Brenda McCaskill shares her memories for our I Grew Up in Glasgow column.
Which street did you live on?
I grew up in Dennistoun, at 82 Coventry Drive. We used to play in the back court beside the wash house, and over the dewi, beside the canal. (The dewi was our name for the wasteland behind the big house and the canal.) I remember that big house, at the bottom end of Coventry Drive and I would love to know who actually lived there. I can remember the wash house my mum visited once a week.
Describe your house.
It was a ground floor tenement, and it is still there today. I remember the closes were pink-washed. My nana, who could turn her hand to anything, was a seamstress and lived in a tenement in Harcourt Drive on the ground floor. The house had storm doors and a lovely half-decorated glass door. It was an amazing house, but Harcourt Drive was pulled down to make way for the new motorway.
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What school did you go to?
I went to Alexandra Parade School and remember the awful outside toilets – but I was happy at school.
Favourite local shop?
Davidson’s was the wee shop on the corner of Coventry Drive and Harcourt Drive, and there was an Italian café at the bottom end of the road. There were fat works nearby – can’t remember what they were called – but the smell was awful on a hot summer’s day. I remember my mum saying they always attracted a lot of rats, too. The cobbled entrance to the works is still there, I believe. Next door to our tenement there was a chippy.
Happiest childhood memory?
I only have lovely memories of growing up in Dennistoun. When I was a bit older, me and my family moved to Easterhouse.
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Do Brenda’s recollections spark any memories for you? Get in touch with Times Past to share your stories and photos. Email ann.fotheringham@glasgowtimes.co.uk or write to Ann Fotheringham, Glasgow Times, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow G32 8FG.
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