IMAGINE being serenaded by Sinatra…
That’s what happened to Linda Johnstone’s mum when the legendary crooner was in Glasgow back in 1953.
Linda got in touch after our recent story about a Glasgow waitress being serenaded by Tony Bennett.
Linda explained: “My mum and dad were at Frank Sinatra’s Glasgow concert in 1953. They were right at the front, and when Frank came on singing ‘Nancy’, my dad shouted to him: “THIS is Nancy!” He was meaning my mum, and at that point, Frank knelt down and sang the song to my mum….”
Are there more of you out there who have been serenaded by sensational superstar singers? Get in touch with Times Past to share your stories and memories.
Robert McKenna also got in touch this week, all the way from Germany.
“I love your stories about the past in dear old Glasgow toon,” he says. “For me, Stockwell Street was the place to live. The Fishmarket, Paddy’s Market, the Metropole Theatre with all the stars who performed there.
“I saw Shirley Bassey arriving in her Jaguar, number plate SB21, Roy Rogers and Trigger moseying up Stockwell Street and I met George Raft wearing his spats. Happy days.”
Ken MacIntyre is wondering if any Times Past readers can help with an intriguing photo he has found from around 1956 or 1957.
“It was taken at Oban Station, and it’s of a group who had watched a television demonstration on a special train sponsored by the Evening Times,” he says. “Apparently these went to the further flung parts of Scotland. The boy in front of the gentleman in the cap is me. My mother is on the left, crouching. I have not been able to find anything about the TV train beyond a mention in a railway book – can anyone help?”
Jim Paton got in touch after our recent story about Glasgow Fair holidays, in which several readers recalled trips to Rosehearty in Aberdeenshire.
“I remember when I was at Elmvale Primary School in Springburn, our class went to Rosehearty on the train, for a week,” he says. “It was around 1955. I had an accident on the first day which meanat I couldn’t participate in any of the activities. I was wondering if anyone else went to Rosehearty with their primary school class? It seems a long way to go for young children in those days….”
And Auchenshuggle, the famous tram destination, continues to intrigue our readers. We were wondering if the destination – thought by some to be made up by Glasgow Corporation to entice tourists to that part of the city – still existed.
Reader E Stewart emailed in to tell us the No 64 bus to Carmyle still goes via Auchenshuggle and points out: “The old maps show it was an area along Street which joins Braidfauld Street. The name derives from Gaelic ‘achadh an t-seagail’ - the rye field. In Gaelic an ‘s’ followed by an ‘e’ becomes ‘sh’. Our community council is named Auchenshuggle/Tollcross Community Council........Auchenshuggle is a name you can’t forget…”
READ MORE: When Pollokshaws was a wee rural village - and other Glasgow memories...
Share your memories with Times Past by emailing ann.fotheringham@glasgow times.co.uk or writing to Ann Fotheringham, Glasgow Times, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow G32 8FG. You can also join in on our new Glasgow Times History Facebook page.
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