Shops, Businesses, Services and Characters from the Past
Who can forget the little shops from your area that were run by characters?
How about dropping me a line with one that you remember? There must be at least one that rekindles thoughts from the past. The little sweety shop, the newsagent, the local `johnny a` thing`,
the pub, the dairy, the bike shop, the radio accumulator shop, the street hawker, etc.
Stella Blacks, the home bakery in the Kirkgate, later to move to a shop beneath the old railway bridge crossing Leith Walk at Jane Street.
Old Mr Skinner who ran the chemist shop in Great Junction Street near Bonnington Road.
Allans the drapery shop near Mr Skinner.
Alex Westwood who had his fruiterer shop in Great Junction Street near Stoddarts the Undertaker.
Tam Tait, the barber and Ard Radio shop in Bonnington Road.
Harburn Hobbies in Leith Walk Their window display was an attraction with its working display of Hornby train sets.
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Spence and Spence the drysalters in Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.
(Martin O`Connor, boy on his message bike with basket and advertising panel on frame)
Miss Pearce who owned and ran the boiled sweetshop in Great Junction Street. Soor plooms, Nelson Balls, Toffee Doddles, Berwick Cockles, Cinamon Drops, Pan Drops, aye, even Edinburgh Rock. She also stocked a sweet rock stick shaped and coloured like rhubarb. Even getting the dregs of an empty jar into a bag was a delight.. The mouth now waters at the thought.
Smiths was a grocer in Great Junction Street with a hanging box sign outside its door bearing their name. Favourite place to go into and ask for a bag of broken biscuits. They had a few shops around the town.
Methven Fish Shop who still operate in Great Junction Street.
Guthries tripe shop in the Kirkgate.
(Betty O`Connor`s Aunty Lizzie having a barrel of tripe falling on her foot and breaking her toe when working there)
Parkers Store opposite South Leith Chuch.
Bootland`s bakery shop in Great Junction Street, as well as Nairns, and Smiths of Hawkhill.
What about the shoe shops? Keirs, Easiephit, Bairds, Carrs, and Cable among others who supplied our gym shoes (rubbers) as well as our `Sunday Best`.
Who can forget our corner open-air newsvendors at the `Fit o` the Walk`? Waiting at 11pm for our following morning edition of the Daily Mail after a night out.
Smith and Bowman the chemist for all our toiletries. Woolworths with their assistant and cashiers before self-service came about.
Jeannie McBeans in Bonnington Road - open until yon time.
Dunnets the Bakers in Tennant Street.
Allans, the cycle shop in Jane Street.
Rankins the Fruiterers in Great Junction Street.
Peter Cooper`s Butchers in Tennant Street.
Campbell, Harper or Jeromes for our official photographs.
Joe Muir`s, the newsagent in Henderson Street - come to pay your papers?
What about our lemonade suppliers? James Dunbar of Albion Road, Globe Table Waters, Hendry`s, and Leitch`s. Twopence when you returned the bottles.
Conboys, the wine retailer on the Broad Pavement that was run, I always thought, by two sisters.
The chip shops - Joe de Ponio`s in Henderson Street, Massaros on the Shore, Alberts in the Kirkgate, Fasciones at the top of Bangor Road, Angelosantos in Portland Place, Costas in Great Junction Street, Owens in Bonnington Road and others that I recall but the names escape me. Obviously I have missed a lot more.
The Cafe at the side of the State Cinema. One of the first to have a juke box. Bill Haley featured strongly.
The Snooker Halls above the State and the Palace cinemas. There was another just up the `Walk` from the Alhambra near the entrance to the Victoria Rubber Co.
The Leather Shop was also in this vicinity. I have got it into my mind that they had a horse`s head on display with the leather bridle fittings. Am I right?
Up from this shop was a building set back in a garden. I think it was used as an office by Craig & Rose the paint manufacturers. Jim Hall recalls that there was an air raid shelter in the garden area.
The Carlton Billiards was also on the same side, with Manchella`s ice cream shop nearby. Jim stayed in 226 Leith Walk, next door to them as well as Barton`s sweetie shop. Other premises springing to mind between Smith`s Place and Lorne Street are a corner clothing store. Was this not the Army and Navy surplus shop? Danish Baco Co., Divitos fish and chip shop, and Bobby Combe`s (ex Hibs) grocer`s shop.
On the other side, and up from the Rubber Mill Lane, Moffits the Bakers (great for a greasy pie late on in the evening as their bakery opened all night).
Leith Provident Co-operative Society or the `Store` as we knew it. Who can forget the overhead wires that were used to convey little shuttles containing our store checks and money to the cashier for receipt and our change coming back to the counter the same way? The shuttle was sent on its way by pulling down on a wooden handle against a spring.with the recoil providing the propulsion. I always wished that I could have had a go.
Maggie Symons, sweetie shop in Jane Street, renowned for toffee apples. Next door to her was Jockie Allan`s, the bike shop.
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Joe McBean`s. Alex Wallace recounts how he was sent to the shop for a loaf of bread. When bringing home a wrapped slice loaf (normally unwrapped), his mother gave him "hell" and sent him back with it asserting that it had been "used".
Alex also reminded me of the `one armed` lad who hawked bleach that he wheeled around in a four wheeled cart with one shaft. (I met up with the guy a few years back when he visited the Livingston Rugby Club. We got talking and it was then I learned that he lost his arm while he was evacuated to Fife at the beginning of the war. He had been knocked over by a car. I learned later that he died not too long after I met him.).
Our red ubiquitous telephone box. Pulling open the often stiff heavy door. Then confronted by the black coin box with the push buttons A and B. A to connect your call or B to collect your money back if the call failed. Often we would press the B button in case the previous user had forgotten to do so. Quite often we would get the windfall of 2d dropping into the receptacle at the bottom.
Ice Cream Street Vendor. We at the `Coppy` would often hail the `Stop Me And Buy One` ice cream salesman as he pedalled his tricycle past us. The ice cream vending machine perched on the axle of the front two wheels served as the steering mechanism. Must have been .very strenuous pedalling this along especially over the granite setts.
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Our local Street Orderly? Long before political correctness reared its ugly head, the orderly was known to us as the Scaffy (Scavenger?) Ashamed to say, this job was then looked down upon by us as the lowest of the low. The guy would push his two cycle wheeled barrow of two containers stopping regularly to sweep up the litter with his twig broom and shovel. Regularly would come along a cleansing horse drawn cart to empty his full containers. The orderly is still doing his work but his job is now looked upon with more recognition.
Remember catching the last tram to the Leith Depot or else a long trudge down Leith Walk. Never a fear then of being mugged.
Recalled by Tom Wallace (San Francisco), Betty O`Connor (New Zealand), Alex Wallace (Canada), Jim Hall (Canada), and myself.
Yes, these are some of the names that mean a lot to us. There are others from your part of Leith that I feel should be added to the list. So please, let me have them.
