Born in Robroyston Hospital 1947. Came home to Hillkirk Street. My memories of Springburn are filled with the Gospel Hall, the 6 pence we got for sweets and going to Princes or Kinema Saturday matinee, Learning to swim in the Kay Street Pool, playing in the swing park on the corner across from Balgray Hill, going to Springburn Park, and the Hot houses, the wee paddle boats, minno's, going with my Daddy to the cricket park in the "Park", in fact he had a lovely cricket set made for me for my 6th birthday...(was a bit of a tomboy), remember sitting on the wee wall alone watching for him to run up up the hill after work. I attending Gourley Street Nursery & School awakened on Sat. AM's to the Boys Brigade practicing in the church yard next door to us.. can see the cobbled streets, trams.. and the feeling of safety and the community of great people around us... someone else mentioned the word poverty.... but, did we even know ... naw... it was a very rich and wholesome ... beginning.... and that was only my first 6 years... moved to Garthamlock but, came back to Galloway Street and then Eccles street.. the flats..but, nothing beat those first years in Springburn. Left for the US in the late 60's and the adventure continued, spent some years in the Fashion Industry, and for the last 14 or 15 years have ran my own Interior Design Business...in the Beautiful Hill Country" of Texas, with my lovely Hubby.. Robert, our family of dogs and cats, but, dear ole' Springburn... well, I think it's all been said... no place was ever quite like it. The people of Springburn in those days were a wonderful class all their own... and now from all the postings, the memories... no matter where in the world we land.... we all have a link... that has not been broken... Ahh..the memories of that...time"was it really magical"... or was it just imagination...? Thanks Springburn.
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I imagine your life would have been much different if you would have stayed in the Springburn area,My sister moved to the U,S and never regretted it for one minute although she always goes back and still has her Scots accent after almost 50yrs in the U,S My own memories of Springburn are pretty much the same as yours,tramcars rumbling down the street the old cobble stoned streets the baths the swing park and a pub on every corner just about.I was about 7 when we moved away from Springburn but always returned to go to the Kinema or the Princes and then later to the dancing.and then miss the last bus home and have to walk all the way to Bishobriggs .Ienjoyed my time then but I don't think I could take it now.things have changed so much.
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"Yep...things have changed in Springburn... it seems and not for the better... I was recently reading about the gangs & the crime along with the rate of unemployment...and for a place that was once such a close and safe community it really rips at my heart. Do you remember the police/polis on their ponies... clip clopping down the street..they all seemed like the tallest, the nicest and the most revered men around....who always took the time to let a little kid pet the horse or answer a question not the same today..I'm afraid. The troubles for Springburn seemed to start with the building of all the housing schemes.... if only we could look into the future.... You know...none of us really knew... the word or meaning of poverty.... the measure of my life in Springburn... was filled with riches... Lesley"
It all goes back to the days when they put cops into Panda cars.That isolated them from the community and gave them a place to sleep,or sit and chat.While the crooks and hooligans were doing their dirty deeds,We had hard men and gang fights way back in the 50's & 60's But the police or government didn't seem to learn from that.Now crime is just rampant where ever you are. Growing up in a place like Springburn was like a playground I remember wandering the streets when I should have been in school and it never crossed my mind that something bad might happen to me.These days no young kid is safe no matter where they are,to many weird people in the world now.True what you say when they built housing schemes it displaced people and took them away from a safe haven and their neighbors into a warren of strangers and and just like pack animals you had to fight to protect your territory..We will never change things but at least we can have our say about what 's wrong.Thanks for replying Lesley,and I hope to hear from you again.Morry.
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