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1.
Greta Gibson
USA |
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Thank you to Greta Gibson, for these
recollections of the 1960s.
Greta wrote:
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Manclark's
"George
T Smith, now living in from British Columbia, mentioned
Manclark's sewing factory.
George said: 'It
seemed staffed by girls from the Calders'.
I
am from
East Ealder used to work there.
Then I moved to Robbie Ave
Gorgie."
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Snowhite Laundry
"I
also wanted a wee mention of Snowhite laundry where my
Brother-in-law
put me in a big tub of soap bubbles to
show off in front of
palls.
I had
to walk up the road and go back to work at the
Waverly laundry, ahha!" |
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Lemonade Factory
"The
Lemonade Factory was Kelly's. My mom
made the lemonade, and in
'65 I worked there.
We made Blue Bass and the vans
also brought in
Guinness. My, my, what memories!
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Baker
"I
remember going to the baker and getting a
pie and an apple turnover with my Ma at
break time, and yummy bran
scones, |
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Memories
"Thanks
again. I'm
really enjoying this. My girlfriend
from Livingston sent the web page, to US
for me and, boy oh boy,
I can say I had a good greet too." |
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Greta Gibson, USA: February 6,
2007 |
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2.
Dorothy Jeremy
England |
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Thank you to Dorothy Jeremy, now Dorothy Land, for these recollections
of the 1950s.
Dorothy wrote:
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Gorgie Tenement
"I was born in
1951 and brought up in Gorgie with my mother and grandparents at 354
Gorgie Road, a tenement block with a row of shops along the bottom,
if my memory serves me right." |
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Industry
"I left for England when I was three, but
returned every
summer to spend a
few weeks with my Granny.
She lived in the heart of Gorgie, within a short walk of the Cox's
Glue Works, the Shunting Yards, the Heart of Midlothian Football
Ground and my Uncle's place of work, Gilbey's Gin Distillery."
See also, comments on Gilbey's Gin
from:
- George T
Smith [3. below]
- Dorothy Jeremy [4 below] |
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Coal
Deliveries
"I am old
enough to remember the coal coming on a horse-drawn cart, the sacks
of coal and coal dust 'bricks' being carried up 5 flights of stairs
and along our hall to be hurled into a wooden cupboard in the
kitchen.
My granny would
skuttle about, putting down old newspaper to keep the hall carpet
clean before they arrived."
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Washing
"My granny
did her washing at the sink, using a washboard and a mangle that she
clamped onto the sink. There was a drying frame on a pulley on the
kitchen ceiling and you had to dodge about in the kitchen on wet
washdays or you'd get a slap across the face with a wet sheet.
On warm days the
washing got put out on the communal washing lines in the yard
below. One day my granny lost her wedding ring while hanging out
the washing and offered the local children a 'jeely piece' (bread
and jam) to the one who found it. They found it!"
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Rag and
Bone Man
"The Rag and
Bone man would also visit with his cart. His strange cry of
'REKBO' 'REKBO' would bring the children running out. I think
he gave out balloons for rags."
See also, comments from George T
Smith [3. below] |
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Shopping
"I have very
vivid memories of 'getting the messages', or doing the shopping,
with Granny Aspey.
- First, would be the
greengrocer with the all pervading smell of boiling beetroots
- Then, the very
long, patient, queue for the baker. I remember with fondness
the Morning Rolls, Vanilla Slices and Coconut Cakes.
- We would go the the
Coop Dairy (St Cuthbert's) to buy the milk tokens, which were made
from an early form of dark red plastic (Bakelite). These would
be left out with the empty bottles to pay for the next milk
delivery.
- We might pop to the
butcher for a bit of "Potted Heed" (pork meat brawn) or a pig's
trotter, I don't recall any steak!
- The Fishmonger's
was run by the Haliburton Family, who stood on wooden duck boards at
the large sinks that ran behind the fish counter. They would take
the fresh fish from out the back, and skin and fillet it for you in
a matter of seconds with breathtaking skill." |
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Ice
Cream Parlour
"The local
Ice Cream Parlour was owned by a big-hearted Italian. The story
goes that when my mother was expecting me, she ate rather a lot of
his vanilla Ice cream.
After I was born,
she would take me into his Parlour where he would greet with me
delight and tell anyone present:
'You
see thisa lovally baby?
My Icacream mada thisa lovally baby!'." |
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Sweets
"Another
recollection about my Edinburgh childhood was the amount of sweeties
we all consumed - bought and home-made. I think all the
children born in the early 50's were indulged by their parents
because of war-time austerity.
I had a mouth
full of fillings before my 'teens after sucking on:
-
'Edinburgh Rock'
-
'Berwick Cockles'
- tablet
-
home-made
honeycomb
-
treacle toffees
-
sherbert dabs and
-
coconut
ice.
This was all
washed down with fizzy Cremola Foam which was a sherbert drink that
came in a powder form, Raspberry or Orange flavour.
The now iconic
tin featured the moon with a grinning face." |
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Chocolate Spillage
"My favourite
family story has never been verified, so it might well be
exaggerated. After living in Gorgie Road my grandmother moved
to Stewart Terrace in Gorgie, opposite the McVities biscuit factory.
One afternoon the
tanker that brought the liquid chocolate to the factory had a
spillage and flooded the street.
Despite Health
Warnings from a factory official, everyone in Stewart Terrace rushed
out with saucepans and jam jars and scooped up the chocolate.
If it's not true,
it should be! Can you imagine the scene? |
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Dorothy Land (nee Jeremy), Suffolk,
England: June 1+3, 2007 |
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3.
George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada |
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Thank you to George T Smith for the following
comments made in response to Dorothy
Jeremy's comments above.
George wrote:
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Distillery
"The nearest
distillery to Gorgie was the North British which made Scotch Whisky
(technically BPS or British Plain Spirits until 'aged in the wood').
Gilbey's is
a London firm. I concede that part of the spirits distilled in
Scotland go to London for second distilling into gin but I
can't remember tankers from NB.
Most of Friday's
distilling at Cambus distillery (Alloa, now closed) was sent by
road tanker to London." |
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Rag and
Bone Man
"The rag and
bone man's cry 'Rekbo' is likely a memory of 'Rags, Bones' heard
from a hoarse voice? Personally I remember the badly played bugle
blast.." |
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Sweets
"Dorothy Jeremy's
memory of the 'sweeties' like tablet made my (remaining)
teeth corrode.
We all seemed to
have had this craving for sweets and most of us from that era
suffered early toothache, cavities etc." |
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Washing
"Dorothy Jeremy's
wash day memories brought back to mind that 'sculleries'
were equipped with two sinks - one a deep 'Belfast sink' with a
'bunker' over it - with a cast iron gadget between them on which the
wringer was clamped.
Small boys were
enlisted to turn the handle. I suspect that washing was done on
Sundays, despite our Sunday observance traditions as washing
appeared very early on Mondays.
The 'pulley' in
the kitchen may get a resurgence in these days of global warming and
energy conservation. Here in this part of Canada we must not
hang our wet washing in the 'yard' so must use an electric dryer." |
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George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada: June 3, 2007 |
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4.
Dorothy Jeremy
England |
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Thank you to Dorothy Jeremy, now Dorothy
Land, for the following further comments on Gilbey's Gin
Dorothy wrote:
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Gilbey's Gin
"My
father corrected me this morning saying that my uncle worked at a
bottling plant, not the distillery, a "bus ride" away from Gorgie.
My uncle bottled
Gilbey's Gin amongst other drinks.
Sometimes a
bottle would smash and the contents would soak his overalls. When my
uncle took the bus home, everyone would try and sit as far away as
possible from 'the drunk who was reeking of gin'." |
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Jeely
Pieces
"My father also
told me that in the early days, when the children were playing in
the washing yard below the tenements, they would call up to their
mothers for a 'jeely piece'.
The
mums would put a slice of bread and jam in an old paper bag and
throw it down to them.
The first
Takeaways!" |
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Dorothy Land (nee Jeremy), Suffolk,
England: June 4, 2007 |
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