The Living Memory Association Podcast

The 26th episode of The Thelma Tapes is a celebration of automobile memories from the dim and distant past.  We have wonderful tales of bright yellow Cortinas, scrapyard recoveries, Skodas with rear engines that didn't like hills and many more!

The 25th edition of The THELMA tapes, the Living Memory Association podcast, is a sweets special.  Crammed with happy memories of Soor Plooms, Penny Dainties, Russian Toffees and Sugar Olly Water alongside stories of wartime rationing and buying liquorice from the chemist when your 16oz allocation ran out!

Episode 24 of The THELMA Tapes features stories and memories of the Demon Drink, featuring tales of the panther who prowled behind the bar at Fairlies in Leith and legendary bar manager Betty from the Old Chain Pier, who ruled with a starter pistol and a sword at last orders!

The 23rd episode of The THELMA Tapes takes us into the history of Leith Docks in Edinburgh, with wonderful stories of near death experiences in the Grain silos, going straight from the Bru to 40 years of back breaking work at the Port, being the King of the Cranes, starting to look like your dog and many many more!  These audio memories come direct from the workers themselves, looking back into th...

The 22nd episode of The Thelma Tapes focuses on Home Remedies, with wonderful tales of mustard baths, sweaty sock scarfs, nettle tea and hot toddies gathered from our fabulous guests.  These memories are courtesy of the Crosswinds Reminiscence Group of 1993 (an old cassette recording from our archives) and a recent visit to The Little Shop of Memory from the magnificent residents of Trust Sheltere...

The 21st episode of The THELMA Tapes podcast looks back on the experience of being at school in the 1940s, 50s and 60s through interview clips from our wonderful guests who lived through those times.  We hear tales of cold classrooms, warm bottles of milk, favourite teachers, brutal discipline and school football heroes, all told with a smile!

The 20th episode of The THELMA Tapes is a celebration of the culture of 'Make do and Mend', which began in the 1940s and is making a comeback in the modern age.  We hear wonderful stories of the rag and bone man, getting penny refunds on bottles, collecting bones to make glue, constantly darning socks, having a pig bin in your street and burning absolutely everything on the fire to stay warm from...

The nineteenth episode of the Living Memory Association podcast is a Valentine's Day special, with romantic reminiscences galore from receiving and sending cards right through to first dates out on the town.

Episode 18 of the Living Memory Association podcast is devoted to memories of personal encounters with sporting heroes of the past, from Scottish boxing legend Ken Buchanan and footballers Alan Anderson and Lawrie Reilly to the local superstars of the wrestling at the El Dorado.

The 17th Edition of the Living Memory Association podcast is a lucky dip of brilliant memories from the 1930s to the 1970s, featuring random tales that would not fit into one of our themed shows.  So this episode bounces from bargain cream cakes at Crawfords the Baker to first days at school, from tanks on Calton Hill to the Leith cafes and chip shops of the 1960s and 70s and the beginning of coff...

The sixteenth episode of The Thelma Tapes is themed around New Year in Scotland in days gone by, with wonderful memories of frantically cleaning the house, kissing policemen at the Tron Church gathering, beautifully sung party pieces and Uncle Jimmy playing the accordion all the way from Leith to town stopping for a dram at every corner!

The second instalment of our Chistmas specials (episode 15 of the Living Memory Podcast) was recorded early in December 2018 at The Little Shop of Memory, with memories of Christmas from as far back as the 1930s from two of our lovely guests who are in their 90s.  The City Mission Xmas party, eating chicken instead of turkey, getting your first fort, and receiving an IOU from Santa are amongst the...

In the first instalment of the Living Memory Association Podcast Christmas Specials we showcase some wonderful festive stories from our archives. This selection of interviews was recorded at The Dove centre in Wester Hailes in the early 1990s and has some of the most heartwarming and heartbreaking stories we have ever released!

The 13th edition of The THELMA Tapes brings us recorded memories of taking those first steps from leaving school to joining the real world.  This episode of The Living Memory Association Podcast features John (94 years old), Helen (93) and a host of lovely guests talking about their first ever jobs in Scotland from around 1930-1970.

The twelfth edition of the Living Memory Association Podcast focuses on tenement life in Scotland from the 1930s to the present day, with personal stories from our guests of rats as big as cats, collapsing landings, scary bed bugs, 90 year old neighbours and taking your turn to wash the stairs. 

The tenth edition of the THELMA Tapes takes us back to the war years, with stories of bombers over Leith, air raid shelters, ration books and swapping bits of bananas for marbles.

The latest edition of The Living Memory Association Podcast takes us on a trip back in time to remember food as it used to be, through the eyes of our lovely guest stars Evelyn, Rose and her 94 year old Mum Helen.

Episode 8 of the Living Memory Association Podcast is a Pick 'n' Mix collection of stories from our audio archives.  Rather than discard good tales from the mists of time that do not fit into one of our traditional themed shows, they will pop up every now and then on one of these compilations so that none of the past is lost.

The seventh episode of the Living Memory Association Podcast takes us back to simpler times when children spent most of their time playing in the street and in the park.  We hear tales of Kerby, Peevers, Kick the Can and Diablos, of Chasey and Aleevoi and how they provided hours of fun from the 1920s to the 1970s.

The sixth edition of the Living Memory Association podcast is a celebration of Portobello in days gone by. This episode showcases some lovely memories of the days when both the beach and the open air pool were jam packed with people soaking up the scorching Scottish sun, then cooling down in the arctic temperatures of the pool and the sea.

The fifth Living Memory Association podcast is a celebration of visits to the cinema in Edinburgh from the 1930s to the 1970s.  We travel back in time to visit The Alhambra, The Capitol,  The Palace and many more, to a time when tuppence got you through the door!

The fourth Living Memory podcast is a celebration of Dance Hall, with memories of foot tapping in Edinburgh from post war to the swinging 60s.  We go back in time with stories of raucous nights out at The Palais De Dance, Marine Gardens Ballroom, Portobello Town Hall, the El Dorado, The Plaza, The Cavendish and many more.

The Living Memory Association podcast once again delves into the memory banks of old Leithers, uncovering some fabulous stories of World War 2, Barry's Rag Store, The Alhambra, The Bond and Leith Hospital amongst many others.

Our journey into memories of Leith continues with guests discussing life in wartime, popular theatres and cinemas, shops, work and play in fondly remembered times, long lost but never forgotten.  

A selection of stories and clips from the Living Memory Association archives, with this first episode of our podcast focussing on memories of Leith from days gone by.