Fun and Frolics

HWS invited Commie Lee along to share one of his musings.

By Commie Lee 8th October 2023

A prequel story to the Epic ‘Fun and Frolics’ of the Hibs Casuals saga.

All that follows is entirely fictional and bares no resemblance to anyone living or dead and does not need to be scrutinised by any ‘Bizzy Fuck’ !

‘The Leith Mods’ were never at the Vanguard of any left wing movement and were more interested in Scrapping with Skinheads from neighbouring Edinburgh. Despite fiery left wing Ron Brown’ being their local MP. Some of his left wing confrontationalism must have rubbed off.

It was the early Eighties and the Miners Strike was always in the Headlines. It was all prevalent. Bus loads of outside Policemen would regularly traverse down Leith Walk returning from the flashpoints and heavily policed Coalmines of Bilston Glen and others. It felt that the social drowsiness of the UK was falling apart.

Being Young and the social norm for working class youth to be at odds with the ‘not so local Constabulary’ the Leith Mods would ritualistically stone the passing buses full with Yorkshire Policemen and the like. Being Working class Leithers they had no natural camaraderie with The Police. The direct opposite in fact. Stood to reason !

The Leith Mods kept learning and became very aware of their own prowess. In the early Eighties it seemed that everyone was becoming directly or indirectly politicised.

There was tales of two young Leith Mods disgruntled at a local unscrupulous employer who was known for hiring people for Youth Training Schemes then unceremoniously dumping them at the end of their contracts. Retaliation was justified and the youngsters decided to Petrol Bomb his premises. As you naturally do ? Unfortunately a resulting gas build up saw the Mods being blown unconscious and they served time ! Blessed with bravery if not brains the explosion was epic !

There was the story of a young Leither during ‘Riot Training’ pulling his arm back to throw a bottle of which only resulted in him dousing his parka with lit petroleum ! His mates in an effort to douse the resulting flames rushed for him but being from Leith he assumed his friends were going to give him a beating ?? So he fled from them resulting in a very red faced young Mod running about Victoria Park parka ablaze ! ‘Oh how they later laughed’ !

As the Summer progressed there was strange tales of Parka clad youth engaging in ‘Riot Training’ preparing for imminent ‘class warfare’. The use of ‘Petrol Bombs’ around Leith was becoming all to prevalent.One Mod swears to this day that a surprise visit to his dwelling by the Police led to them finding and securely concealing a pair of petrol soaked leather gloves

Troublesome as they were there, and I’m not suggesting any direct collusion, there was the strange case of a (more) troublesome Rangers supporting family moving into the Fort area of Leith. This ‘Red, White and Blue’ family were in direct contradiction to the Hibs supporting Leith Mods ! One occasion saw a Young Black Mod being viciously beaten this notorious family. They were becoming a real problem in the area. Again I’m not suggesting that ‘Racial Harmony’ was at the fore point of their thoughts but the bloke was a ‘mate’ and this in Leith parlance was ‘sacrosanct’ Retalition was mandatory ! The rascist Rangers supporting family with all that that brought had to go ! To cut a long story short the family were soon Fire bombed out of their home ! The Leith Mods and the local Police had their problems solved !

Times, music and fashions changed as they ultimately do. Bowling Shoes and Desert Boots changed to Adidas trainers and Timberlands. Foes changed from Edinburgh Skinheads to Aberdeen Casuals and the ilk. Trouble had been assured from the off from the Aberdeen Soccer Casuals and the Hibs Casuals, the Capital City Service both battling to be seen as Scotlands Premier Outfit. After a game at Easter Road in one of Scotlands main shopping areas, Princes Street, they clashed ! A solitary flame was ignited and the Aberdeen lot fled as a Petrol Bomb was thrown into their midst. The Aberdeen Casuals were left in no doubt that the Capital City Service wished to claim the Number One spot as their own.

Between You and Me if the full plans for that day had been enacted the Combatants might just be getting released from their Cells now ! Maybe ?

In an interesting aside to all this, a Petrol Bomb being discharged in Scotlands Premier shopping street the press response was strangely muted compared to the frantic hyperbole of the English Press so desperate to tell all who would listen to how crazy their English hooligans were. There seemed to a reluctance to report on how troublesome our own Casuals were. I’m not suggesting that there was any direct collusion between Edinburgh Council and the Lothian and Borders Police in a Major Tourist destination. I doubt whether any of this story would go down well with the Disneyfication of Edinburgh !

It is after all just a made up story ! Wink, wink !

With regards to ‘The Stanley Man’ and ‘Nosferatu’ !