Days Of Long Ago

Hi there,my name is Harry Hodge,born in Dunfermline in 1953 ,dragged up in Marshall st Cowdenbeath until I was about 8,went to Broad street primary,remember the janitor Mr Hood and Miss Kilpatrick who caught me peeing against a wall,joined at the same time as the Betts twins,John Little and David Hunter were my mates then.Moved to Mosside Rd prefabs and attended Fulford primary which I enjoyed,always got there early to get warmed up in the boiler room where I got the leftover milk,remember fighting the" Kafliks"at break times from St Columb us. I remember the roller skating behind Penmans,the Palais,Prof fillis the best chippie in Fife and Demarcos,also remember working at Munro the butchers in the high St, happy days and visiting my good old friend Pat Quinnan who owned the paper shop,never forget his kindness and advice,remember the dog track and the gala days in the park,spending loads of time skiving in the fountain waiting room,radiators always red hot,holiday was walking to Burntisland for the shows,pockets full of heavy pennies for the rides and machines,pleased to say I joined the army at 17 which provided me with a career,education and opportunities which I could never have attained had I remained in Cowdenbeath, despite that I always try and drive through when I am in Scotland and think about my past and all the things I have written about.

I attended the "kafflik" school across from Fulford and a lot of my friends went there -same when I went to St. Columba's. My Beath friends would wait to walk home with me - no fighting involved.

My granddad was Mr. Hood the janitor at Broad Street. I used to stop in on my way home from school most days and my gran would give me either a sugar piece or rhubarb from the garden and a poke of sugar to dip it in. No money for bus fare, so we always took "walker's bus" and this was the half-way point for us. If we were all going to gran and granddad's for something or other, there was plenty of room for us kids to play in the schoolyard or sometimes we would sit on the wall out front and write down license plate numbers of the cars that passed - not that it was a high traffic area back in the day.

Growing up in Cowdenbeath I had lots of freedom - summer days at the black bing, going over the moss, up to the public park. The store treat that started at Dalbeath Crescent and that sixpence was the highlight of the day - you could spend it on ice cream or save it to spend at Woolies and buy a "big bar" of chocolate.

I haven't lived in Cowdenbeath for over 40 years. When I make it over to Scotland, I always make a point of going to Cowdenbeath and wandering around. It has changed and maybe not for the better, but my memories are fond and you can't take that away from me.