SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1447 Title : Interview 16: Woman talking about volunteering in Toryglen Author(s): N/A Copyright holder(s): SCOTS Project Audio transcription F1039: It was illegal //an there was nothing// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: worthwhile for the kids tae play wi so the doctor came on board, an the the kids in the area were consulted as tae what they wanted in the playpark an they got it //an a man said to me las- last year, he says, ye know,// F606: //mm// F1039: "Every area in Glasgow should have wi yin o there", he says, "It's great eh the kids, it's gettin well used", so much so the headmaster o the school at yin o the meetins, he says, "I've only one complaint aboot the playpark, St Brigid's School gets oot later as Toryglen Primary School an the kids cannae get intae the playpark" [laugh] //[laugh] ye know?// F606: //Right, yeah.// F1039: So that was yin guid thing, an there's a lot o other good things eh came up wi the drug reha- rehabilitation //an Langside// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: College came intae what we call the base unit. It's the old shops in Toryglen, it was opened upan we got them at a nominal fee fae the council F606: Mmhm. F1039: an Langside College goes in there an they've got kids eh that left the school that dropped oot the school, they werena //interested in education.// F606: //Mm.// F1039: They got them in an a lot o them have went er tae college F606: Mm! F1039: an there's also a a place in there for eh gettin jobs an they've got e- ESOL classes. F606: what's that? F1039: It's for the asylum seekers gettin taught Englishan taught aboot Scotland, so that when they go for tae get see if they can stay in the country the- they're able to answer the questions //an dae things// F606: //mm// F1039: an they're also gettin the education, an they have eh other classes eh like sewing classes or eh it's tae get the community, I'm on I'm on eh "Integrating Toryglen" asylum seekers project, //which is// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: gettin asylum seekers in for tae help run organisations on their own if they get tae stay, //an they// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: they get aw the help they need for tae go tae the Home Office an, as I say, answer aw the questions so that they can stay in this country, //ye know?// F606: //Mmhm.// //Yeah.// F1039: //There's a lot goin on an// there's an awful lot o folk in Toryglen that doesnae realise exactly what is goin on, //ye know?// F606: //Uh-huh.// F1039: An eh th- the children an family an they've got the art project which again I'm on the Ardco Neighbourhood Group, eh Thistle Housing Association, they pay for the rent an the heatin an the phone an this, but through the Social Inclusion Partnership we got three computers, photocopyin an you name it, intae the flat that that eh anybody in the area can come in an get basic trainin on the computer, or use it if they want //to, photocopiers aw// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: free o charge. //An// F606: //Very good.// F1039: we've also got a carers' group in there, eh the person comes fae the Princess Royal Trust, Dixon Halls, she comes in eh once a month, //but it's open// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: every other Thursday for carers to come in an have a cup o tea, blether or, ye know, talk aboot their problems //just a wee respite.// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: an then we have the children arts and crafts which again is bein funded through Social Inclusion Partnership, children an family. We've got art teachers in, an the kids have been daein that an, as I said tae Wullie a while ago, just oot oot there eh we did a a photography session, Thistle Housing Association hired a professional photographer for tae come in an teach the kids how tae take photographs an how tae put them on the computer, //an we were oot// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: eh aboot every night o the week goin tae different organisations, as again we had tae get eh, print oot aw they forms for the kids tae get signed fae their parents, //ye know,// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: talk tae folk, ye know, ask their permission tae take their photo an such like. An aw the photographs were shown in the area right right fae the edge of [?]Geoff[/?] Shaw right down tae Thistle Housing on the railings. //an then they were put in the// F606: //Mmhm?// F1039: big hall in the Geoff Shaw at night. They had a two day event. The first, the Friday, it was kids in primary seven in the [inaudible] there that came in eh went tae Geoff Shaw an they did workshops talkin aboot what they like aboot the area, what they would like tae see in the area, an what they want tae dae //an there were aboot eh// F606: //Mm.// F1039: fifty o them turned up for that. //An then it finished wi// F606: //Quite good.// F1039: on the Saturday they had aw the different organisations wi stalls, an they had the asylum seekers daein the hair an daein the the paintin o the hands an //feet an// F606: //Mm.// F1039: aromatherapy an thing like that. Eh an it finished wi a ceilidh at night, but they also had aw the kids that had been involved in the area gettin training like ehm they had the break-dancin. It's a great success. //They're com- they're comin fae ehm// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: Gourock right up, an you'll see them in the city centre. //They're absolutely brilliant.// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: They run aboot six feet up the wa an turn right ower, //ye know? It's brilliant!// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: An one wee boy, his mother works wi, in the Ardco neighbourhood wi me eh he daes eh rap, an he was absolutely brilliant when they done a concert in St Brigid, so much so a scout was there an he's now eh trainin wi a professional an he's only thirteen, an he writes aw his ain stuff, F606: Uh-huh? F1039: you know, he's really really good. Eh h- they were there an the drummers. I had a drummin session. [laugh] We were at, we were at eh eh an all-day trainin session an eh they had a break, an they had the room aw set up eh drums every size. I was playin the bongo drums. //[laugh]// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: Eh eh the lassie that was daein it though she was brilliant. Eh she played sae much an you just copy her //an eh// F606: //Uh-huh?// F1039: then she tellt each yin when tae come in. It was brilliant! I fair enjoyed it, anyways eh they had the drumming classes, an they had them up on the stage an they had the drama, ye know? An folk were really really really surprised at what had been goin on in Toryglen, they didna know, //you know, although// F606: //Uh-huh yeah.// F1039: there's letters, there's newsletters, they, they, I think they just take it an chuck it in the bin, //ye know? But it was really really good.// F606: //Mmhm.// Yes. F1039: So //other than that. [laugh]// F606: //[laugh] No you haven't always lived in Toryglen// //then?// F1039: //No// I lived in eh doon in Govan Road, we got ma mother-in-law's auld hoose //eh// F606: //Uh-huh?// F1039: just no long after we were married away in nineteen fifty-three F606: mmhm F1039: eh hooses were hard tae come by then, //but// F606: //Aye.// F1039: my man's name was the same as his dad's so it didnae cause any problem //an then we moved up tae Nitshill.// F606: //Right. [laugh]// Mmhm, but before that you were brought up in Hawick, //were you? Mm.// F1039: //Aye, aye.// //Aye, twenty-five year in Hawick. [laugh]// F606: //[laugh]// So it'd be quite a change coming to Glasgow, mm? F1039: Aye, you could say that. //An awfa lot mair shops. [laugh]// F606: //Yeah [laugh]// F1039: Well at Haw- in Hawick at that time there was eh three picture hooses, F606: Mmhm. F1039: an the mills were very very busy. Eh that's what I did, I put that doon on that, I was a weaver to trade an then was, went through aw the different departments in the mill //an// F606: //Mm.// F1039: eh then that but ehm now the, Hawick has yin o the loveliest parks oot //an// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: it is really really nice park. But in Hawick now, the last time I was through, there were nine charity shops on the main street. //An ma sister was killin hersel laughin, it took us three hoors// F606: //Yeah that's what happens.// F1039: for to gang through the nine charity shops an the wee market [laugh] at the end o the street. //She says, "There's no believin it'd take three hoors to gang along the high street", [laugh] but eh// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: it- it's even gettin worse, I was talkin to ma sister just eh a fortnight ago an she's sayin there are another three wee mills closin doon. F606: Mmhm. F1039: There's nae tweed mills in Hawick an there's very little knitwear now. F606: That's a shame that, //mm.// F1039: //Aye.// //I think, I think it it was was it the Chinese or the Japanese?// F606: //Cause they mm.// F1039: I think it was a Chinese firm that took over Pringles. //Aye.// F606: //Was it, yeah, mmhm.// F1039: But ehm Hawick's no like what it used to be eh no. F606: No. F1039: They had an overspill area any for the Glaswegians //but a lot o// F606: //[tut] hm.// F1039: them have left an come oot an aw an a lot o the hooses are just left, //ye know?// F606: //Yeah mmhm.// F1039: I've still got family there. //I've eh two s-// F606: //Yeah.// F1039: two sisters an cousins there, //ye know?// F606: //Mmhm.// You come from quite a big family you //said?// F1039: //Aye.// I've got five sisters an I had three brothers, well one brother was adopted, //eh he was my cousin an my mother adopted him when he was ten// F606: //Mm.// F1039: because his mother an father died within a month o each other, //ye know?// F606: //Mm.// F1039: But he-he- he's dead now an aw. F606: Uh-huh. F1039: But eh aw the rest o them are still alive an kickin, //[laugh] includin me. [laugh]// F606: //[laugh] Yeah yeah.// So do you have quite a lot of family get-togethers or F1039: We did aye, w-w- eh see when we were wee, eh on the Sunday ye werenae allowed tae whistle, eh you werena allowed to play in the street F606: Yeah, that's, I remember //that.// F1039: //But// my dad was a butcher wi a, it was a family butcher firm an they had this big cattle-truck. It was cawed Big Bertha. An the the other two men that worked in the butchers an Dod an his family an my dad an mother an my brothers an sisters, we used tae go in this big cattle-truck an gaun away picnics, //ye know? [laugh]// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: An eh it it was good an then eh we always went tae the Sunday school, eh an then we went tae the church wi my graunparents, an then we aw went a walkeither that o went picnics. //We could dae anything we liked in the fields but// F606: //Mmhm.// //[laugh] Yeah mmhm.// F1039: //we werena allowed tae play in the street [laugh] ye know, eh but eh// sayin that eh, lookin back it was happy, I mean the ehm we just made oor ain fun, ye know? F606: Mmhm. F1039: An in the winter-time we used tae, wi snow we used tae get a lot o snow there //sometimes you was// F606: //Yeah.// F1039: snowed in, you was shovelling your way oot, eh but eh we used to get, ma cousins used tae come oot an ma aunts used to come oot in the winter-time eh we used tae tie aboot six sledges together; it was called a yokatola. //[laugh] An we would gaun up the hills// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: an come right doon, right doon the street, right roond tae the the school eh but if the police caught you they used to take the sledge off you //[laugh] ye know?// F606: //Aw what a shame!// F1039: But eh, sayin that it was, ye know, we really did have great fun, //an we used// F606: //Yeah.// F1039: tae make eh games wi shoe boxes, //an eh// F606: //Mm.// F1039: the stones oot o cherries, we used tae have peep shows, flick them into the box, put numbers on them, well, dae it on the pavement, //ye know? [laugh] We used tae dae games like that, ye know?// F606: //Oh yeah uh-huh.// //What did you call that?// F1039: //But// We just eh peep show we used tae caw it because it was the pips oot the //oot the plums, ye know, but we used tae flick them at the wall.// F606: //Aye. [laugh]// //Yeah. [laugh]// F1039: //[laugh] An sometimes we used marbles but ehm// you would- ye wouldnae get kids daein that now, //no no [laugh] no.// F606: //No, they wouldn't know [laugh] what to do with marbles.// F1039: I mind we used tae play cops an robbers wi sledges as well. //Eh// F606: //Mm?// F1039: you- yin person would lie doon on the sledge on their stomach an the other yin would sit on their back an as you was gaein doon ye'd jump fae yin sledge ontae the other. [laugh] Easy, easy lookin, you know, [laugh] the things we used tae do the kids would be [inaudible] now or, ye know? //Aye.// F606: //Yeah.// They might quite enjoy doin //that.// F1039: //Oh it was good fun, aye.// //I used tae gang aboot wi ma,// F606: //Yeah.// F1039: in the winter-time wi ma dad's troosers on wi a belt tied roond the middle an ma wellington boots up ower the top o the troosers. //[laugh] Oh,// F606: //Yeah.// //Uh-huh.// F1039: //we used tae have guid fun.// I I really, the kids are aw stuck in front o computers now, ye know? F606: Mmhm. F1039: An that's what we're tryin tae dae in the community flats tae get them away fae an get them interested in other things, other than just bein on the computer, //ye know?// F606: //Mmhm.// //Uh-huh.// F1039: //You know, playin they games// F606: Cause they don't even play outside much now, //do they?// F1039: //No, no.// Well eh in Toryglen, there's, they've got the playpark tae play in but eh for tae get any other facilities, eh there's no an awful lot unless they go intae like a community centres //an go in// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: tae different things in there like judo or thing, but a lot o them are just no interested, aw they want tae dae is hung aboot, //ye know?// F606: //Uh-huh.// F1039: So, I mean, it's hard tae get them, get their interest goin, F606: Mm. F1039: but when we set up this footba team, they were standin at the door, they were supposed tae be in for six o'clock an they were there the back o five o'clock //in case in case their name wasn't in the book,// F606: //Right! [laugh]// //Uh-huh.// F1039: //ye know? Footba they were interested in.// //An I was surprised at the// F606: //Yeah.// F1039: three girls even went intae it, //but eh// F606: //For the football? Ah.// F1039: we were thinkin we- we'll need tae change oor night for the arts an crafts because when we took them in tae dae photography an eh break-dancin, //we lost two wee boys o the group tae the break-dancin now we've lost two girls to the break-dancin, [laugh]// F606: //[laugh]// F1039: so we'll need tae change fae eh the Wednesday tae another night. //[laugh]// F606: //Yeah, [laugh] right.// F1039: The break-dancin's winnin hauns doon. //[laugh]// F606: //[laugh] Even over the football?// F1039: Aye, aye well well we we have the football on eh the Sunday fae twelve tae one, F606: Mmhm. F1039: an we were fortunate in gettin ehm the kids designed their own strip, //an Thistle Housin// F606: //Mmhm.// F1039: they got money for tae dae things in the community, so, they, we, well I did, I asked them if eh if they would eh dae the strip for the kids an we gave them the drawin that the wee boy done, //eh// F606: //mmhm// F1039: the kids decided theirself who was tae, who was the winner o it //an// F606: //Mm.// F1039: eh we took it in an Thistle are gettin their strip made up tae for the kids. F606: Mmhm. F1039: But eh a friend o mine, he was involved wi some boys' football team, it was defunct an he gave o the strips that they'd been usin for trainin F606: Mmhm. F1039: an we are now involved wi culture and leisure an eh development, I cannae mind eh D., D.R.S. ehm an they've managed tae get a coach free of charge an the kids are gettin trained in Holyrood Sports Centre free o charge, //so got that goin just now but how long it'll last.// F606: //Very good, yeah, uh-huh.// //Yeah difficult to// F1039: //It's an affa lot.// //[laugh]// F606: //tell.// Well thanks very much, //that's very good, yeah.// F1039: //It's alright, you're welcome.// This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Audio Audio audience Adults (18+): For gender: Mixed Audience size: 2 Audio awareness & spontaneity Speaker awareness: Aware Degree of spontaneity: Spontaneous Audio footage information Year of recording: 2006 Recording person id: 606 Size (min): 17 Size (mb): 67 Audio setting Education: Recording venue: University Archive Geographic location of speech: Glasgow Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers Not previously acquainted: Speakers knew each other: Yes Audio speaker relationships Family members or other close relationship: Audio transcription information Transcriber id: 631 Year of transcription: 2006 Year material recorded: 2006 Word count: 2768 Audio type Interview: General description: Interview about Toryglen Participant Participant details Participant id: 606 Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1940 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 18 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Academic Place of birth: Edinburgh Region of birth: Midlothian Birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Glasgow Region of residence: Glasgow Residence CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of residence: Scotland Father's place of birth: Leith Father's region of birth: Midlothian Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's place of birth: Edinburgh Mother's region of birth: Midlothian Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: All Language: Scots Speak: No Read: Yes Write: No Understand: Yes Circumstances: Work Participant Participant details Participant id: 1039 Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1920 Educational attainment: College Age left school: 14 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired, volunteer Place of birth: Hawick Region of birth: Roxburgh Birthplace CSD dialect area: Rox Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Glasgow Region of residence: Glasgow Residence CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Butcher Father's place of birth: Hawick Father's region of birth: Roxburgh Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Rox Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Tailoress Mother's place of birth: Edinburgh Mother's region of birth: Edinburgh Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Edb Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work, at home Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work, at home