Sunday 13th August 1972

I went down to train at Meadowbank which was okay but Paul was away so I didn’t hang about in the afternoon. In the evening I enjoyed a good Peter Sellers film - what a character he is. 

Late on there was a few of us out smoking. Paul’s back and came up to see me. What a brilliant laugh we had; in the early hours of the morning we splattered Dougie’s van with half a dozen eggs. I’m not quite sure what brought that on; in some ways we’re a bad influence on each other as well as a good one. We were on red alert as Dougie’s bedroom and balcony is directly above where he parks the car. We’re going to get up early to watch his reaction from the kitchen window.

Wednesday 11th August 1971

I discovered that after the two long cycles out to Dalkeith and Porty that I've wrecked Dougie's gears. I feel pretty bad about that and of course it means the bike's not available for my paper runs or going for more cycle rides with the boys. 

As my pockets are jingling I went into town and bought another Elvis record. It's got the very classy ‘There Goes My Everything’ on it. As Nana says he's (Elvis) got something extra. 

It was a fine summer's day so I played tennis with Boo-Boo down at Colinton Mains Park. When I got back unfortunately Stephen Westbrook; Les Ramage and Keith Robertson had broken into our gangy breaking the lock and they’ve stolen all our stuff from it and wrecked the place; the police were involved. It’s unbelievable; if that's what your pals do who the heck needs enemies. We were all really unhappy about the whole incident. Anyway what can you do; hopefully they'll reflect on it but I'm not so sure. 

In the evening Nana and Gaga were out to see us and treated us all to a Tony's ice cream. I had an oyster - not like me; if I get such a treat I usually go for a black man - but braw all the same. On the optimistic front I'm happy to report that I fancy some girls. You could call today a sweet 'n sour day!

Dollickers; Tunnels; And The Centre Of The Universe

As the Jesuit saying goes 'Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man.' (Ignatius of Loyola).

For those of us who grew up in the Oxgangs area we all went through a similar socialisation process (parents; wider family; education; church; neighbours; etc.) but one that was also unique to each and everyone of us too.

Peter Hoffmann; Mrs Anne Hoffmann; Anne and Iain Hoffmann 6/2 Oxgangs Avenue summer 1962

For many years Oxgangs was at the centre of our universe; and particularly so when you're around the age of four to seven years of age before we begin to explore the frontier and push the boundaries further.

Looking back to those years from 1960 onward we had an extraordinary amount of freedom to go out and play and to roam and the school summer holidays played a key part in influencing the people we became.

6/2 Oxgangs Avenue was the base from which we set out and whence we returned each day from our adventures gradually exploring the world beyond. But everything was progressive and back in the day, knowledge came slowly.

Mary Ball shopping at Oxgangs Broadway

To the south it was initially to the shops at Oxgangs Broadway; then aged only two or three keeping up with Mrs Helen Blades' (6/6) party of older children as she pushed her elderly father in a wheelchair up to the Army's Polo Fields at Dreghorn; and a year or two later further on to Swanston Village and as we got older still we climbed atop the Pentland Hills and ventured deeper into the glens.

Caerketton Hill; photograph Dave Hennicker

To the north we soon had The 'Craigies' (Craiglockhart Hill) in our sight.

To the west was 'The Gully' and also Braidburn Valley and as we became braver beyond that to the Hermitage - gosh the Braid Burn extends further and through an exciting big tunnel (under Braid Road) - fancy that.

Photograph 'I Love Edinburgh'

Similar to exploring 'The Gully' we got a buzz from going in to the Hermitage as there was always the danger of bumping into older boys from other areas in the capital that bordered either Caiystane or the Braid Burn as it flowed onward toward Portobello and the sea.

In an easterly direction we quickly became familiar with Colinton Mains shops, then as we got older following and jumping the burn; playing footie at the nets at Redford Barracks then there was Colinton Village further afar with an interesting sweet shop, 'The Snuff Box'.

But more locally at what we called 'The Four Blocks' (2; 4; 6; and 8 Oxgangs Avenue) there was much to amuse and interest us.

Oxgangs Avenue - 'The Four Blocks' numbers 2; 4; 6; and 8

The older boys including Dougie Blades (6/6) and Laurence Calder (8/5) used to put us inside an old pram and cover us up completely under a blanket so that we couldn't see out and then push us at great speed around two of the blocks; with four right angles to negotiate as we swayed back and forth this was terrifying stuff.

Douglas Blades had a fascinating shed which doubled as a gang-hut and inside it were fascinating books and candles.

For a few years 'Guiders' (bogies) were a regular feature.

For me to own one I had to buy it as it would have been beyond Father to make something like that but I recall buying a 'Rolls Royce' off Andy Allan (4/7) - it was both carpeted and came complete with a hand-brake! It was fun being pushed around 'The Four Blocks' and being able to freewheel down Oxgangs Place with my next door neighbour Gavin Swanson (now an academic and an editor for many years with the Cambridge University Press) until his mum Molly got wind of it and he received a life-ban sine die!

Iain and Peter Hoffmann (6/2); Norman Stewart (6/3); and (Dr) Gavin Swanson (6/1) summer 1962

Marbles were great fun too and we would play out in the back garden although some games were held further afield. I used to keep them in an old blue ginger jar which I dropped and it smashed - PANIC! - with all my marbles spilling around and others scrambling after them and pocketing a few There was a real buzz about winning and adding to your collection but despair at losing some of your rare dollickers - now there's a word I haven't used in half a century.

I've always been a bit hard on my father but reflecting on those days just before I went to Hunters Tryst Primary School he brought me back a great wee leather jacket from New York with an NY badge on it when such items were rarities as well as a little red bicycle which initially had stabilisers; so he was perhaps a better father than I sometimes give him credit for at that stage in my young life.

Jumping the burn was great fun and we always got wet; but if it was raining or come the early evenings sometimes I used to slip some clothes on over my pyjamas and sneak up the stairs to watch 'Batman' at the Hanlons' home at 6/7; being on the top flat they were able to pick up the signal for Grampian and as STV didn't screen the Gotham City super-hero this was very exciting.

And afterwards we could smoke reflectively with our plastic bubble pipes; the little man with the hat always fascinated me.

Yes there was a world beyond Oxgangs and we visited our grandparents at Portobello in Gaga's car each Sunday and on the bus to Stockbridge in the 16 followed by the 24 to Nana Hoffmann's; but such trips and routes were too much to take in at that stage and I used to feel amazed that my father knew how to travel across the capital - how the heck does he do that - how does he remember what roads to go down and whether to turn left or right - the small but gradually expanding world of an Oxgangs child.

Tuesday 1st August 1972

The milk was a disaster as Dougie’s Austin Cambridge A60 pick-up broke down so all our customers had to do without. 

Photograph Pete White

It didn’t sound great on the way down to Murchies Dairy at Lochrin Place. That’s the second time Douglas has had problems with it which doesn’t feel fair given it’s brand new a 1971 model. 

We’re into August now and in a bit of a limbo-land but officially it’s still the school holidays. We (Paul Forbes and I) went down to Meadowbank and I’ve decided I’m going to take up the hurdles!

Tyred - who, moi?

In our household we're big fans of the Tour de France.

Each summer we enjoy wall to wall coverage of it. And yet despite it being popular on the box whenever I’m in Oxgangs I’ll rarely see a youngster out on a bicycle - an ironical contrast and twist on the 1960s when cycling was incredibly popular in the area.

Retyred

There was no better feeling than just circling around and tootling about on your bike; and even today it’s the nearest older people can get to feeling like a kid again.

Many of our bikes were built from scratch and there was a great trade going on with bike frames being picked up for five bob. And with a basic frame you could then build your own bike with trips to Thomas Piper, tobacconist and cycle maker, 41 Morningside Road - I don't recall the tobacco! -  cycle shop at Churchill just along from the Churchill Theatre.

Thomas Piper's was an Aladdin's Cave full of serendipities. It had an interesting mix - a feeling the shop came from an earlier era and tradition but was up to date too with the latest products.The shop had a distinctive smell probably from the Dunlop rubber tyres. The business existed there for decades although Thomas Piper had actually died back in 1939.

At the top end of the price range there were of course brand new bicycles not that I could ever afford such a new item and also wheels too; however I liked the gimmicky items such as speedometers, bottles and bottle-holders but visits to the shop were mainly for new inner tubes, puncture repair kits or spanners at the lower end of the price scale.

If you were very lucky you owned a bike with 3 speed Sturmey-Archer gears. Upstairs at 6/6 Oxgangs Avenue Douglas Blades’racer which he kept on his balcony had five gears. I was always up at his door borrowing his racer. Looking back he was pretty decent to allow me the use of it although often it was perhaps his mum, Helen, who gave me the go ahead to use it when he was out.

Each of the eight flats in The Stair had a small lock up or shed as they were more commonly known. I enjoyed sitting out in the back alleyway pottering away with my bikes, fixing a puncture or just tinkering with the gears. There was something very satisfying about working with your hands. The experience was enhanced if it was raining outside whilst I remained sheltered and dry under the alley roof; the back alley was open on two sides one of which was the entrance to our back garden so you  felt both inside but outside too.

On wet school summer holiday days it was a Zen like experience; I was focusing on working on the bike while being vaguely aware of the rain pitter-pattering down outside whilst I remained dry inside - a lovely feeling. Because of the weather I'd usually be working alone as everyone else on holiday was inside their homes but occasionally someone would pass by and pop their head in and exchange some pleasantries.

But once the sun came back out we were straight back out on our bikes and had great fun playing in The Gully which lay between Oxgangs and the Braid Hills; the gully was located to the south of some large houses at Pentland View and lay in a hollow dip or small valley. I guess with its circular paths with rises, declines and jumps it was a fore-runner to BMX riding.

That I'm alive to write this vignette is down to good luck. One afternoon after playing in The Gully I came home via Comiston Road on a made up bike which had no brakes. I was flying down the main road (Braid Road) when an Eastern Scottish bus was leaving a bus stop adjacent to BraidBurn Valley opposite the Braid Hills Hotel. I was going so fast that I would have run into the back of the bus so I had to take evasive action by trying to overtake it. This was a struggle as the bus was gaining speed all the time. To the astonishment of the passengers on the lower deck I peddled furiously alongside the bus thereafter just managing to overtake it. However as I edged in front of the bus I had to immediately take a sharp 90 degree left-hander veering into Greenbank Crescent to return home to Oxgangs. I knew it was going to be difficult to make it. I did manage to keep upright but of course riding at 30 mph I swung straight on to the other side of the road before mounting the pavement. Very fortunately there was no oncoming traffic.

Occasionally some of the older boys from Oxgangs Street organised bike races out to Currie. Surprisingly to me the boy who dominated these races was someone who I hadn’t seen excel at any other sport. His name was Paul Kaszynski from 6/3 Oxgangs Street and Paul still cycles today. I was impressed at how good he was. Even at a young age it occurred to me that you also needed fortitude and mental resilience to put in such a strong performance in sport and that it wasn’t just about physical talent.

Boo-Boo Hanlon (right); Iain Hoffmann (left)

Just as extraordinary a performance on a bike was by Boo-Boo Hanlon (6/7 Oxgangs Avenue) when a group of used to go on long cycle adventures during the summer holidays. This particular trip was to Dalkeith and home via Liberton Brae.

We all had passable bikes except for Boo-Boo who borrowed one of mine which had a slow puncture. Boo-Boo was so keen to go on the outing that he rode the whole way, slow or not, there and back, with not a great deal of air in one of the wheels - respect!

Moving On To Pastures New

Often, working on the milk wasn't fun, so how come you could have a good laugh about being a milkman?

During the late 1960s and the early 1970s Edinburgh Corporation initiated a massive house building project at Clovenstone and Wester Hailes creating hundreds of new flats for families from throughout the city to move into and make a life for themselves the way we all did at Oxgangs.

Douglas Blades

Douglas Blades (6/6 Oxgangs Avenue) saw an opportunity there and deploying a textbook marketing approach, identified customers' needs – milk (which back in the day was a daily requirement for all families) and determined how he could meet their needs

As more and more new families began to move in to the area his sisters and several of the local kids dropped leaflets through the new residents’ letter-boxes advertising Douglas's new milk business. A significant number of kids from The Stair (Boo-Boo Hanlon; Alison and Ruth Blades; Iain and Peter Hoffmann; and also Paul Forbes) helped Douglas to distribute the flyers to each flat and then we revisited the house a few days later to see if they were keen to sign up. 

Photograph courtesy Pete White

Innovative and quick off the gun as Douglas was it wasn't straightforward as he had some significant competition from other milk businesses including Murchies Dairy who rather ironically supplied his milk at Leven Street, Tollcross. 

Whenever we got a new customer signed up it was a red letter day. We made dozens of visits with Douglas in his red Austin which looking back must have been the reason for his choice of vehicle to accommodate  the crates of milk in the back.

When the business was up and running I used to help Douglas with the milk deliveries early in the morning for six months or so in 1972. If I couldn't make it my brother Iain took my place; on occasion Paul Forbes came along too. However the business wasn't without its teething problems e.g. there were occasions when the Austin pick-up broke down and we weren't able to deliver the milk – diary extract: 1^st August 1972 ‘Milk a disaster...van broke down!’

Each Friday evening I used to go out with Douglas collecting i.e.visiting our customers for them to pay their bills. 

Looking back full credit to Douglas for being so entrepreneurial and also atypically hard working; he could be a tough boss to work for but I generally enjoyed being out with him. On sun-kissed school summer holiday mornings doing the milk wasn’t really a hardship unlike the dark winter mornings when it was dark and cold and lonely.

Douglas eventually went on to sell the business to Murchies before, if you'll forgive the pun, moving on to pastures new.

The Milkmen Ride Again - Douglas Blades and his milk-boy Peter Hoffmann

 Halloween 2012 Strathpeffer Railway Station

So how could you laugh at being a milkman? 

Well I guess we've all heard jokes about the milkman - here's my contribution featuring Edinburgh’s most famous milkman Sean Connery:

One morning whilst out ‘n about in Fountainbridge Sean comes across an order for 45 pints of milk. Puzzled, he decides to ask the customer if this is a mistake. When he knocks on the door, a woman comes out with just a bath towel around her.

She confirms that yes she wants 45 pints. "Milk baths are good for your skin," explains the woman.

"Oh, OK," says Sean. "Do you need it pasteurised then?"

"No," says the woman. "Up to my tits will be fine."

Monday 3rd July 1972 - School's Out For Ever?

It’s the start of the school summer holidays but perhaps not really for me as after doing my milk run across at Wester Hailes with Douglas Blades (6/6 Oxgangs Avenue) I went out in search of a job. I managed to get a phone number so I’m going to get in contact tomorrow to see about it. 

Douglas Blades

Later on I went out with Dougie in his red Austin pickup.

I quite enjoyed being out and about but this time not having to do any work. Once we got home I went off to bed early as I’ll be up before six o’clock tomorrow.

Thursday 20th July 1972 Stobo Peebleshire

Well today’s the last day of our Stobo camping week so we were determined to make the most of it.

Once again it was another absolute stoater of a day with the sunshine blasting down however it’s almost as if we’ve got used to it and I’m as brown as a berry.

We spent much of the day in and out of the water, jumping and diving in as well as swimming and just cooling off.

Later in the day we took the tent down to be prepared for Douglas Blades arriving later in the evening.

I’m not sure what the church will say about the state of the tent. We’ve had a bit of a laugh. When the boys were getting changed the girls would peep in through a small hole in it, then vice-versa with the girls doing the same! It’s been a bit of an ongoing joke but the peep-hole has got bigger ‘n bigger!

Douglas arrived for us quite late on, around ten past nine at night and drove us home to Oxgangs. We stopped off for chips on the way.

It’s very strange being home and back sleeping in a bed.

Before I went I watched a programme on BBC 2 called The Life of Hitler. What a strange contrast after such a lovely week away.

Saturday 15th July 1972 Stobo Peebleshire

I got £7.30 for my pay which gave me plenty of money to buy in provisions for our camping trip.

St Cuthbert's Co-op Photograph SPL

Paul Forbes and I went down to the Store (Oxgangs St Cuthbert's Co-op) and bought in lots of food plus he persuaded me to buy two large flagons of cider!

We set off for Stobo at 7pm. There was five of us - Alison and Fiona Blades (6/6 Oxgangs Avenue); Paul Forbes; Iain Hoffmann and me.We got a lift down there from Douglas Blades in his red Austin pick-up. 

Douglas's van can only seat two passengers in the cabin so Alison and Fiona sat inside with Paul, Iain and me in the back with all the camping gear and luggage. We were completely open and exposed to the elements but the weather was great. It was a good feeling sitting in the back of the pick-up with the rushing breeze blowing our hair back.

We felt cool, metaphorically and then literally, wynding through the open roads of the Borders. After we travelled through Penicuik we passed Leadburn Junction and made our way to Eddlestone where we turned right for the drive over the gentle Meldon Hills and then on through old Lyne Station, Stobo Castle, Stobo Kirk and the tiny hamlet of Stobo.

To keep sheltered from the wind we had to snuggle up together and kept as low down in the vehicle as possible. Fortunately we didn't come across any policemen en-route, as they might well have stopped us if they'd seen us sitting in the back of an open vehicle.

Stobo Kirk James McIntosh Patrick

Stobo is a bonny spot in Peebleshire set amongst the beautiful Borders landscape. The farmer gave us the go ahead to camp in his field. After setting up the tent with a hand from Douglas we thereafter managed a swim in the River Tweed followed by a good supper washed down with cider which was a deadly combination! We were tipsy.

Paul had drunk too much and was sick. During the night he swore he’d seen a shooting star.

Monday 10th July 1972

Photograph courtesy Pete White

Dougie Blades (6/6 Oxgangs Avenue) and I were joined by his Morningside girlfriend’s father Mr Cairns on the milk this morning, however there was a big delay and the milk didn’t arrive at Murchies until 7.30am.

I had an argument with Les Ramage’s (4/3 Oxgangs Avenue) old man. 

In the afternoon Paul Forbes and I returned to our jobs as salesmen. Paul got four new customers to read the Daily Record; I got eight. We stopped off for some chips afterwards - much needed after wandering around the Dunfermline streets going door to door.