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

kirby is the all time classic.....

kirby was brilliant

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

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?

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..

a even tied two doors the gether

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 !

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.

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.

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 ?

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.

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 ?

Bilbo, Actually I do think I remember your pigeon fancier, though not his name. Two guys hung out there a lot one about 5 feet and the other taller. We never knew their names but the smaller guy was christened the sheriffby my wee pal. She said he looked liked he was guarding the place. He had no uniform so we decided he couldn't be named named guard, He always gave us a big smile and said hello.
Our doctor was McGlone. The family was split on that. Two of my sisters preferred a lady doctor but I can't remember her name. Even back then she seemed elderly - I think her first name was Annabell or Adelaide or something like that. I don't think she ever took her hat off. She took good care of my sisters anyway. I had McGlone and he wasn't my favorite. He was in partnership with Flaherty and Bowie but Dr. Flaherty retired and Dr. Bowie moved to Texas and I didn't get a vote at the time because I was too wee. Dr. Capaldi had a good reputation.
I don't know if you'll remember the off license shop at the corner of Blair Street and the main road. It was a good size and different from most. When you went in the door there was tins of broken biscuits everywhere. I don't know what he made the most money from the booze or the biscuits. I remember he would get the biscuits delivered one day a week and by the time the week was nearly over he'd be down to a couple of tins. We used to go their and buy the broken biscuits for coppers then along the road to Prestons or Lexies fruit shops and get some chipped fruit. Then up the park we went and had our picnic. We were both avid readers. During the school holidays we went to the library nearly every weekday.
You're right about the Eusebis and Cocozzas. The were really nice people. I think a lot of it had to do with them being happy most of the time. They seemed to appreciate life and everything they had and didn't mind working long hours since they were also sociable people.

A lot of kids today are still intae that but it's more expensive.
Have a perfect day.

Chrissie,

Johnny McConnachie would have been the wee guy- he wore a bunnet usually. Maybe it was my dad you saw talking to him, as they were quite friendly - he was a six-footer, thin with a wee mustache.

I do not recall the off-licence- I was teetotal at the time but in that area there was a sweetie shop with brilliant home-made candy balls. There was also a bakery where we used to get rolls about 11 at night.

If you go to Google Maps and search for Blair Street, you will see that EusebiŽs Deli is near where CocozzaŽs café used to be. Do you remember the Franchetti café in Wellshot Road ? They were cousins of the Ferris of the State Café where I mis-spent my youth, bewitched by Silvia- around 1959-63.

I well remember Lexies and also Ritchies the bike shop, where my dad bought me an air rifle for Christmas ( I was only 9 !!).

Sadly the whole area is very depressing now. Tollcross Park is not the same without the childrenŽs museum with "Who Killed Cock Robin".

Bilbo
It's hard to judge height when you're a wean. It probably was your dad.

The bakery you mention was Docherty's. Best well-fired rolls in the area, including Dalzielle's. The bakery was in Cree St. Blair and Cree Sts. were the same St. really. On the side leading into the park it was Cree St. By the way there was a big family of Cocozzas there - no relation to Charlie. The other side leading to the back road is/was Blair St. You'd not know Ferguson's was a licensed grocer by the windows since they were full of biscuits usually. I'd hiv tae say I more than likely was a tt masel back then since they didnae sell hooch to 9 year aulds.

I don't remember a cafe in Wellshot. Yet I remember buying sweeties when we went to the pics in Wellshot. Was it at oor end or up by the picture hoose? I think that hall showed the oldest flicks in Glesgow but it was usually open on a Sunday so we went when we were teenagers winchin since back then most of the guys were either still going to school or learning a trade and Glesga's macho men insisted on paying. Since we lassies were usually also skint by Sunday sometimes if we had seen the local pics we went for walks up and doon Broadway and went into cafes where we sipped hot oranges fur hoors. Doesn't sound like much but we were very happy.

I cannot remember the name of theFacchetti café but it was at the Shettleston Road end, across from the church, practically next to Cochranes´s grocers. You must be referring to Green´s Tollcross cinema. We used to go there on a Friday night, when they showed serials like " Superman and the Atom Man". Bit of a dump compared to the Palaceum and State.

Ah - hot orange - what nostalgia. Does anybody drink that nowadays? I doubt it. What years did you spend in Shettleston ? I was 1942 - 1955 but still frequented the State Café until about 1963.

Yes, café society was alive and well in those days - just like the Left Bank in Paris haha.

BTW just looked up the 1911 census ( just released) and found my grandparents, father and aunts at 210 Main Street, which became 844 Shettleston Road.

I grew up in Hinshaw Street, Maryhill and can remember playing rounders, usually round the corner in Doncaster Street. It all depended on somebody being able to get hold of a cricket bat or some other kind of bat. We would be out there till near dark in the summer and our mammy had to call us in for bed.

I've got happy memories too of sitting on the stairs of our close, swapping scraps with our friends. We would keep them between the pages of an old book.

In the summer, a gang of us would put on a stairheid concert. All the kids paid a few pennies and sat up the stairs, watching the grand performance, put on by as many kids as could be persuaded to sing, dance, tell jokes or recite a poem. If we got enough money we would send it into Pat Rolland (I think was his name) in the Daily Record, to donate to the Eastpark Home. I did hear at some stage that they took their "cut" before forwarding the money.

Great to hear from Scots Kiwi Lass !

I remember playing most of the games mentioned above but one of our favourite activities in 'theDrum' was to chalk make believe roads and streets in the rosd and ride our trikes, bikes and carts around, obeying the Street Code.

We used to start so early in those Summer Mornings and would still be going well into the night, until we were finally called in off the streets !

Tombro

Bilbo - Lived in Shettleston from 1946 - 1957. Lived in the south side for while where I was born, then Barlanark, but never lost touch with Shettleston. Still went dancing there and visited with pals. At that point in time I think the dancing had moved from the welfare hall and Wellshot Rd to the Eastmuir Masonic. After 1960 I didn't really hang out there at all, except to catch transportation. Some of my pals went on to the dancing in Baillieston but it wasn't my cup of tea.
Your news of the closing of the children's museum in the park was so sad. It was the focal point of that place. We never passed it by and went from there to the hot house and down a wee path to a secluded area that a lovely wee burn flowed through.

Kiwi Lass - Rounders was fun to watch but I hated when my turn came up. I don't think I ever hit that ball. Did better at ropes and ball - remember bouncing double balls off the wall?

Remember the elastic ropes , we made them out of elastic bands and did all sorts of tricks and skipping and stuff wi them

Games came and went seasonaly but you'd never notice the pattern when you were young. There was a time for keepie uppie, rounders, peever, headies, fitba' aw summer lang, kick the can; a variation o' hide an seek. The lassies games wi chalk an rope, peerries, bools, an' board games, snakes n' ladders played up closes when it rained. We never had the opportunity tae spend hours in front of the television, nor were there video games, Ipods; we even knew a' the songs. Did making oor ain entertainment make us better equipped tae function in a hard environment and make us better able to function later in life. When I see the disintegration in society in modern Glasgow it make me think. It was a much poorer place in terms of affluence but it was a fer sicht richer in social terms than the disengagement and alienation seen today.

Absolutely right.

I think that a big part of this problem these days is that parents often don't engage enough with their children. The best games of rounders or ropes for girls was when the mums came out and played with us as well on a summer's evening. A lot of children in high school don't even know how to play draughts or snakes and ladders. It was all part of learning social interaction and your so right it taught us all many things Dunvegan. We must have been as fit as fiddles in comparison with todays children..

Chrissie - I can well remember playing doublers off the walls of the tenements, at the same time going through a range of songs - I wish I could remember what they were but I know one song ran on to another. If I think of any of them, I will let you know.

When I see the kids wearing roller skates and blades today it take me back to my childhood days in Hinshaw Street. For some reason, I only had one roller skate (my kids roll their eyes at this) and it was strapped on to your shoe. Anyway, I had loads of fun with it, also a wooden scooter I got one Christmas.

I wonder what games our great-grandchildren will be playing in the years to come.

Kiwi Lass - Your one skate brought back memories. Same skates I bet, metal that had straps through them for your shoes. One Christmas my wee pal got skates and I got a bike. We ran aroon that year with one skate each. Although we were warned not to do it we would go around the corner and I would stand while pedaling and Megan would sit on the saddle with her legs stuck out so as not to touch the wheel. We had so much fun with them.

I remember singing the songs while playing doublers. Don't remember tham. One began with one two three aleary.Remember the fancy footwork? 1. LIft leg up and put the ball under, 2. Staand astride and put ball through the back of your legs. 3. Cross your left leg over your right sideways and put the ball through there. We didn't know it but we must have been fit as fiddles.

I remember another pastime as a child was playing with a gird and cleat,
an old bicycle wheel without it's tire and a short length of wood to guide
the wheel, " great fun" and we ran along the streets like the wind guiding it all the way.

A wonder if kids still build and play with a boggie ( a guess not ), we had so much fun on them and tore a few frocks to boot,

Glasgow Lass only bogie kids would know now would probably come from their nose. . Mary

Chrissie - I've just remembered one of the songs I sang while playing doublers -

Bobby Shaftoe went to sea
Silver buckles on his knee
He'll come back and marry me
Bonny Bobby Shaftoe

What simple fun we had! I can't imagine kids these days singing to themselves out in the street.

Tippy tippy tap upon my shoulder
Tippy tippy tap upon my shoulder
I am the master
follow me my master says, follow me my master says
Iam the master.
in and out o' the dusty bluebells
in and out o' the dusty bluebells I am the master.
She is handsome she is pretty she is the belle of Belfast city
she has sweethearts 1 2 3
wont you tell me who is she?
Tell my ma when I get home the boys wont leave the gilrs alone
She is handsome she is pretty she is the belle of Belfast city........

Lassies skipping and ring a' roses games song.

one of Stuart's wee songs,
---------------------------------
Mary had a little lamb
she put it in the bunker
a bit of coal went in it's eye
and made it dae the rumba.

----------------------------------
one two three a leery
I spy Wallace Beery
sittin oan his bumbaleery
kissin Shirley Temple.
=-------------------------------

Another wee glasgow song.

My girls a corker .she's a New yorker
I'd do most anything to keep her in style,
She's got a pair of hips just like two battle ships
that's the way the money goes.

Kiwi Lass - Isn't it great to see all our wee songs written down. I remembered all of them when I saw them written except Dunvegan's.

Angel - We used to sing the New Yorker one a little differently:
My girl's a corker, she's a New Yorker
I'd do most anything to keep her in style
She has a pair of legs just like two whiskey kegs
That's the way the money goe

Another one comes to mind:

Half a pound of tuppeny rice,
Half a pound of treacle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel

here's another ..

Do,Re,Mi, when I was wee
I used tae peel the totties
but noo am big n I cin jig
and I cin kiss the loddies.

Ma mother n faither
built me a hoose
tae keep me frae the loddies
the hoose fell doon
n A fell oot n A fell in wae the loddies.

I loved chap the door and run away; kick the can; Doctors and nurses.

Mind you, every time i played Doctors and nurses, i always ended up as the receptionist.

Do any of you remember clackers? It was two hard balls on a piece of stirng, and had a plastick hoop for your finger to go through.
You would move it up and down, and it would make a clacking noise, or if it hit you in the head, a crying noise as the blood would pour down.