Shoes Were For Sunday

Shoes Were For Sunday

Summary

'Poverty is a very exacting teacher and I had been taught well'

The post-war urban jungle of the Glasgow tenements was the setting for Molly Weir's childhood. From sharing a pull-out bed in her mother's tiny kitchen to running in terror from the fever van, it was an upbringing that was cemented in hardship. Hunger, cold and sickness was an everyday reality and complaining was not an option.

Despite the crippling poverty, there was a vivacity to the tenements that kept spirits high. Whether Molly was brushing the hair of her wizened neighbour Mrs MacKay, running to Jimmy's chip shop for a ha'penny of crimps or dancing at the annual fair, there wasn't a moment to spare for self-pity. Molly never let it get her down as she and the other urchins knew how to make do with nothing.

And at the centre of her world was her fearsome but loving Grannie, whose tough, independent spirit taught Molly to rise above her pitiful surroundings and achieve her dreams.

About the author

Molly Weir

Molly Weir was born in 1910 and grew up in Glasgow. Best known for her role as the character Hazel McWitch in the BBC TV series Rentaghost, she appeared prolifically on TV, radio and in film. Shoes Were For Sunday received great acclaim when first published in 1970, and became a bestseller. She died in 2004, leaving the proceeds of her estate, including the royalties from sales of this book, to the poor and elderly of her beloved Springburn in Glasgow.
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