Taking you back now to 1980 at the junction of Stonefield Road and Glasgow Road. The photo was taken outside St Joseph’s Church looking across to The Old Original Pub, a sight that is still familiar. However, on the left, the scene is completely changed, with those tenements and shops no longer there. Mickey’s Cafe Royal on the corner, and some people will surely remember the little triangular piece of land with the red small railings.

There were several popular shops on the left and I for one am sorry to see them gone. Like many of the buildings demolished on Glasgow Road, I feel those shops at Stonefield could have been saved with perhaps 10 flats or homes above them.

On social media:

Scott Cameron Mickeys was the best place ever!!!

Linda McKellar My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tommy Valerio ran it for years. Loved visiting them for the ice cream.

Angela Druggan We used to skip mass and hide in Mickeys .

Steven Daley Mickeys, Clyde Star and the old Geoff Pates

Stephen Crowe Loved Mickeys cafe

Peter Kelly Every Sunday morning, after Mass, my mum would head over to Pates to buy our weekly bus passes for school.

Rhona McIntyre Oh they were the days Mickey’s Ice cream

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Martin McManus I remember that quite clearly, and just further up on the same side as Mickeys was the Red Lion

Anne Mckillop I was brought up in that building and further up in the 1940’s there was a junk shop and a chip shop

Mary Mitchell Linda McKellar what we talking about yesterday!!xo

Sharon SLittle I loved mickeys x

Isabel Mcneily I worked evenings and weekends in mickeys great people

Charlotte Ogilvie I was brought up in Mickey ‘s building in the fifties great times.

Keith Mccormack I moved to blantyre about 81 i remember those buildings red loin pub and the cafe video shop hair dressers a few others

Stephen Kelly That’s the year after I was born. Frightening how much has changed since then

Teresa Logie All those wee shops will all b missed esp all the shops were sportcentre x flats nxt to it mum use to take me to hair dressers ther x

Teresa Logie Anyone remember the market at nursing home is at asda x

James Mitchell Mickeys cafe.. good auld days

William Campbell Superb

Kenny Mallan The focus has steered too heavily towards housing in Blantyre now and as a result we’ll soon be living in a heavily populated town with an insufficient number of local businesses to service our needs. I completely agree that there was no need for those shops to have been replaced by housing, If anything a new row of shops would have served the needs of the town more appropriately and breathed some new life into a town that is now sadly lacking in local amenity options. It’s a sad admission but by no means unrealistic to say that if Asda were to close then this town would be brought to its knees in terms of the lack of available retail options and the blow to local employment. I resent Asda having the monopoly when it comes to my buying options, especially as Clydeview Shopping Centre is like a stagnant waste ground of empty retail units that COULD be filled with various types of businesses and recognised high street names if it weren’t for Asda’s stubborn stance on the seemingly excessive rents that are being charged for each unit. I personally would like to see Clydeview Shopping Centre pulled down and replaced with a modern indoor shopping mall of similar standard to the New Cross Shopping Centre in Hamilton but there’s more chance of selling a Donald Trump building trowel to a Mexican than Asda doing the right thing by our town’s consumers at the risk to their monopoly over local trade and share of profit. As much as Asda provide many needed jobs to the town they are also stifling many possible employment opportunities by allowing Clydeview Shopping Centre to sit heavily unoccupied rather than review their letting costs and it is us as a town who are suffering as a result!

The Blantyre Project about your wish to get Clydeview Shopping Centre pulled down or replaced with a more modern mall…..that may be closer than you think.

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Paul McLauchlin Mickeys was the best. I still miss it.

Tracey Cameron Omg a remember this like yesterday xx

Craig Wilson Stephen Hughes Haha this was the bit I was taking about the other night. I’d tag lesleyann but she’s not on here.

Linda McKellar Thanks Mary. Loved Aunties ice cream. X

Colin Wotherspoon That was the terminus for the number 21 bus from Hamilton that went up the High Blantyre Rd passed the prefabs to Stonefield Rd terminus and across from St Joes my Mam Dad and I going to the Broadway pictures on the way home chips out the chippie next to the terminus loved it

Rochelle Smith Aunt had a shop on the left for wool etc

Jim Frame Ice cream with chopped up Mars bar in it

Kevin Creechan Melanie, Mickey’s

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Stephen Canavan Is that you Jim Tallan at the door

Mickey McMonagle Deborah McMonagle

Janette Taggart Mickeys ice cream was lovely. Peters ice cream in Glasgow Road was the best.

Colin Anderson Jeany scratchers bench

The Blantyre Project OMG. Now that takes me back…

Philip Pohler Was my thoughts when I saw this photo. Used to see her walking up and down stonefield road all hours of the day

Colin Anderson Am sure that bit wis calld the auldmans rest?

Robert Stewart That small corner of Blantyre was home to, Mickey’s, 3 bakeries, Hastie’s, Black’s and Gilbert’s, two butchers, Sweeney & Richardson, two grocers, clobbers, drapers, Benham’s, paint shop, hairdressers, Forrest the bookie, a D.I.Y. store that became Max…See more

The Blantyre Project 1 pub now. Priory Inn is now closed down for good. I’ll be telling the entire story about the Priory Inn from the buildings beginnings in 1880, later this year in late March. Hope you’re keeping well Robert.

Stephen Allan Don’t understand why the Priory Inn closed down.

Gord Fotheringham remember this corner very well……loved mickys very inexpensive 3d and you had a large plate of soup with bread……

Andy Callaghan Loved Mickeys. Remember all the Valerios well. Nancy, Thelma, Big Peter, wee Micky. Used to go in there for a coke or a hot orange ( and an illicit fag) instead of going to Mass. Had to come out just before Mass finished so I could find out who said it and what the sermon was about cos my suspicious Mammy would always ask me.

Carol Crombie If the buildings had been maintained properly they probably could have been saved.

Liz Anderson The cobblers where you walked down steps to get in………am I right in thinking that?

Elaine Russell I remember it well! Happy days