Edinburgh History - North Edinburgh

Recollections

Donny Coutts

East Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Donny Coutts who wrote:

Growing up in Goldenacre

"I was brought up in Goldenacre and lived there until 1974 when my parents moved to Grierson in the Boswalls.

My parents lived in Royston Terrace, oddly enough not very near Royston. Most of us in that street went to Wardie Primary school and thence on to Trinity or Broughton secondaries.

My old man used to go to Spiers’ Bar with the dog in tow, and the Saturday shopping was done over at St. Cuthbert’s store on the cusp of Ferry Road and South Trinity Road where a branch of RBS now stands.

The old boy also had an account with Juner’s Garage and would wash his van out round the back whilst I’d get to sit in the old Austin Healeys that sat round there."

Milk Round

"During my early 'teens I, too, had a milk round: mine was doing the Bangholms and parts of South Trinity Road. St. Cuthbert’s by this time (1973) had been subsumed into Leith Provident.

You were always worried about getting the last barrow if you were slightly late for your round. There was always one that was near to being condemned, due to rotten wood or wobbly wheels.

There was always one guy (Alastair?) who got up ridiculously early just to get the best barrow and he had the nerve to chap on your door on the way back if you hadn’t yet showed up for your shift!

So off you’d go on winter mornings with your red flashing lamp hanging from the arm of the barrow. I used to bang the front end of the barrow on the street as I came into the quiet side roads off Clark Road, a practice I smartly stopped after the top crate came off one day and smashed most of the milk bottles onto the street!

You would get Christmas tips off people on your round and occasionally spy young girls gazing at you from their upstairs bedroom windows."

Guising and Bonfires

"We would go ‘guising’ round the flats on Halloween and venture down to Trinity and Newhaven for the bonfires that would be lit down there on Guy Fawkes’ Night, complete with spuds and neeps which we rolled into the ashes to cook after liberating them from gardens and allotments on the way."

Shops

"Next to Spiers’ was Trinity Taxis, which wasn’t a taxi office by the time I started going into it. It was, by then, a small convenience shop from which my old man would buy his 20 Woodbine and a pie for the dog after leaving the bar and heading home.

Around the corner on Inverleith Row were bakers and butchers and barbers who butchered your hair. Further down, near the bus stop, was a proper sweet shop run by an Italian, Mr Magoni. You could get just about any sweet in here. We used to scour the streets looking for empty lemonade bottles to return, get back the deposit and buy sweets from the Penny Tray!"

Evenings

"Evenings were spent in Clark Road park, getting chased by the 'Parkie’ in Heriot’s rugby fields or just hanging out in Royston Terrace - though occasionally we ventured down to Warriston Woods on our Chopper bikes to swing on the long ‘Tarzan’ ropes from which we would sometimes fall and break limbs.

There was a cub/scout group behind Clark Road park in the Bangholms which provided a bit of diversion for a few years. Still, we got fed up or grew out of it and there were plenty gardens to go ‘appling’ in during the autumn."

'The Canter'

"Another form of potentially hazardous entertainment was 'the canter’. This involved hanging around Magoni’s shop until one of the older open-backed buses came along.

If the conductor wasn’t at the bottom of the stairs, you would jump on and get a hurl for about fifteen feet or so and you jumped off before the bus got up to full steam.

Sometimes this jape backfired,as often as the buses did! If the driver saw you jump on and hang about, he would usually accelerate very quickly leaving you no option to jump off and hit the deck, skinning hands and knees - or else ride on the bus until it stopped again, usually down at Warriston or even Canonmills! And that’s a long uphill walk when you’re a kid!"

Leaving Goldenacre

"As time went on, the old, defunct railway lines and their bushes became areas to explore. We had excitement with the girls.

Then, suddenly, my parents were on the move to Grierson. Grierson was part of my life for 30 years after that but I often think back to the times of innocence spent at Goldenacre."

Donny Coutts, East Lothian, Scotland: August 3, 2010

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote:

Railway

"We used to frequent the railway line that brought coal from Scotland Street to Granton Gas Works. Wagons would often be parked alongside Warriston cemetery. They were utilised on summer evenings for romantic purposes at age fourteen."

Gang Hut

"Before the Miller's houses were constructed at the end of Warriston Avenue, there was an undeveloped area where we dug out a 'gang hut', some seven feet underground. This was used for smoking."

Greenhouses

"In 1957 my parents purchased a property in Warriston Avenue. Across the road lay a derelict nursery containing many dozens of greenhouses. Knowing that the site was about to be developed we spent many a happy evening throwing stones and bricks through the greenhouse windows until the site was taken over by Miller Homes."

Warriston Cemetery

"Warriston cemetery was frequented for innocent recreational purposes. The 'Red Lady' was deeply respected.

When it was completely vandalized in the 1970s or 1980s, I was 'sair affrontit', as were all of the local residents."

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: September 15, 2010

Recollections

Bruce Johnstone

Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Bruce Johnstone for writing again with recollections of deliveries around the Goldenacre area.

Bruce wrote:

Paper Rounds

"As a 13 year old, I was eligible to start a paper round. In the area of Boswall, Granton and Goldenacre, there were opportunities available at:

- Black's, Boswall Parkway

- Duncan's Post Office on Boswall Drive, Stevens Newsagents in Granton Road

- Matthew's at the top of Inverleith Row in Goldenacre.

Some of my friends who were a few weeks older than me were already working for Matthew's Newsagents and I soon got the opportunity at twelve shillings (12/-) a week – in the days when a Mars Bar cost 4 pennies (4d)*. I needed the regular Mars Bar as sustenance as I went direct to the shop from school."

* That's 36 Mars Bars for 12/-, or 60p in new money!

Cycling to Goldenacre

"My recall is of an early morning cycle to the shop from Pilton Crescent following the unused tram lines in Granton Road and Ferry Road, which were still in place in 1958, two years after the last tram had run.

It took almost taking as long for those rails to be removed as it is takinglines to be installed in 2011."

Morning Paper Run

"Our bikes for the cycle runs were parked outside, often waiting for the overslept owner to arrive. I had the morning route of Inverleith Place, Arboretum Road, Kinnear Road and Wardie Park – big houses that all impressed me. How could people afford these houses?"

Edinburgh financiers as owners of these houses were so nice to me – especially at Christmas. The housekeeper at one house was so scary, yet every Friday afternoon, I was invited in for a drink of juice, chocolate biscuits et al.

I recall the 2 large Edinburgh Academy Boarding Houses and their tennis courts, on the left in Kinnear Road. I only had 3 deliveries in this road, and yes, one was at the very end, number 48? Character forming, was it?

I also recall being asked to knock on the window of a house in Wardie Park to 'waken' the gentleman on a Saturday morning. That was the extent of it, but often there was a sixpence left with Mr Matthews, when he paid his newspaper account."

Afternoon Paper Run

"My afternoon run comprised of 50% of the morning run plus Ferry Road from Spiers Bar to Warriston Road. Thursdays were the worst afternoons – in those days there was a Weekly edition of the Scotsman.

A Weekly Scotsman PLUS The Radio Times – and yes, no one bothered about us becoming hunchy-backed or deformed with the weight of the bag – all for 12 bob a week! Cycling with this weight was also a challenge, but traffic was light.

Unlike the morning run I delivered to 2 large houses in Inverleith Place located to the left of what is now the extended Botanics land. The first was occupied by Ferranti, whose main Works was at Crewe Toll.

The next door mansion was the residence of the German Consulate. He gave me a book on the American War of Independence as a Christmas gift one year. Strange? I don’t know if the tennis courts are still there, between the Consulate and the Botanics.

Ferry Road was all quite straightforward, culminating with a delivery to a wooden-built 'house' in Bangholm Nurseries, now built over with houses. I would access it from Ferry Road, just after crossing the railway line before Warriston Road and cycle through flowers and vegetables to this insecure looking house.

In those days, customers were very generous with Christmas tips, making it all worthwhile."

Grocery Deliveries

"After two years or so, I moved on to Watson’s Licensed Grocer in Granton Road. The pay there was 30 bob per week and I got an average tips of 10 bob tips a week. That was for making deliveries on five afternoons and a Saturday morning. For younger readers, a bob was a shilling, now 5 pence."

Bruce Johnstone, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland: December 4, 2011

Recollections

Bruce Johnstone

Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Bruce Johnstone for writing again with recollections of deliveries around the Goldenacre area.

Bruce wrote:

Paper Rounds

"As a 13 year old, I was eligible to start a paper round. In the area of Boswall, Granton and Goldenacre, there were opportunities available at:

- Black's, Boswall Parkway

- Duncan's Post Office on Boswall Drive, Stevens Newsagents in Granton Road

- Matthew's at the top of Inverleith Row in Goldenacre.

* That's 36 Mars Bars for 12/-, or 60p in new money!

Cycling to Goldenacre

It took almost taking as long for those rails to be removed as it is takinglines to be installed in 2011."

Morning Paper Run

Afternoon Paper Run

In those days, customers were very generous with Christmas tips, making it all worthwhile."

Grocery Deliveries

Bruce Johnstone, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland: December 4, 2011

Recollections

Ronnie Soutar

Eddleston, Borders, Scotland

Thank you to Ronnie Soutar who wrote:

Paper Rounds

Mr Devoy's Shop

"I was aged 13, in 1957, when I started delivering papers for the newsagent, Mr Devoy. He had the shop in Inverleith Gardens where the stamp shop is now.

A 6.30am start for my normal run took in Inverleith Row and side streets, the Warriston estate, Inverleith Place and Arboretum Road.

The Co-op

"I made morning and afternoon deliveries Monday to Saturday, until I found that the Co-op, along the road, paid more for mornings and Saturday afternoons.

We had a dive for the good barrows from the lock-up in the lane at the side of the shop, then a queue to have our candle lamps lit (Yes, a candle in a lamp like an old roadworks lamp) before getting away on winter mornings.

I delivered to Warriston Road, until I left school, but I did not enjoy the delivery to the Crematorium gatehouse. Spooky!"

Ronnie Soutar, Eddleston, Borders, Scotland: July 28, 2014