New Member, quick intro

[amelia]

Hi Everyone glad we are getting some "new faces", when I was young we thought that Old Rutherglen Road was between Crown St. and Gorbals St. you passed the swings at Thistle St. and the Sample Shoe shop where they used to sell shoes with big platform heels like the ones Carmen Miranda wore in her pictures, Maybe all of you will not remember her but she was a big star in the musicals used to sing "was aye yah yay I like you very much " pity you couldn't hear me s I am singing it and that's with no booze in me
The road went right pass the the "Gods" of the Citizen theatre but before that it was a variety theatre called the Princess I also think there was a wee swing park next to it but I might be wrong old brain playing tricks.
Amelia x

[DannyGill]

Hi Amelia+gang,
Yes that rings a bell with me now Amelia saying that "Old Rutherglen Rd" ran between Crown st and Gorbals st. I don't think the name of it was O.R.Rd but Rutherglen Rd it was just "called" that by people. Now talking of Crown st Amelia do you remember a shop called Stirling Hunters being there , it's where you could buy or "rent" TV's and radios etc. Speak to you later. x

Regards.
Danny

[Don]

Yes Danny many happy memories of those days. Talking of the Polis Office, did you ever have occasion to visit the Flea Market immediately behind it and situated at the top of Commercial Road? At the time, as a child, I found this place both intriguing and mystefying. Perhaps, because I was never quite sure of what exactly was going on. However, it now seems to me that it was just a collection of rickety old cobbled together stalls, laden with mountains of even older clothes, contaned within an ancient leaky Victorian building. All of this, in no small measure, would have helped contribute to the peculiar, pervasive, musty scented atmosphere which lingered throughout. Conducting the serious business here was undoubtedly the task of the women folk, who clearly ran the show. In the market these throngs of purposeful but friendly women were to be found busily totting, buying and selling, large exploding bundles of rags which bulged to the point that at times succeeded in enabling their straining contents, if not to escape, then, at least, to sneak a wee keek through from the confines of their bursting knotted sheet or table cloth retainers. If my Granny's behaviour was typical, these make shift retainers were, on market days, usually commandeered from their normal domestic use and adapted to accommodate their financially meagre, but nevertheless, heavily laden wares. This entire business was evidently very effectively conducted whilst, at the same time, given its direct human interactive nature, always ensuring an enthusiastic and exhaustive exchange of all the latest news and gossip. A further burning aspect of this particular "Soo-Side Enterprise Memory" which I retain, is that of the ample morphology of the totter ladies themselves which, remarkably, displayed a striking similarity (my granny included) to that of their generous bundled wares as previously described. Despite its meagre turnover I am nevertheless sure this market, in some small way, will have served to help eek out some tight family budgets at that time.

I'm conscious of whaffling on a bit here folks. Just goes to show you the strong, enduring, nature of our early childhood memories.

By the way Danny, my recollection of Old Rutherglen Road was that it comprised that small stretch of road which narrowed once it crossed over Crown Street. Do you recall it had a very small swing park on the north side with a couple of shops including a wonderful wee Jewish baker opposite? Mmmm, you know I can almost conjure up the fabulous aromas from that shop by just thinking about it. If only.

Fondest regards to all.

[amelia]

Hi Don, Danny and all the rest of the gang, if I can recall the market at the top of Commercial Rd round the corner from Frank Stewarts the butchers that was their shop but the factory was in Errol St The arket was open on a Tuesday and Saturday morning (I might have the days wrong so maybe someone could enlighten us) and there was a lot of decent hard working "Hawkers" selling their clothes etc. Some of the women used to go out to Newton Mearns up that direction on all sorts of weather a pal of mines mother hawked and I remember her opening her "bundle" and there in the middle of it was a coat the colour was canary yellow and it fitted me like a glove boy did I love myself when I had it on you could have spotted me a mile away many a thing my mother bought out of the market as there were some good clothes from the "toffs" and I think nearly everyone in the Gorbals went to it. It wasn't as big as the "Briggait" and talking about the Briggait the powers at be should never hve closed that place down as it was a landmark and people from all to it including myself. I remember myself and sister took our two grandsons over to see it and they couldn't get out of it quick enough
Amelia x

[amelia]

Forgot to say Danny I remember Stirling Hunters I got my pram for my first daughter paid it up as you did on those days cannot remember th name of it but it was cream and a buff colour I had a message bag hooked onto the pram thought I was the bees knees pushing it with one of my sons sitting at the bottom of it and the other toddling at the side of the pram holding onto it. Three weans in a space of 2 years and 4 months and had another 2 after that all in 5 in a stretch of 5 and a half years glutten for punishment
I also remember the two men who came out to fix the TV ty had kinda reddy or auburn hair and their name was Eccles they worked in it for years well it felt like years
I'll go now and see if the lottery numbers are in had 4 numbers up on Wednesday hitting the goalposts got £119
Amelia x

[DannyGill]

Hi Don, Amelia+gang,
Yes I remember the old flea market Don and the old clothes but I didn't like going there with all the women in there, a couple of times my Granny went there but I stood outside wishing we were walking along Cumberland st and looking in all the shop windows and on the way back Granny would always buy me a sweetie from one of the shops then going back to Fauldhouse st we passed through the Pen[d] from Sandyfaulds st to Moffat st then I played on the swings [if I could get on them] just at Gilmour st.. Also Don I do remember that small swing park on that section of "old Rutherglen Rd! isn't it funny when you were a wean you loved all the swing parks [not that there were many], I loved the swing park over in Richmond park with it's big slide, Monkey bars etc.
Amelia you would have been spotted a mile away in you Canary Yellow coat ha ha and you're right Amelia "Paddy's market'" at the briggait should never have been closed down, I liked going over as it was more out in the open and all those clothes laying there everywhere and people lookin to see if they could "get a bargain". I remember those two guys from Stirling Hunters shop coming to fix Ma and Da's TV set a few times and a couple of times they had to take the TV set back to Hunters shop if they couldn't fix it and weren't too pleased having to carry it down all those flight's of stairs in our Tenement. Good news on winning the £118 on the Lottery maybe next week the big one Amelia !!. I have to check my own numbers too. Right that's me off for a while now so speak to you all later Folks, take care and God Bless.

Regards.
Danny

[accobra]

Hi Don & Gang,
Whilst I have been a littlle absent on parade I am looking in now and again but my limited time in the Gorbals < left at 7 years of age >only gives me a few chapters to feed off.
But Danny I do remember Paddy's Market and my mother getting a few bits and pieces from there .
My older brother and I would get kitted out to go on what was then called The Fresh Air Fund .
This was run by Glasgow Corporation and the place that my brother and I went to for three weeks was called "Castle Toward" in Dunoon . Speaking to children of similar ages at the time it would appear it was
a Residential Home for children whose parents could not afford to go on holiday .
I am only mentioning now because I had read recently that Glasgow Corporation had
put it up for Auction /Sale. Amelia I think that the shoe shop that you mentioned may have been
called Semple's ? Anyway good luck with your lottery numbers . Does anyone on the site know of anyone who may have gone to Castle Toward ? PS Istill find myself looking back at 2013 topics which I still find
very interesting. Best Regards Reg

[DannyGill]

Hi Reg+gang,
Hi Reg glad to hear from you again m8, yes there was a lot of things we took for granted years ago , like going for an annual holiday [where some poor kids Parents didn't have money to take them on holiday]. I was lucky because my Da was always working in the building trade and as he didn't drink or smoke my Ma always had money to plan for everything. I hadn't heard of "the fresh air fund" but what a brilliant idea for children, talking about Semples shoe shop [and this may not be correct] I was told that a man from Kilmarnock started up the Saxone shoe shop chain= his team got beat 6-1 one day when he was just about to start up his sho shop business and so he called it Saxones' in rememberence of that football score [?]. I see you left the soo-side when you were 7 years old Reg, well actually I was 12 and a half when the back of our Tenement collapsed and we had to leave Fauldhouse st [on the boundry where Oatlands ended and the Gorbals started being shipped out to south Nitshill. I still kept going back down to the soo side to see my old pals but with the passing of time I lost contact with them. Mind you I still loved going over the Toon, going to Lewis's in Argyle st to buy the latest pop music record, I clearly remember that a 45 rpm record cost exactly 6/8d and you got 3 records for exactly £1. You had little music booths where you could hear the records to see what one you wanted to buy oh happy days. Loved going to Paddy#s market then on Sunday going to the Barras and there was always a buzz about the place. Well that's me for a while, speak to you later Reg and all our gang.
Regards.
Danny

[accobra]

Hello Danny , Don & Gang,
The first record that I ever bouhght was 6/8 at the Barras and it was
called Johnny Remember Me by John Leighton and I seemed to recall that every week that Iwent
for ages and ages there was a Jim Reeves song that was number one for a lot of weeks .Does anyone remember the one .? Distant Drums comes to mind but not too sure.
Don I have only been on the site since 2013 and I note with interest that your surname is Paton! Did you have any relations in Knightswood where I moved to from the Gorbals.
I always knew her as Kitty Connolly but her maiden name was Paton . Long shot but just thought
I would mention it . I recall that she was very outspoken and smoked Woodbine cigarettes and
liked to have the odd flutter on the horses on a Saturday. She was a character.
Danny how are the book sales going ? Talk soon .

Best regards Reg

[amelia]

Hi Reg and all the gang the shop was called the Sample Shoe Shop it sat at the corner of Thistle Street and "Old Rutherglen Rd.", when you sit and think about it there were loads of shoe shops in the Gorbals you didn't need to go over the town you could get everything in Cumberland Street
When you pass it on the bus you look at it and wonder how on Earth could all the houses and shops fit into it not counting the schools and churches/chapels now there is only one chapel left the nearest one to St Lukes canny spell the new name of the chapel or even get my tongue around it and I think there is only two primary schools but I might be wrong.
Well it is my anniversary tomorrow the 13th October 58 years married that's 5 life sentences what are we going to do for it nothing as now our backs go out more than us now still I still feel young at heart and still looking after grandweans.
Well what do you think about Scotland winning maybe that's their luck changing.
Been thinking about this EBOLA that is in the country my wee granddaughter is going over to Uganda with the school to help with the children over there. It wont be until next year but I cannot stop thinking about it.
I left the Gorbals when they started pulling down Moffat St etc that was in 1962/3 been up here ever since.
Well I'm off thought I was going to watch telly but my hubby has just came in and told me that the telly is on the blink
Goodnight everyone
Amelia x