Affluence/Importance

[Penny Tray]

There was a story amongst messageboys in the 50s that there was a house in Eglinton Road, Ardrossan, where the woman always had a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen table and no one in the house was sick!

What did you perceive as signs of affluence or importance as you were growing up?

Ownership or possession of a car was surely one of them.

[morag]

Absolutely! At least in Stevenston, ownership of a car was an 'Aw' factor, and if it was any other colour than black even more aw! My pal got her driver's licence.. quite unusual then, and her dad let her occasionally drive us aboot..it became known as the 'dolly bird' car..I'm thinking Portsmouth plymoth? but could, and most likely am, horribly wrong.
Other than that, cakes or such, usually bought when company called. And we were warned, don't touch 'til the company had chosen. lol!

[Meg]

For me it was living in or around the Witches Lynn - owning your own home was something - but living in that area was something else!

Meg

[BobP]

Oh, don`t start me on this one !

Friends who went to bed in pyjamas

Paul Craig`s Telescope

Big brothers and sisters who had real passports

Laundry boxes, the little ones that sat at the end of bath and had cork tiles on top

Proper Clarke`s shoes instead of the plastic shoe effect one`s from Woolworths

Real bookcases instead of piles o Readers Digests

Clean Lavvies

Oh and a real mum and dad

Make you gree,t but then again, it was a long time ago


f

[morag]

Jings, Bob, I'd love for you to elaborate!
Made you the man you are, though..
Laundry boxes...? Not aware of these at all, but then again, we didn't have a T.V., phone or refrigerator 'til the mid 60's..God knows how we managed! lol!

[Mitchy]

There was a story amongst messageboys in the 50s that there was a house in Eglinton Road, Ardrossan, where the woman always had a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen table and no one in the house was sick!

What did you perceive as signs of affluence or importance as you were growing up?

Ownership or possession of a car was surely one of them.

Signs of affluence and importance to me when I was young was people who owned their own house, or wore a short and tie to their work. Now that I myself do both it somehow doesn't seem what it appeared to be then

[Mitchy]

For me it was living in or around the Witches Lynn - owning your own home was something - but living in that area was something else!

Meg

I used to think the same about Caledonia Road in Saltcoats.

PS I'd say Witches Lynn is still a fairly desirable address in the three towns.

[morag]

I'd a pal who lived in Witches Lynn and one who lived in Hillcrest Drive, Stevenston..never noticed a difference between us socially, it was all doon the rec to get frogspawn or up the country for the day, I wasn't aware of social caste at the time, thank God, knew there were poorer than us and better off than us but basically, we were all paddling the same boat.

[morag]

And I remember, as poor as we were, every so often, maybe once a month, the 'Black baby fund', at least in Catholic schools, where you'd be cajoled into giving something so the black babies could survive. Looking back this is not only non pc, but traumatic! We had to scrounge to get money to give! I usually managed but now think how those kids who wanted to help but couldn't felt?

[Meg]

People who had a telephone - my pal's number was Rowanside 5595 - how posh was that!

Meg

[Mitchy]

And I remember, as poor as we were, every so often, maybe once a month, the 'Black baby fund', at least in Catholic schools, where you'd be cajoled into giving something so the black babies could survive. Looking back this is not only non pc, but traumatic! We had to scrounge to get money to give! I usually managed but now think how those kids who wanted to help but couldn't felt?

I remember sometimes the dismay on my mothers face when me and my 2 sisters reminded her when it was 'Black Baby money day'...only because she was struggling until my Dad got paid!

[Mitchy]

People who had a telephone - my pal's number was Rowanside 5595 - how posh was that!

Meg

When we got our first phone we had a 'party line' with the next door neigbours who we fortunately got on well with. The bottom line is though you'd never tolerate these days someone being able to pick up their phone and listen to your conversation, though the News of the World have been trying to bring it back into fashion!