Recollections

6.

Margaret Calder

Craigmillar, Edinburgh

Thank you to Margaret Calder who posted this message in the EdinPhoto guest book:

Margaret wrote:

Craigmillar Primary School Reunion?

"I'd like to hear from anyone who attended Craigmillar Primary School from 1959 until 1966

I've been trying to trace primary school friends to arrange a reunion.  We all lost touch after going to all different secondary schools.

It would be nice to hear from someone.

Margaret Calder, Craigmillar, Edinburgh:  Message left in Edinphoto guest book, July 21, 2008.

Contacting Margaret

If you'd like to contact Margaret Calder, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to her.

Thank you.    -  Peter Stubbs:  July 22, 2008

Reply

Thank you to:

-  Richard Dickson, now living in Canada for emailing me on July 24, 2008.

-  Thank you to Archie Ferguson who emailed me on December 13, 2008.

I hope you have both now been able to contact Margaret by email.

-  Peter Stubbs:  December 13, 2008

Recollections

7.

Graeme Fulton

Thank you to Graeme Fulton who wrote:

Poem

"I lived with my parents at 9 Craigmillar Castle Grove from the mid-1960s to early-1970s. I have only good memories of Craigmillar.

Like Helen, I was disappointed to see it deteriorate.  That prompted  me to write this poem back in 1996.  It may prompt more memories now:"

Craigmillar Memories

"What happened to Craigmillar?
It'll never be the same,
When doors wur aye left open
And neighbours hooses yae treated as yer ain.

If it rained and yer washing wis left oot
The neighbors brought it in,
And tae borrow a cup o sugar wis
Never classed as a mortal sin.

In the streets the bairns awe played taegether
We played oor simple games,
Peevers, kick the can, gurders and
Even chuckie staines.

In the back greens, that's wur we held oor concerts
And joined in tae Mr Beaumonts  sunshine show,
We told a joke or sung a song
even the Mums would have a go.

I loved to hear the yell
Frae the toffee appleman,
And as bairns gathering roond him
Like a gathering o the clans

Fur tuppence you got yer apple
Then you went hame,
What happened to Craigmillar?
It'll never be the same.

And let's no furget times wur hard and
Money wis always tight,
As most o the weeks wages wur spent
by the end o' Saturday night.

But you never heard o' muggings, drugs or
Stealing oaf yer ain,
A'body wis in it taegether wur
Awe classed as the same.

I think people's too greedy noo
Wanting fancy cars, hooses and claes,
We'll never turn the clock back
Tae the guid auld days.

Some might think I'm wrong and
I'm just no being fair,
But I don't think it's just Craigmillar
It's happening everywhere."

© Graeme Fulton

Graeme Fulton, Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland:  July 15, 2009

Recollections

8.

Jimmy Cunningham

Gracemount, Edinburgh

Thank you to Jimmy Cunningham who wrote:

Craigmillar and Australia

"I lived in Craigmillar, on and off, in the 1960s and 1970s.

My mum and dad, Chrissie and Davie Cunningham, along with myself and 4 brothers Tam, John, Davie and Andy emigrated to  Sydney Australia for nearly three years during that time. We were called the '£10 Poms'.  It took us a whole month on a liner to get there.

We had to stick it out there for nearly three years in order to return for the £10 fare.  We could have returned sooner but we would have had to pay the full fare which we could not afford

Before we went, we lived in Craigmillar Castle Terrace.  When we eventually returned to Edinburgh, after failing to settle in Australia, we came back to Craigmillar Castle Avenue, with very little money and a trunk containing all our belongings."

Guiders

"When we lived in Craigmillar Castle Terrace, I spent a lot of my time with my school pals, James Rutherford, Steven McDonald and Charles McCourt, collecting wood and any kind of wheels to make guiders. (wooden carts on wheels)

With a bit of rope and our feet to steer it we would run across Craigmillar Castle Road to the far end of the Terrace and back again, taking turns to either push it, or sit on it and steer for hours after school."

Ice Cream Van

"Another game we used to play was to hold on to the back bumper of the ice cream van for as long as we could after it pulled away to go to its next call. (We did this for a dare.  The  idea was to see who would be the last person to let go of the van.)

One day I held on for too long as the van picked up speed. I got too scared to let go and held on.  It dragged me right across the main junction. I remember shouting but the driver could not hear me because of the chimes.

My shins and knee's were in one heck of a mess when the driver did stop, and I still have the scars to this day."

Sugarally Water

"Does anyone from Craigmillar remember Sugarally Water?

We could never afford to buy bottles of proper juice or lemonade.  Mum used to give us money to go down to the chemist for what I can only call thick pieces of what looked like licorice sticks.  We would snap them into bits and pop them into an empty juice bottle filled with water.

The bottle had to be kept in the dark, always under my bed, and the licorice would eventually dissolve into the water. The bottle needed to be vigorously shaken regularly to speed up the process. Lets just say that after a week the contents were very dark and flat and it had a taste of its own. But we made it week after week.

The bottle would then be left beside a goal post usually a jumper, and was always emptied during a long game of football.

Does anyone know exactly what was in the sticks we bought from the chemist to make the drink?"

Rag & Bonne Man

"I remember there used to be a rag and bone man.  He would come around collecting old clothes either sounding a horn, shouting or ringing a bell, to let people know he was in the area.

If you handed over one item of clothing such as a shirt he would give you a balloon. More clothes than that would mean something like a lucky bag or bigger bags of sweets.

One time, when he came to the street I grabbed a scarf from the hall (that was not to be given to him) and got the usual balloon. My mum went 'radge' at me and ran down the street after him, taking the balloon with her to get it back."

Fish & Chip Van

"I can also remember a mobile fish and chip van, regularly parking on the junction of Craigmillar Castle Terrace where it met Craigmillar Castle Road.

A mobile fish and chip van with all that hot fat sloshing about while it drove from one stop to another!  I doubt it would be allowed today."

Other Families

"Family's we remember from that time at Craigmillar are:

-  the McCartneys.

-  the Poultons.

-  the Rutherfords.

-  the Henrys.

-  the Brennans.

-  the Handrens.

We would love to find out how they are doing now, and if they remember us."

Jimmy Cunningham, Gracemount, Edinburgh:  August 26, 2009

Reply?

If you'd like to send a reply to Jimmy, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.    Thank you.

-  Peter Stubbs:  August 26, 2009

Recollections

9.

Jimmy Cunningham

Gracemount, Edinburgh

Thank you to Jimmy Cunningham who wrote:

Barber's Shop

"Does anyone remember a barber in the 1950s-60s, somewhere in Craigmillar or Niddrie, called Gaegi? His name was pronounced 'Gaygie', but I'm not sure of the spelling.  My brothers seem to think he might have been Hungarian or Polish, or at least East European.

My brothers and I would say when we went for a haircut:  'I'm am going for a Gaegi' or 'I'm going for a Gaegi Special'.  Still, today, when we meet each other, we will say: 'Where did you get the Gaegi?"

Jimmy Cunningham, Gracemount, Edinburgh:  September 28, 2009

Reply?

If you'd like to send a reply to Jimmy, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.    Thank you.

-  Peter Stubbs:  September 28, 2009

Recollections

10.

Davy Turner

Craigmillar, Edinburgh

Thank you to Davy Turner who replied to 9 above.

Davy Turner wrote:

Barber's Shop

'Tannery Gaygie'

"In reply to Jimmy Cunningham's query  regarding a barber called Gaygie, I remember him as being called Tannery Gaygie as he used to charge a tanner (sixpence)* for a bowl crop cut.

He never had a shop, as far as I am aware.  Some local kids used to go to his house in the Niddrie / Wauchope area, if i remember correctly.

I only went the once, thinking I was being clever as my dad had given me a shilling** to get my hair cut at the local barber.  I decided to get my hair cut at Tannery Gaygie's and pocket the  other tanner.

Big Mistake!  Needless to say, it was my first and last attempt at pulling the wool over my dad's eyes."

Davy Turner, Craigmillar, Edinburgh:  October 1, 2009

* Sixpence = 2.5 new pence = £0.025.          ** A shilling = 5 new pence = £0.05

Recollections

11.

Jimmy Cunningham

Gracemount, Edinburgh

Jimmy Cunningham replied to 10 above.

Jimmy wrote

Barber's Shop

"David Turner's comments about 'Tannery Gaygie' ring a bell.  I have heard my elder brothers use that expression.

I am also pretty sure that Gaygie could only do one style, and yes that was a bowl cut."

Jimmy Cunningham, Gracemount, Edinburgh:  September 28, 2009

Recollections

12.

Carol Lamond

Argyll, Scotland

Carol Lamond wrote

The Lamond Family

Granny

"My Granny Lamond and my father, Jimmy Lamond, lived at 10 Harewood Drive in the 1960s and 1970s, having moved there from Loanhead.

Neighbour

"Upstairs lived an elderly woman called Mrs Trotter, who used to sing  'And it's Oh that I'm longing for my ain folk'."

Father

"My father Jimmy (born 1931) was the youngest of a family of five with an older brother and three older sisters: Willy, Cathy, Ellen, Dorothy.  Dad was in the Merchant Navy and was also a coalman, amongst other work.

He has not told us much about our family, but I do remember him telling me that as a young boy he used to hide the shilling pieces down the windowsill when the gas meter was emptied and counted, to be retrieved later."

"Although I never knew my Grandad William, who died before I was born, I was always told that his policeman's hat remained on the door to scare would-be burglars.

The funny thing is I think he was a gardener and had served in the army in India, but had never been a policeman."

The Family

"Does anyone have any memories of my family?  I live in Argyll now, although as a child I lived in Magdalene Gardens, Edinburgh."

Carol Lamond, Argyll, Scotland:  October 6, 2009

Reply to Carol

If you'd like to send a reply to Carol, please email me, then I'll pas on her contact details to you.   Thank you.

Peter Stubbs:  October 6, 2009

Recollections

13.

Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson
(aka Johni Stanton)

Craigmillar, Edinburgh

Thank you to Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson who wrote:

The Mighty Block

"We would take the road from Craigmillar Crossroads, along Peffermill Road, turn left up Bridgend into Old Dalkeith Road, continue up to Edmonstone, then turn left along towards the road up to where the City Bypass is now.  We'd then turn left again, up the Wisp Road, continuing down to the Wisp Crossroads, then turn left along Niddrie Mains Road and back to Craigmillar Crossroads.

For a bunch of 10-year-olds who just built their first bikes from parts scavenged at the City Dump on Old Dalkeith Road, that was a good long trip round the 'block'!"

The Dump

"Getting to the dump was, in itself, an adventure.  You had to go through the 'Danger Woods', skirting the 80 ft drops along the cliff top, toward the woods next to the Inch area, while also trying to avoid being seen by farmer AND Dump workers, 'cos they chased you away!

Not that they ever succeeded, since all the kids in my street (Craigmillar Castle Terrace) had bikes that we built from those scavenged parts, from frames to wheels!"

Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson (aka Johnni Stanton): November 9, 2009

Recollections

14.

Jim Salkeld

Sighthill, Edinburgh

Here is another reply to the question in 10 above.  It comes from Jim Salkeld who wrote:

Barber's Shop

"I remember Gaegi, the barber at Niddrie, very well indeed.  His name was William Gay and he lived in Niddrie Mains Drive where it cut across the top and lower half of Wauchope Road.

I was born and brought-up at 4 Wauchope Road and lived in 12 Wauchope Road after I was married.

I lived in Niddrie for 37 years, then moved to the west side of Edinburgh in 1988.  I have many fond memories of Niddrie and Craigmillar.  It was a great place to live."

Jim Salkeld, Sighthill, Edinburgh:  March 7, 2010

Recollections

15.

Georgina Lynch

Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Thank you to Georgina Lynch who replied to Jimmy Cunningham's message in 8 above.

Georgina wrote:

Ice Cream Van and Chip Van

"It was great to hear of all these stories of Craigmillar and how there were visits by the rag and bone man, the ice cream van with the boys hanging off the end of them - great times for reminiscing.

I also remember the chip van and how it went on fire one day directly outside our house (10 Craigmillar Castle Terrace) and my dad going off to help douse the flames.  The smell lingered in the air for weeks afterwards."

Games

"Does anybody remember:

-  the peevers?

-  kerby?

-  concerts in the back greens?

-  pole swings?"

Georgina Lynch, Murrayfield, Edinburgh:  September 5, 2010

Recollections

16.

Tam Ford

Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Thomas Ford who read Carol Lamond's Recollections 12 above and replied:

10 Harewood Drive

"Carol mentions a Mrs Trotter of 10 Harewood Drive.  That's my uncle's mum (Arthur Trotter).  He's 80 now.

I only know that he lived at No.10 because my dad, Tam Ford of Harewood Drive got the No.10 plate from  the stair when they were knocking it down.  He gave it to Arthur who now lives in Australia."

Tam Ford, Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland:  September 7, 2010

Recollections

17.

Wullie Jennings

Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Thank you to Wullie Jennings who wrote

Neighbours

"I lived in Craigmillar Castle Terrace and Road from 1955 until 1975. It was a great place to have grown up in.  At least you knew your neighbour's then, unlike today."

Chip Van

"Georgina Lynch (15 above) is right about where the chip van caught fire.  When the van turned left into Craigmillar Castle Terrace the cooking fat, which was heating up as the chippie drove to his pitch, must have overspilled onto the engine.

I believe that it was, in fact, an old bus.  All that was left of it was the chassis.  This ended up down in Duddingston Road West, just past the little house, by the old railway line."

Ice Cream Van

"The ice cream man who used to do the rounds in Craigmillar was known as Rudy, but I believe that his correct name was Antonio Capavani (or something like that)."

Wullie Jennings, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England:  January 8, 2011

Recollections

18.

Mike Thomson

Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Thank you to Mike Thomson who wrote about the fireworks factory that used to be near Craigmillar Castle.  He hopes that others will remember this factory and be able to tell him more about it.

Mike wrote:

Fireworks Factory

Research

"I'm from Aberdeen, but  I studied in Edinburgh during the 1960s and ever since then Edinburgh has been a 'home from home'.

For some time I've been researching a subject that's been touched on by one or two of your contributors in their recollections of the Craigmillar area - the fireworks factory that was at one time situated in one of the old quarries by Craigmillar Castle.

I was able to gather enough material to write a fairly sketchy article for a magazine called 'Fireworks' a few years ago, but I have a long way to go yet. 
Yes, there's a magazine for firework professionals and nostalgia-wallowers alike!

1950s to 1970s

"Under Hammond's youngest daughter, Violet Thomson, shop fireworks were apparently being made in the 1950s and the firm remained active until at least the early 1960s, but how active, and making what, is not clear.

Violet apparently went on working until well after what we would consider retirement age; she did finally give up some time in the 1960s and died in 1970, but I have never been able to find out when the factory closed.  The company's name appears in the Edinburgh Directory up to 1973, but by that time it was long gone.

When I lived in Edinburgh in the late-1960s, I never heard Hammonds fireworks mentioned, and nobody I have spoken to since in Edinburgh has any recollection of them.  In the 1950s and maybe even in the 1960s some were made for export under the name Victory Fireworks, but whether these were also sold here under that name no-one seems to know."

Directories

"Interestingly, in the Edinburgh Directory from 1954 onwards the company is no longer described as firework manufacturers, and I wonder whether this is a clue.  In the face of huge competition from the major manufacturers and their very aggressive marketing tactics, smaller firms were badly squeezed and some disappeared or were taken over."

Questions

"Could it be that Hammonds decided to go over to export work and perhaps other lines of non-firework pyrotechnics, putting the local sale of Hammond shop fireworks much further back in the past?  It's only a conjecture.  Is the answer out there?

Might any Edinphoto contributors remember Hammond fireworks, or be able to shed and light at at all on this rather obscure corner of the city's history?"

Danger Woods

"The Edinphoto recollections of 'Danger Woods' are interesting.  It was dangerous, all right.  Apparently the little sheds that made up the closed firework factory were left full of chemicals, some highly hazardous, and these were disposed of underground when the the site was cleared for a rubbish dump in 1970."

Explosion

"Years later, in 1982, the whole lot went up in an almighty explosion which is thought to have been caused by the formation of hydrogen which eventually ignited.  No doubt those who were resident in Craigmillar at that time will remember it well.  Certainly, it can't be said that Hammond's didn't go out with a bang!"

Mike Thomson, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland:  January 27, 2011

Reply to Mike?

If you remember anything about the fireworks factory, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to Mike.    Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:  February 4, 2011

Recollections

18.

Reply 1.

Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson
(aka Johni Stanton)

Craigmillar Archives Trust, Edinburgh

Thank you to Johnni who wrote:

Research

"I did some research into the fireworks factory last September.  It was my playground in the 1960.  I'll be happy to share my memories of it later.

-  I found two Hammond adverts on this page on the Fireworks Ads web site. 

-  I found an article about the 1982 explosion in the New Scientist."

-  I'm in the process of procuring some photos of the factory workers in the 1890s.

-  I'll be happy to share my memories of the factory once I've attended to the needs of the Craigmillar Archive Trust."

Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson (aka Johnni Stanton), Craigmillar Archives Trust
February 4+5, 2011

Recollections

18.

Reply 2.

Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson
(aka Johni Stanton)

Craigmillar Archives Trust, Edinburgh

Thank you to Johnni who added:

Danger Woods

"I played in the Danger Woods a lot, like  -  a real lot!  -  and can tell you that the factory ceased production around 1950 and was mostly dismantled then.

The huts in the woods were used mainly for storage for many years after 1950.  From the mid-1950s onwards, they were constantly broken into by some local youths for bonfire fireworks.

They didn't get their hand on actual fireworks, only the gunpowder cubes (hundreds of them) which did all sorts of colourful fireworkey things.

My wee brother, Martin, who was around eight at the time, did manage to find a Verey pistol and some bullets.  That caused a stir in our street, before we all fled at the first sight of a cop on the horizon!

The huts were bulldozed and the collected remnants of gunpowder transported a short distance to the local dump.  One of our Archives researchers, Andy Wanstell,  was a policeman at the time and he remembers the explosion since he was one of the first on the scene!   I've got him doing some work on it."

Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson (aka Johnni Stanton), Craigmillar Archives Trust
February 4, 2011

Recollections

18.

Reply 3.

Mike Thomson

Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Thank you to Mike who replied:

Early-1950s

"Thank you to Johnni Stanton for coming back so quickly.  It certainly settles the question of what happened to Hammonds and why the trail goes cold after the early 1950s.  I knew that the company had got going again after the second world war.  For a time, they made jumping crackers for another firm in exchange for some other type of firework but that ended about 1951 when, it is said, they 'got into difficulties'."

Even if Hammonds made it into 1951, that must have been their last season.  No wonder the Edinburgh Directory doesn't carry any entry for firework manufacturers after 1953.

 Interestingly, the site is shown as an 'explosives factory' near the top-left corner of this 1955 Bartholomew map:

 ©

 It's rather amazing that the authorities should have allowed those sheds, full of what were pretty hazardous chemicals, to just sit around like that - and for years and years too.  I don't, somehow, think they'd allow it now!"

World War II

"Hammonds was a very small firm and, very likely, it would not have been able to compete with the major manufacturers.  We have no idea what, if anything, they produced during the war.

Firework manufacturers had to store any finished stock for the duration.  Some concerns would have been on 'war work'; others would have had to suspend operations.  If this was the case with Hammonds, maybe they never were able to build up a market again.  Even if they had, they would have come up against such a deluge of restrictions and safety regulations that it seems difficult to see how they could have survived."

Mike Thomson, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland: February 5, 2011

Recollections

18.

Reply 4.

Ian Hammond Brown

Thank you to Ian who replied:

Family

"I read with interest the comments above about the Hammond fireworks factory. I grew up with tales of this factory from my Grandmother Rebecca Hay (nee. Hammond) who was related to the family. I believe Thomas was her uncle.

My Gran used to tell me about:

- my great uncle, one of Thomas' other brothers who apparently blew his arm off in an explosion, while he was experimenting with a new idea for a firework, when the business was based at Powderhall in Edinburgh.

-  how, when she was young, she would be treated to fabulous fireworks displays on bonfire night made for the family. 

When I was younger I also remember being shown photos of the factory and workers and my Gran showing me a small handwritten notebook that contained 'recipes' for fireworks. Unfortunately, after she died in 1991, aged 89, I don't know what happened to the book or photos"

Any More Information?

"I would be interested to discover more about the history of the family business."

Ian Hammond Brown, Composer, Lyricist:  May 15, 2011

Recollections

18.

Reply 5.

David Thomson

Thank you to David Thomson who replied:

"It's nice to hear of the interest in Craigmillar."

Flares

"It is my belief that near the end, Hammond's Firework Factory produced flares for the RNLI."

Explosion

"When the factory closed the contents were dumped in one of the quarries and in the 1980s, there was a problem with internal combustion which caused an explosion."

David Thomson, Broughton, Edinburgh  October 4, 2011

Recollections

18.

Reply 6.

Mike Thomson

Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Thank you to Mike Thomson for writing again.

Mike wrote:

Hammond's Fireworks

Hammond's at Craigmillar

"I've just been catching up with the latest contributions from Ian Hammond Brown and David Thomson on the Hammonds firework business at Craigmillar.  These are most interesting. 

Hammond's at Powderhall

"The location of Thomas Hammond's factory at Powderhall appears to have been a piece of ground between what was to become Powderhall Stadium and the Water of Leith.  It can be seen on old maps and it seems to approximate, since the area's redevelopment for housing, to the area bounded by Powderhall Road, Powderhall Brae and Powderhall Rigg.

I don't suppose disastrous industrial accidents were exactly uncommon in the 1870s, but given that Thomas Hammond's activities had just about blown up half the Canongate the last time things went wrong, one might wonder whether the loss of a limb by a member of his family in a further accident might have kept the city authorities in mind of the dangerous nature of his business and directly or indirectly resulted in his move to Craigmillar."

Pyrotechnics

"David Thomson's observation seems to confirm that Hammond's carried on their traditional lines of pyrotechnic business outwith the making of shop fireworks.  It also seems to tie in very neatly with Johnni Stanton's recollection of the finding of a Very pistol in the defunct works."

Advertisements

"Hammond's are known to have advertised their own brand of Victory Fireworks in places like The Scout magazine and the Games and Toys Yearbook up to 1952 - perhaps 1953.  After that there is no further mention of their own product and it looks as if that was the point when the making of their own shop product ceased.  Yet the company was not wound up.

It continued with Yearbook entries under 'amorces', 'fireworks' and 'indoor fireworks and sparklers' until 1970 when Violet Thomson died."

Signal Rockets

"The Edinburgh Directory has no mention of Hammonds as firework manufacturers after 1953, but a general entry for them continues in the alphabetical section.  So they were still selling something, and members of the Hammond family recollect having had fun with ships' signal rockets during the 1950s and 1960s.

It seems that Violet Thomson continued as a dealer in pyrotechnics of one kind or another, even if only in a small way, more or less to the end of her life"

'Fireworks Magazine'

"I am writing this up for 'Fireworks' magazine, and I hope that the information given by the New Scientist's account of the explosion of the dump of ex-Hammonds chemicals might enable the experts who read it to tell us more about what the factory was producing latterly.

It is already clear that many of the chemicals involved were used to make pyrotechnic colours, which would certainly bear out the idea of flares."

Mike Thomson, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland: November 28, 2011

Recollections

19.

Elliot Laing

Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Elliot Laing who replied:

The Tablet Man

"Does anyone remember the 'tablet man' coming round.  This was my dad.  He used to sell tablet, toffee doddles, toffee apples etc. He went around Craigmillar and Niddrie in his small van selling his tablet between about 1956 and 1960.

He then stopped, and started again with a small ice cream van from which he also sold his tablet and sweets in the 1960s.

I seem to remember he had a huge following. His name is Peter O'Malley. He is now 85 and in frail health but it would be great to let him read any memories people may have of that time as he made all the sweeties by himself.

Gala Queen

My aunty, Nessie Robertson was five years older than me.  She was the Gala Queen at Niddrie probably around 1955/56.  Mrs Sommerville (who owned the sweet shop, I think) crowned her.

I remember how we all looked forward to our bags with scotch pies and buns on gala day.  Simple pleasures back then, eh.

Up the Woods

I also remember going 'up the woods' to play.  This was, of course the Wauchope estate.  We used to think a witch lived in the big house.

Whoever lived there must have been sick of us kids shouting 'Auld granny witchy; yer bums awfy itchy'."

District Nurse

"Does  anyone remember the district nurse in the 1950s, called nurse Elsie Easton?  She knew the name of every kid in Niddries.  How she managed it, I will never know. She was a true gem.  All us kids loved her."

Elliot Laing, Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland:  March 18, 2011

Recollections

20.

Alec Gallacher

Leith, Edinburgh

Thank you to Alec Gallacher  who wrote

The 1960s

Shows

"I remember Mr Beaumont.  He would entertain us with shows like The Sandy Club with competitions between Craigmillar and Peffermill Primary schools.  He was a good man.  He cared for the kids and would give sweets to the winner.

The Street

"I remember the coal man in the street who would shout 'Coal', and the rag and bone man who would shout 'Any Old Rags?'   The rags were on us."

Alec Gallacher, Leith, Edinburgh, November 22, 2011

©

Notes and Maps showing areas
of Craigmillar and Niddrie

Recollections

Craigmillar 1940s + 1950s       Craigmillar 1960s + 1970s        Craigmillar 1970s + 1980s

Craigmillar Castle        Craigmillar Castle Estate        Niddrie      Edinburgh

Photos

Niddrie and Craigmillar Photos       Edinburgh Photos