Playing on street
salvaged from the PO sorting office in Waterloo Street, and embellished with pigeon feathers.
“It still surprises me that no one lost an eye during our frequent skirmishes,” he marvels. “We built dens between the dykes and middens, made from all manner of materials and lavishly furnished with old carpets and bits of wood for shelving.
“Candles provided all the lighting we needed.”
David was born in Rottenrow in 1950 and lived on Holm Street with his parents Jeanie and Alexander McKay Hamilton and his brothers and sisters Jean, Alex and James.
“My sister had a wee girl called Helen, and all seven of us lived on the top floor of our tenement,” he says. “Pre-school years were all about fun, running about meeting other kids and playing in the back courts climbing, dreeping and getting scabbie knees.
“There was always lots to do at that age, kids raking through the middens, getting empty containers, bottles, jars and any other rubbish to set up shop and shout ‘come and buy, the shop’s open’.
“Hide-and-seek was always popular, as the dunnies, lobbies, closes, middens and dykes always afforded a dark corner to hide.”
David recalls the tradition of getting dressed up on the first Sunday in May.
“It doesn’t happen now, but we always looked forward to it, because apart from Christmas it was one of the few times you got new clothes,” he smiles.
“After getting our hands and faces scrubbed red raw my big brother and I would proudly wear what was bought for us and head out on parade with a stern warning, ‘don’t get dirty’, ringing in our ears.”
He adds: “Jim and I used to walk around all the posh houses up Bothwell Street and St Vincent Street, as smart as new pins.”
David attended Washington Street School.
“I had to navigate the streets until I reached Big Sid, the local white-coated bobby who would guide you safely between the trams and across Argyle Street,” he says. “On rainy days, I jumped on a tram and got a three half penny ticket.
“Growing up in Anderston was fantastic – for me it’s the best part of our city.”