IT may not appeal to the kids of today, but Margaret Macdonald remembers being more than content with walks at Cramond and trips to the cinema when she was growing up in Edinburgh in the late 1940s and early 50s.
Obeying strict orders from her mother to be home by 10pm "and not a minute later", she looked forward to tapping her two left feet at the Palais dance hall in Tollcross.
"It was very popular, not all that posh, but me and my friend would usuall
y go once a week," the 77-year-old says recalls.
"Friday or Saturday nights were great fun, but I was never allowed to go to both and always had to catch the last bus home."
Though she would never dare intentionally miss her curfew, Margaret did on occasion miss the bus – a disaster that would result in her walking from the West End back home to Crewe Toll.
"My mother would say 'if you can't find yourself home in time then you won't go out'. I knew better than to argue."
Her best friend worked at the Caley Picture House on Lothian Road, and Margaret became a regular cinema-goer, thanks to free passes from her friend.
She remembers: "I was always at the cinema. It was a big thing in the 50s and of course I was glad of the free entry."
Spending hours of fun in the summer playing with skipping ropes out on the streets near her home, Margaret says it was the simple things that kept her occupied and entertained.
"It all sounds a bit mundane but I was never bored," she says. "Most Sundays a group of us would climb Arthur's Seat or walk to Cramond. I never felt restricted with what we could do with our spare time."
Margaret went on to work for Thomson Brown Brothers wholesale firm on George Street. She also developed a taste for visiting the tea rooms of Edinburgh with her female friends.
"We would always visit this little tea room on Lothian Road when there was a special occasion in the office, like a birthday," she adds. "And if we were daring enough we went to the Chocolate House on Princes Street to treat ourselves.
"I thought I was the whole cheese going in there!"
Looking forward to the weekend dances, Margaret took dance lessons with her husband Ronnie who she married in 1952.
"Once a week we went to dance lessons up the Bridges," she explains. "Ronnie took it so seriously, but I just shuffled around in time to the music."
In 1955, the couple had a son they also named Ronnie.
Margaret adds: "Making our own entertainment was more important back then than it is now but we certainly didn't miss out.
"I had more fun than I could possibly say."
