Your Memories: 'Holidays were all about time spent with family'

Published on Saturday 28 June 2008 11:03

WITH the annual Edinburgh trade holidays just around the corner, resident Joe Matthews, 81, a retired joiner from Liberton, recalls his experiences of the long-favoured calendar date.

"Work would stop for two whole weeks the first fortnight of July, and all us tradesmen looked forward to the date. Traditionally it wasn't a case of booking a holiday to some beach holiday abroad – many stayed in the city and went to East Lothian for the sea and sand.

"Back in the 50s and 60s, seeing Edinburgh almost stop was quite a sight. Back then, before companies lured workers to work through the holidays with overtime, and when deadlines weren't as tough, all the building sites, dockyard, factories, tanneries and breweries would just stop. No sounds, no sights, no workers.

"My wife Margaret and I rarely left Edinburgh during the fortnight. If the weather was good – which I recall it always was – we would pack a picnic and head off to Portobello beach with the kids, Robert and Mary.

It was always heaving with people and we'd sit and soak up the sun while the kids played with others and splashed in the sea. It was all very friendly and there was a bit of a party atmosphere. You had to get there early to secure a good spot.

"The kids would also be treated to the fairground and Mary would have her cup of tea in some nearby caf and the kids got their ice cream. The best bit was meeting all your friends and catching up along the promenade. There was a real holidaying community.

"Sometimes we went to that open air swimming pool in Portobello – or the one in North Berwick. The water was absolutely freezing and it was full of sand and goodness knows what else. But it was always thronging during those two weeks, and kids loved it. Sometimes, if we'd splashed out earlier in the holiday, we would sit on the beach at North Berwick and allow the kids to swim in an enclosed sea pool they had.

"Holidays were so much simpler back then, and people's expectations of a holiday were much simpler too. There was none of this posh hotel and flights abroad stuff – it was about spending time with the family in our own city."