Many Dundee families will share memories of “the berries”. Here is a typical picture from the 1960s.
IN my younger days I looked forward to my favourite time of the year — summer holidays. To me, this brings back fond memories of the times spent with my family in the many berry fields around Dundee at the time.
When the summer arrived, we, as a family, flitted to live in a tin hut on Petrie’s Farm in Longforgan. To me, there was nothing better.
From the start of the berry season, my mum, dad and us six kids lived and laughed on the fields. We were not the only family to do this, and over the years we made many friends.
One lady I remember the most, Liz, lived in Longforgan, but worked on the farm all through the berry season.
She became such a good friend to my mum she became almost like an auntie.
Living on the farm my older brothers would get a head start by picking for a while at night. They would pick a couple of buckets and stash them till the morning.
Most families used to go to make a little extra to cover the new uniforms that had to be bought for the start of the school year.
But the buy I remember most is my mum’s first dining suite.
The family worked and saved all summer for this and she loved it. — Grace (original berry nabbler fae Fintry).
Happy to help out
Gull problem not down to council
Seagulls are scavengers and if people don’t dispose of their rubbish properly then how can the council control the situation?
What the council can do is ensure the rubbish collectors, if they spill a bag, they pick up what was in that bag. If the rubbish wasn’t there neither would the seagulls be. It’s not just solely a problem for Dundee either — it’s any coastal town. — Seagull Lover.
Boot’s on other foot
I FIND it amusing private landlords are squealing about the new practice where housing benefit is paid to the claimant and not the landlord.
Irresponsible landlords have been inflicting anti-social tenants upon the rest of us for years and pocketing large sums of public money in the process.
Many of them live in leafy suburbs, many miles away from the areas where their tenants are causing havoc with drug taking and dealing, all night parties, vandalism and threats.
Now the boot is on the other foot some landlords are reacting viciously by turfing out the aforesaid tenants when the rent is not forthcoming.
The new legislation has been a long time coming, and hopefully it will usher in a new breed of responsible landlord. — What Goes Around.
New signs needed
I request the bus companies now put up stickers asking people, mainly teenagers, not to sit on the seats opposite one another on coach type of buses with their feet up on the facing seats.
By midday these seats are filthy with dirt off the soles of their shoes, boots, etc.
Also, what about drivers telling the yobs not to sit with feet sticking out when they sit up on the luggage racks?
Have drivers not got duties to other travellers? — 70-Year-Old Reader.
Snake shock
I WAS shock that a 12-year-old girl in Florida was strangled by a python.
Since 1890, 10 people have died in Britain from being bitten by the country’s only deadly snake — the adder — the last was a five-year-old in 1975.
Personally, I find snakes utterly repugnant. — Westender, Dundee.
Non-pc PCs
I DISAGREE with the verdict of Tele film critic Sean Hamilton about the film Public Enemies.
I thought it was an excellent tale regarding gangster John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and the FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) who was on his case.
No pc nonsense with them, and I only wish we could get cops similar to the FBI on the streets of Dundee to rid the city of the scum that prevails here. — George Aimer, Dundee.
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