Edinburgh History - Recollections of Waverley Market

Recollections Trinity Academy ©
1.	Yvonne Cain (nee Dorr) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	- Ride and Slide Shows
2.	Tony Ivanov Bo'ness West Lothian, Scotland	- Waverley Carnival
3.	Lyndsay Montgomery Old Town, Edinburgh	- Ideal Home Exhibitions - Mod Ball
4.	Donald Grant Bo'ness West Lothian, Scotland	- Christmas Fun Fair - Ideal Home Exhibition - Closing Night - Civic Exhibition
5.	John Clark Bo'ness West Lothian, Scotland	- Circus - Rides - Safety Shows - Flea Circus

Recollections

Yvonne Cain (nee Dorr)

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia:

Yvonne Cain (nee Dorr), now living in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia wrote:

Ride and Slide Shows

"Did Waverly Market have a ride and side shows in the late-1960s? I can remember going to them."

Yvonne Cain (nee Dorr), now living in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: October 6, 2006

Recollections

Tony Ivanov

Bo'ness, West Lothian, Scotland

Tony wrote

Waverley Carnival

"Yvonne Cain writes, albeit in 2006, asking about ride and side shows in the Waverley market in the 60's

I can remember going to the Carnival there, almost every year in the 1950s and 1960s.

The circus even performed there, and I am almost certain it was there that I saw the famous Moscow State Circus."

Tony Ivanov, Bo'ness, West Lothian, Scotland: March 10, 2008

Recollections

Lyndsay Montgomery

Old Town, Edinburgh

Lyndsay wrote

Ideal Homes Exhibitions

"I was reading Yvonne Cain's few lines about her memories of the Waverley Market, and she was right. Not only the Carnival and circuses, but I'm sure that every few years (I can't remember if it was every year) there was the Ideal Home Exhibition as well. All the latest inventions (mod cons) of the day were there to be demonstrated and sold if the sales people were smart enough.

There was even a complete home built inside, supposedly, with all the latest gadgets etc. I was only young at the time, and thought a lot of it was weird."

Mod Ball

"However, a few years later, I was at the Waverley Market again, to go to the Mod Ball, a big difference !!

I think there were some local bands playing. I was there to see and be seen, and of course to see the headlining band of the night, 'The Pretty Things'.

This was so many years ago that I don't remember much about it, other than my friend Heather Gibson, that I went with and I, met these two lads that we knew from the Beatle Queue - the all night queue to buy tickets for the first Beatles concert in the Regal on Lothian Road.

I later met a boy from outside Edinburgh (the sticks) who was extremely fashionably dressed in a cord suit with a fancy shirt and tie, I was very impressed, and I walked him to his bus- stop, he having to leave early to get back home before the last bus left.

Later my friend and I walked home full of talk of this, to us, fabulous evening."

Lyndsay (formerly Linda) Montgomery: July 21, 2008

Recollections

Donald Grant

Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland

Donald wrote

Christmas Fun Fair

"There was a Fun Fair held at Waverley Market every Christmas and New Year in the1960s, as far as I remember but I don't recall a circus there.

Maybe there was a circus but I didn't pay attention, it was the rides I was interested in."

Ideal Homes Exhibition

"The Ideal Home Exhibition was an annual event, organised by the Edinburgh Evening News.

They used to sell a few extra papers during the exhibition as they had a sort of random spot competition. If you were seen to be in possession of a copy of that day's paper and were lucky enough to be picked there was a small cash prize.

They also used to hide stars on some of the stands and if you managed to find one there was a prize for that too."

Closing Night

"I used to work a nightshift for House Of Clydesdale at the show. It was the one and only night shift available for the year and it was always offered to the younger apprentices because they were cheaper to pay double time to.

On the closing night of the exhibition all I had to do, along with a couple of colleagues, was be in attendance on the stand to ensure nothing was stolen.

We used to clear our stand on the Sunday morning but others worked through the Saturday night stripping theirs down. They didn't start until after the football highlights programme was finished though.

Quite a number of men gathered on our stand where we had kept the televisions switched on to watch the football, usually the Home Internationals as the Ideal Home show was usually held in May.

Rather a good arrangement evolved. We supplied the TV and something to sit on (usually a fridge or freezer) and they brought the beer. We were never short of food as there was loads that was just going to get thrown away by other exhibitors, so it 'migrated' towards our stand when the show closed."

Civic Exhibition

"I can also recall, sometime in the early 1960s, the then Edinburgh Corporation mounted a Civic Exhibition at Waverley Market.

I can't really remember too much about the content other than the chassis and cab of a Leyland Tiger Cub being there. You could get into the driving seat and 'have a shot' behind the wheel. Great fun for a small boy.!

The police also had a road safety stand with a 'talking' Belisha Beacon. The stand was manned by the same officers as used to go round the city primary schools doing road safety demonstrations.

I suppose there would have been representatives from all the Corporation departments at the show with their own stands but I really can't remember now."

Donald Grant, Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland: July 24, 2008

Recollections

John Clark

Canada

Thank you to John Clark who wrote:

Circus

"To Yvonne and Tony and others who wrote about the Waverley Market - There certainly was a circus there. I went there in 1949 or 1950. with the North Merchiston Boys' Club."

Rides

"There were also many rides there, and the Home Show too.

I remember one particular ride called 'The Rotor'. It was cylindrical, and you stood with your back against the wall, then it started to spin faster and faster, then the floor dropped down and you were stuck to the wall by centrifugal force.

I came off it and threw up immediately."

Safety Shows

"There was also safety shows by the Police, and you could guide a car around a series of blocks by an electrical wire which was attached (state of the art at that time)."

Flea Circus

"I also remember there was a flea circus, where you could see fleas walking a tightrope and riding a bicycle and doing all kinds of silly things. I've told people about this over the years, and hardly anyone believes me.

There was even an ad in the paper saying that they would pay as much as £2 for a good sizes flea. No kidding!"

John Clark, Canada: February 5, 2008

Recollections

George Smith

British Columbia, Canada

Thank you to George Smith who wrote:

Circus

"I remember being taken to a circus at Waverley Market.

The memory is vague, but I believe that the visit was pre-WWII when I was quite small. I'm inclined to believe the circus was an annual event, say around Christmas?"

George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada