memoir

  • F is for Football

    In Glasgow, football isn’t a game. It’s a war, a religious war built on bigotry and ignorance. If you support Celtic you are a catholic, a Tim, a Tim cat, kick with the left foot, a papist bastard. If you support Rangers you are a Protestant, a proddy, a proddy dog, kick with the right…

  • E is for Easterhouse

    When you mention Easterhouse to most people, an image of deprivation, unemployment, gang warfare, mugging, glue-sniffing and drugs is what will often spring to mind. Well, try living there. I lived in the ‘Greater Area of Easterhouse’ – I won’t talk about exactly where today or I’ll have nothing to write about for ‘Q.’ Gang…

  • D is for Doon The Watter

    There can’t be any schoolchildren of my generation who don’t remember a school day trip ‘doon the watter’ on the Waverly paddle steamer. We would board at Broomielaw with our school-provided packed lunch (white bread sandwiches, weak orange juice and a Penguin biscuit) and, depending on the weather, jostle for a place above or below…

  • B is for Barlinnie

    We didn’t live too far from Barlinnie prison in Glasgow. There was always someone whose “da had gone up to the big hoose” while the younger members of the family went to the local borstal. The prison was a big part of east end life. We even had a wee song we used to sing…

  • A to Z Challenge

    Against my better judgement, I’ve decided to have a bash at the A to Z Challenge again this year. Last year I chose a movies theme and got as far as G for “George of The Jungle.” This year I’m going to blog about growing up in Glasgow in the 60s and 70s. Expect dialect…