Interviews of Lesley Mason and Janis Aitken

In this interview, friends Janice Aitken (b.1959) and Lesley Mason (b.1958) talk about their childhood and lives in East Linton. From their earliest memories they go on to talk about school and home life. Both recall the arrival of the first colour television in their respective homes and they talk about several television programmes they enjoyed or would rush home for.

They both recalled Mrs Gray of Smeaton, who ran a summer swimming club and would take a bus load of children to North Berwick every Wednesday night so that they could learn to swim in the outdoor pull. The evening always ended with a visit to the chip shop on Quality Street and was always very popular. Other community groups recalled include the choir, Sunday school and the brownies and cubs. There were lovely places to play locally, such as the Ravensheugh beach, and both women recalled the local rivalry which was played out each year around the annual Guy Fawkes night bonfire. The fire station and the community clock (known as Jessie) are discussed and stories about both shared.

Local shops and characters are described and Lesley recalls her uncle had a Courier article from 1968 which reported 20 local shops and businesses. The author had bemoaned this, remembering that they had recalled 50-plus in their own living memory. Lesley also recalled her family business, the butcher, Crake’s, which was started by her grandfather, who came from Longformacus near Duns. Her brother could remember going to the (recently renovated) East Linton sale ground before it closed in 1959 and their father then walking the livestock down to the village slaughterhouse. Local characters recalled include Myra Broun who, with her brother, ran a dairy herd and dairy in the village and Jimmy the Chair, who delivered newspapers across East Linton from his wheelchair. Janice’s father, Hugh Munro, was the local bard and people in the village collated his poems into a book. ecords, paying dig money and saving for their own homes.

Other subjects covered include: school life, school trips, going home for lunch, at-home mums, visits from the school dentist and school discipline. Lesley talks about how, as a left-handed child, she had found Brownies difficult but her schoolteacher had given her specific instruction for handwriting. Regarding their primary school days, both women highlighted their headteacher, Mr Roy, who taught the primary 7 children and was a lovely man who read them part of the story of Wee MacGreegor each week. They also recalled Mr Paxton, the caretaker, who was a great artist and who received a BEM for services to the school. Both women had enjoyed their time in the Guides and had gone on to join the Trefoil Guild in East Lothian.

Lesley recalls that her granny was one of the women who helped to sew a zeppelin at East Fortune during World War 1. Early holidays are discussed too, and the huge change they experienced when they moved from a small village school to Dunbar Grammar school. Towards the end of the interview Towards the end of the interview both women talk about their early working life: Janice worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lesley worked in the Scottish Office in the first department set up for the first devolution in 1979. The women also talk about early experiences with money; buying clothes and records, paying dig money and saving for their own homes.