St Andrews in Focus Issue 84 Sep Oct 2017 by Mike Collins

St Andrews in focus ISSN 2514-409X

• shopping • eating • events • town/gown • people and more

September/October 2017 Issue 84, £2.00

the award winning magazine for St Andrews, Scotland www.standrewsinfocus.com

St Andrews in focus

• shopping • eating • events • town/gown • people and more

From the Editor

Hamish McHamish lives on; alas, not in the flesh I hasten to add, but in a new revised edition of the wonderful book Susan McMullan wrote in 2012 (see the review in Issue 55, Nov/Dec 2012). Renamed, Hamish McHamish Legend of St Andrews the book has a new Introduction reflecting events in the years up to both Hamish’s and Marianne Baird’s sad passing. Included also are photos with captions of the unique launch of the cat’s statue in 2014. Susan’s lovably apposite comments make the book a sheer delight. Amidst all the present world’s troubles it is heartwarming that a beautiful cat was able to knit the St Andrews community together, even spreading his fame globally, and that his memory looks set to continue forever. I confess that even now I vaguely look for Hamish to reappear somewhere in the town he loved – foolish I know, but still… Perhaps I should ask the ghost-tour operator if he’s glimpsed Hamish’s ghost yet. Andy Mackie, Manager of Print and Design, who has supported this magazine from the start, has retired after more than 30 years with the University. We will all miss you, Andy, but wish you many happy years of stress-free enjoyment doing what you love most. Flora Selwyn (Photo of your Editor, thanks to Peter Adamson)

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The views expressed elsewhere in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor. © St Andrews in Focus (2003) SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2017 EDITOR Flora Selwyn Tel: 01334 472375 Email: editor@standrewsinfocus.com DESIGNER University of St Andrews Print & Design (printanddesign@st-andrews.ac.uk) PRINTER Winter & Simpson (stephen@wintersimpson.co.uk) DISTRIBUTER Drop 2 Door (billy@drop2door.co.uk) PUBLISHER (address for correspondence) Local Publishing (Fife) Ltd., Suite 160, 15 Bell Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9UR. Tel: 01334 472375 Email: editor@standrewsinfocus.com SUBSCRIPTIONS St Andrews in Focus is published 6 times a year. Subscriptions for 6 issues are: £14 in the UK (post & packing included). Please send cheques to: Local Publishing (Fife) Ltd., Suite 160, 15 Bell Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9UR. £25 overseas (post and packing included). Please send remittance by International MoneyGram. See website at: http://global.moneygram.com/in/en/money-transfers REGISTERED IN SCOTLAND: 255564 THE PAPER USED IS 100% RECYCLED POST-CONSUMER WASTE

Contents TOWN & GOWN • The Principal of the University • A mature student graduates • Montessori, a parent’s view • University benefactors • An American returns home FEATURES • The Community Council • News from Westminster • Holy Trinity Church under threat • A love of music • Learning to adapt • Thanks to NE Fife Council! • Jurek Putter’s creativity • Reviews: – Children’s books recommended – The Battle of St Monans – Coal mining in the East Neuk – The Leaper – Hamish McHamish, new edition PULL-OUT FEATURE • Concert Diary

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EVENTS • Photographic society • Byre Writers open workshop • ‘Explorathon’ • The Children’s Orchestra and Choir • Christmas craft fair • Selected Events

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SHOPS & SERVICES • Business advice • ‘Caveat Emptor’ • Successful fundraising • Defibrillators • Shiatsu for dogs • Media Walls sponsor • Shiatsu for women • Meet and learn • Roving Reporter

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ORGANISATIONS • The Community Trust updated • Music in hospitals • Guide dogs for the blind • Probus • Links with Loches • ‘Les nouvelles de Loches’ • Rotary • The Pilgrim Foundation

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OUT & ABOUT • The Smail House explained • Dysart’s hidden beauty • Arlen Pardoe’s discovered gems

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NEXT ISSUE – Nov/Dec 2017 COPY DEADLINE: STRICTLY 28 SEPTEMBER

All contributions welcome. The Editor reserves the right to publish copy according to available space.

Cover: an original photo by Caroline Trotter of a Kenyan Masai Mara Giraffe

TOWN & GOWN The Editor is delighted and privileged to publish this article from

Professor Sally Mapstone, Principal of the University Almost exactly a year ago I arrived, after a about St Andrews. That sense of community day’s drive from Oxford, with my husband is greatly valued by our students and our staff. Martin, to take up the role of Principal and ViceAnd, as residents of The Scores ourselves, Chancellor of the University of St Andrews. Martin and I are very aware that some of our The town was enjoying a spell of late more boisterous student traditions can test the summer sunshine, and after a couple of days patience of the local community. The University unpacking, I got straight to work with my Vicedoes its best to encourage the students to Principals, members of the University Court, police themselves, to resist the temptation to and my College Gate team, meeting with turn the music at the Graduation Ball up to Scottish government ministers, and attending eleven, and to clear up after Raisin Monday an away day of one of the key higher education and the May Dip. I do hope we get it right more sector organisations. often than we get it wrong. Although I have spent the majority of my Other highlights of this first year have academic career in Oxford, I am no stranger to included getting to know the students and staff St Andrews. My scholarly field is the literature at Madras College. I was delighted to speak at and culture of medieval and Renaissance this year’s Madras College Annual Prize giving, Scotland, and my research has regularly and of course we are working hard on plans brought me to Scotland, often to St Andrews. to exchange a portion of university land at So Martin and I approached the unmistakeable the Langlands site for the Madras campus on skyline with a sense of South Street. We hope to coming back to a place turn the Madras site into that I knew quite well, the University’s first new Although I have spent the College since the 16th and with the anticipation of getting to know it very century, and look forward majority of my academic much better. to continuing to forge career in Oxford, I am no Throughout my first educational links with the twelve months I have Madras team. stranger to St Andrews made it a priority to I was also very get out and about the pleased to be made an University and the town extraordinary member of as much as possible. I have visited all of our the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. The University academic schools and the service units which and the R&A share many goals, including keep the University going. And I have accepted the encouragement of excellence, and I am as many local engagements as my diary has delighted to see the relationship between us allowed – whether speaking to the After Many growing stronger. I also very much value our Days Club, representing the University at relationship with the Links Trust who, like Remembrance Sunday events, or enjoying the R&A, are so very supportive to our many theatrical and musical productions at the Byre students who play golf or who learn to do so Theatre or the Younger Hall, it is always a while they are here – enjoying, in particular, the pleasure to meet St Andrews people. We are superb facilities which the Links Trust provides. fortunate as a University to have passionate, Those facilities are also greatly enjoyed by engaged local residents who take an interest in Martin, who is an enthusiastic golfer. our activities. The University’s motto, ‘Ever to Excel,’ The interweaving of the University and underpins our approach to research and the town is one of the very special things teaching, and I am pleased to be able to write

that we are in very good standing in the league tables. St Andrews sits third only to Oxford and Cambridge in all three of the domestic league tables, and we ranked 1st in the recent Times Higher Education student experience survey. I was also delighted to be able to report during June’s Graduation events that our excellent teaching achieved a Gold award in the UK Government’s new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The TEF Panel particularly commended our excellent facilities. As student expectations rise, and as we seek to consolidate our reputation as a place to do world-class research, we need to invest in new, state-ofthe-art buildings, which, wherever possible, we will share with the town. Earlier this year I opened the new University nursery, located in a beautiful setting near the East Sands, which offers places to students, staff, and town parents. Plans have been approved for the new Music Centre, which will replace an array of temporary buildings on Queen’s Terrace and which, together with the Byre Theatre, will create a new St Andrews cultural quarter. And we are consulting on plans for new student and staff accommodation to relieve pressure on the local housing market. St Andrews isn’t just a combination of ancient and modern. It is also uniquely Scottish and profoundly international. As the UK engages with the implications of Brexit, one of my priorities this year has been to speak out in defence of the international nature of scholarship and the benefits to St Andrews, to Scotland, and the UK, of our wonderfully international academic community. The University welcomes students and staff from over 140 countries. Over the last twelve months I have travelled extensively, within Scotland and the UK, and also in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and China as part of developing a new international strategy for the University. Turbulent times are not the prerogative of the 21st century, and great universities both withstand them and show their worth during them. Over the next twelve months I intend St Andrews to focus on playing a full part in hosting and contributing to the important debates we have ahead of us, and in engaging with the global academic community from our home here in North-East Fife. (Photos courtesy of the Principal)

TOWN & GOWN Ted Brocklebank graduated MA (General) With Distinction on 22 June 2017

To Wear That Scarlet Gown The first time it occurred to me that I might be missing something by would they have heard firstnot going to university was just three months after I left Madras. I had hand about my Black Watch signed on as a builder’s labourer hoping that one day, somehow, I might granddad’s memories of the find myself on the bottom rung of a career ladder in journalism. The Passchendaele mud? For my firm I was mixing cement for had won the contract to repair a great hole part I felt privileged to witness in the side of the main St Andrews pier. One day – it must have been a different generation’s mid-September – a crowd of new students arrived at the harbour on an thought processes develop. introductory tour. Among them were several of my former classmates When I began the from Madras. There followed an uncomfortable ‘them and us’ moment; course some five years ago they in their natty new red gowns, me in my dungarees and wellies. there was no opportunity Early success in school ‘compositions’ (essays) had me believing I for part-time students to was destined to be a best-selling author, or at worst, a newspaper editor. progress to a named Honours Universities? They were fine if you wanted to be a schoolteacher, a degree course. I would minister, or a doctor. But the real action for wannabe wordsmiths was in have welcomed the chance Bank Street, Dundee, or preferably, Fleet Street, London. to switch and sit the same In time I was to work in both places and found them disappointing in degree exams as my daytime Ted with his wife, Frances, and the action stakes. Lots of boozy lunches and posturing, but action? Nah! fellow students, since in joint Grand-daughter, Phoebe, a languages Fortunately I discovered that words were also needed in the-then new essays and class projects with undergraduate at Edinburgh University medium of television. From in-vision reporter I became a documentary them I rarely felt out of my producer, finally current affairs editor, where I regularly interviewed young depth. However, that anomaly has now been addressed. From this year, graduates wanting to work in television. I confess I sometimes secretly General degree students will have the option of switching to a named envied their two-ones in social anthropology, or philosophy. It didn’t help Honours degree at the end of second year (subject to grades). that my two sons had degrees, and my wife at the last count had degrees So what subjects are on offer? Everything, from Art History, Biology, from three different Scottish universities. Academically I was heavily Computer Science, English Literature, Mediaeval and Modern History, outgunned. to Philosophy, Physics, Astronomy, Psychology But it wasn’t until I stepped down as an MSP – and Social Anthropology, also others I can’t even Studying for a university a career aberration if ever there was one! – that I remember. Sadly, the Scottish Government’s degree at St Andrews could discovered it might not be too late to feel on my own vaunted pledge to cover tuition fees does not apply be a life-changing experience. to part-time students, but if your income is less shoulders ‘the old red gown’ poet R F Murray wrote It certainly was for me about so poignantly. Even better, the alma mater than £25,000 p.a. funding may be available from Murray was so proud of, the oldest in Scotland, SAAS. Tuition fees vary according to subjects, but I the further education choice of future kings and queens, was offering found an average of £900-£1200 p.a. was the norm with facilities to pay the opportunity to study for a degree through its Lifelong and Flexible by monthly direct debit. Students are taught via a mixture of lectures, Learning programme. My collection of Highers and Lowers (circa 1960) tutorials, and laboratory sessions (sciences only), but you are also was qualification enough, but alternative educational routes, such as expected to study independently in your own time. Lectures normally last Access courses, HNCs and HNDs are also acceptable to begin study for a couple of hours and tutorials about an hour. I found the quality of tuition the Master of Arts (General) and Bachelor of Science (General) degrees. outstanding – far better than I had expected – mostly via senior lecturers I discovered that even if you have little formal senior education because and professors with some tutorials conducted by PhD students. Exactly of illness or family circumstances you could still be accepted. Students the same mix regular students can expect, in fact, and the quality of can study either full-time or part-time, taking as long as they wish to tuition is one of the key factors in St Andrews’ high position in university complete their degrees, depending on other commitments. Most, but by league tables. no means all, of my fellow students were in the autumn of their years. So, if you feel that you might like to study for a degree, Joyce from Leven, who graduated with me in June, is a youthful eighty. either as an evening student or a part-time (daytime) student at But many were in their 30s or 40s, often holding down responsible jobs St Andrews, get in touch with Mike Johnson or Joanna Fry at the during the day and studying in the evenings. However, I particularly Admissions and Access department on the Scores. There is also enjoyed joining daytime classes, testing my ageing brain cells against an Application Form available on their webpages at the following those of youthful regular students. The fiftyish, and very distinguished, link: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/ug/options/routes/part-time history professor who conducted the daytime module on the First But if you want to begin study in January 2018, remember the closing World War confessed he had never taught a student who first learned date for applications is 15 December 2017. So, don’t delay. Studying for about the Great War at the knee of a grandfather who had actually a university degree at St Andrews could be a life-changing experience. served in the trenches. My fellow students were on average aged 20, It certainly was for me. Now, it’s time for a gap year and big decisions initially regarding me as a kind of living fossil. Later, I think they felt my about possible future study. attendance at lectures hadn’t been entirely disadvantageous. How else (Photo courtesy Ted Brocklebank)

TOWN & GOWN Emma Hughes offers

A Parent’s Perspective on the Montessori Nursery in St Andrews As parents we all want the best This is certainly thanks to the for our children. Simple. Not Montessori nursery. so simple is sifting through the People are often surprised reams of, often contradictory, by the calm and industrious information telling us what is atmosphere in a Montessori best. It is a wonder we don’t all nursery – and a little scared by run screaming into the sea in an it. People can mistake this for attempt to escape the information stifling of the children’s natural overload! The one thing I did know energy. This could not be further that I wanted from a nursery for from the truth. Judith, Natasha, my children, was somewhere that and their staff provide a calm, would nurture the development nurturing, fun environment, of every bit of them – emotional, where my children’s natural physical, and of course, the exuberance and physicality was learning aspect. I found all this at not checked, but instead utilised the Montessori Children’s House. and honed so that they could What I think I most love bring the best out in themselves about the School is the natural and, in time, others. My children progression my children have couldn’t wait to go to nursery. made through the Montessori They still go back in the holidays Creative construction using Planting cabbages in materials – from practical life, when they are off school, such the sensorial materials the school garden through sensory to the literacy is their love of the place and the and to the mathematical materials. people. All this made my oldest son’s transition to traditional Any nursery or school stands or falls on the They don’t just ‘go the extra schooling seamless, and a far more positive quality of its staff. In this respect, as in so many mile’ for our children, they experience than we could have otherwise hoped for. others, we have been more than lucky. I believe go far beyond that I feel deeply that his strong sense of self, his quiet Judith and Natasha, indeed all their staff, are truly confidence in his own knowledge and abilities are special people. They don’t just ‘go the extra mile’ very much thanks to his experiences at Children’s House. Watching for our children, they go far beyond that. To watch how they bring both my children learn to read and write, with none of the strain and out the best in each and every child, to even witness the surprising exhaustion I remember so clearly from my own childhood, has been a transformation of some in their care, is a humbling experience. If you joy and a privilege. This I know for certain is wholly due to the genius want the best educational start for your child then you need look no of the Montessori literacy materials; in the wonderful way my children further – it is here. and we, as a family, were guided through them. My daughter is due to To discover more about the Montessori nursery and how to contact start school this August and I know she is far more prepared for it than them, go to: www.childrenshouse-standrews.com I was at her age; I am confident she will thrive as her brother has done.

John Cameron’s column

University Benefactors St Andrews University was often the grateful The wife of our ambassador to Turkey, she recipient of largesse from the Bute family, who described her travels in a famous series owed their vast wealth to marrying heiresses, of letters, which were the first example of and the early industrial revolution. At the end of secular writing by a woman on the Muslim the 19th century the 3rd Marquis, as University Orient. Her observations were full of graphic Rector, funded extensive building restoration, descriptions that became an inspiration for also initiating the construction of the Bute subsequent female travellers and writers, Medical Buildings. as well as increasing European interest in These were the days, as my dear friend Islamic art. Her gender and social standing the late Principal Arnott often reminded me, provided her with access to female spaces when student leaders could be invited round closed off to Western men. This enabled for “wine and guidance” her to provide a more as to whom the student accurate account of Lady Mary’s contribution body might choose as the dress, habits, traditions, should also be remembered next rector. This led to limitations, and liberties a fine mix of wealth and – although at times her power (Bute, Andrew Carnegie), men of writing was clearly more a critique of the letters (John Stuart Mill, Rudyard Kipling) and Occident than praise for the Orient. heroes (Douglas Haig, Fridtjof Nansen). Her association with the smallpox The seeds of the Bute family fortunes inoculation began with her witnessing lay in the mid-18th century, when the 3rd “variolation”, where a live virus is taken Earl, the first Scottish prime minister of from a blister in a mild case of the disease the UK after the 1707 Union, married the and introduced into a scratch in the skin of heiress daughter of Lady Mary Wortley a previously uninfected person to promote Montagu (1689-1762). In fact Lady Mary immunity. Her brother had died of smallpox, was a remarkable woman in her own right, her own famous beauty was marred by the providing another link with St Andrews disease, so she had her five-year-old son University through her introduction of the Edward inoculated by the Embassy surgeon smallpox inoculation into Western medicine. Charles Maitland.

On her return to London, she enthusiastically advocated the procedure, but encountered huge resistance from the medical establishment. However England was soon struck by a smallpox epidemic; she had her daughter inoculated. More importantly, she persuaded Queen Caroline, wife of George II, to have her children inoculated. Such royal patronage spread its use throughout Europe. The procedure, and its later variants, saved more lives than any other medical procedure. Voltaire wrote that at this time two-thirds of Europe caught smallpox, being responsible for the deaths of 20 per cent of the population. In the closing years of the 18th century the St Andrews graduate, Edward Jenner, developed the much safer technique of vaccinating with cowpox instead of variolation’s smallpox. The University rightly basks in the reflected glory of Jenner’s work as the father of immunology, but Lady Mary’s contribution should also be remembered.

TOWN & GOWN Konstantin Wertelecki returns home

Re-Americanisation

In the dimness of my room on a dark, early morning, I was awoken by a series of blue flashes from my mobile.

designed to show others what they want others to see.’ I then sent my friend photos of Alaska, Nevada, Michigan, Florida, and New York City without revealing the location. ‘Okay,’ I ‘Welcome back!’, one of them read. messaged, ‘Just for fun, guess which place is ‘Happy returns to America!’, read another. America?’ ‘Welcome home!’, read a third, ‘So, what’s it ‘That’s too easy!’ he replied, ‘The last photo like to be in America after being in Italy for of course! Everyone knows New York City. six months!?’ The others I’d say are…I don’t know, Russia, maybe the Gobi desert, Canada, and Egypt.’ It was this final message that struck me the ‘Actually,’ I messaged, ‘they’re all photos of most, as it is typically this question that I America.’ am always asked after a long journey. I find ‘What?’ replied my friend, ‘But, they’re all it curious that we take such interest in the so different!’ change of our friends, when they have left a ‘Just like Americans,’ I messaged. This was familiar place for a time. I am also amused met with a long pause. I decided to press a little that in this particular case, I was shouldered further. ‘You see, from the 1920s to about the with the responsibility of judging an entire 1960s, a very specific image of America was country. promoted. If you’ve ever seen the old American ‘I think I know more of Italy than I do of television programmes, that gives you a pretty America, at this point’, I jokingly messaged good idea of what America was promoted to back, ‘It’s much smaller!’ be. But since about the 1970s, there’s been a My non-American friend understood the push to demonstrate just how diverse America humour, but pressed further. ‘But, you’ve grown really is, the number of languages, people, and up in America. Even if you haven’t seen it all, sub-cultures it really touches.’ you know it, don’t you?’ ‘Well, things I waited, opened my have changed now,’ curtains whilst thinking of replied my friend. ‘All an appropriate response. the modern American It was the sight of the programmes in our sun, very low and dim at country only show the moment, that held diversity. I’ll accept that my answer. ‘America is a the weather and stuff huge country’, I replied. is different, but people ‘Spanning over five time already know that zones. My impressions of America is a diverse America have been, and place.’ always will be, different ‘Interestingly,’ I than those from other messaged back, ‘I parts of the country. So, believe that media has The trick is not to treat America after six months in Italy, not changed much as one kind of diverse culture, my impressions of this since the 1960s. You but a diverse set of many subpart of America has of see, in the 1960s, they cultures, like the EU course changed, but I promoted a national can’t speak for the rest.’ image of America that ‘You’re in the United States! ’ he was not true. Today, television programmes are messaged, ‘Your views can’t be that different doing the same thing by promoting a national from another American. In my country, we all image of diversity. There is diversity, but not know Americans when we see them. They’re everywhere in America.’ just like they are on television!’ ‘I’m so confused,’ replied my friend. ‘You must not have met too many ‘You can find localised diversity in New Americans, then,’ I jokingly messaged back, York City, Boston, Los Angeles, all the big ‘You and I both know that media can be places. But, if you go outside those cities, such

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as where I live, these sections of America have created very distinct regional cultures that are neither prone to quick change nor open to heavy diversity. The trick is not to treat America as one kind of diverse culture, but a diverse set of many sub-cultures, like the EU.’ ‘Like the EU?’ my friend messaged. ‘Not many would deny that a German or Spaniard is European, but many would deny that Spanish and Germans are the same. In an American context, no one would deny that a Southerner, Miamian, and a Californian are American, but Southerners, Miamians and Californians will fiercely defend their regional identities. American television is still largely controlled by media companies who promote their image of America and therefore, much of ‘American’ television reflects those values, but not truly of America. ‘So, what is America?’ asked my friend. ‘To me’ I replied, ‘America is defined by each occupant. America is not supposed to be a set identity with specific customs, laws, or languages. Rather, if it truly is a “land of the free”, it is to do all it can to escape nationalism and allow each occupant to play a role in building a mixed ‘national’ identity whose communal feature is the liberty of selfidentification. To me, if I am American, I should be able to be whomever I want.’ There was stillness from the other end. ‘So, what about Italy,’ asked my friend. ‘How do you feel about America, or your part of it, after having been in Italy? I paused, thinking of an answer. Looking out the window, I saw the sun rising slowly and thought back to how it looked when I last saw it in Tuscany. Finally, I resumed messaging. ‘If America is truly indeed what I have been taught, and if America has not changed significantly in my absence,’ I replied, ‘I should like to think that I feel no less American, and a little more Italian.’ ‘Spero che la tua giornata sia una buona,’ messaged my friend. ‘Grazie,’ I replied, ‘a la prossima.’

(Photos courtesy Konstantin Wertelecki)

FEATURES Callum McLeod, Chairman of the Community Council

From the Provost’s Chair As well as sitting down to write an article for St Andrews in Focus every couple of months – why do I always leave it so close to the deadline, I ask myself every time! – I spend some time every day maintaining the Community Council’s Facebook page. Our presence on this particular social media platform – launched last December – was a long time coming, even though we had had a website for years, and do much of our business by email. There was initially a perfectly understandable reluctance, even suspicion, on the part of some Members who were not Facebook users to engage in such direct and immediate interaction with, in theory, anyone and everyone. How would it be managed and monitored? How would personal or even abusive comments be dealt with? What would count as fair comment and have to be left visible and what would count as undesirable comment and be removed, perhaps then allowing a charge of censorship to be leveled? Indeed, some Members, including myself, had seen and experienced the less attractive side of Facebook in action…. To long-term users of Facebook among us – particularly our younger Members who had literally grown up with it – there was a degree of amusement, bewilderment, even frustration at this reluctance to embrace the modern world. Many organisations will have gone through the same soul-searching, I am sure. However, in the end fears were allayed and, with the assistance, knowledge and experience of our student representatives, our page was set up and launched. It has attracted, so far, a reasonable and increasing amount of interest, I would say. Refreshing it is important. Each month a striking photograph of St Andrews is

used as our “Profile Picture”, attracting a lot of interest and, in Facebook language, “Likes”. A new feature we have added is “Set in St Andrews”, a recommendation of a novel set in our historic burgh, of which there is a surprisingly large number. Our first recommendation, from St Andrews resident Jane Harrison-Smith, was Val McDermid’s crime novel The Distant Echo, set in December 1978 and definitely one to read, as they say, with the lights on! I have a particular interest in this novel as I know exactly where I was at the time of the murder and therefore have a cast-iron alibi – attending St Salvator’s Hall Ball looking, (but unfortunately not dancing), like Fred Astaire in white tie and tails. I know this new Facebook feature is definitely working, as my teenage son Jonny has asked to read it, a miracle, as most parents will know! Most of our “Posts”, probably on average two or three a day, consist of information about our own activities and events, some of which are then shared by other Facebook users. We reciprocate, and so posts eventually are seen by often large numbers of people. Most of our posts attract between one and two hundred “Views”, some several hundred. However, our post about the seagull initiative had 1300 views within two days; our Bandstand Concert Series post had over 2000 views; and our post about Sunday car parking charges had over 23,000 views all round the world! Such information is very useful in letting us see what is of interest and importance to residents and visitors. As you might have already guessed, my community challenge for this edition is to have a look at our Facebook page and, if possible, to “like” and even “follow” it! As always, I welcome hearing from you on any matter at: callummac@aol.com or 01334 478 584. Dum spiro spero.

FEATURES Stephen Gethins MP

News from Westminster As the Member of Parliament for North East I was pleased to be able to see the new Fife, I am keen to promote the successes of Bowhouse food market near St Monans, which our constituency and the town of St Andrews, had its launch weekend in July. This will be a which – with its extraordinary history, esteemed great asset to the area, bringing so many local university and unrivalled golfing pedigree food producers and organisations, like Food – never fails to command the interest and from Fife, Fife Farmers’ Markets, together, respect of my colleagues here in Westminster. forging closer links with customers to promote Shortly before summer recess began I was not only local food and drink but the whole East pleased to celebrate the enormous contribution Neuk and St Andrews area. made to golf by St Andrews’ Morris family It was also good to meet Vicki Munro from in the Houses of Parliament, by tabling an SRUC Elmwood while I was there, hearing Early Day Motion – a device used by MPs to more about what her team has been doing to highlight issues, topics and events of interest encourage students to think about a career to their constituents – on the premiere of the in the hospitality industry to realise the huge film Tommy’s Honour, which potential for them of doing tells the story of Young so. This is very important As the Member of Parliament Tommy’s rise to fame; for North East Fife, I am keen for our service industries; it premiered recently at Vicki’s expertise and to promote the successes The New Picture House. involvement in events of our constituency and the The film celebrates the such as the St Andrews outstanding achievements Food and Drink Festival town of St Andrews of this local family. In and Savour St Andrews, addition to playing, they were also caddies, golf where students work with chefs from top local club makers, and golf course designers. These hotels, is a great example of this. legends have left to St Andrews and the sport As well as farmers’ markets and purveyors of golf an important legacy. across the country, St Andrews’ and wider Golf is a massive industry, so important North-East Fife’s produce is exported to the economy of North East Fife. It is very extensively, thanks to its high quality. It can be important to recognise the huge contribution found on the tables of the finest restaurants local people, like the Morris family, have played throughout the continent, and much further in the development of golf and how their afield. involvement shaped the sport. It is incredibly important that the interests of Another area of continued success I have this sector are served, not least in the context been supporting is the local food and drinks of the UK’s negotiations with the EU. Local sector, in which St Andrews plays a big part. producers cannot lose the ability to export to

With Barbara Wardlaw and Clément Boucherit the markets that place such a premium on our local produce. I have used my time both on the front bench, as well as through questions to and correspondence with ministers to highlight the concerns local firms have conveyed to me. I always welcome constituents and local firms making me aware of any particular issues they may have. In Westminster, there is a range of ways in which to discuss matters such as these, many of them operating on a cross-party basis. Also before Parliament broke for recess, I attended the AGM of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Scotch Whisky. APPGs, as they are known, allow members and peers from all parties and none to work together to promote sectoral interests, raise awareness of issues and work together on common causes. With firms such as Kingsbarns and Eden Mill on our doorstep, as well as Lindores Abbey Distillery near Newburgh, I am keen to use this APPG to promote the interests of such local firms, also to use it as a forum through which to facilitate discussion with colleagues from across the House. It is a pleasure to represent a constituency where such excellent produce is made. I look forward to continuing to work with these and other organisations, as well as individual constituents, to ensure we can do the best for North East Fife. (Photos courtesy Stephen Gethins)

APPG Whisky cross party group

FEATURES From Rev Russell McLarty, one of a team of Interim Ministers deployed by the Church of Scotland Ministries Council to work in situations facing different challenges between periods of settled ministry. He trained and worked as an architect before training for the ministry, serving for 21 years in the East End of Glasgow, then as Interim Minister in such diverse places as Muirhouse in Edinburgh, St Andrews & St George’s West in Edinburgh, and Balerno.

Holy Trinity Church, South Street Townsfolk and visitors alike are well impressed by the ‘toun kirk’ – in the very heart of the town – its size, its splendour, beauty, and atmosphere. All will be concerned to know that the future of both congregation and building are in question, with a reduction in the number of ministers allocated to St Andrews, smaller numbers attending over the past years and a recurring deficit due to the high costs involved in maintaining the building. St Andrews Presbytery is, however, anxious to give the congregation a ‘breathing space’ over the next few years in order to explore options, with possible partnerships for the future. It is unlikely that the congregation will be given a full-time minister but, rather, the status of ‘Guardianship’ under Presbytery. This would involve a Locum leading worship on a Sunday, providing pastoral care for two days a week, with an Interim Moderator appointed by Presbytery to work with the Kirk Session on matters of governance. During the ‘breathing space’ it is very much hoped that a solution might be found, bringing forward an exciting vision for the future of the ‘toun kirk’, whether in the ownership of the church, or of some new trust. I have been at Holy Trinity as Interim Minister over the past eighteen months; this period is coming to an end. During this time I have worked in a constructive way with the congregation to gain a greater understanding of possibilities for the future. It is good to share something of this with the wider community. Our important heritage The congregation is well aware of its responsibility for this important piece of St Andrews heritage. Holy Trinity Church was formally founded in its present site in 1412, central to the developing burgh, not far from the market place and the Town House. This parish church moved from an original site beside the Cathedral. In 1410 Sir William Lindsay of the Byres granted to the parish a large site to the south of the market for the new church The original Kirk of the Holy Trinity was subsequently re-built by Robert Balfour in 1798-1800 and this building was in its turn demolished in 1906 in order to recreate the style of a late medieval burgh church, to the design of the architect Peter MacGregor Chalmers. The church is Grade A listed, as one of the finest and most complete examples of the architect’s work incorporating the tower and other remains of the church begun in 1411. A small active congregation now struggling to maintain a mini-abbey Although attendances at Sunday worship, and active membership, may be relatively small, there is a huge commitment to maintain an active Christian presence with an open welcome to folk from far and near. Two contrasting styles of worship offer variety, with informality and participation in the early morning café-style ‘Breakfast Church’ at 9.00am and the more traditional service at 11.15am featuring the magnificent organ with an excellent choir of scholars and local members. Many visitors are welcomed into the building through the summer months, initially attracted by the colourful, award-winning gardens. Up to eighty young children, parents and carers can be found on a Thursday morning at Little Cherubs, with its high octane music, dance, crafts, healthy snacks, and conviviality. Other activities include Family Film Nights, a wonderful range of concerts, and musical performances. Building Options Study Over the past year the congregation has carried out an Options Study to help make crucial decisions, with a view to maintaining and developing the building. The conservation architect, Stephen Newsom, was selected to lead a team including Kirsty Maguire (architect), Sandra

(Photos by Flora Selwyn) Macrae (business planner) and a consultation team from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. Stage One of the Options Study suggested that the challenge of upgrading the building while reducing a substantial annual deficit might be beyond the capacity of the present congregation. We very much hope that Presbytery will give permission to go ahead with a Stage Two of the Options Study, which would look further at sympathetic adaptations to the building, with a robust business plan demonstrating the sustainability of any proposals. Although the fabric of the building is in good condition, with ongoing maintenance and a reroofing carried out in the 1990s, there is urgent need to provide modern standards for toilets, kitchen, barrier-free access, also to upgrade the lighting, heating, and sound systems. A reordering of internal arrangement might be essential to allow for more flexible use of space. The architects advise that all of this might be carried out without losing the essential spirit of the building, with its wonderful dramatic interior and fabulous quality detailed architectural features. One example of a similarly-important church to have re-established itself over the years is Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, which offers an inspiring story of a citycentre church, that in 1982 was at risk of closure. It is a now a major tourist destination, responding to local needs in various ways, such as a flexible venue for weddings, receptions, ceilidhs, concerts, many other events, as well as a maintaining a full programme of worship and outreach. Community partnership On Wednesday, 9 August we hosted a ‘conversation’ attended by over 70 people from the wider community, with some of our church members. The purpose of this event was to hear whether there would be support for the idea of a ‘toun kirk trust’ where such a trust might be responsible for ownership and management of the building with the Church of Scotland involved as an active partner. It was heartening to hear a very positive reaction from people in the wider community; there seemed to be agreement that any such venture could include a mix of uses, such as a heritage project, pilgrimage centre, social use, and a venue for music, while offering continued worship. The support given at the meeting augurs well if the ‘toun kirk’ is to have a future as an important part of the identity of the town.

FEATURES James Gorgon chatted to Flora Selwyn

“Music for a while shall all your cares beguile…” James Gorgon is another fine example of old St Andrews traditions – Another direction came in 1999 when James had lessons in Afro/ leaving to experience the world, then returning to benefit the town! Latin music from Ricki Linn. This added to the many possibilities of From the age of 8, a member of the St Andrews Boys Brigade, blending traditional Scottish music with rhythms from all parts of the James began to play the drums. He was talent-spotted by David Clark, musical spectrum. Currently James is working on two albums together drummer of the well-known Muirhead & Sons Pipe Band. Tuition, and with “some of Scotland’s finest musicians using a range of drums and winning various competitions, led to being recognised as a solo drummer, percussion instruments.” as well as becoming the lead drummer for the Boys Brigade Pipe Band. Teaching is an important part of James’ life. While playing largely Joining the City of St Andrews Pipe Band, James went on to win to expats, he had the opportunity to teach drums at the King’s School many Drum Corps championship titles, including in Thailand, and play blues and tribal drums at a the British, Scottish, European titles, including the Uganda sugar plantation. Back in Fife, James has Champion of Champions. On top of that, he won the his own drum studio. He says he is proud of his Drum Corps twice, as well as the Lorient Drum Fanfare After almost 40 years students and what they have achieved so far in their competition in Brittany, France. musical journey. in music James is When he was just 16, James redefined his This is nowhere near all that James does drumming goals, deciding, “to focus on the drum kit” now concentrating on and has done! He was honoured, “to receive a (while still competing with the Drum Corps). By this request to participate in the International Who’s playing and teaching time he was playing in professional gigs, helping local Who in music” for his contribution to popular music. bands, expanding his playing techniques. He was now He has worked with world-renowned dancers at adding pop, rock, and jazz standards to his Scottish a spectacular dance show in Glasgow. He has repertoire. appeared on television and radio, and played in In 1982 Billy Anderson offered James his first full-time role as a just about every prestigious venue in the country, including Orkney professional drummer. The next 10 years James travelled the world with and Shetland traditional music festivals. He has also played for such Billy Anderson’s Albany Band, “playing nearly every conceivable type of corporate companies as Shell, the Ford Motor Company, Direct Line gig.” One such journey went from Abu Dhabi to Dubai across the desert. Insurance, Royal Bank of Scotland, and other companies abroad. He also studied with the late Kenneth Mailer, master percussion teacher. After almost 40 years in music James is now concentrating on Wishing to broaden his horizons, James then recorded some tracks playing and teaching. He has recently set up Discover Drums in his with classical accordion champion George Carmichael. They formed drum studio. His avowed goal is “to help anyone to be the best they a partnership which, in 1993, created the acclaimed five-piece Celtic can be, but most importantly to love drumming and have fun!” The rock band, The Cutting Edge. World-wide success followed, requiring a latest state-of-the-art equipment is available to teach all styles, either website to deal with global bookings. one-to-one, or with others. If a potential pupil is unable to go to the As James pointed out, touring and playing gigs make for a wide studio, arrangements can be made for home visits. “So, if you’re a circle of musical friends. The spin-off was invitations to play with many beginner aged between 9 and 90 and would like to give this a go, the different bands, with appearances on various artists’ albums, among first taster session is Free.” them were: Paul Anderson, John Huband, The Picts, Badenoch, Douglas For more information: discoverdrumsfife@gmail.com or call: 07484 Hunter, and David Anderson, to name just a few! The two albums by The 793 255. Cutting Edge also received numerous reviews in Scotland’s prestigious (Photo courtesy James Gorgon) Living Tradition magazine.

FEATURES Ghillie Basan tells how she is

Learning to Adapt I haven’t been to St Andrews since 1979, when world. During the Reagan-Gorbachev-Thatcher I had the opportunity to get the autograph of years, I was based in Istanbul covering the Jack Nicklaus and his son at the Golf Open. whole of the Middle East. It was a fascinating Dressed in rather inappropriate little gym skirts, period to be involved in journalism, but I soon carrying black bin bags, I and several other learned that I didn’t really have a head for giggling teenage girls were assigned litterpolitics, that my real interest lay in the culture collecting duties as a ‘special treat’, as we had and the food. I moved from writing about finished our exams at the traditional all-girls summit meetings and the terror tactics of boarding school, St Leonards. As most of our religious fanatics to the new wave of tourism, education was behind high stone walls, we travel, and food – not just the food on the plate, were always too delighted to have any excuse but the story behind it. to roam about the town, freely eat dollops Years of travel and research written up of delicious ice cream from Jannettas. The on old-fashioned typewriters, with spools of older celebrity golfers looked bemused by our film developed in makeshift bathrooms led me enthusiastic attempts to pick up chewing-gum back to the country of my birth, to the solitude wrappers and cigarette butts in the vicinity of and sanctity of a remote glen in the Scottish the players’ tent, as we inched our way nearer Highlands. I came back with a husband, but to the young Nicklaus, but the poor chap, who soon after our second child was born he moved was only around 19 years old at the time, to pastures greener, or so he thought, and I probably signed our golf balls, have raised my children on arms and hands, in great my own, while writing more A combination of haste just to get rid of us. than forty books on the food wanderlust, EFL That Golf Open also of different culinary cultures, teaching, and journalism marked the end of my school to keep the roof over our took me to many places days in St Andrews. I had heads. Money has often been there for seven years, been tight and the snowy around the world sent at the age of ten from winters can be wild with East Africa and, although it took me a while blizzards creating drifts over the fences and to settle in, as I missed camping amongst the gates, sometimes over the doorways, while wild animals in the bush and swimming in the the track to my house is often only accessible warm Indian Ocean, I had many memorable on foot or on skis. When my children were experiences. We had an excellent, although small I carried them everywhere in a backpack. somewhat terrifying, leader at the helm, so the When I had to research and photograph school had a good reputation, with a fairly wide books I would take them on journeys abroad. curriculum, great sports facilities, and many At home they soon learned to adapt to skiing cultural opportunities. But by the time I was three miles a day to get to the car to go to 16 I was itching to move on from the icy north school; even they will tell you that they had a wind blowing up my little gym skirt to explore magical childhood – they had the exciting and the mountains and deserts of the world; so I treasurable freedom to roam, explore, to just galloped through my Highers, which I opted be kids. As a result they have both become to take instead of A Levels, in order to finish independent and adventurous young people. school a year early, and I never looked back. Having encouraged my children to follow After a gap year, which consisted of their hearts, creating their own journeys, I am travelling, ski instructing, and a Cordon Bleu now often home alone. Apart from looking after diploma, I went to Edinburgh University. I used my elderly mother, who has dementia, I am my cooking and ski-instructing qualifications learning to adapt – not just to the long periods to make money, so that I could travel in the of an empty house, but to the pressures of holidays. Although I seemed to party more making my work relevant to the demands of than study, I did end up with a degree in social media, also to carving out new branches Social Anthropology, which, combined with the to my career to keep it fresh and interesting experience of growing up in Africa, has been for myself. I am also aware that I could easily at the root of everything I have done since. A become a hermit, dividing my time between the combination of wanderlust, EFL teaching, and remote hills of Scotland and the wild bush of journalism took me to many places around the Africa, so I am forcing myself to push my work

(Photos courtesy Ghillie Basan) more into the public domain, often way out of my comfort zone. We all have to find our own ways to survive, to keep our lives interesting; I feel lucky that my childhood in Africa opened my eyes to many fascinating things and that my mind absorbed them like a sponge; I feel lucky that my schooling in St Andrews was so good, while the memories of running along the west sands, eating ice cream, chasing the young Nicklaus are still with me as those years, the years of being a child, have equipped me for life. Since my children have grown up, I have become a radio presenter, I run cookery workshops to which people come from all over the world, and I have started a new catering business, ‘Mezze on the Move’. My greatest and most natural achievement in life has been the role of being a mother, and equipping my children for their lives. www.ghilliebasan.com

FEATURES

FEATURES ‘Thank you’ North East Fife Council and the Pilgrim Foundation – it’s delightful to have Logies Lane back again as a safe space for pedestrians. The town needs it badly, it is very much welcome, beautifully laid out.

Jurek Alexander Putter shares his work-in-progress methods

The Pilgrim Ferryman – The Sketches the selected image is ‘gridded-up’ for transferring to the A3 size for fullBewilderment bordering on disappointment is the usual reaction people scale pencil detailing. That pencil drawing is then inked up. display when told that I have no tradition of producing exploratory In turn that image is cleaned up and photocopied to provide a sketches for a major illustration. I never possessed a Sketch Book as smudge-proof monochromatic drawing with the lines intensified. Once such. They seem even more perplexed when I tell them that a picture is done, it’s a matter of colouring-in to produce the created in my head, without the need to put anything image, which can tolerate substantial reduction down on paper. There’s almost an element of disbelief or enlargement without loss of detail. Yet there is when informed that all of the stage setting and a picture is created in one element of subtle aesthetic loss; the inked-up compositional arrangement for a picture in all its rich edition possesses, prior to cleaning up, the original detail is created in my mind. I can also change and my head, without the master pencil drawing, which can be a beautifully alter the composition, and more importantly, hold the need to put anything delicate thing in itself. However, erasing that is changes in instant recall, in my mind’s eye. essential for obtaining a clean sharply-defined Take The Pilgrim Ferryman, shown here. It was down on paper image for colouring. It’s a brief, but tellingly painful a project, originally created years ago. I held it in my ‘moment of loss’, of something spontaneously mind’s archive, fixed in form and detail until recently. original, gone forever. These are the elements, The first rudimentary pencil lines took a few seconds. which I can visually share with people; – the original work was devised Satisfied that I had recovered the image from the mind’s portfolio, two and stored away in my head long ago. very quick images were drawn like a stage setting for a play, or a still from a film. These were primarily to ascertain the positioning of the (Illustration courtesy Jurek Putter) composition within a vertical A-size format. That doesn’t take long. Then

FEATURES: REVIEWS

Children’s Book Recommendations J & G Innes Ltd. now provides a regularly updated list of highly recommended books for children. This list considers both the latest titles, and books that we feel have been undeservedly forgotten. A short review will accompany each recommendation and we hope that this will prove helpful to those who seek to explore the wealth of children’s literature available today. Lots: The Diversity Of Life On Earth By Nicola Davies & Emily Sutton Published: 6/4/17. Age 3-7.

This vibrant, detailed book will transport a child around the globe, introducing organisms in their various habitats, showing the interconnectedness and ephemerality of nature. Each charming page boosts the book’s ultimate message: the natural world deserves our care.

Clara Button And The Magical Hat Day By Amy de La Haye & Emily Sutton Published: 30/8/12. Age 4+.

A lovingly-crafted tale about a young fashionista who finds her way behind the scenes of the V&A Museum in hot pursuit of a ‘hat doctor’. Sutton’s creativity and skill as an illustrator render even the most mundane detail sublime.

Clara Button And The Wedding Day Surprise

By Amy de La Haye & Emily Sutton Published: 7/10/13. Age 4+. Yet another visual feast with a highly original and unexpected plot twist. Budding dressmakers and interior designers will love this tale about how to turn a fashion disaster into a triumph! And Clara’s mischievous brother Ollie once again adds some contrasting notes for those otherwise inclined.

The Tale Of The Castle Mice By Michael Bond & Emily Sutton Published: 6/4/17. Age 3+.

This story has all the ingredients of a classic; Michael Bond spins a charming and humorous yarn, while Sutton’s illustrations are as deft and sensitive as ever. Get it, you won’t regret it.

Tiny: The Invisible World Of Microbes By Nicola Davies & Emily Sutton Published: 5/6/15. Age 5+.

“Elegant and informative” – Telegraph “ an absolute visual delight” – Guardian

J & G Innes is the latest to kindly sponsor 500 copies of Issue 84, Sept/Oct 2017, St Andrews in Focus, for the Edinburgh and Dundee Airport Media Walls. Very many thanks, (Ed.)!

Leonard Low explains the background to his book

The Battle of St Monans Published by Steve Savage Publishers Ltd. 2017. Available at all good bookshops and Amazon, price £9.95. The Battle of St Monans doesn’t exist in any military credits of Scottish History? This is mighty peculiar! A fight between the Scots and English, in which the Scots heavily defeated the invaders to our coast, usually is celebrated by monuments and scriptures raising the plaudits of the heroes who fought it. But none exists. When we find 900 dead, that’s more than the Bonnie Prince’s two victories 200 years later at Prestonpans and Falkirk. Both these areas have memorials and countless books on the battles. When we find the combatants were the High Admiral of England and James Stewart (Mary Queen of Scots’ half brother) these are major players in our country’s history. I made it my goal to unearth this mystery, find why history this rich has been so forgotten; to write what details are known, and the reasons why it’s so lost to History. It took two years. My first clue to this mystery was an author writing in 1727. James Anderson, researching for his three-volume book on Mary Queen of Scots, makes an apology. In his search through the records

and archives he found great tracts of files missing for the years 1548,1550,1551. The villain for these deeds is no less than Oliver Cromwell! In 1650 the civil war was over. Cromwell transported all the Scottish records to the safekeeping of the Tower of London, where tax men and lawyers studied them. There they remained for ten years, till Charles II replaced Cromwell as leader. The records were returned to Scottish shores, but disaster struck when a ship sank near Newcastle taking 85 barrels of records. It took the records of 1548/50/51. Amongst that lot would have been the details of the battle of St Monans. Further research shows the leaders from both sides in the St Monans conflict would all be dead within a few years of the Battle; Admiral Seymour beheaded, James Stewart assassinated! Other noble figures in the fighting would also die, assassinated like 1920’s Chicago gangsters. Also, to add insult to the history of the Battle of St Monans, the nearby Abbey of St Monans on the battleground itself, would naturally have been where the victors thanked and praised God for such an unexpected victory against fearsome odds – it was ransacked during the 1560

Reformation. Again, more records would have been lost! Two very rare books intimately documented the Battle, both written by men who were good friends of James Stewart, or who took part in some of the action themselves. The History of Scotland by John Lesley, 1830, and The History of Scotland by Robert Lindsay (Pittscottie) 1778 – two old books I own. The John Lesley book was hand written, in Latin, as a gift to Mary Queen of Scots in 1571. After her death it was collected by Lord Melville of Anstruther. It remained in his library till the Bannatyne Club obtained it in 1829, publishing 100 copies in English. Because of the details I have given, and the rarities of the two books that tell the story of the Battle of St Monans, I have managed to piece together the conflict from its beginnings with the intimate details of the fight, and the sad fortunes of those who fought it. For the first time the whole affair has been put forward for the reader to access a piece of lost history, and a significant Scots victory. But above all, the reader must imagine how much more of our Scottish history might be sitting in a wreck with 85 barrels at the bottom of the sea!

FEATURES: REVIEWS Richard A Batchelor reviews

Coal Mining in the East Neuk of Fife By John McManus Published by Dunedin Academic Press Ltd. 2017. Available at J & G Innes and all good bookshops price £24.99. This is John’s second book on the topic of coal mining in Fife – the first one covered the area between Ceres and St Andrews. This new book investigates the dozens of sites, which once hosted a coal mine, a pit or a quarry. The coal seams of East Fife are generally thinner than those of Central and West Fife and consequently they tended to become depleted in a relatively short period of time. After a general introduction to Scotland’s and Fife’s geological development, the book then describes how coal formed, then its

importance as a fuel for local industries and enterprises over a period of centuries. There follows detailed descriptions, accompanied by mine plans of selected mines, where the plans have survived. The majority of mining activity was centred around Largoward, although other mines were scattered between Teasses in the north-west of the district, to Kilrenny in the south-east. Today little remains of these former workings, although remnants of quarries, pits, and drains may be found in the surrounding countryside.

The book contains many maps, mining plans, photographs, and sketches; in addition, it contains reproductions of seven original paintings of miners at work, by miner and artist Derek Slater. This book provides a handy reference work in the field of local industrial history, augmented by explanations of the science behind the formation and occurrence of coal.

Kenneth Fraser reviews

The Leaper By Lorn Macintyre Grace Note Publications 2017: www.gracenotepublications.co.uk Price, £12-99; p.& p. free in UK; can be ordered from Waterstone’s.

In my small collection of old vinyl records is one made by the School of Scottish Studies, which presents traditional Gaelic ballads dealing with events hundreds of years in the past; these had been handed down by word of mouth to the singer. He was not, as you might have expected, a toothless old Hebridean crofter, but a banker in London. He had recorded the songs because, in that environment, he had nobody to pass them on to, and the tradition would stop with him. Lorn Macintyre’s new novel takes this decline of Gaelic tradition as its background. It is set a generation later, in 1983. The chief character, Seumas, lives on a remote croft on an island, not named, but evidently based on Mull, where the author himself grew up, though he now lives in Fife. By this time there were few Gaelic speakers on the island, because most parents had not passed the language, or the traditions inseparable from it, to their children: “They thought we wouldn’t get on in the world

if we spoke Gaelic. English is the language of advancement.” My own grandparents thought exactly that, and did likewise. But there have been exceptions where the parents did pass the language to their children. In the real world Lorn Macintyre was one of the latter, and in the novel, Seumas is another. In a vivid and unsentimental manner, the novel describes his struggles to make a living from his traditional skills in a world where the old ways have broken down and those in authority (usually incomers) are unsympathetic or hostile to them. At the same time, love makes an unexpected appearance (rather late in the day, for he has had few opportunities on an isolated croft with only his parents for company) and the problems arising from each of these two aspects of life begin to react on each other. By the end of the book, both situations are, somewhat ambiguously, resolved, but even so, the old world of Gaelic tradition seems to have gone beyond recall. There may be a relatively happy outcome for Seumas, but we cannot tell if there is going to be one for Gaelic.

Paula Lynam reviews

Hamish McHamish, Legend of St Andrews By Susan McMullan Published by Black and White Publishing, 2017.  Available at Topping & Company, J&G Innes, Waterstones, and online. £9.99, hardback. This updated and revised edition of the original Hamish McHamish; Cool Cat About Town is a wonderful homage to St Andrews’ much-loved and dearly missed cat, Hamish. With gentle humour, the book tells Hamish’s complete story from kittenhood to his status as King of St Andrews and international superstar, right through to his final days. Just as in the first edition, the book takes the reader around all of Hamish’s favourite places, including the shops and offices where he used to stop for a bite to eat or curl up for a snooze, and on a small tour of St Andrews – providing locals, students, and tourists alike with a lovely, more personal look at the Auld Grey Toon. It’s this double appeal that really makes the book something different while the inclusion of photographs from his huge fan base gives the title a real sense of love for the handsome furry chap – testament to how much he was adored at home and abroad. After all, there can be few

of us lucky enough to meet Hamish, who didn’t stop to say hello and sneak a moment of time with him. The book shares lots of new information, facts, and photographs about Hamish. For example, did you know that Hamish actually reached the grand old age of 17? Or that all sorts of marvellous creations were fashioned in his honour, from limited-edition Weymss Ware pottery to artwork, songs, even ice sculptures? Other new additions include the launch of his statue, the celebrations surrounding it, and the details of his final days. There is no doubt that McMullan was a devoted fan herself as evidenced not only by the great amount of work she has put into the production of the books, but also by the lengths she went to, working closely with Hamish’s ‘Mum’, in an attempt to ensure his health and well-being. It is also endearing to read of the great friendship she enjoyed with Hamish’s

Mum, now sadly no longer with us, all thanks to the loveable moggy. By writing this book, the author wanted to keep Hamish’s memory alive and allow more people to share in the joy of his story. This book certainly allows for that and is a lovely tribute to old Hamish. It’s also good to see that a percentage of the profits from the sale of this book will be donated to charity – proof that the spirit of community that Hamish represented lives on. The book itself is a lovely little hardback, quite at home with all the other gift books that can be seen on the shelves of many a good book shop at this time of year. It would make a treasured keepsake for anyone with an affiliation to St Andrews. As Hamish’s Mum always said of him, “If he could have spoken I don’t think he would have said ‘I belong to St Andrews,’ but rather ‘St Andrews belongs to me.” Hear hear!

SHOPS & SERVICES

ST ANDREWS CONCERT DIARY SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

www.st-andrews.ac.uk /music

PULL-OUT FEATURE The University of St Andrews Music Centre hosts a vibrant and varied programme of concerts each semester. This autumn’s offerings include a performance by one of the world’s best-known and most travelled saxophone quartets as part of a new festival of music for wind, brass and percussion, ‘Fringe of Gold’. St Andrews Voices sees a visit by the famed Swingles, soprano Dame Emma Kirkby and Norwegian beer-swilling early music anarchists Barokksolistene. St Salvator’s Chapel Choir launch their new CD to mark the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation whilst Orchestra in Residence the Scottish Chamber Orchestra present a pair of concertos by Latvian Pēteris Vasks. This in addition to the weekly organ and vocal/instrumental lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and a wide variety of student music-making in many genres.

SEMESTER

DATE

TIME CONCERT

VENUE

Every Sunday during Semester

11:00

St Salvator’s Chapel

Every Sunday during Semester

16:00

Every Wednesday during Semester

17:30

University Service sung by St Salvator’s Chapel Choir Choral Evensong sung by St Salvator’s Chapel Choir and other groups

St Salvator’s Chapel

Choral Evensong sung by St Salvator’s Chapel Choir

and other groups

St Salvator’s Chapel

Every Thursday during Semester

22:00

Compline sung by St Leonard’s Chapel Choir

St Leonard’s Chapel

ORIENTATION WEEK

Thursday 14 September

19:30

Scottish Chamber Orchestra – Vasks Violin Concerto

Younger Hall

WEEK 1

Thursday 21 September

19:30

St Andrews Concert Series presents The Avison Ensemble

St Salvator’s Chapel

Friday 22 September

13:10

Music Society lunchtime concert by

Friedrich Rothe (piano)

Younger Hall

WEEK 2

Tuesday 26 September

13:10

Organ concert by Tom Wilkinson (St Andrews)

St Salvator’s Chapel

Wednesday 27 September

13:10

Lunchtime concert by Scottish Music students from the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Wednesday 27 September

Music Talks with Dr Emma Sutton:

Music and Mental Health

Byre Theatre

Friday 29 September

Younger Hall

Saturday 30 September

14:30

13:10 10:00-12:00

Byre Theatre

Music Society lunchtime concert by The Other Guys Alexander Technique workshop

Younger Hall

with Heather Coates

Rehearsal Room

WEEK 3

Tuesday 3 October

13:10

Organ concert by Sean Heath (St Andrews)

St Salvator’s Chapel

Wednesday 4 October

13:10

Friday 6 October

13:10

Lunchtime concert by Ralph McDonald (baritone) and Derek Clark (piano)

Byre Theatre

Music Society lunchtime recital by Fiona Croal and

Jenny Jackson (clarsach)

Younger Hall

Saturday 7 October