Andrew Roberton
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Maybole is a strange place. Why ? Because not matter what you are doing or where you are in the world you find your mind wandering back to it , reminiscing on the fantastic times we had growing up there.

Even though I was born in Glasgow in 1968 my father Andrew Robertson and mother Jean Robertson decided that in 1972 Maybole would be the perfect place for myself my younger brother Mark and my sister Mandy to grow up. My dads family although from Glasgow had been in Maybole for  many years , my grandfather William and his giant of a brother Samuel where well known faces in the town .

When we first moved there my mother was distraught , she was away from her mother and sisters in Glasgow, but soon enough she would settle down after meeting two life long friends Jessie Bissett and Senga McBride . My mum wasn't the only one to meet a life long friend because this was when I met Jim Brown my best friend for over 40 years . We had left a room and kitchen and moved into a huge 3 bed room house at 154 Minnoch   Crescent. ( it even had a bath) no more trips to the baths at the local swimming pool.

My class were the first primary 1 at the brand new Gardenrose primary , a modern state of the art school that would nurture and guide young minds on to the path of great things .lol Growing up in " High Living" as it was known! was fantastic we had two great areas "the triangle" and "fine view" were our football skills would be honed to perfection. Every night a motley crew would assemble to play football , kick the can or team hunt .

In 1979 we were on the move again this time to 21 Enoch Road the next estate up and the last house in Maybole. So as I was starting Carrick Academy my parents  moved as far away as you could get in "High Living" . Carrick Academy a place were young adults are moulded into the people they will eventually become. Who can forget Stucky Stirling , Big Tam Proudfoot , Foamy Alexander all legends within the teaching profession.

Away from school we would spend long summers at "Maybole shore" were  the whole town seemed to migrate  too. Who can forget walking down the "rough road" or the fantastic site of Jimmy Hannah's minibus appearing around the corner , picking you up at the stones roundabout. I remember when no less than 20 of us would cycle out to Culzean to acquaint ourselves with the fruit in the walled gardens. I was very fortunate that my mother worked at the kiosk at the castle so for few summers anyway I am sure the National trust of Scotland's profits maybe were not what they should have been.

On leaving school every body seemed to go and work at Douglas Engineering down in Murray gardens . A factory where all the men folk from the same families worked, everyone had a brother, father or uncle there . I still remember my first day walking down the stairs to the then known carport factory , where 25 of us would sit around a bench putting tape on the kodak camera bodies.

Following on from a long week at the factory we had the Town Hall disco to look forward too on a Friday night were you had the chance to wear your newest MOD item of clothing or shoes, wearing a Merton parka in the summer wasn't fun! The great thing about starting to work was you got paid which meant you had money for beer. Then Maybole had an abundance of pubs , The Grey Man, The Star, The Carrick, The Gluepot, The Masons, The Greenside, The Saints to name a few. You knew the pubs your old man drunk in so you gave them a wide berth and usually you were ok.

So when I decided to join the Royal Navy in 1985 my excitement was tinged with a little bit of sadness as I was leaving my home.
I did return to Maybole briefly in 1993 for a short period but I have been away for the best part of 30 years . So now living in Jordanhill in  Glasgow for over 20 years with my 3 daughters Rachel , Amanda and Julia I often think of my great child hood growing up in Maybole .

My parents Andy &Jean owned the Ardlochan Hotel in Maidens for 22 years but now live in Ayr near my sister and brother.
 

So the question I ask is even though I wasn't born in Maybole , even though I haven't lived there for 20 odd years, when some asks me where are you from I tell them without hesitation I am from Maybole and I am a Minnieboler .
I just wanted to share this story .

Andrew Robertson