Astrid Massey remembers her work as a barmaid

Resource Type: Audio | Posted on 20th February 2012 by Liam Physick

Astrid Masset talks about how she worked as a barmaid at the NUR Branch Five headquarters in Deane Road, and would make shirts for the men when they attended the functions there: she also remembers the skirts and shoes that she wore. Astrid next mentions working for the Co-Op chemist in Lockerby Road

Interviewee: Astrid Massey

Interviewee Gender: Female

Date of Interview: 17th November 2011

Interview Transcript

Astrid: So, that’s . . .

Jodie: We haven’t heard about that NUR place before, is that what it is, the NUR?

Astrid: Yeah, National Union of Railway (sic) . . .

Jodie: In Deane Road?

Astrid: . . . Branch Five.

Jodie: Right.

Astrid: That’s right . . .

Jodie: Yeah.

Astrid: . . . because, well, we had shirts made, well, men’s shirts, and there was a thing on it, it had NUR 5 on (Jodie laughs), and we used to wear skirts . . .

Jodie: When you were at, a barmaid there, yeah . . .

Astrid: Yeah.

Jodie: . . . yeah.

Astrid: It was only, I, I was telling the girl downstairs, it was only because, being tall, you didn’t get the fashions, as you’ve got them now (Jodie laughs), so, we used to have our skirts, and I used to have me shoes made, cos we were big feet (Jodie laughs), I took an eight and a half . . .

Jodie: Oh, really?

Astrid: . . . and my sister took a nine . . .

Jodie: Wow!

Astrid: . . . and course, when you got your no, the long mid to the calf, with the split up and you had a fancy underskirt, so as you walked you got all this fancy that, you sort of, we couldn’t go and buy it, so we had to have them made . . .

Jodie: Oh, right.

Astrid: . . . so that’s how I come to get the part-time job of a weekend because I used to work for the Co-Op chemist, that was in Lockerby Road, well that was another thriving, the Co-Op, you had the milk, cooked meats, confectioners, chemists.

Jodie: Was that, like, a big, a big supermarket-type place, was it?

Astrid. No, no, that’s only where they made the goods . . .

Jodie: Oh, right!

Astrid: . . . then they went out to the shops . . .

Jodie: Oh.

Astrid: . . . Scotland Road and, you know the building by T Js which has got, like, glass down it, that was Co-Op House, and then there was Unity House, but that was round by Scotland Road – all them went with these road works. Oh, I’d write you a book about that (Jodie laughs), cos there was, that’s not on, is it?

Tagged under: shops, trade unions, national union of railwaymen, deane road, scotland road, co-op, unity house, lockerby road

Categorised under: Work & Industry

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