Edinburgh History

[Radio Ga Ga]

[Carl Fredrickson]

12 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

St Margaret's Depot

 

 

 

 

 

If I have my bearings right, that is now the entrance to the car park at Meadowbank House. 

[Maroon Sailor]

[Maroon Sailor]

[Radio Ga Ga]

[henryheart]

On 29/10/2021 at 12:08, Maroon Sailor said:

 

Great photo. If a lorry lost its load there now there would be mayhem. I actually remember the day that Meadowplace Road opened to traffic and my mum telling me to take care when I was out and about. I was only about 5 years old, if that!  

[Lone Striker]

On 28/10/2021 at 17:39, henryheart said:

 

I've never heard it called The Slap before, but there you go. Three of my favourite memories from my youth are all within a minute's walk of here; Willie McLaughlin's, Jimmy O'Rourke's and Tarry's. A game of snooker, a couple of pints and then a bag of chips before the short walk home. 

Aye, Tarry's was exceptional.   None of these latter day Chinese takeaways that replaced it  seemed to last very long.

 

Jimmy O'Rourke had the Corstorphine Inn.      Wasn't it someone (semi) famous who had Winstons in Kirk Loan  ?   What was it before Winston's ?

[Stuart Lyon]

16 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Aye, Tarry's was exceptional.   None of these latter day Chinese takeaways that replaced it  seemed to last very long.

 

Jimmy O'Rourke had the Corstorphine Inn.      Wasn't it someone (semi) famous who had Winstons in Kirk Loan  ?   What was it before Winston's ?

Sovereign Bar and before that it was a laundrette.

[henryheart]

1 hour ago, Lone Striker said:

Aye, Tarry's was exceptional.   None of these latter day Chinese takeaways that replaced it  seemed to last very long.

 

Jimmy O'Rourke had the Corstorphine Inn.      Wasn't it someone (semi) famous who had Winstons in Kirk Loan  ?   What was it before Winston's ?

 

No idea who owned Winston's way back when it opened, which must have been in the late 70's. We always called it 'the launderette' after its previous use, and in those days it was a dreadful place. 

[Mister T]

4 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

 

[Lone Striker]

4 hours ago, Stuart Lyon said:

Sovereign Bar and before that it was a laundrette.

 

3 hours ago, henryheart said:

 

No idea who owned Winston's way back when it opened, which must have been in the late 70's. We always called it 'the launderette' after its previous use, and in those days it was a dreadful place. 

Cheers guys.  👍 Didn't know about it being a laundrette.   My vague recollection is that the rebirth as Winstons was in the early 80s, based on when I used to pass it on the way to work in the mid-80s - it looked quite new back then.  

[ArcticJambo]

 

On 20/10/2021 at 18:39, Maroon Sailor said:

 

What was this Bob ?

 

 

 

On 20/10/2021 at 19:16, Sharpie said:

Sorry its got me totally beat. It was in my time, Cowans Yard, on the bottom left corner, the shops with the Bowlers Rest, the police box, Parkies house, and that space you asked about is as big as the one in my memory.

According to the 1933 OS map it was part of the Pleasance Brewery.  By 1953 it had become a playground, known as the 'Scotchie' apparently. 

 

Below is a picture taken in 1962 from the Scotchie looking down on Prospect Place and St Margaret's Church.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by ArcticJambo

[Sharpie]

2 hours ago, ArcticJambo said:

 

 

According to the 1933 OS map it was part of the Pleasance Brewery.  By 1953 it had become a playground, known as the 'Scotchie' apparently. 

 

Below is a picture taken in 1962 from the Scotchie looking down on Prospect Place and St Margaret's Church.

 

 

 

Thanks for that as a playground I wouldn't have had a lot to do in it when I started on beats  in 1956. I worked the Dumbiedykes beat on night shifts it was half of the Simon Square beat during the day.  The name Scotchie sounds familiar but it was a wee while ago. The beauty of being a a new policeman working that night shift beat you soon learned that all men are not created equal. Tenements with shared toilets for two houses on the outside landings, husbands beating their wives especially Friday and Saturday nights. It was an education, and says something about my character, I loved it, as I did Niddrie, Craigmillar. I wouldn't have  lasted a full year if I had been assigned to Brights Crescent, Newbattle or some of these area, if I had been I would have been posting now as a long service Scots Guardsman, which in a way was my true calling, I became a policeman to please my father.

[EIEIO]

12 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

 

Cheers guys.  👍 Didn't know about it being a laundrette.   My vague recollection is that the rebirth as Winstons was in the early 80s, based on when I used to pass it on the way to work in the mid-80s - it looked quite new back then.  

Jimmy Sinclair owned Winston's from the mid 80s he also owned the Struan Hotel which is now the Cool Jade chinese restaurant.

[The Real Maroonblood]

10 minutes ago, EIEIO said:

Jimmy Sinclair owned Winston's from the mid 80s he also owned the Struan Hotel which is now the Cool Jade chinese restaurant.

There was a robbery there a few years ago.

[PortyBeach]

On 31/10/2021 at 23:15, Maroon Sailor said:

St Margaret's Depot

 

 

 

 

I guess that must be the aptly-named “Smoky Brae” in the background? 🤔

Well named, by all accounts!!

[Maroon Sailor]

[Maroon Sailor]

[ArcticJambo]

15 hours ago, Sharpie said:

 

Thanks for that as a playground I wouldn't have had a lot to do in it when I started on beats  in 1956. I worked the Dumbiedykes beat on night shifts it was half of the Simon Square beat during the day.  The name Scotchie sounds familiar but it was a wee while ago. The beauty of being a a new policeman working that night shift beat you soon learned that all men are not created equal. Tenements with shared toilets for two houses on the outside landings, husbands beating their wives especially Friday and Saturday nights. It was an education, and says something about my character, I loved it, as I did Niddrie, Craigmillar. I wouldn't have  lasted a full year if I had been assigned to Brights Crescent, Newbattle or some of these area, if I had been I would have been posting now as a long service Scots Guardsman, which in a way was my true calling, I became a policeman to please my father.

Some folks are just drawn to what you might call the 'edgier' side of life, Sharpie.

[SUTOL]

3 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

 

 

@John Findlay ?

[luckyBatistuta]

4 minutes ago, SUTOL said:

 

 

@John Findlay ?

Looks about 60’s/70’s so the boy is too young

[argyjambo]

3 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

Now a block of flats on junction of Portobello High St & Hope lane. In previous incarnations its been a cinema, Bingo Hall, & Nightclub (Misty's). Was previously discussed on this thread several months ago.

[Maroon Sailor]

29 minutes ago, argyjambo said:

Now a block of flats on junction of Portobello High St & Hope lane. In previous incarnations its been a cinema, Bingo Hall, & Nightclub (Misty's). Was previously discussed on this thread several months ago.

 

I probably posted the picture !

 

Losing track now

[Carl Fredrickson]

50 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:

Looks about 60’s/70’s so the boy is too young

😄

[John Findlay]

1 hour ago, SUTOL said:

 

 

@John Findlay ?

That's the Market Street entrance/exit to Waverley Station.

[Mister T]

4 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

That's a great photo. What a happy looking chap 😀

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 hour ago, Mister T said:

That's a great photo. What a happy looking chap 😀

Maybe because he’s playing pocket billiards.

[Mister T]

57 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

Maybe because he’s playing pocket billiards.

😂

[NANOJAMBO]

4 hours ago, luckyBatistuta said:

Looks about 60’s/70’s so the boy is too young

70s - Bay City Rollers graffiti on the wall. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by NANOJAMBO

[Maroon Sailor]

[Hmfc1965]

5 hours ago, argyjambo said:

Now a block of flats on junction of Portobello High St & Hope lane. In previous incarnations its been a cinema, Bingo Hall, & Nightclub (Misty's). Was previously discussed on this thread several months ago.

It was also the Hibs Club for a while.

[Tazio]

8 minutes ago, Hmfc1965 said:

It was also the Hibs Club for a while.

What a repulsive notion. 

[luckyBatistuta]

3 hours ago, NANOJAMBO said:

70s - Bay City Rollers graffiti on the wall. 

Quite the detective Nano, never even noticed that

[JudyJudyJudy]

On 21/10/2021 at 14:54, Maroon Sailor said:

That's where " Fire Island " was.  it was directly above the " watches of Switzerland" shop. It was a brilliant club with legendary music and performers such as Eartha Kitt and Divine.  Their Hogmanay nights were brilliant too. 

[Maroon Sailor]

[Maroon Sailor]

[JudyJudyJudy]

On 21/10/2021 at 14:59, Maroon Sailor said:

I loved the Subway. it was a right dump but always a good night 

On 22/10/2021 at 12:50, Sharpie said:

 

I remember the x ray in shoe shops, your mother wanted to check to make sure the shoes would not be tight in a short time, time for growth was essential to families who did not have money to waste.I actually I don't think I ever had shoes that were not a size bigger than required until  I started work and earning my own money at fifteen. My sister who was five years older and was a cash drain because of her Gillespies School for Girls education had large amounts of cash on school uniforms and shoes for all occasions. Seasonal, formal and for gym and sports. I inherited them when she was finished with them, and wore them with the fitting system of paper stuffed in the toes.

Sad story about having to buy shoes bigger than your foot size .  Just shows how much poverty people were in back in the day.  I have never heard of this before. 

On 22/10/2021 at 18:22, jonnothejambo said:

 

So much hair.

You should have seen mine at that time...  

On 28/10/2021 at 21:55, inspector said:

It certainly was. Used to slow down when walking along Princes Street to try to see the photo stills of the film they were showing. Never went in the place when it showed porn. Had to wait for the La Scala/Classic

 

[Maroon Sailor]

Shakespeare's Theatre, Waterloo Place

 

 

 

[NANOJAMBO]

1 hour ago, Maroon Sailor said:

Newington

[Maroon Sailor]

[Maroon Sailor]

[Maroon Sailor]

[61630]

Just foiund this site, so going back to June 2018 pic of the tram. My wife comes from Edinburgh, and i as a lover of everything with wheels, have got a stack of book on the old tramway. We did have a speaker at our railway club once who gave a talk on the 'railroads' of Edinburgh.. It was the funniest talk i ever attended. not that he intended it to be comical. First of all he referred to Edinburgh as Dune-din, .i had to restrain her from attacking him!!  Then we spent 20 mins on the rock formations and eventually got to the crux of the talk, which was the tramway system. We thought that he was going to give us the name of every horse that every pulled a tram prior to it being cable operated ( same system as San Francisico) and a full scale argument started between him and several visitors as to whether the cable was 3.5in in diameter or circumference.  Our chairman and Sec were sitting behind us with hankies in their mouths trying not to laugh. As closing time come along he was still on the cable set up and 'years' from going onto the electrification. He said there was a part two ..somehow he was never invited back!! I have an old ETC transport map that shows the tram routes and railways. If i can get a good pic of it i will post it up.  Great forum Nice to pics of the old place.

[Carl Fredrickson]

4 hours ago, JamesM48 said:

That's where " Fire Island " was.  it was directly above the " watches of Switzerland" shop. It was a brilliant club with legendary music and performers such as Eartha Kitt and Divine.  Their Hogmanay nights were brilliant too. 

 

Did Fire Ireland have a glass dancefloor with money under it? Early/mid 80s if I remember correctly. Might have been somewhere else but my memory was it was F.I.

[JudyJudyJudy]

1 minute ago, Carl Fredrickson said:

 

Did Fire Ireland have a glass dancefloor with money under it? Early/mid 80s if I remember correctly. Might have been somewhere else but my memory was it was F.I.

Not that I recall . 👍

[The Natural Order]

2 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

The walk between Dean Village and Stockbridge.

[Tazio]

Just now, The Natural Order said:

The walk between Dean Village and Stockbridge.

St Bernard’s Well specifically. 

[Sharpie]

Yes Newington at Salisbury, heading towards Preston Street, #17 tram Newington Stn to Granton.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Sharpie

[NANOJAMBO]

2 hours ago, 61630 said:

Just foiund this site, so going back to June 2018 pic of the tram. My wife comes from Edinburgh, and i as a lover of everything with wheels, have got a stack of book on the old tramway. We did have a speaker at our railway club once who gave a talk on the 'railroads' of Edinburgh.. It was the funniest talk i ever attended. not that he intended it to be comical. First of all he referred to Edinburgh as Dune-din, .i had to restrain her from attacking him!!  Then we spent 20 mins on the rock formations and eventually got to the crux of the talk, which was the tramway system. We thought that he was going to give us the name of every horse that every pulled a tram prior to it being cable operated ( same system as San Francisico) and a full scale argument started between him and several visitors as to whether the cable was 3.5in in diameter or circumference.  Our chairman and Sec were sitting behind us with hankies in their mouths trying not to laugh. As closing time come along he was still on the cable set up and 'years' from going onto the electrification. He said there was a part two ..somehow he was never invited back!! I have an old ETC transport map that shows the tram routes and railways. If i can get a good pic of it i will post it up.  Great forum Nice to pics of the old place.

😆

[NANOJAMBO]

2 hours ago, Maroon Sailor said:

Inverleith Park ?