Rounders Or Other Street Games, history Options

[big tommy]

One of our favourite street games was rounders.

The Americans call it Baseball ,as do Canadians , but nevertheless it was a street game we called rounders.

We used to play this in the street,:- Crossburn Street

I think the reason we liked this was some adults used to join in. We formed 2 teams and if we played this after our tea the adults did not always notice that it was past our bedtime and we got to stay up later.

It did not seem to matter which team won.

Tommy

[karyn]

kirby is the all time classic.....

[keelie gal']

kirby was brilliant

[sumac]

How did we play that again? My old memory is dim (and so are you, I hear hubby say!).

[Purplefan]

you and your mate stood on opposits sides of the road, and you threw a ball and tried to
bounce it off the opposite kirb. Hence kirby.

Anyone played kick the can?
chap the door and run away?

[Crewsy Fixer]

Thats right Purp, I was a Kirby champ there was competion involved It was played up to 10 points, 1 point for hitting the kerb and the ball rolling or bouncing back to you, 2 points if you got it right on the angle and it bounced back without touching the ground..

[glasgow lass]

you and your mate stood on opposits sides of the road, and you threw a ball and tried to
bounce it off the opposite kirb. Hence kirby.

Anyone played kick the can?
chap the door and run away?

a even tied two doors the gether

[bilbo.s]

I always wished I lived in Embra when I was a kid. Very posh - the closes all had doors and there were 10 or 12 bell-pulls beside each door - Paradise Found !

[Chrissie]

We played those games and on rainy days we'd sit on the stairs up my wee pal's close and swap scraps or wee sheets of coloured tin foil that we kept stored in the the pages of books. We even had prewar scraps and all kinds of cherubs and angels. The wee lassies got hoors o' entertainment from just a few scraps of paper. Add a penny worth o' hel' salts to dip your finger in and stick it in your mouth to experience the fizz and you had a perfect day. We used to buy oor stuff in Isaacs shop next to the Palaceum.

[bilbo.s]

We played those games and on rainy days we'd sit on the stairs up my wee pal's close and swap scraps or wee sheets of coloured tin foil that we kept stored in the the pages of books. We even had prewar scraps and all kinds of cherubs and angels. The wee lassies got hoors o' entertainment from just a few scraps of paper. Add a penny worth o' hel' salts to dip your finger in and stick it in your mouth to experience the fizz and you had a perfect day. We used to buy oor stuff in Isaacs shop next to the Palaceum.

I well remember Jean Isaac's shop - the name above the door was different . Do you remember it? Spent a lot of time in th Palaceum- saw " Annie Get Your Gun" umpteen times. Red candy cakes from Matteo's cafe.

[Chrissie]

Bilbo - I don't remember the name above the shop. When I was wee I tended to identify places by the weans. Isaacs was David's ma's shop; Matteos in Edram was Anna's, the other Matteos - the Elect was Billy's - his ma was Bessie who worked there a lot - she was a Matteo before marriage. I don't know if you remember the Cosy Corner on the Corner of Fernan St. and the main road. Charlie Cocozza and his wife ran it and they had a daughter named Julie.
I may have been in the Palaceum at the sime time as you watching those pictures. Loved that place. The Palaceum and the State were my favourites. Wasn't Mrs. Isaac a really nice woman. At one point when everything was getting dearer she was the only one who would come up with something for a penny.

[Chrissie]

Bilbo - So whit was the name o my wee sweetie shop?

[bilbo.s]

Bilbo - So whit was the name o my wee sweetie shop?

Chrisie,

I do not remember the name above Jean Isaac's shop. I well remember Charlie Cocozza- he had a wee mustache. Did you ever get halfpennies for jamjars at the grocer's to go to the flicks ?

[Chrissie]

Bilbo, Don't remember the jam jars. Did get a lot of 1p and 2ps on bottles we returned to Deans Pub. We had to go to the family department, a wee booth like area. Between cousins, my dad and 2 bros, we had about 10 guys going off at various stages of the war. They didn't all come home at the same time but 7 made it back so as each one returned there were big parties for them so us kids made out like bandits with the beer bottles. At the other end of Wellshot Rd on the corner was Anina Valente's house. Her dad held the concession for the Barrowland Cafe. When I'm writing these names down I'm realizing how many are Italian, including the Usebis - the barber, he was Nettie's dad.
Was your house the first one built on Wellshot? I notice you called it Wellshot House.

[bilbo.s]

Hi Chrissie,

Peter Eusebi was my barber, lovely wee man. I can still see him. Always remember his price list on the wall, which included a "shinge". My dad was very friendly with him. There is a very good deli now in Shettleston, which I think belongs to the family.
Our doctor was Peter Capaldi, a very good man. I heard he passed away only just recently. Yes, it was Little Italy in those days.

My father knew John Deans well and later on I moved with my aunts to Blackcroft Road, right across from John and his family.

I am afraid I know little of the history of Wellshot House. I tried googling it , but there was another house of the same name. My father inherited it from an uncle and we lived there until about 1955. It was in a sorry state and we only occupied a small part of it. My folks moved to Plains and the vandals and hooligans looted the house and eventually set fire to it, necessitating its demolition. The Corporation later got a compulsory purchase order and built sheltered housing.

I think the name of Jean Isaac's shop may have been " Mackie". Do you remember a pigeon fancier called Johnnie McConnachie - used to stand outside the grainstore ?