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| Dear John Can anyone help me to find out when it was made and the "artist"
who made my gate? |
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| John
Thanks for your enthusiastic response re Garrowhill. My
initial outburst, was probably the result of having read Rhona Wilsons little book
"Old Baillieston, Garrowhill and Easterhouse. I devoured this little book and it's
photographs. It was like going home; I knew these places. Then, near the end
,page 42, Rhona is in devastating form as she tells her readers about the real
Garrowhill " There is no Main Street or natural focus asides from the church and
Barrachnie shops and you would hesitate to label it a village or town in the real
sense. Today it is very much a dormitary of the comfortably-off.........." That was true, even fifty years ago but she doesn't know the spirit of Garrowhill. Today, as I did just eight years ago,I could walk into Sandyhills Golf Course on a Saturday night,and feel as if I had never left Garrowhill behind me. O.K so Sandyhills is not Garrowhill but neither is Shettleston, where we had the choice of four picture theatres ,or Coatbridge where we all learned to swim in modern clean "baths" Nor is Garrowhill the Mount Vernon Dog Racing track ,where we often sneeked in for free,nor the sand quarries of south Mount Vernon where we collected Sand Martin's eggs,nor the flooded pit shafts of Barrachnie, where we gathered newts and baggies and tadpoles,ignoring the unfortunate leg bound, bloated failed greyhounds.No, Garrowhill was far from an island of the comfortably-off. It was all of the above and more- Bothwell Castle, The Clyde ,Glasgow Zoo,and The Campsies on our bikes.We knew them all. We lived and played in the country but the cities were only a ha'ppeny tram ride away! Garrowhill had it's church, primary school, library but most of all it's children. Not all of them left for other lands but that seemed to be the go in the fifties but we all go back at some time. That's what I mean about Garrowhill. It had spirit. There was nobody else like us.Sure when people ask me "where abouts in Scotland did you come from, Alistair?", I tell them " from a little place called Garrowhill"-not a town ,not a village but a place; and what a place! I have lots of stories, many relating to our neighbours, the Baillies, who were the bain of our lives and to characters such as "Peein' Joe"and Forby, originally from from Govan, who went on to be one of Scotland's champion amateur boxers. Its 1949 and cold but dry and the two Mormon missionaries are staying in Garrowhill.They are doing their best to be nice to us,like showing us how to play baseball and where it is different from rounders and that kind of thing. Christmas is nearly upon us and just as they are ready to leave for their digs ,they enquire of us " I guess you guys would know where we could get some holly, you know with red berries and that?" Forby says "That's easy, Alistair's mum's go'ta a tree". That wasn't really true because Garrowhill wasn't old enough for a decent holly tree. Anyway,on the promise of a good many sticks of chewing gum, off we went to find some holly .Where else? Of course,Scott Maxwell's very private garden. Armed with rusty knives and other implements off we went in the dark of night (probably only four in the afternoon if I remember right) and without a sound crept past the greenkeepers cottage and down to the front of Baillieston House, where we cut and snipped and gathered as much holly with red berries as we could carry, between the three of us ,and crept our way back to the missionaries' digs. Opening the door and casting a great light to the darkness, the missionaries were confronted by three wee boys with enough holly to fill a truck! "Gee,you guys ,what the devil have you done to Alistair's mum's tree."Its orright mister", says Forby, thinking quickly," Alistair's mum's got ten trees, honest"! The three of us, Forby, Mally and me all went home with enough chewing gum to last a month! Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts John and from beautiful Merimbula, on the far south coast of N.S.W, surrounded by miles of white sandy beaches and pristine rainforests, basking in the glorious summer's sun, my wife and I wish all of you in the Monklands area a great new year in the new Sotland ! Regards, Alistair |
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| Dear John I'd just like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the pages on your site. I'm from Airdrie but have lived in England for over 20 years now. This is some of the most interesting material I've ever read about the town. Do you know of any decent local history books? I know that Airdrie Library had a couple of old books back in the early 70s. Has there been anything since? Best regards, ex- Holehills |
John I just came across this site by chance and I am amazed how great it is everything i need to know at my fingertips, I now know more about Monklands than I ever did. I will be checking in again & again so keep it updated. Thanks. Nanci from Switzerland [email removed] |
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Congratulations. I am writing you from
Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA. My mother and father were born in Coatbridge and came to
USA in 1920. For the last nine months, I picked up where my brother left off and have been
tracing my "roots". Best of luck on your new web site, Regards, Jim Gunn (E-mail address supplied)
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G'Day John
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| Hi, I would like to congratulate you on the site content.I will be checking back from time to time to check out the spotlight page. I was born in Bellshill Hospital in 1936 and lived in Whifflet till I was 11 years old. We moved to Townhead and left for Middlesex England.I moved to Australia in 1960 and have enjoyed my life here. It is good that all is not lost in the old home town. be proud. Bob and Sylvia Dickie. (e-mail supplied) |
Hello I've enjoyed reading the feature section on The Moss. When will you be posting your next installment? Elsewhere I noticed your comparison of UK and USA fuel prices. A letter to the editor in our local newspaper noted the disparity of fuel prices across Montana Bozeman being at $1.48/gal. and other cities at $1.34 the same day. My son is completing a cross country trip to NY and found fuel as low as 1.20/gal. Amazing! Mary Etta Parkinson Bozeman, Montana, U.S.A. |
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| Hi. We had a good look at your new site and delighted to find the only thing I could think of, that I would like to see on the site, was already there. Namely the picture of Annathill, where my Paternal Grandparents lived and I used to spend my school holidays. I would like to see a wee bit more History of it though, such as when it was built and the year it was demolished. Cheers from downunder to upover, Bunty & Bill in OZ | Hi there. I have enjoyed reading about the Monklands. My great-grandfather
was engineer at the Airdrie Cotton Works for many years in the last century. Do you have
any information, or photos of it please? Also my ancestors farmed at STAND. Is there still
a farm there, or photos? Regards, May Leslie at Whangarei NZ Can anyone help May? |
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