Archive for urbanglasgow.co.uk For information past, present & future on the city of Glasgow, Scotland, UK          urbanglasgow.co.uk Forum Index -> Glasgow From The Past kev Does anyone remember Gratispool Been talking with my mum about old pictures for the site and she told me about a company that traded out of Glasgow called Gratispool who sent a free film with your prints  She then found this site.. Fasinating http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Gratispool.html Alex Glass I don't remember the building but it was one of the main photo processing companies and most people would have got their films developed by Gratispool I think. escotregen I well remember Gratispool. They seemed to gro big time in the 70s by heavily marketing  the angle of ‘buy  and develop your spool (and yes we did call, them spools) from us and get the next one free’. They had a big shop down at the Saltmarket that I can remember. They were welcome alternative to having to put your film into the local ‘chemist’ for developing – the chemists were a) expensive b) you usually had a bit of a wait for the developed film c) they were sometimes sniffy about what prints you could get ( even maybe about whether you got the negatives without asking). It wasn’t until the first time I was in France on holiday in that period when it struck me … French for free is ‘gratis’… we called  the film a ‘spool’… so we got ‘Gratispool’… Duh, that’s pure dead brilliant, we thought! Oh how we entertained ourselves in those days before street lights, VCR  and digital TV. rotten milk didn't know where/what/how, but 'gratispool' is etched on my brain from when i was a youngster, mainly from looking through family phots, esp. the 70s - it was either on the 'wallet' or a bit of paper inside when it was mentioned, i had a rake through phots  i have (the rest are at my mum's) and came up with these: photie wallet inserts just imagine, a glesga photie service with the emblem 'FFS' also, never mind 'new york, london ,paris, etc.' when you have 'maidenhead, glasgow, brum, amsterdam, brussels' cybers Aye but the Amsterdam ones were always blurry ... Alex Glass Isn't it strange how fate always place a hand with some things. Whilst working on a wee project for a friend I came across a photo with this cover. Funny how these things seem to happen at the right time. Fjord Is that the Turin Shroud?   Alex Glass     I couldn't leave the photo in it as it is a very personal photos of someone and I don't think they would have been to pleased if I posted their school photo all over the internet   John Alex Glass wrote:     I couldn't leave the photo in it as it is a very personal photos of someone and I don't think they would have been to pleased if I posted their school photo all over the internet   How No   rotten milk bloody hell, of course! even with no photie in it, as soon as i saw the frame, i was thinking 'school photie' mind ye used tae get two big photies and about 6 wee yins and for some reason these photies always brought out the worst in yer haircut     Fjord rotten milk wrote: mind ye used tae get two big photies and about 6 wee yins Christ's I've just remembered that format. It was like several passport sized photo's of the main image. Absolutely useless on most occasions. Alex Glass My school photo at Secondary School has got to be one of the worst ever. We had been outside playing football during PE and I had to go and get my photo taken after having a shower. My hair (YES! I did have hair) was stuck down because it was still wet.   rotten milk aye, but did it look like ye'd cut it yersel' (or had otherwise no control over it) Alex Glass Escaped prisoner from the State Hospital         rotten milk wi' a nice side parting is a given........ Alex Glass How right you are   rotten milk sorry, it just occured to me (sort of on off-topic ) do (or did you) have a shed? (please tell me i'm not goin aff ma nut) HollowHorn From Streapadair: 27stowst HAIR SHEDS rotten milk wrote: sorry, it just occured to me (sort of on off-topic ) do (or did you) have a shed? (please tell me i'm not goin aff ma nut) Maybe ah'm aff ma nut but ah think that lassies sheds were oan the right and boys oan the left, the way coats etc were buttoned!!! Joe the Tug Gratispool Gratispool building in the mid 80's Fjord Fjord wrote: rotten milk wrote: mind ye used tae get two big photies and about 6 wee yins Christ's I've just remembered that format. It was like several passport sized photo's of the main image. Absolutely useless on most occasions. Thanks for resurrecting this thread Joe the Tug I knew I had a few Gratispool snaps from the 1970's to post up. Though they had cut back to just one main photograph and two smaller ones by then. The photo paper has a weird embossed texture so they didn't scan too well.   Our old house c.1977   My Big Sister, wee brother and me on holiday in sun drenched Girvan 1975 Gratispool style cybers Wow Fjord ... If you posted that photo up and never said anything about it i bet we could have picked you out of it... Never changed much just got taller ... You are the one on the left right       womble Re: HAIR SHEDS 27stowst wrote: rotten milk wrote: sorry, it just occured to me (sort of on off-topic ) do (or did you) have a shed? (please tell me i'm not goin aff ma nut) Maybe ah'm aff ma nut but ah think that lassies sheds were oan the right and boys oan the left, the way coats etc were buttoned!!! Spot on but you forgot the weird middle shed, Mine was a left shed untill I got into heavy metal and grew it long    . Now it's a middle shed about 3" wide   norrie Hi Fjor, the quality isnt that bad but it the photos that matter, Nostalga, its a thing of the past Bye for now, norrie hillmanimp I found this Gratispool ad in an old school mag. Imp is91042 Gratispool Employee Bus Trip to Dunoon 1967 or so. Fresh air and sunshine after spending days in complete darkness and chemical odors bringing your holiday memories to life. norrie Hi Is91042, cracking photo, I like stuff like that cybers Leads to the question whether or not any companies still do the day oot to the seaside rathr than these sh!t team building exercises in futility   A day oot on the ale with the workmates doon the watter would probably return better results. ECKYTHUMP I have very fond memories of Gratispool. As a kid in 60s i stayed in Bridgegate and our back courts looked over St Margarets Place looking onto the staff entrance. There used to be a wholesales opposite the door and they used to put rotten produce out on pavement to be collected but we had other ideas for it! Every Friday when the lassies and staff came oot doors we pelted them with rotten eggs and fish heads and rotten fruit :) One old guy used to answer door to staff and while one of us ran doon to ring bell at door when he would answer my brothers etc pelted him with rotten fruit and a huge rotten melon landed and stuck on his head and then all the staff had enough and ran over and up the close. We all ran (all 10 of us) and crammed ourselves into ootside toilet :) The funny thing is... I live in Blackpool and was in a wee pub talking to a couple of pensioners doon on holiday. They came from Calton and was talking about the area in the 60's and 70's and told them about the exploits above. To my horror she said I bloody well worked in there and got hit with an egg! I bought them a drink each and got outta there! norrie Hi eckythump, to be sure your sins will find you out cybers  Ta much for the giggles AlanM cybers wrote: Leads to the question whether or not any companies still do the day oot to the seaside rathr than these sh!t team building exercises in futility   A day oot on the ale with the workmates doon the watter would probably return better results. We went a wander up Ben A'an last week and have a booze cruise on the Waverley pencilled in for the next one :) norrie Hi AlanM, sounds good cybers AlanM wrote: cybers wrote: Leads to the question whether or not any companies still do the day oot to the seaside rathr than these sh!t team building exercises in futility   A day oot on the ale with the workmates doon the watter would probably return better results. We went a wander up Ben A'an last week and have a booze cruise on the Waverley pencilled in for the next one :) Ah but is it company sponsored or is it the gang getting together and organising it amongst themselves. Last place i worked the only outing was the Xmas one and that was a fecking shambles. Organised by idiots who could barely organise their desk.        urbanglasgow.co.uk Forum Index -> Glasgow From The Past Page 1 of 1