Gemmell's Dairy

Back in the winter Friday 3rd Decemebr 2021 we'd missed a comment about Gemmel's Dairy. We thought we might share it - the author is someone called Ace - Ace by name and ace by comment! 😂😂 'I also worked at Gemmell's Dairy on Morningside Road: this would have been in the late 50s early 60s. If my mind is clear I believe Mr. Gemmell was the owner there when I started then a Cyril Smith bought the place. I delivered milk in the morning and worked in the shop in the afternoon. When the snow was really bad Mr Gemmell would drive us around with a trailer on the back of his car while a couple of us would deliver the milk. What stuck in my mind was the car had running boards and Mr. Gemmell allowed us to stand on the running boards and hang on: it was exciting for a young lad like myself. When I was around 18 I got my own little shop with milk delivery.

Murchies Creamery was our supplier. I remember the Edinburgh and Dumfriesshire used electric milk wagons and the co-op still used horse and cart.'

OXGANGS - A CAPITAL TALE

Toward the end of 2021 OXGANGS – A Capital Tale became available in hardback for the first time, however the font was slightly small. To overcome this the book has now been released in two separate volumes, each with over 300 pages and many illustrations and photographs. Herewith an exclusive extract:

Chapter 203 Running on Empty - Being Ill and the Sights and the Sounds of Oxgangs When we were young we were only occasionally ever ill and off Hunters Tryst Primary School. We never stayed off long, primarily because we were easily bored. There was not much in the way of daytime television. Sometimes to keep myself occupied I might note down the number of Mini cars I could see going up or down Oxgangs Road. I was always fascinated too by the large lorries heading into town travelling down to the Edinburgh Meat Market at Chesser carrying livestock, mainly sheep and occasionally cattle too. Also there were the Bain’s lorries taking meat to outlying butcher shops. When I saw these I exercised my imagination to go off to visit country towns and byways such as Dalkeith and the towns of Border. Sometimes I could hear the Army up at the firing ranges on the Pentlands with the sounds of gunfire echoing throughout our haven in the lea of the hills. And one further piece of interest and excitement that I might see from the sitting room window was the small platoons of soldiers out running improving and maintaining their general fitness as they did a loop from Redford Barracks to Firrhill, downhill passed the stables and Colinton Mains shops and along Colinton Mains Drive before tackling the tough lung-bursting hill section up Oxgangs Road before turning right into and down Redford Road and in sight of home.

Miss Sulley

Over the years since initiating the Oxgangs Facebook page there’s been perhaps 3 elusive photographs we’ve sought out. One was the Hunters Tryst team which won the 1964 Edinburgh School Board Cup - it eventually came through the ether. A second was of Miss Sulley. Similarly an elusive photograph eventually appeared - a group picture of the teaching staff. But a missing photograph remains, that of the National Garage, Colinton Mains Drive. Yesterday morning a lovely wee surprise came through the mailbox - not of the garage, but if anyone has one! - but instead featuring a charming wee story nicely encapsulating a local legend in her ‘new career’ including the first individual photograph, a rather lovely one too. Herewith the e-mail - enjoy! 'Hi, Please find attached a photo of my Aunt Liz. Not the world's best photo I'm afraid, but it does show her rather 'eclectic' taste in dress. Sorry for the massive delay in sending this picture. It was taken by my father at Rutland Water (down south) around 1983. Liz latterly lived up on Darnell Road in Trinity on the north side. Well after Liz had retired from teaching she continued to do a paper round for the local corner shop (Joe's) using her old Raleigh-20 bicycle. She was loved by almost everybody she came into contact with, although I was a little scared of her when I was a kid - Liz was like no other person I knew! I'll try and send you some more stuff soon ... Best regards, Ralph