Voices in the Street

Book excerpt: Born in Dundee in 1938, Maureen Reynolds grew up in wartime Scotland, a young girl surrounded by adult concerns. There was the endless queuing for rations that never seemed to stretch quite far enough, the blackouts and the air raids. But, if times were hard, they were also simpler, and in Voices in the StreetMaureen remembers with great fondness her early years with her wise old grandad, the enjoyment of riding on tram cars, the weekly wash house gossip and the people and places of her childhood. When she left school at fifteen, Maureen immediately started her working life with a job at the local sweetie factory, coming of age in the era of Teddy Boys and rock 'n' roll and enjoying the dancing with her best friend Betty. Then, as Maureen grew up, she found her love, only to see him borrowed in the name of National Service. But, through good times and bad, she would never forget growing up in Dundee.