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.