Transcript for Summertime in North Berwick
As It Used To Be
A short video by Hugh Trevor
0:01 Hahaha
0:03 [Applause]
0:09 [Applause]
0:14 The town of North Berwick, 25 miles to
0:17 the east of Edinburgh is known as one of
0:19 the best places in Scotland to spend the
0:21 summer.
0:22 It is famous for its beaches, golf
0:25 courses and four offshore Islands. The
0:28 Bass Rock in the East is home to thousands
0:31 of gannets and Fidra Island in the West
0:33 the inspiration for Robert Louis
0:35 Stevenson’s Treasure Island.
0:38 In the early and mid 20th century,
0:40 railway posters advertised golf to
0:43 visitors to North Berwick, but the
0:45 majority of holiday makers from
0:47 Edinburgh and Glasgow came to enjoy the
0:49 beaches and the swimming pool and all
0:51 the activities associated with them.
0:54 The children of North Berwick enjoyed
0:56 these too and one will now recall her
0:58 summer memories:
1:00 “Hello I'm Jean Crawford I was born in
1:04 Forth Street in North Berwick in
1:08 1923. At that time North Berwick was a
1:12 very thriving popular holiday
1:15 destination and the life’s blood of the
1:18 town was the letting. People let
1:22 any houses or flats.
1:26 The main visitors were mostly from
1:29 Edinburgh and from Glasgow
1:33 and I think they probably would pay in
1:36 these days about
1:38 maybe three pounds a week for rooms with
1:41 attendance. This meant that the people
1:45 who came and rented these rooms bought
1:49 the food and brought it into the
1:51 landlady and were heard to say “she
1:55 would never have that at home” as they
1:57 came in with something to be cooked. They
2:00 always seemed to think that they could
2:02 indulge themselves while on holiday and
2:04 the poor landlady would be slaving in
2:07 the kitchen. We would all take holiday
2:10 jobs and it was
2:14 my luck I think that I got one down at
2:18 the swimming pool.
2:19 I worked alternate days six in the
2:23 morning to six at night and nine in the
2:27 morning till nine at night I was paid at
2:30 that time a pound a week and I felt I
2:35 was very fortunate because I handed
2:38 over my pound to my mother I got two and
2:41 sixpence back and that was my pocket
2:44 money for the week but after all I was
2:48 at the hub of my universe my duties were
2:52 playing the music on the loud speakers.
2:55 We played the records all day long, as
2:59 you came down Victoria Road you could
3:01 hear the music from the loudspeakers and
3:04 people sat there no admission to pay for
3:08 going to the pool. We had Galas where we
3:12 had all the famous divers and stars of
3:16 the day coming to the pool with beauty
3:19 contests. We had the cycle parade in the
3:23 summer the proceeds were always donated
3:26 to the Royal Infirmary.
3:28 The Pierrots had a show in the early
3:33 evening and then at 11 o'clock at night.
3:36 Lots of people did attend the dances at
3:39 Pavilion for the summer season. There was
3:42 also the Cinema. They changed their bill
3:45 three times a week. On a weekday there
3:49 was always a matinee and a Saturday.
3:52 On a weekday a board would be put
3:54 outside saying ‘matinée if wet’ and if it
3:58 was a dull day everybody prayed it would
4:01 rain before two o'clock so they could
4:03 get to the matinée. There was lots to do,
4:06 lots of little rowing boats for hire,
4:11 I think it was about sixpence for half
4:13 an hour to take out a rowing boat. There
4:16 were the pleasure boats, the St
4:18 Nicholas, the St Baldred and there was
4:22 the putting greens of course, the bowling
4:24 green and people never seemed too weary.
4:27 I don't know if it's only now in
4:30 retrospect that
4:32 you remember the warm summer days and
4:36 the sand hot beneath your feet. I suppose
4:39 it's just wishful thinking but you
4:43 know we seemed to be playing on the beach
4:45 for hours and had to be called in a
4:48 night by our parents to go home and get
4:52 some supper and off to bed but it was a
4:56 very popular holiday resort North Berwick.”
5:01 [Applause]