Edinburgh History - Recollections

Recollections

Elizabeth Livingston

North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thank you to Elizabeth Livingston for sending her recollections of the time when she lived in Whitson Terrace and attended Ballgreen School, round the corner.

Elizabeth wrote:

Neighbours

"The people I remember from Whitson Terrace and 98 Whitson Road were the:

- Jordans

- Fogartys

- McLoughlins

- Livingastons

- McMillands

- Farmers

- Ulks

- Marinos

- Stocks

- Rileys

- Joyces

- Haggertys

- Grays

- Walkers

- Grandisons

- Burns

- and many more."

Housing, Shops and Schools

"Our suburban area, at the end of World War II, was a fairly new, containing many young families who had moved in from overcrowded areas of the City.

The accommodation was mainly three-storied tenements each with two or three bedroom apartments. The local shops, chemist, grocers, newsagent/post office and drysalters were vehicles for information exchange among the residents.

Children attended one of the two local schools, Catholic or Protestant. There was a local library and a large park nearby."

Return from the Forces

"Most of the households had men who were still serving in the forces and 'single mothers' headed many of the families for most of the year.

We were all quite familiar with the 'Welcome Home' banners to honor the returning servicemen and women, especially those who had been prisoners of war."

Street Parties

"The women organized street parties. In our street, Mrs. M was a familiar figure who would often come round and chap on the doors to gain monetary and human support for the street party.

She also came around when someone had died to collect for a wreath for the deceased person and support for the family.

The sheer luxury of ice cream, jelly and cake were looked forward to for days before the street party. Women would be baking cakes, sponges, shortbread and their special recipe for the party."

Snacks

"Our usual snack consisted of raw carrots, liquorice root, dry oatmeal, cocoa and sugar, when it was available, and rhubarb.

The latter usually came from someone’s garden patch. I believe that my good teeth are due to the scarcity of rationed sweeties and the custom of snacking on raw carrots, which were scraped against the wall."

School Dinners

"School dinners were available during the holidays. The menu did not change much. It was usually, soup, cake custard, mince and macaroni, and prunes and custard.

There were often ‘seconds' which many of the boys took advantage of. It was a good hot dinner for sixpence or a shilling."

'Latch-key' Kids

"The school children in the area were mainly 'latch-key' kids. It was a common sight to see a child with a key on a string around his/her neck.

Most of the mothers had some kind of job - dinner lady, school cleaner, cook or maid in someone’s house. These menial tasks brought extra money into the households to supplement service pensions. Someone’s mum was always around to act as an unofficial substitute mother.

Play

"Across from the bus stop there was a 'plantation' where we used to play hide and seek. Down from the School there was the Pansy Walk which led into Roseburn. At the top of Balgreen Road, there were swings, Rose Gardens and the 'haunted house'."

"During the school summer holidays, we had our favorite haunts.

- We organized picnics in the park

- We, fished for minnows in the burn (Water of Leith) down by the Rose Gardens. We used the precious jam jars as a bowl for the minnows, or for butterflies or catching bees down the Pansy Walk.

- We paddled in the burn using the natural stepping-stones to cross to the other side. It was wonderful and refreshing on a hot sunny day. The water was cooling, clear and pleasant to walk in. It also washed the dirt off our feet.

- The 'haunted house' of Saughton Park kept us in a spirit of imagination. The Lady in White was one of the myths. Everyone claimed to have seen her! I'm still in the dark about the old mansion.

- The mixed game of “kick the can” in the street gave the girls the opportunity to “take on the boys”. The thrill of getting past the can-fetcher to kick the can and run out of sight was a highlight. The exercise was good and it was a fine way to use up energy in the late summer nights. The worst thing that could happen was someone’s mother shouting out the window that it was bedtime. A perpetual spoilsport.

Trips to Portobello and Cramond

"On special occasions, a group of us would meet with our picnic lunches which consisted of lemonade, bread, jam or paste sandwiches. We rode the bus to Portobello, nicknamed 'Portie', or Cramond.

It was fun to be on the beaches and try to ‘get a tan' Some adults would leave us their deckchairs to 'finish out' the paid time. That was a luxury.

Most of us had collected jam jars or farthings to scrape up enough money for the bus fare to our destination."

Indoor Play

"The rainy days posed more of a challenge to our creativity. It was a disadvantage to us to be 'cooped up' in the house or in the stairwell.

Our tenement had a large windowsill on both landings. We would sit on this and exchange scraps or film stars' portraits.

We also had our repertoire of inside games and activities such as jumping down a flight of stairs, or “dreeping” from the ledge of the landing.

We also used the back entrance to practice for the backgreen concerts. The chorus of:

'We are the Whitson girls,
We have come to show ourselves,
We can dance and we can sing,
We can do the highland fling,
We are the Whitson girls'

was the opening of many a concert.

Two of our group organized such a concert with the benefits going towards the Sick Children's Hospital. They even got a write-up in the evening tabloid.

The stumbling blocks to our indoor play were the tenants who yelled at us to 'Keep quiet'. Some of the men were on night shift and we were disturbing their sleep - a genuine complaint."

Air Raid Shelters

"The shelters were still in the back greens during this era. They were good for playing hides and seek and postman’s knock they also served as pinnacles from which to run down.

If somebody’s washing was hanging out, we were often cautioned not run through the clothes. There seemed to be a competition for the whitest wash!"

Milkman

"Mick the milkman drove the horse and cart from the Store (St Cuthbert's) to deliver milk and rolls around the district. Many a child or adult brought a treat for the horse, usually a carrot or sugar cubes."

Gas Man

"The day the gas man was in the area there was great excitement. We waited anxiously as he counted out the pennies and shillings from the meter, hoping for a good rebate.

We all received a few extra pennies for treats after he had gone. When our funds were low, we looked for farthings and jam jars to scrape up enough money to our local cinemas, the Roxy or the Tiv."

When we were at a loose end due to lack of funds, the potential for mischief was increased. We had standard pranks, which are not new to the younger generation, of tying two door handles together with string and ringing the door bells. We would watch with glee as the two neighbors were caught in the lark.

Chores

"Chores were still part of the routine during the summer time. We just had longer time to do them. The messages from St. Cuthbert’s (to get the ‘divi') took up most of the Saturday mornings.

The butcher was the first stop. The floor had sawdust strewn all over it. We would queue up for the best ration of meat. When we came out of the butchers we dragged a line of sawdust into the grocers.

Here we had long benches to sit on as we waited in the queue to be served. The ration books had to be produced for certain items, cheese, jam. eggs and fruit.

I still have a vivid memory of the 'flying cash machines' which sped from the counter to the accountant’s office, along a wire.

On certain days, extra fruit would arrive in the store and we would be rationed to a pound per book. The assistant marked the back of the book in pencil. I wonder if he knew how many people rubbed it out and came back in again. It was not a very honorable thing to do, but we did it!

Making Money

"Some of our group had Saturday jobs, going messages for the neighbour. The pay was something like a half-crown a week.

Other means of making money were to wash the stairs and the landing in the building, collect jam jars and bottles, or baby-sit. The latter usually meant walking out with a child in a pram, or being around while the mother was busy with other tasks.

There was also the occasion of the ‘pour out'. This happened when there was a wedding. The best man would throw out a handful of coins and the children scrambled for them."

'The Good Old Days

"Children of all generations are creative; it is part of normal development. Memories are an integral part of life that is important to all individuals.

People remember with nostalgia the happy times and their roots as 'the good old days'.”

Elizabeth Livingston, North Vancouver, British Columbia Canada: February 13, 2009