Thursday 5th August 1971

Note to Self: Audrey Smith's Birthday

Audrey Smith 6/8 Oxgangs Street

Although there wasn’t much improvement in the weather Boo-Boo; Les; Ali; Iain and a few others went up to the Craigies. After wandering on to the golf course we got chased again by the tractor man. It’s probably one of the reasons for going up there so we weren't disappointed; when he comes after you it gives you a hell of a buzz. 

I might be quick and not carrying my diary but on the open ground he quickly closes the gap until you can hit the cover and safety of the gorse and heather. Bloody great fun! 

I have to say it's braw being up on Craiglockhart Hill. It's always a good adventure and a healthy way to spend part of the day. It's a nice spot and we can all get up there pretty quickly especially compared to going to the Pentlands; it's almost like part-time hill walking. 

After my tea we put on a massive Singles tournament with dozens of boys 'n girls’ out. It was brilliant fun; I ended up winning it - the last man to be hunted down. Despite the weather and the pouring rain I have to say it was great to be out 'n about all day. The summer hols are the highlight of the Oxgangs year. Yes Christmas is braw but it's self-contained whereas the six weeks off Burrie seem to stretch out in my world and imagination for ever.

Tuesday 3rd August 1971

Colinton Mains Park; photograph Alan Clark

After my cornflakes 'n milk I went down early to Colinton Mains Park to play tennis again; I'm pretty keen. The park's always got a good feel to it at this time of the year. There's a council employee in charge of the entrance building; rackets 'n balls and courts can be hired and there's always something going on. 

After a good dinner of chips a big group of us including Boo-Boo; Iain; Ali; Les and others went off for a wee adventure up to the Craigies (Craiglockhart Hills). It's braw up there with a great view over the city as well as over Oxgangs and the Pentlands to the south. 

We ventured on to the golf course on our travels and ended up being chased by a man on a tractor; what a flipping laugh we had and what a buzz - just what the school holidays should be all about! By the time we left for home back to Oxgangs the rain was on for the evening. 

Back at 6/2 we watched an entertaining feel good film called What A Crazy World starring Joe Brown all set in cockney London. Freddie and the Dreamers featured too. God he's got some energy; the man never stops - one of his nicknames is Frantic Freddie but you cannae help liking him. Now that I think about it he looks a wee bit like Buddy Holly. 

The School Summer Holidays

It was always a delicious moment awakening on the first few days knowing that you didn't need to attend school.

For many of us at The Stair it didn't mean a long lie in bed as we would often have a job on the go, either delivering milk or newspapers, usually the latter.

However, out-with our paper runs and Sundays when we visited our grandparents at Portobello there was no structure to each day. Games of football would occur spontaneously, but mainly in the early evening.

During the day we'd go jumping the burn, following the burn from the lower part of Redford, through Colinton Mains, Firrhill and on to Braidburn Valley.

Small villages would appear in the back field when the girls draped blankets on the fence to form tents.

Sandra Young and her sister, Braidburn Valley grass steps.

Sometimes families packed a picnic and some blankets and headed to Braidburn Valley for an outing.We’d go deep into the alley toward the grass steps; an outing wasn't an outing without the children rolling over and over and down the steps from the top to the bottom.

The picnic wouldn't include anything much more than a sandwich.

And as with the Pentlands I always felt a certain sense of apprehension and excitement when I ventured to The Craigies, because they always felt both familiar and unfamiliar; this was because we would only visit them once or twice each summer.

Part of the excitement of the Craiglockhart Hills was that we (always visited as a group) might bump into other older, bigger boys from other parts who could be menacing and second the groundsmen who looked after the Merchants Golf Course who often spotted us when they were out on their tractors.

They would chase us away giving us a real frisson of excitement.

On the blind par three third hole we'd sprint on to the green, place a golfer's ball in the cup as if they'd achieved a hole in one and then hide in the woods. The golfer would search all around for his golf ball before taking a desultory glance in the cup followed by a merry jig!

Another memory was the hypnotic effect I felt whilst standing high up on the top of one of the hills, quite close to the edge, and looking down at the long grass on the valley floor which was gently swaying in the wind; I thought how easy it might be to be drawn over the edge such was the effect.

It was great fun being up on the Craiglockhart Hills because it would have been a sunny day which had attracted us up there; and sitting up high on the dry ground with the grass gently swaying and the sun beating down looking over 360 degree views enabled us to take in the panoramic view and enjoy everything that is wonderful about the city. The whole of Edinburgh was laid out before us and being a clear day we could see clear across the River Forth and to the north and to the Highlands; turning around we could look to the Pentland Hills and to the south.