Jobs for the boys

[Bridge hibs]

Probably more speaking about those of us of a certain vintage but I was having a chat with my Daughters about all the jobs I done before and after school or at weekends.

Firstly I have memories of when living in Leith where me and a friend would spend an hour in a stinking basement in Sandport St of a company who imported animal skins, they were in large blue plastic drums full of rock salt and we would get the hands in and turn the skins in the drums and I can literally still smell the stench, think we got around 50p each.

Other less smelly jobs were delivering Bon Accord juice around the Leith Fort flats and delivering tatties around the same area.

I done a milk round with Edinburgh dairies where I would be picked up at my house and taken to West Bryson road to meet my float, again I delivered around the Leith and Niddrie areas before getting dropped off to get ready for school, think I earned around £15 pw and to be honest that was good money in those days.

Then a job I think most of us done was a paper round, after school and at weekends.

Its funny now that many if not all of those jobs dont exist anymore, I loved it though, particularly the milk deliveries as I think I was up at 4 or 5 in the morning and by the time I got to school I felt invigorated and wide awake and it was certainly a good introduction to what working life was to become.

Great memories

[Wembley67]

Good post that.

I didn't do anything exciting, just wee newsagent jobs and stuff but as you say up at the crack of dawn and it really does set you up for hard work from an early age.

I wonder how kids these days stack up? In the office I work at just now they are greetin about coming in two days a week so I'm guessing they are most definitely a different breed 😁

The only memory was when I worked down in Drylaw in a shop and couple of folk came in for protection money. I was wet behind the ears and didn't have a clue what to do so I gave them £20 from the till 🤣 Sacked the day after!

Why on earth would you leave a 16 year old in charge of a newsagents is beyond me!

[Hibrandenburg]

First job was picking tatties in the school holidays in East Lothian, back breaking work but it was a decent wage for a kid.

Occasionally I would also turn up at 4 o'clock on a Saturday morning at the bakers factory in the Calder Industrial Estate. If you were lucky one of the delivery drivers would take you on his delivery tour for the day and you'd get a bit of pocket money helping deliver bread and cakes to the stores in and around Edinburgh, it was more about the day trip out rather than the money if I'm honest.

[Jones28]

I used to do 3 afternoons/evening a week in the chippy in Newhaven, exclusively peeling tatties and chipping.

I got £7 per shift, sometimes that was doing 6 bags of tatties in a Friday afternoon.

The guy that ran it was so tight that I wasn’t allowed to use the rumbler too much as it wasted too much so I was told to rumble 2/3ds of the skin and hand peel the rest.

[Bostonhibby]

That brought a few memories flooding back-nearly all good ones.

Before I got a "proper" job i did the juice run too, on the lorry through Magdalene, down to Porty, along through Joppa, into musselburgh then back across to Newcraighall, hard but enjoyable, not much health and safety and some pretty interesting sugar loaded drinks.

Did the early morning milk run as well, all round Milton Road then Duddingston village, went on the collections as well,frequent wee tips round Milton Road and Mountcastle. Not so much in the old village. Never lasted long at that.

Got a better gig at a 24 hour garage on seafield road, sat in a booth for hours on end, good money and good for studying. Worked behind the lounge bar at the Abercorn in piershill around the same time and also had an occasional job carting furniture to and from jobs for a local upholsterer.

Picked strawberries down east lothian way in the summer, a lorry would come and pick gangs of us up, some kids were really food at it and earned well as you got paid by the punnets. Hard hard work that was.

One of the better earners we had was going round Magdalene, Bingham and Niddrie in the summer with a petrol mower, cutting grass on the back greens, plenty folk wanted it done- lots of four pole cuts for between 50p and a £1. Plenty funny moments there.. .



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[J-C]

I had a paper round when I was about 13, at about 15 I worked after school stacking shelves in the store(Coopers Fine Fare I think) at the Kirkgate and at weekends I'd clean windows for my dad usually interior ones at the bus depots in New St and Marine works. I also remember going to Powderhall dogs and placing the bets for my dad who'd be up in the bar all night, I'd get a fiver for every winner, he'd be placing minimum £100 bets, I'd be about 15 at the time, wouldn't be allowed today.

[Scouse Hibee]

Worked in my Dad’s butchers shop on Saturday mornings,taking orders out on my bike and operating the till when in the shop. Used to make a small fortune when the folk used to say keep the change son. They were the days 😀

[Bridge hibs]

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That brought a few memories flooding back-nearly all good ones.

Before I got a "proper" job i did the juice run too, on the lorry through Magdalene, down to Porty, along through Joppa, into musselburgh then back across to Newcraighall, hard but enjoyable, not much health and safety and some pretty interesting sugar loaded drinks.

Did the early morning milk run as well, all round Milton Road then Duddingston village, went on the collections as well,frequent wee tips round Milton Road and Mountcastle. Not so much in the old village. Never lasted long at that.

Got a better gig at a 24 hour garage on seafield road, sat in a booth for hours on end, good money and good for studying. Worked behind the lounge bar at the Abercorn in piershill around the same time and also had an occasional job carting furniture to and from jobs for a local upholsterer.

One of the better earners we had was going round Magdalene, Bingham and Niddrie in the summer with a petrol mower, cutting grass on the back greens, plenty folk wanted it done- lots of four pole cuts for between 50p and a £1. Plenty funny moments there.. .



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I remember those milk floats were solid machines, we once came out of a street onto Ferry Road and t boned a cyclist and mangling his racer bike. The cyclist was heading to college at Granton and said **** it I didnt want to go anyway. My driver chucked his mangled bike onto the back of the float and the mangled cycle owner helped us deliver the rest of the milk. I wonder if he decided on a change of career after that 🤣

[Bostonhibby]

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I remember those milk floats were solid machines, we once came out of a street onto Ferry Road and t boned a cyclist and mangling his racer bike. The cyclist was heading to college at Granton and said **** it I didnt want to go anyway. My driver chucked his mangled bike onto the back of the float and helped us deliver the rest of the milk. I wonder if he decided on a change of career after that

About 4mph skating around Duddinston village in the snow. We once had a plastic tray carrying yoghurts skiting of the side and bursting all over the place. I seem to remember one of the floats having no side door!

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[Bridge hibs]

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About 4mph skating around Duddinston village in the snow. We once had a plastic tray carrying yoghurts skiting of the side and bursting all over the place. I seem to remember one of the floats having no side door!

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Our floats never had doors so winter would be ****ing baltic, the cold didnt last long after a couple of tenement stair climbs though 😃

[Hiber-nation]

Milk round, also with Edinburgh Dairies or whatever they were called back in 1975.

Started off in Learmonth and Comely Bank - not a penny in tips from the posh bassas.

Then on to Broomhouse - made a small fortune, enough to get me into the Hibs game on the Saturday.

[Bridge hibs]

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Milk round, also with Edinburgh Dairies or whatever they were called back in 1975.

Started off in Learmonth and Comely Bank - not a penny in tips from the posh bassas.

Then on to Broomhouse - made a small fortune, enough to get me into the Hibs game on the Saturday.

Yeah tips were always very scarce in the more salubrious of areas where places like Leith Fort, Granton, Niddrie etc always made sure your pockets jingled.

[Bostonhibby]

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Yeah tips were always very scarce in the more salubrious of areas where places like Leith Fort, Granton, Niddrie etc always made sure your pockets jingled.

Cutting grass up Niddrie and Wauchope way was where we always encountered most generosity,good folk and best laughs.

Was once cutting a whole stairs back greens in Hay Drive when we knackered the blade on a bit metal that was sticking up, we started clearing round it to pull out what looked like a bit of rusty flattened tin when an old boy came out and told us we were wasting our time as someone had buried the whole front end of a Ford Anglia down there and that must be the only bit sticking out

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[Hiber-nation]

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Cutting grass up Niddrie and Wauchope way was where we always encountered most generosity,good folk and best laughs.

Was once cutting a whole stairs back greens in Hay Drive when we knackered the blade on a bit metal that was sticking up, we started clearing round it to pull out what looked like a bit of rusty flattened tin when an old boy came out and told us we were wasting our time as someone had buried the whole front end of a Ford Anglia down there and that must be the only bit sticking out

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Hahaha 😂

[Bridge hibs]

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Cutting grass up Niddrie and Wauchope way was where we always encountered most generosity,good folk and best laughs.

Was once cutting a whole stairs back greens in Hay Drive when we knackered the blade on a bit metal that was sticking up, we started clearing round it to pull out what looked like a bit of rusty flattened tin when an old boy came out and told us we were wasting our time as someone had buried the whole front end of a Ford Anglia down there and that must be the only bit sticking out

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I thought you were going to say you uncovered a German tank 🤣 nothing would surprise me 🤭 many years ago I was on a YOP scheme and we were rebuilding some of the dry stane dykes around Craigmillar castle and I had the dumper truck in a massive 40 foot by 20 foot quarry in front of the castle to get some stone, nothing out of the ordinary or so I thought until I mentioned it to my Father in law who was local to the area who told me that hole was actually a bomb crater and that massive hole was caused by a German bomber plane obviously piloted by a German Stevie Wonder 🤣

[Bostonhibby]

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I thought you were going to say you uncovered a German tank nothing would surprise me many years ago I was on a YOP scheme and we were rebuilding some of the dry stane dykes around Craigmillar castle and I had the dumper truck in a massive 40 foot by 20 foot quarry in front of the castle to get some stone, nothing out of the ordinary or so I thought until I mentioned it to my Father in law who was local to the area who told me that hole was actually a bomb crater and that massive hole was caused by a German bomber plane obviously piloted by a German Stevie Wonder

wow, nah, nothing that spectacular. Found a tortoise roaming about in a backgreen. Its name was Hercules as someone had written it on the bottom of its shell with paint.

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[Itsnoteasy]

Delivered 1000 Herald & Post on Thursday & Friday 1p per paper. A whole £10. Highlight of my delivery was a guy in banana flats at Westfield had a note on his door no free papers or flyers. I used to have the lift ready, I would shove the paper through the letterbox dive in the lift and 2 levels down I would hear him shout FFS I told you I didn't want that paper🤣. Luckily for me I never bumped into him on my round

[Pretty Boy]

Herald & Post was my first job. Slave labour really, £12-20 a week for the best part of 700 papers and sometimes treble that in leaflets. Tips at Christmas were always good from the schemies in Oxgangs, the folks in Buckstone and Swanston never gave a bolt.

I always wanted to work because I had an interest in clothes and wanted to buy my own gear. Also had an expensive goalie gloves habit.

H&P then Tesco, couple of bar jobs, Next stockroom (best job I ever had), managed a couple of bars then fell into a sales job. Sales is piss easy if you don't tie yourself in knots by lying to people. Promise what you can deliver and do it.

When it comes to generations I don't really notice much difference between the young team and the old codgers. There are grafters and shirkers across the board. Some of the laziest people in my work are the 55-65 demographic. Long given up any aspirations of promotion or advancement, mortgages paid off and are just killing time until retirement. Do the bare minimum, set in their ways and are ironically the biggest moaners about people who actually do put in a shift. There are a couple of lazy youngsters as well but the majority work all the hours they can get as they need the money to survive.

[Billy Whizz]

Did all my schooling in Paisley, which is a statement in itself, as no one at my school wanted to study!
Had quite a few jobs during my teen years
Sold rolls round houses on a Sunday morning, think they were McKechnie Rolls

Worked 2/3 nights selling Paraffin round the houses. Man in the next street beside us bought an old Airport fire engine’s and we sold it from the big van around some of the estates in Paisley
For the younger readers, the masses of people at that time really didn’t have central heating, and these heaters fuelled by Paraffin
The brand we sold was Esso Blue. Wonder if anyone remembers their advert

[Bostonhibby]

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Did all my schooling in Paisley, which is a statement in itself, as no one at my school wanted to study!
Had quite a few jobs during my teen years
Sold rolls round houses on a Sunday morning, think they were McKechnie Rolls

Worked 2/3 nights selling Paraffin round the houses. Man in the next street beside us bought an old Airport fire engine’s and we sold it from the big van around some of the estates in Paisley
For the younger readers, the masses of people at that time really didn’t have central heating, and these heaters fuelled by Paraffin
The brand we sold was Esso Blue. Wonder if anyone remembers their advert

Boom boom boom esso blue

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[Bridge hibs]

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Herald & Post was my first job. Slave labour really, £12-20 a week for the best part of 700 papers and sometimes treble that in leaflets. Tips at Christmas were always good from the schemies in Oxgangs, the folks in Buckstone and Swanston never gave a bolt.

I always wanted to work because I had an interest in clothes and wanted to buy my own gear. Also had an expensive goalie gloves habit.

H&P then Tesco, couple of bar jobs, Next stockroom (best job I ever had), managed a couple of bars then fell into a sales job. Sales is piss easy if you don't tie yourself in knots by lying to people. Promise what you can deliver and do it.

When it comes to generations I don't really notice much difference between the young team and the old codgers. There are grafters and shirkers across the board. Some of the laziest people in my work are the 55-65 demographic. Long given up any aspirations of promotion or advancement, mortgages paid off and are just killing time until retirement. Do the bare minimum, set in their ways and are ironically the biggest moaners about people who actually do put in a shift. There are a couple of lazy youngsters as well but the majority work all the hours they can get as they need the money to survive.

Totally agree about the shirkers, when I was a teenager I grabbed a job labouring for a company called McLaren Construction and on my first contract I worked with a right bunch of lazy *******s who absolutely ripped the pish out of me and a couple of apprentices. They would always come out with the old “if the gaffer comes in always look busy” problem was we were always ****ing busy because we done all the work whilst those lazy ***** hit the nearest pub.

Near the end of the contract I was laid off and those pricks kept their jobs 🤬

[silverhibee]

My dad was a HGV driver so from a early age I would travel with him during holiday breaks which seen me doing house removals at a early age, also done a paper round back in the day, Martello Court was a scary place to deliver papers and even scarier trying to get them to pay, also worked in a fish factory in Granton, apart from the smell you got to come home with a few bags of fish to sell in the Gunner, left school when I was 14 and mainly done house removals.

[lapsedhibee]

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Boom boom boom esso blue

Four booms?

[Billy Whizz]

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Boom boom boom esso blue

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Showing your age😁

[Bostonhibby]

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Showing your age

Age is a state of mind I'm 127

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[brianmc]

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First job was picking tatties in the school holidays in East Lothian, back breaking work but it was a decent wage for a kid.

Occasionally I would also turn up at 4 o'clock on a Saturday morning at the bakers factory in the Calder Industrial Estate. If you were lucky one of the delivery drivers would take you on his delivery tour for the day and you'd get a bit of pocket money helping deliver bread and cakes to the stores in and around Edinburgh, it was more about the day trip out rather than the money if I'm honest.

Can you imagine suggesting to a/your own kid these days that they should hang about the local industrial estate at 4am and try to hitch a ride from a random lorry driver?? Mental.

[matty_f]

Had a paper round that had deliveries in the Christians, Magdalene, The Jewel, and Cleekim before getting a job at McDonald’s at Meadowbank when I turned 16.

[RyeSloan]

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Four booms?

I’d say there is indeed four boom’s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a9tT7F6K7Ps

[Bostonhibby]

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Four booms?

Back in the day we used paraffin but times were hard, we could only afford three booms.

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[Bridge hibs]

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Back in the day we used paraffin but times were hard, we could only afford three booms.

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Lightweight, you mean you didnt chore the paraffin lamps that the workies placed around roadworks and skips ? Ps, wanna buy some paraffin lamps ? 🤭