie Dennis was brought up in the first of those tenements and went on to become a "one hit wonder" down in London appearing on the 'Six-Five Special' and 'Oh Boy' shows.
I remember everyone said what a nice lad he was. The
hit song was called "Oh La De Dah" or something very close*. |
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* Please also see: - Recollections 3 + 4 below, for the name of the song. - Recollections 7 below, for more about Jackie Dennis. - Peter Stubbs |
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"The tenements in that street were very dilapidated, housing some fairly rough characters. I don't recall the name - it was Something Row. The waste ground at the top was a great Cowboy and Indian playground and I remember one time when I was a captive. This kid from the street had me tied up to a clothes pole and was preparing to burn me at the stake! Somebody ran down for my grannie and I got rescued."
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Recollections 2. Richard Greenwood Ripley, Derbyshire, England |
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Thank you to Richard Greenwood for following up on the 'Fame' paragraph above. Richard wrote: |
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Jackie Dennis "Just a recollection of the 'one hit wonder', Jackie Dennis. He actually had a hit with 'Purple People Eater' circa 1958. It was released on a 78 and the flip side was 'Yoo Hoo'. It was one of the first records I ever bought. Sheb Woolley also had a hit with the same song. Maybe Jackie was a '2 hit wonder'. I've never heard of him since." Richard Greenwood, Ripley, Derbyshire, England: March 26, 2008 |
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Recollections 3. Betty McGill Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Betty McGill for leaving a message in the EdinPhoto guestbook. Betty wrote: |
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'Oblah De' "I was just browsing through your website and thought I would like to add to Eric Sloan's comments (in 'Recollections 1' above). The name of the song would be 'Oblah De, Oblah Da', not 'Oh La De Dah'. I loved that song. All good wishes to you all, from Betty Mc Gill." Betty McGill, Edinburgh: July 6, 2008 |
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Recollections 4. Clive MacKinnon Orpington, Kent, England |
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Clive MacKinnon did not agree with the comments above. Clive wrote: |
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'La Dee Dah' "The song title was not 'Oblah De, Oblah Da'. It was 'La Dee Dah', a No.4 UK hit on the Decca label (F.10992). It is also quoted as being featured in the film 'The Six-Five Special'. Betty (3 above) is obviously thinking of the Beatles/Marmalade song from 11 years later." Clive MacKinnon, Orpington, Kent, England July 30, 2008 |
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Clive added: |
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'La Dee Dah' "My daughter has a collection of '1950s 78s on You Tube under the name 78junkee. She has Jackie Dennis' La Dee Dah playing on there!" Clive MacKinnon, Orpington, Kent, England July 30, 2008 |
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Recollections 5. Jim Duncan New Brunswick, Canada |
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Street Party Coronation 1953 Thank you to Jim Duncan for sending me this photograph of a group from Canonmills Primary School, taken at Wardie Park in 1951 or earlier and these three photos of a Street Party held in Heriot Hill Terrace, close to The Ritz, Rodney Street, Broughton/Canonmills. The party was held in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Acknowledgement: Jim Duncan, May 3, 2009 |
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Recollections 5. Reply 1. Les Braby Borders, Scotland |
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Street Party Coronation 1953 Thank you to Jim Duncan for sending me this photograph of a group from Canonmills Primary School, taken at Wardie Park in 1951 or earlier and these three photos of a Street Party held in Heriot Hill Terrace, close to The Ritz, Rodney Street, Broughton/Canonmills. The party was held in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. |
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Recollections 6. Danny Callaghan Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
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Thank you Danny Callaghan, who wrote: |
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Coronation Celebrations Coronation Party "I looked at this photo of the street party for the Coronation, in Heriot Hill Terrace , Broughton, with great interest. I remember also going to a Coronation Party but it was held in the Church Hall in Rodney Street, near the Ritz cinema. The party was funded by the Maran family who had the ice cream cafe at 22 Rodney Street. I think they won large sum on the football pools and treated the kids to the party. I don't know why we in Broughton Road were invited and not the kids in Heriot Hill Terrace. Maybe they were the 'keelies'!" Television "My dad had brought a television in late-1952, a Cossor 12", for the princely sum of £64. It was 64 guineas (guinea = £1.05p) but for cash he got a discount, a fortune in these days. We were the first people I knew with television. On Coronation Day, our family and neighbours were invited to watch the Coronation. They had to bring chairs. It was a full house. I remember the chairs being lined up like a cinema and my mother no doubt would have been dishing out cups of tea." Coronation "The party I went to finished before the Coronation, so I was back in house to see the Queen getting crowned. I still have my Coronation mug and still use occasionally, and also the commemoration crown (5/-) we were given. The following week we were taken by school to see the Coronation film at the Gaumont at West End It was great time and I don't think there was a house which did not have flags flying from their windows." |
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Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland: November 16, 2009 |
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Recollections 7. Danny Callaghan Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
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Thank you Danny Callaghan, who wrote: |
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Jackie Dennis "Jackie Dennis was from Broughton Road, No 20 or 24, opposite Logie Green Road. I cannot mind exactly which stair but his car used to sit outside there. He brought himself a Ford Zephyr or Zodiac and he had a '45 record player' fitted in the dash. I don't know how it coped with the cobbles and pot holes!" |
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Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland: November 16 + 18, 2009 |
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Recollections 8. Ian Scott Hazelmere, Buckinghamshire, Scotland |
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Thank you Ian Scott, who wrote: |
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Rodney Street "I think someone was asking about Bruce's store in Rodney St. I took this photograph of a fire engine in front of Bruce's store on November 11, 1990." "The store is now in the hands of a new owner. Bruce's frontage used to be a traditional 1920s/1930s design. You can see in this photo that it has been modernised." |
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Ian Scott, Buckinghamshire, Scotland: January 16, 2011 |
