The following is a depiction of a real event in our area of Easterhouse back in the late eighties. Whilst I might not remember exactly who is responsible for what saying, the people I have attributed the comments to are very much real, and all people I considered friends.
This is written as close as possible to how we would have spoken and thought in those days.
Gies a shot ae yir inky will ye?
Whit fur?
So ah can get a mention an aw.
Here then ya dafty
Easterhouse Young Aggro
Paddy P fae the EYA. Y always larger than the E and the A
The close wiz mobbed the night. Right facing oor shops it Duntarvie. Ah remember it fae when ma pal Donny Higgins lived in the middle flat. Ah used tae love gaun tae hing oot wae him, tae ma ma started insisting ah hid tae take ma wee brother Darrin wae me.
Noo ah’ve no goat a clue who lives here. We didnae really care eether. There wis aboot twenty ae us aw hingin oot. It wis dark and wet ootside, bit it wisnae much brighter in the close. The wee light at the fuse box in the front was smashed, an the bigger wan at the back beside the hoose doors, well aw us swallied up that bit a light. The walls wir cream and some sort a purple. At least they hid been when the corpy painted them. Noo it was just a scrawl ah names an gang tags.
Paddy any fags.
Naw. If ah said aye, then ma ten packet wid be empty. Peel an orange in yir pocket wis the saying. A knew that John thit wis askin probably hid ees ain. The best wae tae hide that wis tae ask somebady else fur wan.
Ahm bored out ae ma nut. Any yees wantin tae go a walk aroon the block.
It’s peein it doon ya dafty.
Aye bit ah’d raither be soaked thin bored.
A few ae us began tae walk out, doon the stairs at the front ae the path, and then aroon tae Aberdalgie.
There the mob – as we walked up Aberdalgie.
The meat wagon pulled in an two goat oot.
Whit yes daein? Says the tall wan (ah wis five seven so they wur baith tall tae me).
Nuttin says Fitzy, walkin aroon the block.
Yes cannae walk in a group that size.
Ye serious?
Whit the . . .
Naw, nae mair than two or three.
Yir mad, wer no daein anythin
Two or three, about ten feet apart, or get aff the street.
Thae goat back intae the meatwagon
That quick, they tell us. Then jist expected us tae dae whit we wur telt.
That’s mental that is.
Don says we should aw break up intae weeir groups an just keep walkin
Him an Charlie an Adam stairt walkin first.
Me Fitzy an Fella follae them by aboot ten feet.
Then thir wis wis John and Andy and Jim
Wee Billy wis behind them wae JoJo an his big brother Cecil.
Oan we we went, aroon the corner, up by Easterhoose Quad, doon the path through Duntarvie Quad, aroon the corner shops across fae us aw and the close it wir side. Then back aroon Dalgie and just is we wur walkin up by Dalgie Square . . .
Wid ye believe the mob came an stopped us
We told yis tae break up.
Don shouts first, we huv b broke up. Ye said two or three.
Aye bit yer takin the mickey.
Wur no. Groups a two or three an at least ten feet apairt we measured it.
We aw gaithered in aroon them bit no onybody wizi threatening or anythin just wantin tae know whit was gaun oan.
The two polis looked it each other an laughed. Right right keep it that way. Oan yiz go.
An aff they want, agane back intae the meatwagon
We aw walked aroon anither couple a times marvellin at how we had beat the polis. Then we goat fed up and went back tae the close.
Ah wis bored, so efter a wee while a went up tae ma hoose.
It wiz wan ae thae rerr times ah told ma da whit a had been up tae when he asked.
We beat the polis ah said loud and proud and then told um whit happened.
He laughed, a laughed. That didnae happen often in thae days.
An therr ended wan a thae weird nights we hid in Aggro.
Completing the Tenner 