Off the street

Published on Monday 17 August 2009 22:12

YOU couldn't have chosen a better picture to accompany Frank Urquhart's report (14 August) on the dearth of street-playing children.

I recognised the location, as I used to play there fully 20 years earlier than the picture was taken. The scene is at the back of the old Mariners Church in Leith, and the whitewashed pend supported Cromwell's Citadel. What was a children's playground is now occupied by an outdoor activities retailer.

The surrounding area has been redeveloped to its detriment, with much of the new housing not being family-friendly. This is one of the reasons there are so few children playing in the streets.

When I was a boy in the late 1920s to early 1930s there was also more rapport between children and grown-ups.

Street repairs, for instance, always required a night watchman with a hut, a coke brazier and a syrup can to brew his tea. My pals and I would enjoy yarning with the watchmen at night until called home. There was also a smiddy in the Citadel where the blacksmith would allow us to stand inside the door and watch horses being shod. Presumably, such activities are now forbidden to children under health and safety legislation.

Perhaps we did go home at night with bumps, bruises and skint knees, but we didn't become yobs, and Asbos were unheard of.

DONALD JACK

Summerside Place

Edinburgh