greater pollok heritage
greater pollok heritage group
POEMS 1
|
ONE SINGER ONE SONG by Peter Savage Marbeth & The Driftwoods at the Cavendish Bar Back in ‘68 all trying to be stars On the Nitshill Road down old Pollok way Playing for the drinkers who don’t want to pay But it was live entertainment brought to you Before karaoke and the telly began to intrude Bands and singers who have long disappeared Like the hair on their heads and the stages they shared Forty years ago when they were young Hoping but failing to reach number one But still the memories linger on and on Amid the cries of ‘one singer, one song!’ --------------------------- 'In Pollok in the 1960s, there were no pubs near us in Netherplace Road. The pubs on Nitshill Road must have been there but we never ventured up there as wee boys so I don't remember them. I don't remember many women complaining about the lack of pubs but I'm sure men did. Eventually, The White Cart in Corkerhill was built I think sometime in the 1970s as well as the Pollok Inn on Brockburn Road. We went to the White Cart for a while and it was quite a nice pub back then but we never went to the Pollok Inn. Sadly, both pubs reputations went rapidly downhill and we didn't use them. The Pines on Crookston Road was okay and we sometimes went there (although it was quite a bit away). In the 1960s though, I am iformed that The Cavendish was a popular pub on Nitshill Road with regular live music. I don't know anything about the Levern Water or Nia Roo. The family pub at the Hurlet is probably the most used now....'
|
CLIPPY by Peter Savage Mah mammy was a clippy, did a back shift oan the Fifty ‘Come oan get aff!’ you often heard her cry Tae men in ties and suspenders oan freezin back enders Tryin tae dodge their fares and be fly Fae Pollok tae Midland Street, in rain and snaw and sleet Tae feed her weans, pit a shirt oan thur backs and sannies oan thur feet Then the buses went strange and brought in machines wi nae change And that was the end of her conductin days.. --------------------------------- 'When we came to Pollok in the 60s, the buses then were the 49 which ran from Govan to South Nitshill, the 26 from Govan to Priesthill, the 21, 39 and 50 from Midland Street in the city centre to Pollok and the 23 which passed through Pollok to go to Govan from Midland Street. The 23 is the only one that hasn't changed in 40 years. Many people still worked or shopped in Govan then but that has all changed now. There must have been buses to Arden, Thornliebank and Darnley but I don't know what they were. I can remember red buses too which parked at Haughburn Road but we never used them so I don't know where they ran to (probably Paisley and Renfrew because the Corporation buses didn't go out there.) The only thing that hasn't changed is the number of people who complain about the bus service. Back then, there were more buses due to the lack of cars but people still complained about the service. If they could see it now, what would they think...' |
THE POLLOK DIVI by Peter Savage The Peat Road shops in Pollok back when I was wee Galloways, Galbraiths and the Chemists, Mackie’s and Templeton’s for treats My mother used to give me notes to take to the shops And a number I had to remember A pound of links and milk to drink and don’t forget the number Tea and bread and ‘two nice wee scones’ And a ‘dod of poattied heid’ for your granny, And repeat after me 62623 - and if you forget it I’ll murder ye!’ ----------------------------- 'Living in Netherplace Road, we used the Peat Road shops most of the time. Occasionally we went round to Leithland or Levernside but the shops at Peat Road were our regulars, particularly Mackies for papers, comics and rolls, Galbraiths for groceries and Galloways for butcher meat. I think there was a chemist there too and a Co-op. Initially, I think we used the Co-op for the 'divi' but for some reason, galbraiths became the favourite. There was a Templetons store too for groceries but I think they were more expensive and so were rarely used. It is very difficult to find photos of the Peat Road shops which were demolished in the late 1970s when the Pollok Shopping Centre opened, so if anybody has any, let us know. Our wee dog, Brandy was a regular at Galloways butcher shop where the staff regularly gave him bones and scraps of meat. I don't know why he was so favoured but he wasn't about to complain.......'
|
