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GEORGE WATSON'S COLLEGE -
LEAVERS 1963 50TH REUNION
"MEMORIES AND
REFLECTIONS"
To the 14 who have already posted their pieces a 'Big Thankyou' for blazing the trail and giving me the excuse to scratch out a lifeline and sooth that autobiographical itch before we arrive at the allotted age ( or we hit the buffers!) And as Andrew said "Don't be shy". I did enjoy reading about your lives in foreign fields and I do admit to feeling faintly envious because in a very real sense since 1953 (bar 63 - 70 Edinburgh University,Moray House, Craigmillar and Boroughmuir) I have had, some would say, a very unhealthy relationship as boy and man with the Old School ( Hail to....etc.) ....I can claim that I did all my travelling in India and Malaya before I was five and had a rich cultural background of the Raj - a family in India since 1833 - but in reality I have lived almost exclusively in sight of Edinburgh's seven hills in some 23 flats/houses at the last count. It could be said that one job from 1970 - 2004 (and still being coopted this May as a 'project consultant' ie a man who takes the 3rd year up hills) shows a singular lack of imagination and ambition, but in my defence I managed to put 5 children through school - Debbie, Michael, Katie, Emma and Andrew - ten for the price of one, an unbelievable perk! And that kept me there long enough. But in the main (and this sounds a bit wet) it was the privilege of teaching young people. Yes, there was the grinding boredom of correcting never ending essays and meting out marks for irritating interpretations ,but all that was punctuated by the fun we had in the classroom and the regenerative experience of dealing with young minds. Besides I could also gaze out of the window onto Tipperlin grass, at the big trees in leaf and at the Pentland Hills while my black labrador lay curled up under the desk - not a bad life.
And there was, not that I fully appreciated it at the time, the experience of seeing our teachers of the late 50's and early 60's as professional colleagues in the 70's and 80's ; and even peeing alongside them at the staff urinal. Take the much feared Alec Weston barking instructions to us in '63 - some 10 years later lying basking in the sun when he spotted a small patch of mist rising out of the heather : he merely confiscated the fag packet and the flamethrower and left it at that! Either Roger Young was about to ban the belt or age was mellowing Alec. A bit of both I suspect. Then Archie Hendry that master of playful menace to whom only my new pal P.C.F. seemed immune - I always had a grudging respect for him in the French class : first as he taught us one particular lesson with a javelin in his hand ; secondly he told the class that I had played ' comme une vache" at the last rugby practice; and finally that the sentiments expressed in the poem that I had to learn for Higher French could never possibly have any relevance for me!!!. ( 'Je me fais vieux. J'ai soixante ans.J'ai travaillee toute ma vie...etc') But it was Papa Hendry who later led me up Curved Ridge on The Buchaille and a small party of kids up a great route on The Liathach in Torridon (his 49th ascent). 10 years ago I visited him in Comrie and he had reverted to his incongruous best. After a passable tea and pleasant conversation he produced a gun and placed it in my hand. It was heavy. It was a real gun! He told me that he used it for the magpies. And now it had my prints on it! Earlier this year Graham Scott(J. G.) and Donald Macdonald(Sly Mac) and I attended his funeral and from the eulogies he received it was clear that he was held to be a modest and private man as well as being considered a 'legend' in and out of Watson's. Donald Doull never changed: kind and gentle to his 1st year charges, and years later when diagnosed with terminal cancer he insisted on escorting Bob Smith and myself ,in the snow and in the dark ,down a slippery drive to our car. Mike Robson, keen member of the hill walking club and original S3 projecteer in 1962, would later coax me out on night walks on the Pentlands and Schiehallion ,but only when the snow lay on the ground and it coincided with a full moon. You might remember a young and dapper Jim Cowan , a Hibee, playing football for the Staff against the Boys. Like Mr Weston he hailed from the Techy department and went on to become a much loved and respected Deputy Head who encouraged generations of young tearaways as well as rugby and football players. He was also an aficionado of the game of cricket and spent many happy hours with his teams. Did he introduce the single wicket competition during our time at school? I saw Donald Scott play for Watsonians before I came to listen attentively to his good advice which unfortunately became somewhat irrelevant in that snowbound season of.. 62-63 ,although we did train assiduously in the drifts at Myreside under Captain Forbes. Were we hopelessly optimistic? Or just burning off an excess of testosterone? Only one game survived in the second half of the season( against Watsonians). But we had beaten Merchy on their own turf before Christmas! Anyway I always thought that Donald Scott would have made an excellent English Teacher -and he told me the same. The list goes on : Pat Edington of Biology my mentor in many ways, ditto Tam Coull, and inspirational teachers like Stan Brown, Dickie Hendry and Hector Waugh who rescued this late developer from himself. And Geordie More and Tiny Sherrif. And John(pansy) Millar....a fixture on the campus long after he had retired. And lastly Roger Young...who in my book was, and still is, the real deal...He was Everybody's Business...not only was he a man of formidable intellect with a vision for The School which he pursued passionately, he also loved to have fun in ways that surprised many. Above all he was a father figure who literally cared for his staff and pupils. I can personally thank him for his advice and support....and Lady Mary for not only guiding me on the dance floor at the S6 Dance, but for looking after my little ones when Emma was down in London for her Heart operation. The abiding memory I have of Sir Roger is of him reading in sonorous tones at Morning Assembly : his choice of texts ( e.g. Solzenitzen"s 'Cancer Ward") were intended to stir our emotional intelligence but came with the added bonus that he went on and on.... well into the first period.
So no wonder I fell into teaching - the template was already in situ -and I could do no other.
I have been advised not to bang on to youse all about the School in the here and the now. So much has changed. Yet so much remains the same. A phrase bandied about in the 70,'s that Watson's was the 'comprehensive of Colinton Road'- not strictly true, but the school can still boast of its ' inclusivity' in admissions of pupils from all walks of life and of its practice of encouraging an incredible range of talents whether in the classroom ,in its clubs and societies or on the sportsfield . The biggest change and for the better came in 1974 when the Boy's and the Girl's amalgamated. I continue to be impressed by how the curriculum is ever changing and moves with the times and the quality and commitment of the Staff. They look so young! Then they would, wouldn't they? Above all the spirit of 'ex corde caritas' is alive and kicking.
So when Ron T. , Gordon M., Malcolm Mac. and I (occasionally Ronnie A. Stan. A and others of 63) spot a Maroon blazer from our vantage point in the ' Morning Glory' ( ex Hermitage Bar) we might muse on things past and present. And as part of the home guard we are looking forward to seeing you all very soon. And Well done to Andrew, Arthur etc for getting us to this point of anticipation.
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