A historic moment in my life...

[Bobby Mhor]

I hope you were not the guy on the Brae just up from the Ropeworks who kept hens at the top of a flight of steps. Two of us were sent to deliver a ton of oats in one cwt sacks which we had to carry up hundreds of steps to his store. Miserable B---d did not even give us a tip for our labour.

You young folk in those days deserved nothing like that, I hope you tipped your cap to him letting you exercise......
I assume it was the cottages next to the tenements...
I would have been very young or just a glint
Ex Ropeworks hairie though

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Strangely, this just popped up on my local Faceache page.


View attachment 647110

Wow, home baking..
the way to an auld yin's heart..

eh off to YouTube to brush up on the Tango....

 

[byegad]

I thought you were already in your 80s.

He's thay young? Who knew?

 

[oldwheels]

You young folk in those days deserved nothing like that, I hope you tipped your cap to him letting you exercise......
I assume it was the cottages next to the tenements...
I would have been very young or just a glint
Ex Ropeworks hairie though

Cannot remember the cottages. The steps were let into a stone wall at the bottom and went a looong way up.
We got ash from the Ropeworks furnace to fill in potholes in the farm road.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Cannot remember the cottages. The steps were let into a stone wall at the bottom and went a looong way up.
We got ash from the Ropeworks furnace to fill in potholes in the farm road.

This?

I did a year in the Ropeworks circa 70, dangerous place you had to have your wits about you (not PC)

 

[oldwheels]

This?
View attachment 647161
I did a year in the Ropeworks circa 70, dangerous place you had to have your wits about you (not PC)

The hens were on the right hand side going uphill just above the Ropeworks.
It was about 66 years ago so scenery has probably changed since then. I have been back up the Brae since but still quite while ago.
We had female casuals working for us sometimes on the farm and you had to go and hide somewhere for a pee. The stories about the Ropework lot were definitely not PC.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Yer right about that
us young 'uns lived in fear...

Heading up the Brae not that far from there were allotments at one time, just waste land now...
entered by narrow steps, wall either side
the maps for the 50s 60s are offline it seems..

Clune Brae was my test, if I found I ever could cycle up it, I'd get an electric bike, two years since I last did..
Once over the first part, it's a slog..
I worked at Priestside Farm before the Mill, give you anything but money

 

[oldwheels]

Clune Brae. I have been trying to remember that name since this thread started.
The hens must have been up by the allotments and that begins to come back to me now.
Castlehill Farm was where I was. The farmer's surname was Keith.
The upper fields were interesting as schemies came up and dumped stolen goods there among the bushes till they cooled down a bit. We once got a good load of copper pipe and somebody once went to the trouble of digging a hole and burying a brand new dustbin. The bin had probably been to protect something but it was empty when we got it.
Mind you it worked the other way round as we once dug up the lead pipe leading to the byre and laid out plastic pipe ready to install the next day. At 0530 when we came to start the milking somebody had nicked the lead pipe overnight and we had no water supply for the byre and dairy.
They also used to come up at night and dig up tatties. We once went up with a shotgun and fired a couple rounds over their heads. Scared them off at least temporarily but not something to do nowadays.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Clune Brae. I have been trying to remember that name since this thread started.
The hens must have been up by the allotments and that begins to come back to me now.
Castlehill Farm was where I was. The farmer's surname was Keith.
The upper fields were interesting as schemies came up and dumped stolen goods there among the bushes till they cooled down a bit. We once got a good load of copper pipe and somebody once went to the trouble of digging a hole and burying a brand new dustbin. The bin had probably been to protect something but it was empty when we got it.
Mind you it worked the other way round as we once dug up the lead pipe leading to the byre and laid out plastic pipe ready to install the next day. At 0530 when we came to start the milking somebody had nicked the lead pipe overnight and we had no water supply for the byre and dairy.
They also used to come up at night and dig up tatties. We once went up with a shotgun and fired a couple rounds over their heads. Scared them off at least temporarily but not something to do nowadays.

Down by the ressies
I'd hate to farm there now....
Funny thing, a few years ago they 'dismantled' a mobile phone mast and TV were down and they were all giving it 'Aye, you don't know what the microwaves could do to you' type stuff, ahem....just next to the entrance to Castlehill.
I found a sovereign (out of a ring I think) and because of where I found it, it lay for two years as I was convinced it was a fake
Bandit country now.....
It was part of my work area and it was interesting area to work in..

 

[oldwheels]

Down by the ressies
I'd hate to farm there now....
Funny thing, a few years ago they 'dismantled' a mobile phone mast and TV were down and they were all giving it 'Aye, you don't know what the microwaves could do to you' type stuff, ahem....just next to the entrance to Castlehill.
I found a sovereign (out of a ring I think) and because of where I found it, it lay for two years as I was convinced it was a fake
Bandit country now.....
It was part of my work area and it was interesting area to work in..

All sorts of memories are coming back. There were often people fishing illegally down at the reservoir and if we saw a police car stop at the top of the road we used to shout “ Polis” and they ran dismantling rods as they went.
Re the Hairies I remember at putting up stooks one tried to get over a fence but got stuck in the barbed wire on top to shouts from her pals” Aye Mary it’s aw wan noo”

 

[Bobby Mhor]

All sorts of memories are coming back. There were often people fishing illegally down at the reservoir and if we saw a police car stop at the top of the road we used to shout “ Polis” and they ran dismantling rods as they went.
Re the Hairies I remember at putting up stooks one tried to get over a fence but got stuck in the barbed wire on top to shouts from her pals” Aye Mary it’s aw wan noo”

Years ago, a fishing syndicate took over the big dam and stocked it
The smaller upper dam got drained...

I managed to leave the ropeworks in one piece,
at that time I did weekends with the fair (shows) then went full time, I lasted six weeks..
not the life for me

but as you say good times to remember..
I then ended up in Largs..