Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

Regardless of the seeming lack of childhood friends when I was very young, I remember having enjoyed my time in York Avenue. When we lived there in the 1950s there was little traffic. I could play freely in the street and in the areas near the house.

My constant playmate was our dog Laddie. My elder brothers were 4, 5, and 7 years older than me, so they weren’t that interested in playing with me, as I was just a ‘little kid’.

I also didn’t seem to have any close friends amongst the other kids in the street at that time either. Perhaps it was my mother’s warnings, or maybe I just didn’t get much opportunity. But of course, I was only about 4, 5 and 6 years old, so I wouldn’t stray far from the house.

I remember playing with snowballs every winter. British parents at that time seemed to ignore the fact that Britain has three months of winter. They simply let their children run around outside wearing short trousers and flimsy shoes even in snowy weather.

I didn’t have any gloves then either, so my mother used to put woollen socks on my hands. Silly boy that I was, I would soon take these off, so I could make snowballs. As expected, it didn’t take long before my hands turned blue! 

As I recall these moments, I can remember my two longhaired scratchy woollen scarves, one brown and one yellow that I could choose from. These were my affectionate little ‘fellas’ that accompanied me and kept me warm during those winters.