The Living Memory Association Podcast

The Living Memory Association podcast showcases memories of days gone by, the past brought to life by the hundreds of people who have spoken to us over the years.

Away for the Messages Episode 6 - The Store and The Provi 03/26/2024

Away for the Messages Episode 6 - The Store and The Provi The 41st episode of the Thelma Tapes continues our 'Away for the Messages' shopping and retail heritage project. This episode features oral histories from Ian Suggitt and Tom Hislop both of whom worked for Edinburgh's Co-operative Stores in the 1950s/60s and the 1970s/80s respectively. Ian tells us about his time with the St Cuthbert's Association Store and Tom recalls his work history with the Leith Provident Store and St Cuthbert's, following the merger of the two. Thanks to BigCat_Smauls for the use of his 'Without a Care' Upbeat Loop found on Freesound.org The photograph of 1950s Leith Provident staff which illustrates this podcast was kindly donated to us by Ruth Nolan. Thelma acknowledges and appreciates the generous funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scotland towards this project, thanks to players of the National Lottery. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/30545783

Away for the Messages Episode 5 - Shopping Memories of Craigmillar & Niddrie (Part2) 01/16/2024

Away for the Messages Episode 5 - Shopping Memories of Craigmillar & Niddrie (Part2) The 40th episode of the Thelma Tapes is from our 'Away for the Messages' shopping and retail reminiscence project. This is the second part of a feature on the shops in the Niddrie and Craigmillar area of Edinburgh and focusses on 'Cunninghams' a ladieswear and haberdashery shop which first opened in 1954. In the episode we hear from proprietor Alan Cameron about his memories of this family business and his reflections of working alongside the folk of Craigmillar. Thanks to Bigcat_Smauls for the use of his 'Without a Care' Upbeat Loop found on Freesound.org We are hugely grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland for their generous funding of this project thanks to players of the National Lottery /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/29507588

Holiday Memories 01/12/2024

Holiday Memories The 39th Episode of The THELMA Tapes takes us back in time to a selection of weird and wonderful holidays taken from the 1940s to the 1990s, gathered from visitors to our Wee Museum in Ocean Terminal Edinburgh. Thanks to everyone who shared their earliest vacation stories with us, we hope you enjoy joining us on a trip down memory lane to Scarborough, Ayr, Liverpool, France, Budle Bay, Cramond, Uganda and many more, not all of them cheery tales! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/29459978

Away for the Messages Episode 4 - Shopping Memories of Craigmillar & Niddrie (Part 1) 11/13/2023

Away for the Messages Episode 4 - Shopping Memories of Craigmillar & Niddrie (Part 1) The 38th episode of the Thelma tapes continues to chart our retail and shopping reminiscence project, 'Away for the Messages.' In Part One, of a two-episode feature, we focus on the memories of shops in the Niddrie and Craigmillar district of Edinburgh. We hear from Ruby Suggitt who worked at Cunningham's Drapers and Ladies' Fashions in the 1960s and from Heather Henderson, born and bred in Greendykes, who continues to champion Craigmillar as a volunteer with local community archive project Craigmillar Now. Thanks to Craigmillar Now for permission to use their archive photo of shoppers on Niddrie Mains Road in the 1980s. Thanks to Bigcat_Smauls for the use of his 'Without a Care' Upbeat Loop found on Freesound.org We are hugely grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scotland, for their generous funding of this project, thanks to players of the National Lottery. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/28615233

Away for the Messages Episode 3 - Memories of Casey's Confectioners 10/02/2023

Away for the Messages Episode 3 - Memories of Casey's Confectioners The 37th episode of the Thelma tapes continues to chart our retail and shopping reminiscence project. In this episode we hear from Helen Teviotdale of Casey's Confectioners and Sweet Shop as she recalls working with Jimmy Casey and serving sweets to the great Edinburgh public! Stay tuned as Helen reveals her own personal recipe for Scottish tablet! Thanks to Bigcat_Smauls for the use of his 'Without a Care' Upbeat Loop found on Freesound.org /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/28198700

Alistair Bennett - A Co-Op Life in the Borders 08/17/2023

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/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/27780447

Away for the Messages Episode 2 06/29/2023

Away for the Messages Episode 2 The 35th episode of the Thelma tapes continues to chart our retail and shopping reminiscence project. In this episode we hear from June Wesley and her daughter Elaine Hutton about J A Nisbet's China and Glass Merchants which served Edinburgh shoppers for over 80 years during the twentieth century. Thanks to Bigcat_Smauls for use of his 'WIthout a care' upbeat loop found on Freesound.org /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/27321816

Away for the Messages Episode 1 05/22/2023

Away for the Messages Episode 1 The 34th episode of the Thelma tapes introduces us to a new shopping and retail reminiscence and heritage project, 'Away for the Messages.' From victuallers in the West Port to sweetie shops in Portobello via Forsyths, Goldbergs and The Store we hear from our friends and visitors about some of their memories of shops from Edinburgh and beyond! Thanks to Bigcat_Smauls for use of his 'Without a Care' upbeat loop found on Freesound.org /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/26912700

Music Memories 12/14/2020

Music Memories The 33rd episode of The Thelma Tapes takes us ambling down a musical memory lane, with recollections from the 1950s to the 1980s of acts such as The Beatles, Bowie, Generation X, The Specials, The Cramps, Val Doonican and many more! We hear tales of meeting Tom Waits on the street and getting free concert tickets, of sheltering Robert Smith under an umbrella, of punk attitudes, homemade fanzines, gigs galore and cherished vinyl records. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/17184851

Halloween and Bonfire Night 09/29/2020

Halloween and Bonfire Night Remember, remember...the 32nd episode of The THELMA Tapes takes us back in time to memories of Bonfire Night and Halloween from days gone by. We hear tales of dooking, treacle scones, guising, turnip lanterns and gigantic fires with no health and safety in sight! With stories of squibs galore, bangers, catherine wheels and sparklers, and many traditions that have survived to this day. Penny for the guy! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/16200119

Pubs of Edinburgh 03/24/2020

Pubs of Edinburgh The 31st edition of The THELMA Tapes podcast is a celebration of Edinburgh pubs, taking us on a massive pub crawl of wonderful stories from the 1930s to the 1950s. We pop in to The Old Chain Pier, The Beehive, Barney Battles, The Diggers, Bennet's Bar and many many more, and also discover the secret of Harry Lauder's shelf! Not to mention the black panther behind the bar at Fairleys... /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/13678835

Pets From The Past 01/30/2020

Pets From The Past The 30th edition of The Thelma Tapes is dedicated to memories of long gone pets. This Living Memory Association podcast is packed full of great reminiscences of much loved dogs and cats, budgies, neglected fish, rabbits galore and the occasional tortoise, each one emerging from the mists of time in story form. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/12948794

Leith Walk and the Kirkgate 12/12/2019

Leith Walk and the Kirkgate The 29th episode of The Thelma Tapes is centred around wonderful memories of the Leith Walk and Kirkgate areas from the 1940s to the 1970s. We hear tales of the Gaeity Theatre, the Alhambra, David Kilpatricks School, living with the Scott Brothers, earning two and thruppence an hour at The Capital and going to the Kirkgate offal butchers to buy the much maligned delicacy of tripe! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/12376169

Ken Buchanan - Boxing Legend 11/05/2019

Ken Buchanan - Boxing Legend The 28th episode of The Thelma Tapes is a celebration of the life and career of Scottish boxing legend Ken Buchanan in his own words. Britain's oldest surviving world champion takes us on a wonderful journey from living in Northfield and going to Portobello High School all the way to winning the Lightweight Championship of the world in Panama, dancing with Princess Anne and being inaugurated into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Many thanks to Kevin Gore for the use of his great tune 'Edinburgh Man' /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/11918324

Dressed To Kill - Fabulous Fashions and Cool Clothes 09/27/2019

Dressed To Kill - Fabulous Fashions and Cool Clothes The 27th edition of The Thelma Tapes takes us back in time to look at the clothes we have worn and fashions we have followed from the 1960s to the 1990s. We hear wonderful stories of loon pants, patent leather boots, Beetle Suits, abysmal hats and tight perms from the people who proudly or reluctantly sported them in days gone by. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/11417351

Car Memories 08/29/2019

Car Memories The 26th episode of The Thelma Tapes is a celebration of automobile memories from the dim and distant past. We have wonderful tales of bright yellow Cortinas, scrapyard recoveries, Skodas with rear engines that didn't like hills and many more! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/11044148

Sweeties 07/24/2019

Sweeties The 25th edition of The THELMA tapes, the Living Memory Association podcast, is a sweets special. Crammed with happy memories of Soor Plooms, Penny Dainties, Russian Toffees and Sugar Olly Water alongside stories of wartime rationing and buying liquorice from the chemist when your 16oz allocation ran out! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/10641044

The Demon Drink 06/25/2019

The Demon Drink Episode 24 of The THELMA Tapes features stories and memories of the Demon Drink, featuring tales of the panther who prowled behind the bar at Fairlies in Leith and legendary bar manager Betty from the Old Chain Pier, who ruled with a starter pistol and a sword at last orders! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/10283171

Leith Docks 05/23/2019

Leith Docks The 23rd episode of The THELMA Tapes takes us into the history of Leith Docks in Edinburgh, with wonderful stories of near death experiences in the Grain silos, going straight from the Bru to 40 years of back breaking work at the Port, being the King of the Cranes, starting to look like your dog and many many more! These audio memories come direct from the workers themselves, looking back into the mists of time. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/9894689

Home Remedies 04/26/2019

Home Remedies The 22nd episode of The Thelma Tapes focuses on Home Remedies, with wonderful tales of mustard baths, sweaty sock scarfs, nettle tea and hot toddies gathered from our fabulous guests. These memories are courtesy of the Crosswinds Reminiscence Group of 1993 (an old cassette recording from our archives) and a recent visit to The Little Shop of Memory from the magnificent residents of Trust Sheltered Housing. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/9541532

School Days 03/29/2019

School Days The 21st episode of The THELMA Tapes podcast looks back on the experience of being at school in the 1940s, 50s and 60s through interview clips from our wonderful guests who lived through those times. We hear tales of cold classrooms, warm bottles of milk, favourite teachers, brutal discipline and school football heroes, all told with a smile! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/9191447

Make Do And Mend 02/26/2019

Make Do And Mend The 20th episode of The THELMA Tapes is a celebration of the culture of 'Make do and Mend', which began in the 1940s and is making a comeback in the modern age. We hear wonderful stories of the rag and bone man, getting penny refunds on bottles, collecting bones to make glue, constantly darning socks, having a pig bin in your street and burning absolutely everything on the fire to stay warm from people who lived through those desperately hard times. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/8789468

Valentine's Day 02/08/2019

Valentine's Day The nineteenth episode of the Living Memory Association podcast is a Valentine's Day special, with romantic reminiscences galore from receiving and sending cards right through to first dates out on the town. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/8570459

Sporting Heroes 01/31/2019

Sporting Heroes Episode 18 of the Living Memory Association podcast is devoted to memories of personal encounters with sporting heroes of the past, from Scottish boxing legend Ken Buchanan and footballers Alan Anderson and Lawrie Reilly to the local superstars of the wrestling at the El Dorado. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/8468558

Pick 'N' Mix 2: Days of our Lives 01/18/2019

Pick 'N' Mix 2: Days of our Lives The 17th Edition of the Living Memory Association podcast is a lucky dip of brilliant memories from the 1930s to the 1970s, featuring random tales that would not fit into one of our themed shows. So this episode bounces from bargain cream cakes at Crawfords the Baker to first days at school, from tanks on Calton Hill to the Leith cafes and chip shops of the 1960s and 70s and the beginning of coffee culture. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/8305952

Hogmanay 12/31/2018

Hogmanay The sixteenth episode of The Thelma Tapes is themed around New Year in Scotland in days gone by, with wonderful memories of frantically cleaning the house, kissing policemen at the Tron Church gathering, beautifully sung party pieces and Uncle Jimmy playing the accordion all the way from Leith to town stopping for a dram at every corner! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/8089403

Ghosts of Christmas Past (Volume 2) 12/20/2018

Ghosts of Christmas Past (Volume 2) The second instalment of our Christmas specials (Episode 15 of our Living Memory Association podcast) was recorded early in December 2018 at The Little Shop of Memory, with memories of Christmas from as far back as the 1930s from two of our lovely guests who are in their 90s. The City Mission Xmas party, eating chicken instead of turkey, getting your first fort, and receiving an IOU from Santa are amongst the many wonderful stories of Festive times in days gone by. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/7988759

Ghosts of Christmas Past (Volume 1) 11/30/2018

Ghosts of Christmas Past (Volume 1) In the first instalment of the Living Memory Association Podcast Christmas Specials we showcase some wonderful festive stories from our archives. This selection of interviews was recorded at The Dove centre in Wester Hailes in the early 1990s and has some of the most heartwarming and heartbreaking stories we have ever released! /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/7750190

My First Job 11/22/2018

My First Job The 13th edition of The THELMA Tapes brings us recorded memories of taking those first steps from leaving school to joining the real world. This episode of The Living Memory Association Podcast features John (94 years old), Helen (93) and a host of lovely guests talking about their first ever jobs in Scotland from around 1930-1970. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/7657568

Tales of the Tenements 10/26/2018

Tales of the Tenements Focusing on tenement life in Scotland from the 1930s to the present day, with personal stories from our guests of rats as big as cats, collapsing landings, scary bed bugs, 90 year old neighbours and taking your turn to wash the stairs. /episode/index/show/thelivingmemoryassociation/id/7325651

The Living Memory Association Podcast

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