Tyto Alba

I used to love it down there as a kid.....round t'waterside as we called it. The path from the hillfoot bridge to herries road. The river used to be all colours of the rainbow! There used to be a few giant cooling towers along there too. I especially loved the white bridge and the black bridge. One of them had railings that were collapsing in making things even more claustophobic. Are the bridges still there? As a young man I used to take a shortcut along there when working nights, and it was pretty spooky. The angle at which the gravestones used to lean coupled with the faint crackle of the overhead electrical wires made even the most rational anti-ghost story bloke like me relieved to get back out onto herries road. I haven't been along there for 20 years. Has it changed?

I remember having 'ash as a lad. I don't think it's got any connection with Ash Wednesday though. I think Ash wednesday is the first day of fasting for lent.....you wouldn't have beef stew. It's the day before that......Pancake day, Shrove Tuesay or Mardi Gras (fat tuesday) that people used to eat up. That shouting 'whip' business has always bothered me though. My nan said she used to make meat and potato pie during the war and there was so little meat in it that you shouted 'whip' every time you found a piece. Where does that come from?

I had one a few years back from a place off Abbeydale road. You would have to look up the exact address in Yellow Pages but they were excellent.......it was a woman tattoist too.