St Andrews
Beaches, Woods and Dances
Having left Shebbear and my parents posting to Scotland meant that I was an anomaly since it could not be decided what stream I should be placed so I spent several Saturday mornings travelling from St Andrews to Cupar to be assessed at the Scottish Education Office. Eventually I was placed in Madras College. I can't remember which stream but it was A or B. This is the only school I have no report card so I cannot verify details.
 
Memories
I remember I was happy here but it was an awkward time as many of the students had grown up with each other and trying to make friends was hard. But I did - Tommy Scott and Christine Croll. I remember a very attractive Geography teacher Miss Sayle who was from Connecticut USA.
 
Times in St Andrews (Playing on the beach, learning to play golf, climbing the cliffs, looking in the rock pools) and eventually to Hunter crescent Leuchars (going off to Tentsmuir forest) were good times. I am sure there were bad times but I cant remember them.
 
There were notable memories

1. Picnic Fun
Whilst on a picnic in some woodland we decided to make some flutes from this stem but it turned out to be hemlock and when the sun came out the stem liquid reacted with our skin and the three of us had welts from head to toe were ever there was exposed skin. Needless to say the Hospital at Dundee had some great photographs as they had never seen anything like it. We were covered in Vaseline gauze whilst the welts healed. Had the sun not come out we would never have made the headlines.

2. School Dances
Well if any one can get into a sticky situation it is me. To this day I believe that I will get caught for things I have never done which means I am going to get caught for everything I do wrong. After the said school dance I was walking this young lady home and as I had missed the last bus home we decided to both go into the phone booth whilst I called my parents to come and get me. Whilst we were making this call our classmates (!) came by and we could never live down the fact we caught in such close proximity.

3. Cycling Home
One afternoon whilst cycling home with my sister, down Abbey Walk a school boy dangerous swung his satchel that caused my sister to be knocked off her bike. Naturally I stopped to see how she was and the assault the boy who had caused the accident. Yes, you guessed it I was punished for my action and had to apologise to the boy concerned.

4. Dens
Once I had explored the shore line at Tentsmuir and along the Eden Estuary I raided the dump where there were bits of old aircraft and by digging a pit these parts could be used for the roof, sand replaced over this and fallen branches to add camouflage. This became a temporary home at the weekends and during the holidays. It was still there many years later until the RAF erected a perimeter fence and the HAS (Hardened Aircraft Shelters) were built.

5. Rock Pools and Caves
Although my parents were always telling me not to walk between the East Sands and the West Sands at Low tide as you could become trapped by the rising sea it was the most amazing walk looking in all the pools (some were deep enough to swim in and the water became quite warm) and looking in the caves under the cliffs.

 
E & O E - please note that this is written many years after the event.
Return to Lens Anecdote Index