Gorbals Diehards: A Wild Sixties Childhood Paperback – Illustrated, 2 September 2010

Loved it - brought back memories of the good auld days!!!!

Colin Macfarlane is undoubtedly what is known in Glasgow as a "patter merchant". He has the knack of telling tales in such a way as to encourage the reader to nod his head knowingly while reading and thinking "that's just how I remember it". This is his third volume of reminicences of growing up in the proud but impoverished background of Glasgow's most infamous slum. Incongruously he manages almost to glamorise the violence and the poverty in such a way as not to degrade those caught up in it. The true Gorbals characters always manage to shine through. Macfarlane never lets the reader forget that the population of the Gorbals were just one generation removed from the infamous razor gangs who terrorised the city in the 1930's. Indeed the razor was still the weapon of choice for the hooligan element of the 1960's Gorbals.The book is written as a series of vignettes, each chapter representing a single episode in the lives of Macfarlane's gang, the Gorbals Diehards of the title. They weren't out and out thugs but were not afraid to use the violence which was basically the language of the streets on which they lived. Like his other books The Real Gorbals Story: True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest Streets and No Mean Glasgow: Revelations of a Gorbals Guy this volume stands up as social history while never losing the idea that the reader wants to be entertained.Only one thing stops this being a five star review - the criminal error of calling the fat policeman in "Oor Wullie" PC Bob and not PC Murdoch - no self respecting Scot would get this wrong!!

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Well seems to go on a on this book a lot of it is unbelievable suppose some of must have occurred , the diehards go for a curry and immediately have stomach problems and end up in the toilets of the restaurant where one of them gets knocked out . Usually a bit cramped in these curry house toilets but room for fighting in this one . They are always welcome wherever they go and mix easily with tramps and thieves and usually end up in profit . Some amusing stories but as old hat as I am .

Brings back memories of my childhood in thistle Street and gorbals where I was brought up the author is only 2 years older he has brought the slums of Glasgow to life you could imagine you are actually there it makes you laugh all the way through