THE scent of roasting chesnuts is an autumn treat which seems to have disappeared from our streets.

This seller, at the Barras in 1949, had no shortage of customers for his wares.

Roasted on a metal shovel, drilled with holes, over hot coals and, sometimes, sprinkled with a little salt, the chestnuts would be sold in wee brown paper pokes.

After that, buyers would juggle the hot chestnuts in their paws while trying to peel off their outer jackets.

One lesson many wee Glasgow boys soon learned was that these sweet chestnuts were not the same as common or garden conkers. Try roasting and eating them and you'd end of with the real pain in your pinny!

With the recent revival of street foods, maybe it's time we brought back the winter treat of hot chestnuts.