Rutherglen historian Dorothy Connor has recalled her personal memories of bringing in the bells at New Year that will resonate with many.
Hogmanay always had extra significance in the Connor household as her mum and dad were married on December 31. Her home would be cleaned from top to bottom in preparation for the coming year.
While some New Year traditions have disappeared or been diminished, there are new ones that have been introduced in the fairly recent past. Dorothy highlights fireworks as an example.
Dorothy’s first memories of Hogmanay are from 1958 when people would leave their homes at midnight and go out onto the streets, the ships on the Clyde would sound their horns and churches bells would ring out to signal the arrival of the new year. She still remembers the sound of the bells of Rutherglen Old Parish Church ringing, to herald in the year.
Families would go first-footing their families and neighbours living nearby, with the noise from house parties audible from the street as windows were left open to let out the old air and let in the new air of the New Year. Everyone would take a turn reciting a poem or singing a song.
Food then, as now, played a big part in the celebrations. Dorothy’s mum would prepare and cook on Hogmanay for the big occasion – Scotch broth soup, steak pie, a big pot of peas and trifle.
“I’d help her to make up the savouries, like Ritz crackers topped with grated cheese and either a pickled onion or a walnut half,” Dorothy recalled.
“Shortbread and fruit cake were also brought in and laid out on fancy plates at the last minute.
“My mother paused in her busy day only twice – once to run down to Grafton’s, a dress shop in the Main Street, to collect the new dress dad bought for her, and once to answer the door to receive the bouquet of flowers he had delivered each year for their anniversary.”
And of course, drinking was a huge part of the Hogmanay celebrations in the vast majority of homes in Rutherglen and across Scotland. Dorothy and her brother John were given important roles as waitress and barman, and tasked with keeping everyone topped up.
“My brother served the drinks under dad’s instructions and I handed round the food,” Dorothy continued. “One auntie took so long to choose between a pickled onion or a walnut savoury that tiredness overtook me and I slipped, with the whole plate landing in her lap, to much hilarity.
“We went to bed in the early hours, having finally found out what it was like to be in the adult world in the exciting hours after midnight. Looking back on it now, I can almost taste the excitement in the air.”
One tradition that Dorothy recalls that is now just a distant memory, when her dad would come home from the pub to watch on TV, what for many was a must-see highlight on Hogmanay – Rikki Fulton’s Scotch and Wry.
Dorothy and her sibling were among the crowds present outside Rutherglen Town Hall in the 1960s when Fulton rolled up in a “fancy car” with Francie and Josie co-star Jack Milroy, both dressed in their trademark Teddy Boy suits.
She added: “They were the superstars of their day but we also felt they were our pals, one of us,” said Dorothy. “Sadly, both are gone now but they have left a wonderful legacy of laughter.”
- Dorothy has penned a poem; If Every Day was Hogmanay:
If every day was Hogmanay
And every morn a New Year’s morn
There’d be a chance to start all over again
Free from grief, free from pain
Looking forward to a new tomorrow
With hope in our hearts
Leaving behind all our sorrow
Feel the very special atmosphere
A mix of joy and sadness, excitement and fear
That leads us all into the next year
Sing a song, do a dance
Look forward to a new day
With all the hope in your heart
That comes not once a year
But every day.
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