LifeStory

Ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times tell their stories to The Living Memory Association. Stories from the 20th century of childhood, schooldays, work, play, courtship. Tales of joy and hardship from Edinburgh, Leith, Scotland and beyond.

Alistair Bennett - A Co-Op Life in the Borders 09/14/2023

Alistair Bennett - A Co-Op Life in the Borders In the 48th edition of Lifestory at the age of 80 Alistair looks back on 40 years of working life with the store, from joining Alloa branch as a clerk at 15 to becoming Chief Executive of Borders Co-Op. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/28030485

Andrew Grant - Jobs in the 1960s 06/08/2023

Andrew Grant - Jobs in the 1960s The 47th edition of The Living Memory Association's 'Lifestory' podcast sees 85 year old historian Andrew Grant looking back on his working life in the 1960s after he had returned from time spent on the ocean waves. Taking us from the Royal Infirmary to record shops and driving Globe Juice bottles around in search of a daily wage! /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/27082461

Stuart Roy McIvor 02/28/2023

Stuart Roy McIvor The 46th edition of our Lifestory podcast features the colourful life of Stuart Roy McIvor, who spent 30 years in the Metropolitan Police and 5 years as a City Councillor in Edinburgh for the SNP. At the age of 78 with a great appreciation of the where he is now, Stuart looks back on a life packed to the full with both sunshine and shadow. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/26076972

David And Hilary Thomson - 55 Years of Marriage 10/07/2022

David And Hilary Thomson - 55 Years of Marriage Episode 45 of The THELMA Lifestory podcast introduces us to David and Hilary Thomson, happily married for 55 years in September 2022. We hear tales of growing up in Portobello and Ratho in the 1950s & 60 and of a romance born on the badminton court! Packed with great stories of a full life, working hard at business and family with a lot of laughter along the way. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/24619110

Martin Penny - Growing Up in London in the 50s & 60s 07/18/2022

Martin Penny - Growing Up in London in the 50s & 60s Born in Hackney in 1954, Martin Penny grew up in King’s Lynn and then moved to Enfield. His father was a successful businessman who sold feather dusters then moved into selling packaged butter, taking the family from no central heating into a house with all mod cons, from proper East End to privileged. We follow Martin's journey from throwing objects at passers by from the safety of a silver birch tree in his back garden to a successful career in radio, TV and management consultancy, Martin takes us through a laid back life filled with laughter. With celebrity guest cameo appearances in Martin’s life from Mark Nopfler, Frankie Howard, Clint Eastwood and Jim Carrey! /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/23775428

Tommy Carson 5; Eight tips for living a good life. 07/06/2022

Tommy Carson 5; Eight tips for living a good life. Our dear friend Tommy Carson sadly passed away in June 2022. He was 99 years old and an absolute force of nature. This is a short podcast where he goes through his eight tips for a good life. All practical suggestions from a man who remained active and living independently right until the end of his life. One thing shines through though, his positivity. A lesson to us all. Also never take life too seriously. Tommy you were a star. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/23624879

David Franks: From 1950s Jarrow & Hebburn to Glasgow 2022 06/20/2022

David Franks: From 1950s Jarrow & Hebburn to Glasgow 2022 Born in 1949, David Franks takes us on a reminiscence journey packed with stories from growing up in Jarrow and Hebburn all the way through to retirement in Glasgow. David's adventures take him from Junior School to Newcastle University, from audit assistant to partner in Price Waterhouse, with many twists, turns and laughs along the way. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/23482370

Terry Christie: On The Touchline and In The Classroom 11/01/2021

Terry Christie: On The Touchline and In The Classroom Manager of Meadowbank, Stenhousemuir & Alloa. Head teacher of Ainslie Park & Musselburgh Grammar. Terry Christie has packed a lot into his 78 years. From Ireland to Edinburgh at a young age, Terry's love for football was born in the street with a tennis ball & in going to watch Gordon Smith play for his beloved Hibs. Scouted & signed by Dundee as teaching began. Tales of juggling the classroom & football for 43 years, whilst pulling off countless shocks on a shoestring budget & a great family life. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/21010130

May Barbour(and Otto)-remembering Douglas-part two 10/26/2021

May Barbour(and Otto)-remembering Douglas-part two In the second part of our conversation about living with dementia May talks about the loss of communication with Douglas .May movingly describes how Douglas's death was not so distressing for her, as the man she loved had already disappeared. May feels strongly that families should be helped to understand the diagnosis and its implications, to enable them to be able to support their partner or parent living with dementia. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/20943791

May Barbour (and Otto the Labrador)-Remembering Douglas part one 10/25/2021

May Barbour (and Otto the Labrador)-Remembering Douglas part one Douglas Barbour who died last year, and his wife May lived with Alzheimer's Dementia for many years .In this podcast May describes noticing early changes in Douglas's memory and how these changes affected their lives .Her primary concern was always to protect him .Living with dementia for so many years affected their health and well being however having a family dog continued to be very important to everyone in the family particularly Douglas and May /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/20927234

Andrew Grant at Sea 09/30/2021

Andrew Grant at Sea Andrew Grant decided at the age of 15 that he would join the Merchant Navy He did the deck apprentice course at Leith Nautical College and got a job with Shell Tankers. We hear how he rose from deck apprentice to first mate and what tasks he had to do as he progressed from cleaning the ship to overall responsibilty of the ship We hear how he loved sailing round the world but that it became difficult when he married and had a family /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/20641826

Robert Hume Patterson: early tales of Porty part 2 08/24/2021

Robert Hume Patterson: early tales of Porty part 2 Robert Hume Patterson is 100 years old and has amazing memories of Portobello. He takes us a tour of the different streets Bridge St, Tower St, Pipe St to name but a few We get to hear about different characters who lived in Portobello including Ned Barnie who was the first Scot to swim the English Chanel. He remembers the Glaswegians who holidayed in Portobello during the Glasgow Fair. After leaving the Army he worked in Portobello Power Station for 40 years /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/20218631

May Hoare : an African childhood 08/13/2021

May Hoare : an African childhood May Hoare was born in Malawi on the 24th May 1935.Her Father had an engineering business in Malawi and May lived with her older sister and parents in a house that had been built especially for them. May takes us a tour of the house and the large garden Holidays were spent on the Zomba plateau or swimming at Lake Nyasa. We hear of the school aeroplane which was the safe way for the sisters to travel to school in Rhodesia. We also hear of the flying boat that took the family from Southampton to Malawi /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/20134154

Robert Hume Patterson: early tales of Porty 08/11/2021

Robert Hume Patterson: early tales of Porty In this episode we meet Robert Hume Patterson who was brought up in Portobello in the 1920s & 30s. We hear how he nearly drowned at the age of 3 and how he continued to be accident prone He and his friends had a lot of freedom and they explored their area from The Marine Gardens to Joppa and Musselburgh. After leaving school at the age of 14 he had various jobs before joining the Army and it's whilst he's in the Army that there's another accident involving a milk wagon when he ends up in hospital yet again /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/20082212

Margaret Laird :an Ironmonger's daughter 07/07/2021

Margaret Laird :an Ironmonger's daughter Margaret Laird who was born in 1948 tells us about growing up in Corstorphine in the 1950s and 60s.Her father opened a Ironmongers and it was there that he met his wife Margaret started at Landsdowne House School before moving to Mary Erskines. The Headmistress Miss Jennings was feared by the pupils and teachers. We hear what Margaret did to incur Miss Jennings wrath Margaret's ambition had been to marry and have 6 children but we don't always get what we wish for /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19720859

Tommy Carson 4 :Dancing 06/29/2021

Tommy Carson 4 :Dancing In this episode Tommy Carson takes us out dancing. Its 1935and Tommy who is 13 years old puts on his Dads flannels and heads out to Dalgleish Dance Hall on St Mary's Street Edinburgh. This is the first time he's ever gone to the dancing and he copies how the older dancers move He loves it nd not only that he's good at it. From then on Tommy goes dancing every night . We get to hear of all the dance halls in Edinburgh that he could go to. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19590992

James Yorkston :VE day & more 06/24/2021

James Yorkston :VE day & more The episode starts at the end of the War and VE day with bonfires and singing in the streets. Then we hear of attempting to camouflage the Power Station difficult when the chimney was 60ft high and barrage floating in the sky over Woods Park. Then James goes back to his life in the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy. Looking after the Commanding Chief of Portsmouth and meeting the stars of the day in the British Legion /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19577942

James Yorkston and Portobello High 06/23/2021

James Yorkston and Portobello High In this episode James Yorkston Reminisces about his school days at Tower Bank and Portobello High He enjoyed school but wasn't averse to skipping .If caught the punishment varied. It could be lines, kept in after school or being hit with bend and over his teacher Mr Walls 2 rulers. This didn't stop James from admiring Mr Walls and thinking he was a good teacher. He played for the school and enjoyed school camps in Humbie. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19566659

James Yorkston:Growing up in Portobello 06/22/2021

James Yorkston:Growing up in Portobello In this episode we revisit James Yorkston and his memories of growing up in the Portobello area in the 1940s and 50s . He makes it all sound like fun hearing the air raid sirens and watching the lights from his window as the planes tried to bomb the Forth Bridge and the Power Station. it was a time when everyone knew each other and there was a real sense of Community. Then he joined the Navy and got paid to see the world. As James says it was the best time of his life /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19564595

Margaret McGuire : Antique Dealing 06/08/2021

Margaret McGuire : Antique Dealing Margaret MacGuire had an interest in Antiques from an early age. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19397051

John Thomson part 2 : Going Out 05/25/2021

John Thomson part 2 : Going Out John Thomson takes us back in time to when he was 16 years old He was working and with money in his pocket he liked to go out and have fun. His favourite place was the Murrayfield Ice Rink When John was 18 he and his group of friends rode around on their Lambrettas visiting the different Dance clubs in Edinburgh such as the Top Storey, the Gamp, McGoos, the International to name but a few. Then we're back at the ice rink where in the early 1970s John meets his future wife Linda /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19232603

John Thomson : childhood and working life Part 1 05/18/2021

John Thomson : childhood and working life Part 1 John Thomson was born in 1947 and grew up in the Royston Mains area of Edinburgh. We hear of his childhood and his working life up until the end of his 30 years in the Brewery. Jobs were plentiful in the 1960s if you didn't like a job you left and got another one and John did a lot of moving from job to job until he worked in the Brewery. We hear of the long hours worked but also of the fun and tricks he and his work mates played on each other /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19147370

Tommy Carson 3: Growing up in The Grassmarket in the 1920s 05/11/2021

Tommy Carson 3: Growing up in The Grassmarket in the 1920s Tommy Carson grew up in The Grassmarket in the 1920s.It was a time of great poverty poor housing and living conditions no work or apprenticeships .He had an unemployed Father who spent his time in the pub and a hardworking Mother who had four or five jobs to keep the family together leaving .We hear of Tommy's school days at St Ignatius school and the games he and the other children played in the street .We also get to meet some of the characters he knew such as Monkey Mary and her barrel organ /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/19048106

Pat Nevin: On Life and Football 04/14/2021

Pat Nevin: On Life and Football A journey through life & football with Chelsea legend Pat Nevin. From growing up in Easterhouse & Barlanark to playing for Clyde whilst still at Uni, his transfer & quick promotion to the Chelsea 1st team & a dedication to the craft of being brilliant on the pitch despite loving music more than football. Playing for the joy of it at Everton, Kilmarnock & Motherwell & making lifelong friendships. A glimpse into the life & thoughts of a maverick footballer, writer & broadcaster, Pat Nevin is one of a ki /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/18721997

Mervyn Drever: Growing up in Orkney and Sanday in 1960s &70s 03/30/2021

Mervyn Drever: Growing up in Orkney and Sanday in 1960s &70s Born in Orkney on 30th March 1961 Merv spent his childhood on Sanday, a small outer island. We hear tales of his childhood, schooldays and his many jobs as a boy, including fishing for lobster, crab, white fish and spoots! There's the culture shock of moving to Edinburgh to study as a vet and then running a vet practice in Aberdeenshire for over 30 years. Great stories from a consummate storyteller. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/18495950

Friends Neta and Bill in conversation: Northfield to Marchmont. 03/11/2021

Friends Neta and Bill in conversation: Northfield to Marchmont. Neta Percy(80) and Bill Garden (86) are regular visitors to The Wee Museum of Memory and this chat with them was recorded in 2019. We hear about the Coop at Northfield, the shops at Meadowbank, including the Italian ice cream shop and shopping in Marchmont. We move on to knitting and a hated Fairisle hat that just wouldn't go away. There's tales of getting a row for wearing wellies to school, daily milk deliveries and what you wore to work in the 1940s and 50s. Two old friends having a great wee blethe /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/18286895

Frederick Jamieson: Whaling, the cooperage and a Ford Zephyr 02/26/2021

Frederick Jamieson: Whaling, the cooperage and a Ford Zephyr Frederick talks about his father, Walter Jamieson who spent most of his working life at sea- the Merchant Navy, fisheries protection and on whaling ships with Salvesen. Tales of his Leith granny, his own childhood and working life. From training as a cooper to working as a lorry driver. Also the heady days of being a young man in the late 1950s and early 60s. Driving a black Ford Zephyr and seeing Chubby Checker at the Top Storey Club. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/17984999

Keith Jeffery: Adventures in CB Radio in 1970 and 80s 02/19/2021

Keith Jeffery: Adventures in CB Radio in 1970 and 80s Keith Jeffery grew up in Portobello in the 1960s and 70s. On leaving school he trained as a butcher and worked for MacSweens. In the late 1970s he was bitten by the CB (Citizen Band) radio bug. He took a while but he saved up and bought a CB set and aerial. He tells about the technology of the time, the terms used talking with fellow CB enthusiast and joining a CB convoy travelling in from Fife. Very CW McCall. We also learn how far a CB radio signal could travel when the atmosphere was right. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/17986244

Part three looking at the music scene in Edinburgh in the 1960s. 01/29/2021

Part three looking at the music scene in Edinburgh in the 1960s. The final part of John's memories of playing in pop and rock bands in Edinburgh in the 1960s. This time round its a mammoth five hour gig at The Assembly Rooms in George Street. Playing with The Saracens at The Top Storey club. The joys of hauling all that equipment about. Seeing The Small Faces and The Troggs at McGoo's. There's also Alan Price's unusual back stage warm up routine. Great stories of Rock and Roll with the back stage realities that go with them. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/17646662

Part two of the Live music scene in Edinburgh in the 1960s. 01/22/2021

Part two of the Live music scene in Edinburgh in the 1960s. Part two of John's behind the scenes adventures in Edinburgh's live music scene in the 1960s. We hear about the joys and pitfalls of being on stage and travelling to gigs. Watching fights break out in the audience. More about the venues, The Gamp, The Top Storey and The Gonk. Seeing the up and coming bands of the day such as The Mersey Beats and Johnny Kidd and the pirates. Another evocative glimpse into the vibrant pop and rock world in Edinburgh over 50 years ago. /episode/index/show/lifestory/id/17646557

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