Dear Group,
When I was in Saltcoats in the mid fifties, I stayed with my grandmother on Sharphill Road. I loved her very much. I also loved her home very much. But what I remember was a built in bed in the kitchen.We called it the bed in the wall. I also remember the bathroom was in a building in the rear of the yard. Since i was quite young, I may be mistaken. I also remember the little truck? coming around each day with baked goods. Do you still have afternoon tea?. Anyone want to share their memories?............Thanks, Penni Orr

From: "Hugh" <hewmac@xxxx.com.au>
To: <threetowners@topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2000 

Hi Penni,
Nice refreshing subject heading! The kitchen bed that folded into the wall was common at that time and also the outside loo shared by the tenants. I remember similar things in Kilmathew Street in Ardrossan. Lighting though around the early 1950s was by gas mantle. I do remember gas pokers. But does anyone remember the kitchen pulley. Our kids thought it might be another bed.
Silly Aussies!

Hugh McCallum
Melbourne

From: "Penni ORR" <angels4me283@xxx.com>
To: <threetowners@topica.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000 

How wonderful to be able to share these memories. I am trying to figure out if my Aunt Minnie Bain lived in Ardrossan.. Is that next ot Saltcoats. It sounds very familiar. If so , it seems that I would walk with my dad down Sharphill Rd. in the direction of the water, then go through a very pretty park where they would have shows or play soccer? Then my Aunt Minnie lived over on one of those streets. I could be mistaken. Also, I remember the ice man coming with his block of ice. Does anyone remember hearing of a man Wee Willie Walker? I think he was my dads friend.Well, this is fun and I look forward to my mail. ......Penni

From: "sally o" <salgeo@xxxx.com.au>
To: <threetowners@topica.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000

Hi Penni, The bed in the wall was called a "set-in bed". We still had one in the building where we lived in Windmill St Saltcoats in 1967-1968.Isn't it strange how we tend to put some memories to the back of our mind. When someone jogs us a bit, then we remember it all with a "rosy" fondness. Sally O xx

From: "Sandy Cowans" <sixcowans@xxx.co.uk>
To: <threetowners@topica.com>
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2000

I wasn't born till 1964 but I remember Granddad (Dr. Eric Macdonald) telling me. He had to wear a miners lamp when attending to ladies giving birth in "set in beds". Otherwise it was very difficult to see what was going on !! It was also generally quite an awkward procedure.

Regards Karen

From: "Betty Woodland" <bettywood@xx.au>
To: <threetowners@topica.com>
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2000

Oh what memories have been evoked recently when reading others' memories of the fifties. I too remember the "set in " beds, we had two in the "kitchen" (living room)
next to the scullery or kitchenette. We had curtains across the front of them and used to unbeknown to our parents find our Christmas presents in the huge spaces under them, because they were pretty high up, much higher and larger than the beds of today. I'm sure as children we stood on chairs to get into them. My granny Mary Thompson who lived in Vernon Street also had one as did my Aunt Cissie Reid who lived downstairs.

I can well imagine the need for miner's lamps for childbirth. I remember lying in one of them when I had measles with the curtains drawn as well as the room curtains, this was of course in the days when it was feared that if you saw the light when you had measles you went blind or got poor eyesight.

This was in Union Street, we lived upstairs. We also had gas wall lights in that room, we used to use them occasionally, until it was more difficult to buy the mantles. I sometimes watched for the lamplighter lighting the street lamps, he had a long pole with which i assume he lit the mantles or moved
the pilot light on to them.

regards Betty Woodland

From: "Jean Boyce (Saltcoats)" <sparralegs@xxxx.co.uk>
To:  <threetowners@topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2000

Hi Betty My father was brought up in Vernon St. He said there was a Rose Reid who lived below him in No 41 and a family of Reids in No39 next building. His name is John McCracken. Another use for the set-in bed's was to take away the slat's put in some concealed lighting some fancy wallpaper a small dining table and four chair's soooooo posh. Most kitchen's had double set-ins and some of them were converted into a bathroom, no need to trail to the end of the close for the toilet or use the guzunder's also known as a chanty. Four of us slept in one mum and dad in the other and the wean in his pram between the bed's. My three brother's were delivered by Dr Eric who had to crawl into the bed to do the job, on one of the deliveries he had to give my mum a whiff of gas which made her burst into song and Dr Eric joined in, my dad said it was a great duet and thinks that the Dr was also inhaling the gas in the confined space. I've rattled on enough.
Cheers Jean Boyce