I left Scotland at age four and so my earliest memory of living in the three towns are scant. As a young child I remember my mother pulling a big pram up the stairs and my sister and I had to help push it up the stairs while my mother pulled it up. We lived above a pub, I can’t remember the name of the pub which was in Saltcoats but I do remember standing at the window looking down at people in the street.

Another memory I have is of walking next to the beach and there was a railing with the beach below and I always held onto the rail just in case I would fall off. My only other memory was walking with my sister to a building where she went to a group a little like the Brownies but I am sure it was called Rose Buds, I was too young to go and I used to cry all the way back home. Lastly I remember a lady sitting on the bottom step smoking a long white pipe. Once when she put her pipe down and I walked past I quickly stuck my finger into it to see what it was, needless to say I burnt my finger and never did it again.

We left for Canada and I returned when I was 14yrs old. My father had told us many stories over the years and always referred to Saltcoats as our ‘home’, so when I returned I felt like I had come ‘home’. That was back in the early 70’s and so now I can share some of my recollections.
 
It was wonderful, the old stone walls stood out the most for me as I had not seen such old walls while living in Canada. I remember a van coming around past the house and you could buy sweets, chips and drinks and my very first try of hot chips with gravy was from a local chip shop and my first try of Iron Bru down on the beach.

I remember walking around the grounds of the Ayrshire Museum while doing some research and seeing many headstones lying on the ground and in disrepair. Going into the Museum and seeing a photo of a family member and I also remember how helpful the museum attendants were.

I can remember walking along the shore and the smell of the sea air and the wind blowing through my hair and chilling me to the bone.

I think mostly I remember the lovely people and how nothing was too much trouble if you asked someone for assistance.

These are my memories from someone who was born, left and came back.