In August 1904, Blantyre residents were out in force to help a Motherwell woman, Mrs Walker at a time of need. She had been visiting Blantyre that summer and to her horror, she discovered that her diamond ring had fallen from her hand. A family heirloom, the Victorian cut gold ring had several large diamonds […]
Category: Blantyre Oddities
Frozen Milk Bottles
A simple post today, evoking some nostalgia. Elizabeth Weaver shared this photo taken yesterday of how her milk delivery was affected by this weeks cold snap. Low temperatures of below minus 10 caused THIS to happen. So few people seem to get milk delivered to their doors these days, especially in bottles, but this brings […]
Uncollected Winter Fruit
It may only be a few days until December, but there’s still a LOT of uncollected fruit in and around Blantyre. Down the Calder, on trees at High Blantyre…like these, still laden with Golden Delicious apples outside my own home. In previous years crops on these young trees, were smaller and some have admittedly gone […]
Life & Explorations of Dr Livingstone
Blantyre resident Eddie McBride dropped this big book into my home the other day. “Life and Explorations of Livingstone” dates from around 1895, making the book 127 years old. It’s a huge book, documenting the life of Livingstone, including many of his letters. This was on “loan” to me and I managed to scan some […]
This Way for Blantyre, 1905
In 1905, trams had not yet been connected between Blantyre and Cambuslang, with the terminus at Priory Bridge. As such, a significant trade of horse drawn vehicles had sprung up after 1903 to capture passing pedestrian trade wanting to journey onwards either to Cambuslang or from Cambuslang to Blantyre. The service filled a need and […]