Wider World
Bored youngsters
Govanhill Baths.
A friend was reminiscing that he had learnt to swim in the 1960s at the Govanhill Baths on the south side of Glasgow. He remembered the queues of children outside the entrance and that, despite the vigilance of bath staff, bored boys had scraped the soft sandstone with the larger pre-decimal coins (penny, florin, or half-crown), creating circular depressions.
We walked there to investigate. The building is at present undergoing refurbishment, but at the bottoms of the pillars on either side of the public entrance the circular pits are clear to see.
I was reminded of the grooves seen on the walls of some old school buildings, where children sharpened slate pencils on the bricks.
Bored youngsters
Govanhill Baths.
A friend was reminiscing that he had learnt to swim in the 1960s at the Govanhill Baths on the south side of Glasgow. He remembered the queues of children outside the entrance and that, despite the vigilance of bath staff, bored boys had scraped the soft sandstone with the larger pre-decimal coins (penny, florin, or half-crown), creating circular depressions.
We walked there to investigate. The building is at present undergoing refurbishment, but at the bottoms of the pillars on either side of the public entrance the circular pits are clear to see.
I was reminded of the grooves seen on the walls of some old school buildings, where children sharpened slate pencils on the bricks.