Some Happy Days

A Memory of Gowkshill.

If anyone remembers the Sabistons...we lived at 12 Stobhill Road. The gala days to the various places - Gullane, North Berwick, etc - were my favourite times. To this day whenever I hear "I love to go a-wandering", it brings back the memories. I also remember playing in the 'top' park and the 'bottom' park from morning to night (summer of course). The Guy Fawks bonfires in the bottom park, the rag & bone trucks, the fish & chip bus....I often relay these memories to my son, who is yet to visit this place. The summer evenings were lovely and I recall walking and playing in the fields of Dow's farm, or riding my bike along the Crawlee (is that how you spell it???). There are many people I could mention from those days. They may still be there, they may not. Who can I remember: The Torrances, the Calders (my relatives), the Montagues, the McLeans, the Howie's, the Burnetts, to name a few. My most treasured memory of Gowkshill? The one & only Christmas I can remember it snowing - truly a proper snowfall, not a blizzard - on Christmas Eve around 8 or 9pm leaving a beautiful blanket of pristine white snow and allowing some kids to get out there and build snowmen before Santa came. I'm now living in Brisbane, Australia (have done since 1967), where it doesn't snow at all. Our Christmas here is hot and we're usually indoors in the airconditioning to cool down!! I've been back only once (1997) but intend to make the journey again some time in the not too distant future. Hopefully Gowkshill will still be the same again as it was when I was last there.

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