Early every Saturday morning in the 60's & 70's, the cul-de-sac where I lived was awakened by the sound of rattling bottles. It was the lemonade van with the lemonade boys doing their door to door deliveries. We'd leave the empty lemonade bottles on the doorstep like we did with the milk bottles and the lads would take away the empties and replace them with fresh ones, flavour for flavour.
It looked hard graft mind you, the boys always running back & forward to the van, and for those who had more bottles to carry than their fingers could manage (as above) they had to struggle with heavy crates. Didn't fancy that job, especially with all those closies! We did give the lads a bumper bonus payment at Christmas for their years hard work I recall. Standing on the platform at the back of the lorry looked fun though!
Bottles of lemonade were in "deposit" bottles back then, that meant when you returned the bottles you got money. Returning them to the van got you your fresh batch cheaper and taking empties to a grocer got you cash in hand. This was a situation kids took advantage of to get some spending money. I remember during the 7 weekies we went around the block asking neighbours if they had any old bottles, and the ones we collected we went straight to the shops with and cashed them in. An easy way to make a couple o' bob!
Photo by Lloyd Smith.
Was Sun-Joy the best fizzy orange ever? Probably had more chemicals in it than anything, but great for a hangover!
ReplyDeleteand did abody get left we the pineapple like we did ???? :)
ReplyDeletei was in love with my lemonade laddie - or " juice boy" as we called him. I still see him around occasionally and still call him juice boy.
ReplyDeleteAh the memories, i worked on the bon accord vans as a laddie in the late 80's early 90's and it was a great laugh back then, delivered douglas, st marys, kirkton, ardler, blackness (nightmare we ah the closies) the van used to get bricked in kirkton place every other saturday morning after a few oh the boys on the van flicked some toddy signs at a wee gang oh them. The cream soda was great btw
ReplyDeletedain the "big T" is no gonna help yi in kirkton like :) and em fae the "hull" :)
ReplyDeletegreat reflection. I remember as a kid collecting pola cola and barr's bottles to cash in for a bob a piece. We used to hang round pub back yards to pinch them and there was a lemonade store at the top of Taits Lane where we used to get a bottle or two when the bloke on the forklift turned round. We called it the lemonade factory, run by Strathmore Springs but dont think they actually made it there.
ReplyDeleteI remember we used to get a bottle of Cola & a bottle of Plain. At Christmas time we used to get a bottle of Blackcurrant Cordial, which I used to mix with the Cola. To this day, when I smell blackcurrant cordial, it takes me back to that freezing cold, damp, overcrowded council hoose in Kirkton!
ReplyDeleteHappy days!
ahhh wasnt there a bright blue juice called Blue Moon?
ReplyDeleteeh worked on bon accord lorry aroon this time.
ReplyDeleteit wiznae that hard work, we were young and didnae mind.
Loads a tips but pay wiz shite.
best bit wiz drinking an inch oot the tap a' the bottles, when goin up the lifts at the multis.
yeah jen there was , it looked a bit like antifreeze :)can't remember what the flavour was though but there were ice lollies that tasted the same too !
ReplyDeleteha ha I remember everyone getting annoyed when the juice boys would wedge open the lift door with a bottle crate while delivering! Was always an angry mob of auld wifies waiting at the bottom!
ReplyDeleteThursday was the day the lemonade van came round our way. My mum used to leave the money out in a coin bag beside the empty bottles. Changed days eh!
ReplyDeleteI lived in the last house on Ballindean Road in Douglas, the lemonade van used to lose a couple of dozen bottles at least once a month while turning that corner. Scooped up a few many times.
ReplyDeleteI delivered lemonade in the 60s and 70s in Charleston, Menzieshill ,Ardler (including the first multis) and Mill o Mains- Good times
ReplyDeleteI worked on them in mid-70s. Friday nights and all day Saturday - did Mill o' Mains, Whitfield, Lochee, St Mary's...great memories. Xmas and New Year was awesome - hard work but loads of tips!!
ReplyDelete'Blue Moon lemonade' ha! havn't thought of that for a long long time...
ReplyDeleteyeah, did look a bit like antifreeze, but tasted swwwweeeet
Oh happy days..As a lad I worked on the lorries, no health and safety then. The "Rob Brothers" lorries would line up at the Mid-Craigie shops on a Friday night, thets were we would meet them. One of our drivers was called Graeme Ritchie, dont know why his name has stuck ! Some of my pals..Jim Duthie, Jimmy Mamby. Yes it was hard work but as laddies you got on with it..Great tips, and the Auld coins weighed a ton in your pockets. The hard part was waiting for our lorry on a freezing Saturday morning on the Kingsway. We always did Menziehill on a Saturday. We got ten bob, plus tips..that was for Thursday and Friday evenings and all day Saturday..Great memories.
ReplyDeleteBring back now. Keep away from corporate honk. Support local.
ReplyDelete