My name is Ben I was made redundant in September 2023. I was walking past Pathways Skill Centre in Torry just after I had got a new cv done and had to download it so as I could send it to employers, I went in and spoke to Stan who worked there and he told me about what Pathways do.
Pathways and shmu had launched, Rediscover, a group for over 50’s in Torry who were looking to get back to work.
So, I joined and started going to classes where I met Susan then Ali and the people from shmu.
One of the ideas that our group had was to do a story about one of our careers up until now. We decided that Susan would be a good story as she had worked in the fish industry for a long time also when doing the story, we could get help with our computer skills by writing it down on computer giving us good practice.
Here is Susan’s story, or the Tale of the Fish, as we like to call it.
Aberdeen fish market closed when the ice company stopped trading and the boats started to land their fish at Peterhead fish market after it was refurbished to make it bigger. A lot of small fish houses closed after this change and the price of fish got more expensive too due to the new fishing quotas that were introduced.
A lot of torry docks were flattened once the market closed to make way for the oil industry yards which were used to load oil supply boats.the work force stayed he same because school leavers had better job options and fish work was hard, smelly and cold especially in the winter.
Although the work was hard, I loved the banter and the friends I met along the way. The girls and I used to all met up on a Saturday and go down to town, I could sneak into pubs as I was still under 18 and sit at the back and hide behind them have a couple of beers and have a dance. Pubs all closed at 10pm back then, we would be out at 7.30pm and be drunk at 10pm and then home to bed. None of this open to 2am – 3am like nowadays!
I was able to go on my first holiday with my friends to Blackpool, we would work overtime at the weekends to get extra money and save it for our holidays. We always had a great time.
Torry was a community on its own, like a small village and everyone knew everyone, more so if you were a fish worker. In the old days if you left your job, you could start a new one next door, there were always vacancies, and it was easy to move on.
The area was always busy especially on a Friday …pay day. The pubs were always busy too. Most trawlermen and fishfolk used the Anchorage or the Grampian bar and the Rats Cellar aka the Victoria bar. I remember my dad being carried out of one of the pubs and put to bed on the boat so by the time they had sailed he had slept it off and was able to get the crews supper once he woke up!
I have fond memories of my fish jobs, after almost 50 years of hard work and a few shoulder surgeries and on-going shoulder problems I had to stop working due to illness. I would still be working in the fish if the shoulder problems hadn’t happened, until retirement.
Susan