Down Memory Lane: 7 January 2009

Jan 9 2009 Mae McEwan, Irvine Herald

I HOPE every one of you had a really Happy New Year and that there weren’t too many “sair heids” in the aftermath of it.

It’s a family time, isn’t it? If I went too far Down Memory Lane in my Christmas quiz, I do apologise but I’m quite sure there were quite a few of you able to pin down all the shops I mentioned. If not, more apologies.

But I know for sure one Irvine lady got every one of the shops right and she wrote and told me the quiz brought nostalgic memories home to her.

So much so that she looked out a poem she had cut out of a magazine some time ago, written by a Pam Davies, and sent it to me. The poet says what a lot of my generation fondly remember. Here it is:

Less or More

There was a time, in my recall, when shopping was a breeze.

When choosing what to buy, and where, was carried out with ease.

There seemed to be one shop of each, a butcher, baker, grocer.

Somewhere to buy vegetables, all seemed so much closer.

Almost no one had a car, so shopping would be carried.

Ladies rarely worked back then, at least, not once they married.

So shopping was done daily, no refrigerators then.

The pantry was the coldest place for storage, way back when.

Then at the grocers, we would ask for beans, or eggs or tea.

No one gave a dozen versions of all three.

There was no organic then, we didn’t spoil our food.

The flavours were outstanding, didn’t need to be improved.

Chickens roamed the farm yards, and cows ate only grass.

Farmers grew their crops unsprayed, tomatoes under glass.

All in all, simplicity filled hard but happy lives.

And though we have convenience now, it’s thoughts of them that thrive.

I’m glad I can remember when contentment came with less.

Before they gave us everything, our lucky lives to bless.

Sixty years ago contentment certainly came with an awful lot less and I, and many of you, thought nothing about going in to all our separate shops to buy what we needed.

When we lived in Ballot Road we had our corner shop and also Hendersons in our street.

Remember it was always called “Chookie” Hendersons? Between the two of them they sold most things, bunches of sticks etc, but I could do all my shopping in about a quarter of an hour if I just whipped round the square of going down East Road to Bank Street corner, down to the Cross, up High Street and home down Glasgow Vennel. Starting in Bank Street – I could go into Craig’s Butchers, now W Duncan’s, buy whatever meat we were having for tea, in next door to Irvine’s Dairy, get some milk and butter. That’s where Sadie’s shop is now. Then into Freckleton’s greengrocers for potatoes and vegetables.

After I wrote that last wee bit I got to wondering if I had got it right? The three shops were there, certainly, but did I get the right order for them? Craig’s was the one nearest to Green’s, no doubt about that, but was Irvine’s Dairy next – or was it Freckleton’s next door? I think I was right but now I am wondering – so it really would take a really auld Irvinite to tell me if I am right or wrong in the first order I had them in.

Back to my on-square shopping – I could nip in to the Co-op to buy some thread, then into Broomlands Dairy to buy a few groceries, my ration books were in there. Next stop would be Matthew’s the Cobblers in High Street to get my shoes heeled, then almost next door to Montgomerie Bakers for some of their famed apple puffs.

You could do it all in about 20 minutes if the shops were reasonably quiet and you didn’t meet anyone to chat with.

High Street back then was a great place to do your “messages.” And of course you had your basket or shopping bag, you didn’t expect a shop to give you a carrier bag in those days.

When I started to work in Glasgow Vennel at the Heckling Shed I used to nip out on my Saturday lunch break and cut round that same square, but of course there were all these changes since I was that new housewife. I could still go to the same butchers, albeit the different name above the door – nae Freckleton’s nae Irvine’s Dairy – nae Co-op – nae Broomlands, Matthew’s or Montgomeries.

But how pleased was I to shop at Ellen’s in near enough to where Matthew’s used to be.

In there I could buy all the potatoes and veg I needed, she sold fantastic soda scones, apple tarts, gateaux and much more.

When I remarked to Hugh how handy I found that square for shopping in those Vennel days, he only remarked he had heard me saying the very same thing many years before. Aye, right enough!

Well, that was all in Irvine’s glory days, wasn’t it? But what I had really intended telling you about this week was my lovely “Down Memory Lane” calendar I received at Christmas from this column’s very good friend in Australia, our Mr Anon, and once again I thank him sincerely.

There’s so many memories in Australia and I have really enjoyed looking through the pages in this calendar, beginning with the cover that states – “Memorable photos of Australia’s Past” and shows the famous Sydney Bridge that every time I look at a photograph of it I think of my father’s cousin, David Young, who went to Australia during the years of the Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s to work at the building of this bridge.

In front of the bridge is a ship, the “Iberia” and it completely dwarves one or two small ships in front of and beside it.

A wee bit rummaging in my bookcase provided the following:

Sydney Harbour Bridge: World’s widest and heaviest steel arch bridge which was opened in 1932 and took eight years to build.

The bridge’s arch spans 1650 feet (503m) and it carries two railway tracks, an eight carriageway road, a footpath and a cycleway on a deck 160 feet (49m) wide.

There’s a wee PS saying, “Stealing the show. At the opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a monarchist protester charged on horseback past the Premier of New South Wales to cut the ribbon.”

January shows another nostalgic scene of Sandridge Pier in Melbourne, Victoria with so much activity, ships, sailing ones, engines all loaded up, numerous carts and workmen in vast numbers.

There are four Memory Lane photographs of Adelaide, South Australia, featured for February, the first one is Adelaide Oval and most imposing too. Beside it is Glenelg, obviously a seaside town. Bottom left is King William Street in the city of Adelaide and beside this is Largs Bay, landing place for Ocean Steamers and of course we’re still in Adelaide.

Those last two I’d say, intrigued me most because of the people shown in them. In King William Street there’s a mum pushing her baby carriage, canopy is shown and her wee Panama-hatted son walks at her side. The shops too have their sun canopies out too. Remember the High Street shops all with their sun shades out years ago? It took me back to see them.

Then in March one large scene shows Main Roads Board Works, New South Wales around 1928. Spades and picks lie at the front of the photograph, so spotlessly clean I wonder if they had been newly washed for the photograph. The workmen pose in front of their own particular machine, hats on, of course.

April has four photographs again and we’re back in Sydney, the first one is of the Circular Quay with imposing buildings in the background.

Then next to this we have The Wreck of the Malabar, Cronulla NSW and you can see the ship listing to the side and spectators on the rocks in front of it, watching all the going-ons.

Bottom left is The Spit, Sydney NSW. Then the fourth one is a Regatta on Sydney Harbour with dozens of crafts of varied sizes, all full of people, underneath and in front of their famous bridge.

What an imposing scene for May – the opening of Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, on May 9, 1927, and what a splendid building the house is.

Considering the date I was amazed to see the vast amount of cars in behind the building, hundreds are to be seen.

There must be thousands of people in this photograph, including lines of forces, too tiny to distinguish which ones. The building is well bedecked with flags and there are tents also to be seen. I repeat, most imposing!

July goes to Tasmania with four photographs, Elizabeth Street in Hobart, Liverpool Street, also in Hobart, then Strahan in the East Coast and lastly there is Brisbane Street in Launceton, still we’re in Tasmania.

I’m sure many of you folk reading this will be able to say, “I’ve been there,” as I describe these scenes to you.

My brother Bobby and his wife could possibly recognise the Tasmanian ones as they visited there some months ago. Mind you, maybe the scenes have changed since these photographs were taken about 80 years ago.

And what a building too is shown in July – Sydney Town Hall – it sure could lose Irvine Townhouse as ours could sit in a tiny corner of this one.

The photograph dates back to 1893 and also shown at the right is massive excavation work for the Queen Victoria Building.

What a size of hole there is for the foundations so I would say it’s quite a building too. I had a wee look through the remainder of the months to see if it is shown but no, it isn’t.

Four scenes again for August and we’re now in Brisbane, the first one shows The Market, the next is another most imposing building which is Brisbane Railway Station.

Then we have a scene of Brisbane River and the last is Brisbane Wharves, and I don’t need to tell you this is in Queensland.

September shows Panama and bowl hatted men, workmen too at Darling Harbour again in Sydney with sturdy cart horses in the foreground. A busy, busy scene as ships are being loaded. Who can remember standing on the wharf down Irvine Harbour to watch boats being loaded or unloaded – our Mr Anon will most surely be one of them.

We are back to Melbourne again in October and when I see how busy and well-populated Australia was back all these decades ago, I wonder just how much busier it is today.

Four photographs again – Collins Street, Flemington Racecourse, home of the Melbourne Cup, Princes Bridge with gardens in the foreground and Flinders Street Station and the Yarra River, all Melbourne of course and in the racecourse scene there are thousands of people spectating.

Sydney again in November, one big scene of Bennelong Point near Circular Quay, a typical quayside scene and it’s interesting to find out that this is now the site of the famous Opera House.

Last but by no means least we have December with its four scenes picturing Bunbury, Western Australia, Hay Street in Perth, High Street and St George’s Terrace, all Perth and in the High Street, still in the 20s, I’d say.

There’s a big sign on a corner for Yankee Doodle Tobacco.

I’m delighted with the calendar, you’ll have guessed that, of course, and again I say a thank you to our far-off friend who doesn’t forget his roots.

And of course I’ve another thank you to a local Mr, Mrs or Miss Anon here at home who was kind enough to send me some pages from ‘The Life of WB Robertson of Irvine’ that was published back in 1888 – the pages telling of the minister’s part in the rescue of the sailors of the “Success” of Nantes that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

It’s too interesting to cram into the end of this week’s Memory Lane but I’ll share it with you next week.

But before I close I must say I learned, second hand I have to say, that you could actually ‘Track Santa’ on Christmas Eve on his progress throughout the world as he and his reindeers fly around delivering Christmas gifts to all the children.

On Christmas Eve I got a phone call from my grand-daughter to say she and her two adorable wee girls, Eilidh and Erin, had been doing that.

At 8.30pm when she phoned, Santa was actually passing over Prince Edward Island in South Africa. Imagine.

So, after starting off in the days when you went about with your shopping basket – here I am ending with my last word about modern technology. Talk about learning all the time.