no shops

[DannyGill]

Hi Gang
Was just wondering about why is there no shops [as far as I know] in the new regenerated Oatlands, I think the new houses are good buildings but people I spoke to on my recent holiday back home all said the same =there's no shops. I had a walk through the Gorbals and there were shops here and there but no to the extent of when the old Tenements were standing. I used to love walking along Cumberland st with it's many many shops and there was always a buzz about the place or Crown st/.Gorbals st./Rutherglen Rd. All these streets were always packed with people going for the messages . Wouldn't you think that these Architects and planners would provide shops for the local people to get a pint of milk/newspaper etc, as I say all good buildings but no shops which means people have to walk a mile for a shop or get a bus, it dosen't seem fair.
Regards.
Danny.

[margaretmcgettigan]

Hi Danny, your mention of no shops reminds me of all the housing schemes that they built after the war...Castlemilk, for example, had no shops, schools, churches, doctors' offices or pubs and you had to take the bus down to Mount Florida or Victoria Road to get to the nearest shops to the scheme..It was just awful for all the people who were moved there...Eventually all these services were provided but it took a long time for that to happen...Glad to see some of the "oldies" are back again...You are correct, Amelia, we will not have this site if no one uses it. Here in New Jersey it is a lovely autumn day with the tree colours being at the height of their colours...We had a Halloween parade in our wee town and all the weans were all excited going from shop to shop for their sweets...Ah to be young again...Margaret

[freddy]

Hi, Danny . There is no shops because we all drive to supermarkets now.Wee shops can`t compete.But like you I`d love to walk along Cumberland st. on a Saturday afternoon passed shops like The Red Star café,Leslies dairy, The Broadway chippy ,Woolfsons, Galls , The Bee Hive and not to forget Alec McGaughie selling fruit from his barra outside the Moy bar. Surreyboy.

[DannyGill]

Hi Margaret + Freddy,
Yes Margaret all those housing estates in Caslemilk etc had hardly any shops at all. We were shifted out to south Nitshill from the soo-side and I think there were a row of 3 shops in the Valley area and 3 shops in the upper area and remember these shops were for thousands of people [but a t least there were some shops] Of course they closed abot 6 pm and we relied on the wee vans coming round selling cigs, bottles of ginger etc, as you always seemed to run out of something and we also had a refurbished single decker bus that was a mobile fish n chip shop and we waited eagerly on a Friday night for it to come round.
Freddy , I know what you're saying about wee shops not being able to compete with the supermarkets with prices but I think that there should be at least one or maybe two shops in an area as big as the Oatlands as the people all said to me it was terrible to have to catch the bus to just get a pint of milk or a packet of fags. Although for trying to compete with supermarket prices I fully understand what you're saying Freddy and it will never go back to the soo-side of old where there were shops everywhere, remember in those days when almost nobody had a fridge [pre 1960's] yo left the milk bottle on your window ledge to keep it cold and you could buy a single cigarette ah happy days Freddy. Speak to you later folks.
Regards.
Danny

[Granny911]

Hi all,
I didn't get to walk through Oatlands any of the times I was back, but next year it's a MUST see for me. Maybe no shops are allowed, because whether they can compete with big shops or not, if there's none at all there, I think a wee shop would do a roaring trade especially for people who run out of milk or forgot to get something at the big shops. I have a friend in Kings Park and while she does her shopping at the big stores, she also prefers to go to the wee local shop for her milk, rolls, and paper and that wee shop always has a big queue when you go to it. So maybe somebody will try to get one going. Hope so for the people of Oatlands. Oh my, the memories of shopping in Cumberland Street, loved it! In those days Oatlands had tons of shops, at least three butchers, but my Granny wanted her messages from Cumberland Street. It was such a social place, that's where you got all the news of weddings, funerals, fights and births and any other gossip. Anyway Danny thanks for the update on Oatlands, will definitely go for a wee walk along it, next year when I'm there. Cheers, Sheila

[amelia]

Hi to all my friends in the site I wrote a posting about the shops but don't know what happened to it maybe I never logged on first but there's an excuse for me
Oh what happy memories of Cumberland St it took you all day practically to go from one end to another and there was every shop under the sun there. I can remember the shop with the Toblorone chocolate bar in the window it was between Florence St. and Campden St forget the name of it but it will come to me and I can also remember a shop it was on the right hand side between Crown St and Florence St. going towards Florence St it was on the side of the ham shop it sold pens etc. because when I went to Holyrood school we had to have what they called a map pen it had a really thin nib and handle on it put me in mind of the wee thing the kids use for there games and we used it to mark the towns city etc on the maps we got at secondary school. I also remember my ma couldn't afford a real school bag so she bought me this bag out of Galls it looked as if was a bag the soldiers wore but I loved it and I felt pretty important with it over my shoulder. How many shops did you think were in Cumberland St. from Sandfaulds to Eglington St and I will start of with Galls at the corner of Crown St and Cumberland St
"O here I'll need to get a life" Amelia

[accobra]

Hi Danny ,Margaret & Gang
Regarding lack of shops I wonder if security is an issue as well as competing with the big
outlets . When the Sunday trading kicked in this single item more than anything took a lot of the
corner shops business and if the Supermarket did not have a Tesco or a Sainsbury in a particular
town then a smaller Tesco EXPRESS or even a small Co- op would compete head on with the larger supermarket and in doing this they would take a lot of the coner shop s weekly and especially the
Sunday business business that it enjoyed in the past . The Supermarkets are also staying open till
8pm so that also kills the competition even more.
Ironically I remember a corner shop in Scotland Street that used to an old penny ,s worth of ginger
or if you were rich you could have two pence worth .and as it was across the road from the factory
a lot of people bought their ciggy,s on "Tick ." There was also an ice cream Van called "De Marcos "
that used to go round in the evenings selling ice cream and cigarettes. Does any one remember them .
I think they were Italian and they did make lovely ice cream

Best Regards Reg

[freddy]

Hi all.I liked Cumberland on my own,but if I had to go with my grannie it was a boys worst nightmare. She would blether to every shopkeeper for ages ,and to every other "wummin" she met on the way.Amelia asked how many shops were in Cumberland st. When I was with my grannie it seemed as if there was thousands. Surreyboy.

[norrie]

Hi Danny, your right enough about no shops in Oatlands, just had a look at a booklet on Oatlands and there are no plans for shops.
Its good to have shops close but not to live next door to them, perhaps that why they make them in one area
I know I would not like to live next door to a bookies, pub or chip shop, sometimes they attract the wrong folk

Having said that it makes it harder for those who are not able to get about

I think some folk from Oatlands get a bus into Rutherglen, seen a few on my old tenants on the Main st and in the centre of Glasgow

[DannyGill]

Hi Norrie,
I know what your saying about living next to a bookies/shops but wouldn't you think these planners would leave a section for maybe 2/3 shops to stand on their own as not everybody can use online shopping and with many people of pension age + cant or find it very difficult to get out and about. One idea of mine would be a wee mobile shop standing at different points [for 1 hour each day]= could be two streets one day and two streets the next day etc. Then people who find they have ran out of milk etc would know exactly what part of the street[s] to go to and at what hourly time the van would be there, at least that would save them from getting a bus as that could cause them distress. I'm sure there would some entrapaneur who would be keen to supply this service, and there could be a section of the pavement could be allocated for the van to sit there. What do other people think ?
Regards.
Danny