John Logue

We first moved to Cranhill in November 1951.  We were the second family to move into the tenement block in Sumburgh Street at No 69, Mr and Mrs Rowlands directly above us (we were on the ground floor) being the first.

Like I suppose most families at that time my parents were "over the moon" at moving away from the squalor that was a single end in Dunn Street, Bridgeton to a brand new house with separate bedrooms, kitchen, toilet, and ......... hot water!.  We would watch from our living room window as all the other families were moved in around us, and we quickly got to know most if not all of our neighbours. (I can still remember most of their names ) Everyone was so proud of the neighbourhood and gardens soon flourished. We would organise bus runs from "the street" and all the women would bake cakes, scones etc. It seemed idyllic. 

I recall at the Coronation we had a big party in the street with again all the women baking, and tables set up in the street which were laden with all sorts of goodies, we had races and "scambles" etc. There was a record player set in the garden outside our window. Mr Johnstone, a piper with the Glasgow Police Pipe Band played his pipes as all of us kids marched along side him, the "men" played the "boys"at football in "The Field", as it was called. We had a huge bonfire that night. also in "The Field”. The field was a huge piece of "spare" ground which eventually went on to house Cranhill School. (and now has a super market I believe.) 

As kids we would often during our summer school holidays go on "picnics" across to this field (no more than a minutes walk!) A picnic would normally consist of, a few "pieces on jam"  and washed down with a bottle of water!. Usually all consumed within minutes of arriving for our "picnic".

In winter we would all go sledging down the aforementioned field, which had a long flat plateau at the top, running parallel to Startpoint street and then a big downhill slope to another plateau which ran parallel to the Edinburgh Road; this lower bit was our "home ground" when we played other streets at "fitba". We thought we were doing great, and had a great sledge, if we could manage to get it all the way onto the Edinburgh Road !

Every year on "Guy Fawkes Night" we would have a huge bonfire, and for weeks before hand we would scour the surrounding neighbourhood looking for anything we could find that could be used for the bonfire, we would also make "A Guy" and canvas the neighbours asking for "A Penny For The Guy". Any money collected was used to buy "Squibs", which we would try and keep till everyone else had let off theirs..
We would compete with other streets to see who had the biggest bonfire,and had to be ever vigilant in the days just before that no one set your bonfire off prematurely!.

All the boys in "The Street" would take part in this annual event, and even though it had very grave political and religious connotations, none of us seemed to care about that and Catholic boys joined in the celebrations with as much gusto as anyone else.  It was the same with football. Although we had equal measure of Celtic Supporters and Rangers Supporters we all got along fine.  

We organised everything ourselves in those days,.  There was no formal structure or league or anything, we would just arrange a game with say, Lamlash Crescent or Startpoint Street. It would either be at "Their Ground" our ours. There were only bricks for goals and no lines, we would just play for hours on end,or until one team scored a pre determined amount of goals eg 13 half time and 26 "The Game". If this figure was arrived at too quickly we just set another limit and played on till I suppose each team was reduced in numbers through guys getting called away for their tea or such.

Football was our main passion and even if we were not playing as a team we would go across the field and play "Three and in" there might only be three or four of us and one would go in goal and the others would just play against each other and the first one to score 3 goals went in goal and off we went again.

It was a real "disaster” for us when the Cranhill School was built as we lost our main playground. We reverted to playing on the strip of grass which then ran parallel to Edinburgh Road, (which is now houses). But that was always fraught with danger because the people who lived opposite would call the police!.

In fact I recall getting fined for just that, I was busy playing away, no doubt fantasising about  being Denis Law or some other such legendary figure. I was approached by a nice man in a suit and tie, who I immediately thought was a talent scout, and wanted to know my name and where I lived! It was probably around that time I learned to differentiate between the former and a plain clothes detective!

In those days Cranhill was a nice place in which to grow up, and although there were "Gangs" "(Cranhill Fleet is a name which springs to mind) none of the boys I grew up with ever got involved with anything of that nature. Sumburgh Street in the main was a fairly quiet backwater.

Cranhill, as I said, was a good to place to grow up in in those days,quite how it slipped to become another "slum" I don't know. Let's hope the "New Cranhill can be like it was in those days, but 'I Hae ma Doots'.