I knew quite a few of the people mentioned. I'm a few years older than you (69) and moved to Oxgangs when I was 13/14 - late 1961/62. We stayed in Oxgangs Farm Gardens then moved over to Oxgangs Rise in 1965. When we first moved out from the town centre - I thought I was going to the back of beyond! My mother didn't recognise the place until she bumped into Annie Burke in The Store.
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| Tommy Egan tackling Jimmy McGrory |
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| Tommy Egan, playing for Birmingham City |
She had been my mother's first neighbour when she married my father in 1937. At that time my father played for Hibs (Tommy Egan 1933-1938) and their wedding gift from the club was 6 months rent on a brand new house in Colinton Mains.
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| Colinton Mains shops development, photograph J. Dickson |
Of course Oxgangs/Firrhill didn't exist then. The trams stopped up at Firrhill roundabout and you had to walk the rest of the way. Annie Burke was also Eric Smith's mother in law - he's still fine - saw him at the bowling club on Friday.
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| Photograph courtesy David McLean, Lost Edinburgh |
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| Photograph, Mr Davies, courtesy Phil Green |
When we moved over to the Rise( no.5) I met the Flynn family (no.13),who lived next door to the Hunters Tryst janitor, Mr Philips. I can remember the kids making slides in the winter and also throwing snowballs at our windows. Bessie Flynn's first introduction to my father came when she was walking up the hill and he came running out of our house using very colourful language and questioning the parentage of the boys throwing the snowballs - it could have been you and your pals!
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| Colinton Mains Jumble Sale, Scotsman Publications |
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| Derek Cameron, photograph by Yerbury |
Dennis and I live in Firrhill and (life going full circle) - our daughters live in Colinton Mains, one a couple of blocks from where my parents lived in 1937 and the other a couple of blocks from the Colinton Mains shops with one of them now working in the chemist I worked in more than 50 years ago.
Goodess but your stories have stirred up memories!
Thank you.
Moyra (Egan) Flynn
2 comments:
Your photos brought back so many memories of living in a prefab at Oxgangs Grove 1947-1960. When I first started school I got a bus up to firrhill and then a tram car to Granville Terrace. I also had friends who lived in the Gumley's houses and remember well the shops in the photo
I remember Dennis, I worked with his younger brother Mick at Bilston Glenn. We stayed in the View. I remember we used to refer to them as "the other Flynn"
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