Growing up in Govanhill
I had never seen a double-decker bus before
Shops, cinemas, football, the BB, penny biscuits and great neighbours... readers recall their childhood days
THE old cinemas and shops of Govanhill provided the backdrop to a cavalcade of memories from Evening Times readers recently.
Our Thanks For The Memories drop-in event at Govanhill Library prompted a flurry of recollections from former and current residents.
Dominic Sweeney has many happy memories of growing up in Govanhill.
“We came to Glasgow from Ireland, my mum and dad, my brother Michael and me, in 1952,” he says. “I didn’t speak a word of English, as I grew up in a Gaelic-speaking part of Donegal. It was a bit of a culture shock, coming from a rural village to a big city.
“I remember telling my mum I’d looked out of the window and seen a bus with another one on top of it. I’d never seen a double-decker before.”
Dominic, 69, recalls the great neighbours he got to know as friends.
“They were all nationalities and cultures, a bit like the Govanhill of today,” he says. “It was always a welcoming place.”
The family – Dominic, Michael and their parents Paddy and Mary – had nothing to start with, he recalls.
“We had a gas cooker and a letterbox and that was about it,” he says. “The neighbours were very kind and gave us cutlery and whatnot. I remember playing in Govanhill Park and going to the BB in the church across the road.
“I spent a lot of time here in the library too, I was always coming in here.”
Dominic now lives i n Giffnock with his wife Anne, and the couple have four grown-up children.
“This was a great place to live,” he says. “The shops were great, and you’d go to Curley’s for a pennyworth of broken biscuits, or get in to the Cinerama with some jam jar tops. There were so many picture houses around here – the Majestic, The Govanhill, the Calder….we went on Saturday mornings, to see whatever was on.”
Some of Dominic’s fondest memories are from his footballing days.
“I played for Govanhill Star and I loved it,” he smiles. “I was chosen to represent Glasgow Boys’ Clubs and it was fantastic.
“Back then, there were no subs – just 11 players, and you were either in or out. It was a great time.”
William Burke, 69, a former Evening Times delivery boy, has lived in Govanhill for 42 years.
“Govanhill was always for the toffs,” he smiles. “It was seen as a bit upmarket. I remember all the old shops on Victoria Road – Pearson’s, Malcolm Campbell’s… it was a busy place.”
He adds: “There was a very expensive menswear shop, I remember – I never went in, it was too expensive for us!”
William, who worked for City Building for 35 years as a general labourer, moved to Govanhill when he and his late wife Betty were newly-weds. They brought up their son, Patrick, there.
“It was our first home together and I have a lot of happy memories of it,” says William.
“You always saw the kids playing on the streets, and prams outside all the doors. There were lots of cinemas in Govanhill. We went to the Cinerama.”
The Plaza ballroom was nearby, but it wasn’t William’s scene. “Why would I want to go dancing?” he laughs. “I’d met my wife!”
Our article also prompted some readers – from much further afield – who could not make it along on the day to share their memories of Govanhill.
John Davidson, who now lives in Toronto, Canada, told us: “Your article brought back a lot of fond memories growing up in Govanhill in the 50s.
“As youngsters, we would spend a lot of time either walking to Dixon Blazes to watch them dump the hot slag from railway trams, or playing in the open fields of Maulsey Mire.
“We even played in the stack of tyres at the Aikenhead bus garage!”
John adds: “We played a lot of kick-the-can in the back of the tenements and I also remember walking along Cathcart Road to get some ‘chipped fruit’!”
John says he has been back