10 replies to this topic

[willie campbell]

The '70s saw me working as a designer for a large Glasgow womenswear company,when we actually had a thriving clothing industry before everything was outsourced to China and wherever else.
The factory had a workforce of 500 mainly youngish women.They were employed on a"Piecework"basis meaning they were paid only for the garments they produced,so the "heid" was down from the moment they started at 8a.m. 'til they finished at 4.40p.m.
It was hard work,but that didn't stop the great patter that passed between the rows of machinists,and, as the "Fair"got nearer,the anticipation and excitement of 2 weeks freedom from poorly paid drudgery was palpable.Even in the '70s Glasgow still emptied at the fair,and there was a general quietness about the place as the seaside resorts filled up with "weegies",with Ayr,Largs and Troon benefitting from swarms of us spending our hard earned holiday pay,before" The Costas"took over.
Still,the last day in the factory was always great fun.The ladies would arrive for work in their best clothes under their overalls,their hair in a tight perm or a "wee set",some hydrangea rinses,and the perfumes of choice then were,Tabu and Youth Dew.They were quite strongish to say the least!
When the klaxon went at lunch time on Fair Friday,off came the overalls ,and we descended on the company provided purvey of sausage rolls and sandwiches, before everyone departed at 2ish.
Fair Friday morning the rule was "no tumblers of alcohol to be allowed on the sewing machine benches during working hours"(elf 'n safety),so they simply sipped a vodie or Bacardi from a china teacup instead,and by lunch time they could hardly form words let alone sew straight seems.
The ladies who operated the Hoffman presses always brought in their own lunch,usually "a piece on flat sausage, or egg an'H.P.",fried first thing at home and wrapped in tin foil.Then,10 mins before lunch they strapped the foil parcel on top of the Hoffman and released red hot steam from the machine through the trousers they were pressing,reheating their lunch.If you ever bought slacks from a chain store that smelled of breakfast,now you know.You could always spot the pressers at the lunch as their perms which had started out tight in the morning,now steamed to the biggest hair in the factory.
Lunch,mostly liquid,was over by 1.45 and the company buses arrived to drop everyone off in the city centre,and the fair holidays started in earnest.
Those were happy,hard working poorly paid days,and distance lends enchantment,but would I change them?

Willie.x.

[Pat]

Great wee story, willie. I can smell Estee Lauder's Youth Dew but can't remember Tabu. That's hilarious about the food being heated on the machines but very sensible.

Sad to think that these factories have all but disappeared. The piece work was certainly a great way of encouraging production.

All the camaraderie in the workplace made up a lot for the tedious nature of the work being carried out. I remember in the 60s I worked for a spell in Brown & Polson in Paisley. I was there through an agency and there was a large number of us all typing labels for free trials of Gerber baby food. It could not have been more boring but we laughed and sang all day - songs like 'Baby Love'.

The young folk today that are out of work are missing so much - it wasn't all about getting your pay packet - gaining a work ethic and numerous friends was a big part of working life.

[willie campbell]

Great wee story, willie. I can smell Estee Lauder's Youth Dew but can't remember Tabu. That's hilarious about the food being heated on the machines but very sensible.

Sad to think that these factories have all but disappeared. The piece work was certainly a great way of encouraging production.

All the camaraderie in the workplace made up a lot for the tedious nature of the work being carried out. I remember in the 60s I worked for a spell in Brown & Polson in Paisley. I was there through an agency and there was a large number of us all typing labels for free trials of Gerber baby food. It could not have been more boring but we laughed and sang all day - songs like 'Baby Love'.

The young folk today that are out of work are missing so much - it wasn't all about getting your pay packet - gaining a work ethic and numerous friends was a big part of working life.

[willie campbell]

That brings back memories Pat.Brown and Polsons..what else did they make?Gerber's baby foods.Is that still on the go?
There did seem to be a camaraderie then.I suppose youth,no mortgage to pay,and lots of jobs available then would be factors in that,so whilst poorly paid, it seemed to go further.But of course the sun always shone,the tar melted and everything was wonderful.Always!As if.
I certainly remember loads of laughs from those days,but then we spoke to each other,we didn't txt,we socialised face to face rather than virtually,and the cinema and telly played a part in our lives without consuming it like computers today.
Tabu?I think it was one of those heavy Spanish scents first discovered on those early costa holidays,but smell it today and you need the paramedics on standby ready with an airway!
Willie.x.

[Pat]

That brings back memories Pat.Brown and Polsons..what else did they make?Gerber's baby foods.Is that still on the go?

Some info about Brown and Polson from gracesguide.co.uk

"Brown and Polson commenced producing starch and cornflour in Paisley in the 1860s.

1854 John Polson invented the process of making very pure starch from maize.

John Polson and William Brown founded a business to make starch for shawl makers, though it was the edible starch that made their company successful.

It later became CPC Foods Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever, which produced Hellmann's mayonnaise, Gerber baby foods and Knorr soups.

The company ceased production in Paisley in 2002.

There did seem to be a camaraderie then.I suppose youth,no mortgage to pay,and lots of jobs available then would be factors in that,so whilst poorly paid, it seemed to go further.But of course the sun always shone,the tar melted and everything was wonderful.Always!As if.
I certainly remember loads of laughs from those days,but then we spoke to each other,we didn't txt,we socialised face to face rather than virtually,and the cinema and telly played a part in our lives without consuming it like computers today.

Nothing can beat the security of having plenty of employment, willie. We just took it for granted when we were young. Most of my friends had two jobs - as I did - working nights in pubs to save up for long trips to the Continent (we thought there was only one ) in the summer.

The only thing I remember watching on the television with any great commitment was the Old Grey Whistle Test.

Tabu?I think it was one of those heavy Spanish scents first discovered on those early costa holidays,but smell it today and you need the paramedics on standby ready with an airway!
Willie.x.

I didn't have any Costa holidays, willie. I've only ever been to Spain once to Tossa de Mar. Italy has a much greater draw for me. You avoid all taboos - just in case.

[harper]

Mr Campbell, you have surpassed yourself with this story....

I can't remember Tabu either but your description of the tight perm made me laugh. I worked for a while as a Saturday girl, where the tight perm was de ri·gueur... OMG, the number of heids that got scalped from over zelous juniors, slapping on perm lotion and then forgetting the timers while they gabbed about their anticipated Saturday night dates. God help anyone with an appointment after 3pm, nobody was interested.. couldn't wait to get oot the door and off on a date. ...I still shudder thinking about washing off the bleach from a wumin's highlighting cap and seeing her steaks coming off with it and swirlin' roon the plughole. She was given a very careful "set" to hide the patches. No one ever owned up or pointed out mistakes... hairspray and back combing covered a multitude of sins....

Spain, or Spine, as they call it in these parts, never really appealled to me. I'm afraid I lost my heart to the Greek Islands.... still love them.

[willie campbell]

Mr Campbell, you have surpassed yourself with this story....

I can't remember Tabu either but your description of the tight perm made me laugh. I worked for a while as a Saturday girl, where the tight perm was de ri·gueur... OMG, the number of heids that got scalped from over zelous juniors, slapping on perm lotion and then forgetting the timers while they gabbed about their anticipated Saturday night dates. God help anyone with an appointment after 3pm, nobody was interested.. couldn't wait to get oot the door and off on a date. ...I still shudder thinking about washing off the bleach from a wumin's highlighting cap and seeing her steaks coming off with it and swirlin' roon the plughole. She was given a very careful "set" to hide the patches. No one ever owned up or pointed out mistakes... hairspray and back combing covered a multitude of sins....

Spain, or Spine, as they call it in these parts, never really appealled to me. I'm afraid I lost my heart to the Greek Islands.... still love them.

[willie campbell]

Hi Miss Harper,
I love the"Spine" received pronunciation of Spain.Wonderful.
I remember going into a chemist in Kew when I lived in Richmond a hundred years ago.
Having driven about all day I was boiling and asked for"a packet of Wet Ones"(moist tissues)to mop my fevered brow.I repeated this 3 times to a blank faced assistant,who, once she had translated what she thought I asked for in "Weegie",directed me to the off license next door as they "didn't sell white wine in a chemists".
Oh my goodness those wee hairdressers were something else.The juniors couldn't have cared less about the clients,and timings?you could forget that.Can you imagine how many bankrupt hairdressers there would have been then, if these ambulance chasing compen.lawyers had existed as they do today?
I can't remember if I told you I used a well known dye product on my moustache years ago when the first white hairs started to show.A clear gel which you mixed in its little tray and applied with a small brush,and difficult to see where it was going because of its clarity,I decided to do my eyebrows as well,then T.V.for 20 mins.while it "took"
Washing off the gel was supposed to reveal a "totally natural looking"chestnut 'tache and eyebrows.
In fact my face looked as if I'd been dooking for chips,my mouth was completely chocolate as were my eyes,lids,and two brown streaks had trickled down my face and into my 'tache.I scrubbed as much as I could, but for weeks it looked as if 3 craws had landed on my visog,one above each eye and one under my conk.
The staff at the eye infirmary were very sweet for the 3 weeks I attended,until it all calmed down.
I am now 'tache free,with white eyebrows,and cant see a bloody thing,so who cares?
Ah vanity,
Willie.x.

[harper]

OMG Willie, as the weans would say ROTFL... You are funny.

Being of the fair hair persuasion... and getting "fairer" each year, I have tried various products on my eyebrows and ended up looking like Grocho Marks more than once.

It wasn't just the junours that didn't give a damn. If Modam wanted a sunset kiss glow and we had run oot, the seniors just palmed her off with the anything we had to hand.

My pal nearly ended up in the infrmary herself when she tried ironing her hair and gave herself a bit of a burn. OMG crackingly sound and the smell of singing hair..

So tell me, did you ever send off for the chist expanding offers that were regularly advertised?

[willie campbell]

OMG Willie, as the weans would say ROTFL... You are funny.

Being of the fair hair persuasion... and getting "fairer" each year, I have tried various products on my eyebrows and ended up looking like Grocho Marks more than once.

It wasn't just the junours that didn't give a damn. If Modam wanted a sunset kiss glow and we had run oot, the seniors just palmed her off with the anything we had to hand.

My pal nearly ended up in the infrmary herself when she tried ironing her hair and gave herself a bit of a burn. OMG crackingly sound and the smell of singing hair..

So tell me, did you ever send off for the chist expanding offers that were regularly advertised?

[willie campbell]

Hi Miss Harper,
no I never did the "chist expansion"bit,but I used to be painfully thin as a teenager and sent off for"Superwate-on" tablets at 22/6p a pack, which the company rushed to you by post "under plain cover" so the postie couldn't tell what you were up to.
The tablets were banana flavoured and the size of 50 pences.You had to choke down 2 of these before every meal,and hey presto,you could put on that"longed for" stone in a month.The box they came in was gi-normous,and had a black and white photo of Michaelangelos' David all the way round it.Discreet or what?Anyway by the time I had forced the tablets down,It barely left room for anything else,and in the first month I lost weight.Also,I was earning £6 per week,so the £1-2-6d couldn't be sustained.
How times change,and "those longed for stones"are now hinging aboot me in abundance,and I look as if i've put my heid through a flesh coloured tyre!Nowadays running for the bus is a no-no as the moobs take on a life of their own as I gather momentum,and I'm feart of snecking something in the x77 Ayr direct bus doors,
Willie.x.