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GEORGE WATSON'S COLLEGE -
LEAVERS 1963 50TH REUNION
"MEMORIES AND
REFLECTIONS"
NAME: Dr David K Fleming
ADDRESS: 25 Spring Gardens, Edinburgh EH8 8HU
EMAIL AND TELEPHONE: info[at]no25.co.uk
MEMORIES OF WATSON'S
Teachers
Miss Smith (P2, awful), Miss Dalgleish, (P3 brilliant, rescued my education), Jimmy Hunter ('Mitchell, the bell's went!' - made sense out of Maths), Alex Johnston (enthused me for Chemistry), Pip Paulin ('Now then gentlemen' - he helped me enjoy Latin), Tam Coull (he of the clip-clop shoes - I always enjoyed art, but could not take it as a subject choice), Cappy Dickson (Cappy atoms are happy atoms - I went on to publish school Chemistry lessons with atoms featuring smiley faces), and Jim Jardine (we were his guinea pigs for his Physics is Fun books - I also would go on to publish materials for school Physics).
Nobby Clark (in the CCF, I finally got one back on him when Lauriston won the Section in Attack competition using completely unorthodox tactics, each of which he criticised for not being text book before admitting that in a real life scenario the Lauriston Section would in fact have overrun the enemy with undoubtedly the fewest, if any, casualties.)
Fellow Pupils
I remember in P1 marching round with the bus boys to the 15 (later 45) bus stop in Colinton Road being led by Jimmy Rait and Henry Calder. I often wonder what happened to others from Primary days - Peter Watt, George Godfrey, Donald Baxter, Peter Milne, Alan Crowford, etc. Graham Bell is the one person from that era that I keep up with.
In Junior school I sat next to Jeremy Fisher in 8HJ (Mr Budge in charge) (Jeremy was the son of Hut Man (Gilbert Fisher) on the radio and then Director of Edinburgh zoo.) Ronald Smith and I used to make regular visits to Pink Hill House, and through the back door into the zoo too. Our family guinea pigs came from Jeremy.
I also got to know John Heyes through a connection between our families and of course the CCF where John, Graham, and I became the sergeants three - Flaming, Hell, and Haze on a spoof daily orders in 1963. We have kept up with each other ever since.
Most fun time
I used to enjoy mixing noxious chemicals in the early morning in Cappy Dickson's room when it was my form room in fourth and fifth year. Sometimes the room had to have all its windows opened to clear the air before he arrived. Perhaps as he was a smoker he didn't notice any of the other untoward fumes in the air!
Playing badminton in 6th year was great fun and especially going as part of the boys team to play at George Square with Ian Thomasson, Alastair Hair, and Erskine Stark in Erskine's car - a finger-biting trip at high speed!!
Most embarrassing time!
Once forgetting my uniform on a CCF parade day. I decided to simply get the bus home to avoid explaining myself. Strangely, no-one ever asked why I was absent from parade.
I also once left an iron on my BD trousers, just for a few seconds, but a burnt impression was quite evident. I had to have the trousers replaced!
Other
When I started school, Bill Richardson was Janitor at the Prep School. He was there again during Junior School, and then took over from Ted in the Senior School when I reached that stage. When I went to Edinburgh University he was a Servitor at the Old Quad and we would exchange greetings there from time to time.
POST SCHOOL EDUCATION
I studied Chemistry at Edinburgh University and went on to do a PhD in X-ray crystallography under Dr Beevers at West Mains Road. My ambition, however, was to go into teaching and by taking a Diploma in Education this enabled me to remain a post-graduate student under the University and thereby qualifying me to play for the Edinburgh University Badminton Team as well as the Moray House Badminton Team (in different leagues).
SOME FAMILY DETAILS
I married my wife Rosemary in 1972. We have three children: Kate (an officer in the police force), James (a self-employed plumber), and Tim (recently qualified as an artillery officer with the commandos).
WHAT HAVE I DONE "WORKWISE"?
From 1971, I taught at Portobello High School (Science and Chemistry) where I became APT Science (S1 and S2) in a depart of 22 (including two Assistant Heads: Terry Christie of football fame and Jim Telfer of rugby renown). There, I discovered a way of timetabling that slashed the time of timetabling the entire Science department from two weeks to two hours just using a single sheet of paper, a pencil, a rubber, and a ruler. The giant magnetic chip board was never again used!
In 1978, I was appointed Head of Chemistry at Wester Hailes Education Centre, and, in addition, became the school timetabler the following year. In 1980 I developed the Choice Chemistry Course in collaboration with Stuart Haddon of Inverlamond Community High School and Tony McCulloch of Broughton High School. We subsequently took this course to other parts of Scotland and in 1985 set up RISE-Publishing to make it more widely available. For the next 25 years RISE became a vehicle for Curriculum Development in Chemistry and later also Biology and Physics.
My job at Wester Hailes also allowed opportunities to work with adults, not only within day-time classes, but also in evening classes, and with pensioner groups. For 10 years, I collaborated with our Community Education Department to run an annual weekend retreat for the over 50s.
I retired in 2005 on attaining the age of 60. I decided well in advance that I would stop at 60, whether or not I was still enjoying the job. I told no-one so that there would be no winding down, or counting the days to go! I began teaching by hitting the road running, and I finished it by hitting the buffers still running. No regrets.
HOBBIES, PASTIMES, SPORTS
I am an elder at Duddingston Kirk where I co-ordinate the annual Festival Plays with Theatre Alba in the gardens at Duddingston in Edinburgh.
I also run the Educative Initiatives Group at Duddingston Kirk which gives lots of scope for fresh challenges.
My wife and I enjoy travelling: e.g. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Moscow to Bejing via Siberia and Mongolia by train, South America, the Holy Land, and later this year to India.
REFLECTIONS ON MY LIFE (INCLUDING THE IMPACT THAT WATSON'S HAS HAD ON IT)
GWC was just one of the influences on my life - mainly in getting me through the educational hurdles of life up to age 18. The CCF gave me another dimension and took me to camps in Ayr, Norway, Gairlochhead, and Comrie as well as to Glentress, Pencaitland, and Wester Ross. Cephas, underneath St George's West in Shandwick Place, gave me a whole new dimension during my student days. It was there that I met many of the friends that I still have today (including Wilf McLauchlan, nephew of Olly McLauclan of the Latin department at Watson's) and it was there too that I met my future wife.
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