Part 6 - Strathallan School

ARTHUR BELL DISTILLERS
e x t e n d s its
be s t w i s h e s to
Strathallan School
a n d w i s h e s it
continued success
in the f u t u r e
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• SCOTLAND ■ PH2
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HORSE - R I MMS • H E N N E S S Y GORDONS • J O H N N I E WALKER
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The Strathallian
1989
Vol. 14
Contents
G overnors a nd S ta ff
S ch o o l A u th o rity , Salvete a n d E ditorial
S ta ff N otes
Speech D ay
H o u se R eports
C hapel N otes
M usic
D ram a
O utings a n d A ctivities
Sports
C .C .F .
Valete
Strathallian C lub
No. 6
Page
2
3
4
5
6
17
19
23
28
44
68
74
78
Editors:
M rs A d a m
Callum D ru m m o n d
C atherine B urns
Philip Laing
A le x Jo h n sto n
E m m a M acN am ara
E lizabeth R eekie
N icola R o b b
P hotographs: Special thanks to M r Burgess
I
Governors
Chairman
J. W. D insm ore, f r i c s
A . A . Arneil
J. J. B lanche, CA.
D . C. Fulton, m c , b l , w s
I. 0 . Jones, MA, LL.B, WS.
Professor J. L. King, m a . PhD,
(U niversity o f Edinburgh)
Mrs A . Laing
f im a .
A . Logan Esq.
G . S. L o w den, m a , L L .b., c a .
His H o n o u r Jud ge J. M cK ee, BA, q c ,
W. A . McMillan, BL.
A. M. Nicoll Esq
Professor I. W. Noble
Professor J. W. P arsons, BSc, PhD.
(U niversity o f A b e rd e e n )
R. S. P eters, m a .
D r A ng us K en ned y
(University of Glasgow)
Mrs K. M. W alk er
D r A. P. D. Wilkinson
Bursar and Clerk to the Governors
W. A. B ullard, ACIS, m b im
HEADMASTER
C. D. Pighills, MA (Cantab)
TEACHING STAFF
H. C. Addison, MA (St Andrews)
D. J. B arnes, BA (Loughborough)
G . A. B olton, BA. MSc (Leeds)
J. L. B roadfoot, BA (Leeds)
J. S. Burgess, BSc (Manchester)
J. F. C layton, BA (Leicester)
C. N. C o u rt, BEd (Southampton)
S. M. Cullen, MA, M.Litt (Oxon)
N. T. H. Du Boulay, BA (Warwick)
A. L. K. D u tto n , Cert. Ed. (St John s. York)
P. K. Elliot, BSc (Manchester)
Miss E. A. E ng lan d , b a (Oxon)
T. C. G. Fairbairn, m a (Oxon)
J. N. Ford, BSc (L o n d o n )
J. Forster, BA (Leeds)
D. R. Giles, BA (Warwick)
K. G lim m . MA (Bcrlin/Keil/Edinburgh)
P. R. A . G r e e n , MA (Edinburgh)
T. S. G o o d y , BSc (Durham)
M. G ray BSc (Durham)
P. J. S. Keir, BEd (College of St Paul & Mary)
I. J. Keith, BEd (Dundee College Education)
G . Kitson, BSc (Aberdeen)
Rev. T. G. L ongm uir, MA (Oxon). BEd
Mrs P. MacKillop, MA Litt. (Glasgow)
D r. M. P. M cLay, PHd (Glasgow)
T. J. M ac L eo d , DA (Aberdeen)
Miss L. H. N eale, MA (Edinburgh)
A. M. Pearson, m a (Oxon)
G. H. S. Pengelley, b a (Bristol)
A. N. Phillips, B.Ed (Leeds)
R. J. W. Proctor, MA (St Andrews)
B. Kaine, BA (Durham)
D. J. Ralfs, BSc (Nottingham)
F. N. R e ed , BA (Reading). GRSM, ARCO. LRAM
G. R. M. Ross, BSc (Nottingham)
Miss L. J. Smith, BEd (Dunfermline)
D. R. S ne d d o n , BSc (Strathclyde)
C. D. Stewart, BSc (Manchester)
A. C. W. Streatfield-James, m a (Oxon)
A. Thomson, BA (Aberystwyth)
P. M. Vallot, BA (Napier)
C. N. W alker, (BSc (Aberdeen)
R. N. Wallace, BSc (Brunei)
A. J. H. W ands, MA (St Andrews)
Mrs J. W atso n, BA (Leeds)
D. A. R. Williams, MA (Cantab)
M. Wilson, r n
Mrs
Mrs
Mrs
Mrs
Mrs
Mrs
E. A d a m , b a (Dublin)
D. J. B alnaves, m a (Edinburgh)
C. B roadfoot
E. D. Buchan, (Jordanhiil)
J. F o rbes, b a (Aberdeen)
P. M. F orster, BA (Manchester)
SUBJECT
Physics
G eo graph y
Chemistry/M usic
English
M athematics
French
English
Economics/Politics
History
Jnr. Chemistry/Physics
Design/Technology
G e og raph y
French
Biology
English
M athem atics
F rench /G erm an
G eo grap h y
M athem atics
Physics
English P.E .
English
M athem atics
Chaplain
Spanish/French
M usic/G erm an
A rt
History/Music
Chemistry
History
CDT
History
History
M athem atics
Music
B iology/C omputers
P .E .
M athem atics
Physics
F ren ch /G erm an
English/History
Chemistry/Biology
Biology
Design/Technology
G eo grap hy
French/Russian
C areers
C .D .T .
Housemaster Leburn
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
Housemaster Simpson
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
Second Master
Housemaster Nicol
Housemaster Woodlands
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of Science
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
Housemaster Freeland
Housemaster Ruthven
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
Housemistress I horn ban k
H ead o f D e p a rtm e n t
Housemaster Riley
H ead o f D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
H ead of D e p a rtm e n t
PART-TIME TEACHING STAFF
Mrs E. H am ilton, MA (Aberdeen)
C hemistry
English
Mrs D. H u n te r, d a (Dundee)
A rt
G eography/E nglish
Mrs L. J. Innes, BSc (Aberdeen)
Science
Games
Mrs S. L am on t, (Dunfermline)
G ames
G ames
Mrs I. I. M cFarlane. MA (Edinburgh) English
English
Mrs F. N. Ninham b a (St Andrews) Mathematics/French
English
Medical Officer
A. F orsyth, MB. ChB, D.Obst.. MRCGP, RCOG.
2
School Authority
Captain of School
K. Arnott
Head of Freeland
Head ofLeburn
HeadofNicol
Head of Ruthven
Head of Simpson
Head of Woodlands
T. S. Christie
K. C. Dinsmore
A.H.Dow
D A. MacKay
M R .Lo ga n
K. J. Salters
School Prefects
L. Y. Burton
R. A. Jones
F. D. Dalrymple
A. J. Robertson
B. A. Tilley
SALVETE
RILEY HOUSE
LEBURN H OUSE
SIMPSON HOUSE
G . J. A y kroy d, T. H. H. E d w ard s, S.
Jo nes, K. Miller, D. R o b e rts o n , J. D
S an d h a m , E. O. Su therland , B. S. W ard ,
H. B aird, R. C. D o v er, K. M. Kirimi, C.
M. M aclean, R. C. P e a rm a n , T. Sang, A.
R. J. C h ow n , R. H. Coldwell-Horsfall,
T. A. Croll, A . D. Milne, J. D . B arr, S.
R. Fairbairn, A. S. G ib son , M. P.
G o vin d, N. P. G ro sset, P. Kelly, P.
L a r k in , A . A . M a c D o n a ld , K. A .
M acK ay, D. W. M a c L e o d , A . W. M a c­
Millan, G . M cL ellard, F. H. M cM aster,
N. C. D. M orley, D. R. M. Paterson, M.
A . W. Smith, E . J. D. S outhcott, G . C.
W o o d , M. J. B ruce, K. B uch an an , S. C.
C ocksley, L. E . H e n d e r s o n , K. L.
H od g so n , L. Ironside, J. C. M atheson,.
L. A. M acM ullan, E. A. O u tlaw , H. J.
Swinn. A. R. M c G re g o r, O . W ands.
K. G. A n d e rso n , N. C. G . D o b so n , H.
E. L. D o d d , S. E. H a rro d , P. R.
H e n d e rso n , S. B. Jaco bsen , G . Joh annessen, J. O sb o rn e , N. J. R. Russell, J.
D . A . Tyrell.
M. B ark er, P. P. C h u b b , M. F. B. Frost,
K. R. Kirkland, A. G. J. Macmillan, A.
J. Milne, R. J. M orris, F. La Q u ia n te , A.
D. Stevens.
FREELAND HOUSE
C. S. A d a m , R. T. Christie, H. E. E.
V on K o p p-C o lom b, H. A. B. D u n c an , S.
C. R. G ray, A. D. B ruce-Jones, J. F.
M eiklejohn.
NICOL HOUSE
R. K. A r m u m g a n / R . Bell, A. J. B.
B en n et, N. A . B latherwick, J. D. H e n ­
derson , M. K. A. Ross.
RUTHVEN HOUSE
D. D . B reves, A. B. G ib so n , M. S.
Gilliver, R. McNally, N. J. T h o m p so n ,
B. D. W e b b , S. J. C h ow n , R. J. C.
Ionides, I. L en nie, J. P. A . M acD o n ald ,
A. M. M acL eo d , Q. T. S. R o b b , W. H.
Sangster.
THORNBANK HOUSE
E. H. C am pbell, D. M. A. D alrym ple,
C. J. D onnelly, A . E d m o n d s, F. E.
Griffiths, C. C. H ealy, D. Muir, K. B.
M a c D o n a ld , J. M. M a c D o n a ld , D.
M eld ru m , R. N. Milne, E. M. Nicolson,
E. N. Pro cter, S. J. Sem ple, A . M.
Smith, R. E. Tilford, C. F. W ilson, L. J.
S. Young.
W OODLANDS HOUSE
G . H. B arr, K. T. Bishop, K. B ow den , J.
B. Breves, S. A . C u st, A. Griffith, K. S.
H aslam , L. C. H aslam , J. Kelly, S.
Lindsay, P. J. M atth ew s, G. C. M cA voy,
N. C. Miller, H. P. M o o re, S. L. A.
M u rray, E . A. Nicholson, C. V. Proctor,
L. A. L. Q u a rry , S. A. B. R alston, C. M.
S. Silver, J. E . S im pson, L. Sandilands,
J. E. Scouller, P. V. Smith, M. J. S.
T h o m so n , K. J. T urn er.
EDITORIAL
A mystery g re a te r th an tha t of why
editorials are written is that o f why
editorials are read. D o es the readership
of “ T h e Strathallian” even know th at
there is an editorial, u n d e rn e a th all the
Latin w ords an d lists of nam es? Should
we instead use the space to air our
grievances, to construct th eories o f e d u ­
cation, or to slip in a quick ‘Hello
M u m . ’? This is no t, p resu m ably , why
people read editorials.
W e w ould like to suggest th at, in fact,
readers are looking for som e kind of
notice of the m ag azine’s authenticity: an
assurance th at it was w ritten by real
p eop le, and too k up real time and real
p ap er, an d th at th ey all survived intact. If
reading the magazine evokes a particular
year at one school, then the editorial is
the gu aran tee th a t things actually did
take place.
W e can easily be convinced th at rugby
is played — m uddy strip provides the
evidence; th at construction work is h a p ­
pening — the noise o f drills is fair
testimony; but it is not so easy to certify
that opinions expressed are genuine. The
magazine censors itself. W riters are only
to o aw are that they will be rea d , and by
w hom . T h e sub-editors are afraid that the
articles may be of a certain proven type
and th at o u r lot at Strathallan is p o r­
trayed as a staid or traditional one. A n d
so it is — but even living within a strict
fram ew ork we like to im agine ourselves
with the traditional ‘gu ts’, which in this
case is a realistic assessment of our
situation: the school has its fair share of
professional subversives, w ho are not
fully com m itted e nough to b o th e r being
great c ontributors to " T h e S trath allian .”
So we m ay indicate h e re in the
3
editorial th at the magazine is a n e a r­
perfect record o f a year at Strathallan by
prom ising th a t it all h a p p e n e d — even if
w h at is included below is only the
skeleton of the school. T h e flesh and
blood goes u n reco rd e d and is really, for
w h a te v e r reaso n, u nrecordab le.
F o r providing, h ow ev er, these bare
bo n es, which are m ore im p o rta n t to your
average subversive th en he cares to
ad m it, we have all th e co n tribu tors to
th an k . W e are grateful to masters and
pupils for e v eryth ing w ritten ab o u t,
p h o to g r a p h e d , sk etched o r sworn at for
th e sake o f this y e a r’s effort. A n d an
effort it is — we are all really h ere and
p artak ing o f a b ro a d education. It takes a
lot o ut of us, especially learning the art of
m eeting deadlines.
Catherine Burns
STAFF NOTES
F o r the second year running we say
“ G o o d b y e " to a small n u m b e r o f leavers
from the C o m m o n R oom and again
" W e lc o m e " to slightly m o re new m e m ­
bers. If, in a C o m m o n R oom o f ap pro xi­
mately fifty full-time and eleven part time
staff, five m e m b ers leave each year then
the average length o f stay is ten years —
not a bad stint in a vvorld which seems
m o re an d m ore to enco u rag e “ tu r­
nover"!
P eter B ark e r has thus b ro ken all the
rules for he retired in Jan u ary from his
position as H ea d o f C hem istry and
Science after twenty nine years at S tra th ­
allan; his co ntribution to the School is
m ore ap pro priately covered elsewhere.
H e has been replaced as H ead of
Chem istry by M r G . B olton, w ho as a
fo rm er D irector o f Music and C athed ral
organist, has brought som e welcome help
to M r R e e d , as well as som e new ideas
into the C hem istry D e p a rtm e n t. Mr
G ray has becom e the H ead o f Science
and M r Ste w art, H e ad o f the Physics
d ep artm e n t.
Mrs C a rra tt, w ho leaves the Languages
d e p a rtm e n t, has kept most of the rules! It
scarcely seem s ten years ago tha t Mrs
C a rra tt an d I w ere sitting in the sun
overlooking the Lawn one su m m e r holi­
days and I was tentatively pointing out to
her tha t not only would she be teaching
F rench an d G e r m a n th ro u g h o u t the
School, but there was also a m a tte r of
girls' games on five aftern o o n s a week
and incidently we were also short of a
H ouse T uto r. In the early years of girls at
Strathallan Jan seem ed to cope almost
single h an ded . H o w ev er, with the arrival
o f her own family, she now feels tha t her
place must be at hom e. We will miss her
contribution. Mrs Pauline McKillop is
joining the Language D e p a rtm e n t, hav­
ing re tu rn e d to her native Perthshire via
C a n a d a and we look forward to the
gradual introduction o f Spanish teaching
into the School.
M r C o o m b s leaves the G eog ra p h y
D e p a rtm e n t to tak e a p ro m o te d post at
St A n n e 's , W in d erm e re . Martin C o om bs
will be the first to adm it th at he is not a
gam es player — unless a late conversion
to C o m m o n R o o m cricket counts — but
he cannot have had a spare m o m en t since
he arrived at School tw o years ago, what
with Social Services, the Stage, Life
Saving, D. of E ., Scottish Dancing,
H ouse T u torin g and his post as Fire
Officer. He will be missed. M r P. G reen
retu rn s to Scotland to join the G e o g ra ­
phy D e p a rtm e n t an d help with games,
particularly rugby.
A t the end o f S u m m er '88 M r Harris,
the then Assistant D irector o f Music,
decided to leave teaching an d join the
D r McLay, Mr Phillips, Miss Neale and Mrs McKillop.
Bank. His replacem ent this S ep te m b e r is
D r M argaret McLay who has a joint
degree in Music and G e rm a n and will be
a resident T u to r in T h o rn b a n k , the new
G irls' H o u s e , the H o u se m istress of
which will be Miss Lyn Smith.
T h e introduction o f Politics officially,
as part of the History D e p a rtm e n t,
increased the teaching load there and so
Miss L o rn a N eale joins us via Glasgow
and Y ork universities to teach History
tog eth e r with som e music and to be the
second H ouse T u to r in T h o rn b a n k .
M r R o u n d after two years in the
C .D . T . d e p a rtm e n t is looking for a
different a tm o sp h ere in which to radiate
his waves o f different lengths and is
replaced by M r A. Phillips, a Yorkshirem an , whose family lives in Bridge of
E arn. Mrs Irene M cFarlane who came
last year at short notice to help in the
English D e p a rtm e n t is extending her
part-time tem p o rary post to alm ost full
time. Mrs Christine G ra n t leaves after
helping us to tide o ver a bulge in the
Biology D e p a rtm e n t. A lthough officially
re tire d som e five years ag o, Philip
H ew son, after his recent illness, has
decided to move South to be n earer
family.
T hose leaving do so with o u r thanks
an d good wishes; those arriving have ou r
w arm est welcome.
Mr Ballon and Mr Green.
SPEECH DAY
School speech day was held on the 27th
May, with the industrialist. Sir N orm an
Macfarlane. as G uest o f H on ou r. The
C hairm an o f the G o v ern o rs. M r J. W.
D insm ore. o p en ed the proceedings with
details of changes in the governing body:
P ro fesso r R o b e r t R a n k in , from the
University of G lasgow , having been
replaced after 15 years by his colleague.
Dr. A ngus K ennedy.
M r D insm ore then dealt with the
financial position o f the school, which, he
said, was the “ strongest e v e r" . This
strength had en abled co ntinu ed invest­
ment in buildings and facilities: the new
girls' house; the boys' accom m odation
and re p la c e m e n t la n g u a g e -le a rn in g
la boratory — all being part of the
larg e-scale capital investm ent p r o ­
gram m e being u n d ertak en by the school.
Less profitable outlay had come in the
form o f the poll tax. Perhaps unsurpris­
ingly. he an no u n c ed th at fees are to rise
in the new academ ic year. T he C hairm an
of the G o v e rn o rs paid tribute to the
Bursar, and the Finance C o m m itte e,
u nd er M r Jo nes, for their skill in m an ag­
ing the school's finances. The school's
reputation was steadily growing and.
thought Mr D insm ore. would continue to
d o so; th ank s was due to the H ea d m a ste r
an d all his staff.
T h e H ea d m a ste r b rought the im po r­
tance o f the E ducational R eform Act to
the a tten tion of the guests by referring to
it as being th e' educational New T e s ta ­
ment to the 1944 B utlerite O ld T e s ta ­
ment. He ann o u n c ed that the new G C S E
exam inations have yet to settle down
fully, but in 1988. the school pass rate
was twice the national average. From
1989/90 o n w ards, the school will be
o fferin g an extra G C S E to IV /V th
formers. In the period 1987/88. some
90% o f Strathallian V lth form leavers
went on to fu rth e r edu cation . 8 to
O xbridge and some 60 to university. Pass
rates at A an d II level were 92% and
86% respectively. At A level a further
subject has been introduced with the
arrival o f politics in the syllabus. Life
outside academ ic study continues to
flourish, with the world rugby/hockey
to u r being a highlight. Ja m e s van Beusekom a p p e a re d for Scottish Schoolboys at
rugby, and Sheelagh G o rd o n won 8 caps
at hockey. Music, d ra m a , the Pipe B and.
D uke of Edinburgh and the C C F co n ­
tinue to offer o pp ortun ities for d ev elo p ­
ment for many pupils.
Sir N orm an Macfarlane said he was
glad to be breathing the clear air of
Scotland, after a w eek's toil in the fug of
L o nd on ; although it was so m e years since
he had last visited Strathallan as a
schoolboy. T h e G uest of H o n o u r strove
to give his audience som e hints as to the
paths to com m ercial greatness. These
are. ap parently, many a nd varied; and
success com es to all who have the thirst
for it. his own p reference for polished
shoes bing o n e con crete poin t th at
budding en tre p re n e u rs could d o well to
re m em b er.
5
PRIZES — MAY 1989
T h e Smith C u p for C aptain of School
— Keith A rn o tt.
T he H ousto n Prize for All R ound
Merit — Keith D insm ore.
T h e Scanlon C u p for Merit (Girls) —
Karen Salters.
Dux — Jo h n Sloan.
T h e William Tattersall A rt Prize —
M arion G ritten.
T h e R o b ert B arr M em orial Prize for
Music — Dirk Paterson.
T h e P a tric k G r a n d i s o n Prize for
Strings — Philip W alker.
T h e Wilfred H o are Senior R eading
Prize — Louisa M ackenzie.
T h e Richard Moffat Prize for History
— A n d re w Marshall.
T h e David Bogie Prize for Econom ics
— F raser Fyfe.
T h e Lord Kincraig Prize for English —
Louisa M ackenzie.
G eo g ra p h y — Nicola Maxwell.
French — Louisa M ackenzie.
G e rm a n — Craig Glim m.
M athem atics — R o b ert Jones.
C h em istry — K atherine Haines.
Physics — K ath erin e Haines.
Biology — Nicola Maxwell.
Art — Philip W alker.
Craft Design Technology — A n drew
Lasota.
DIVISIONS
T he divisional idea was only started
two years ago. U p to th a t time a ‘g n o m e ’
w ho was good at som ething had the
chance to d o things either for himself or
for the school. If you were a boy and
good at rugby th en you could play for the
U.13 team . If you w ere a girl and good at
hockey you could help the girls' team
defend their u n b eate n record. A girl or
boy w ho was good at w ork o r tried very
h a rd could achieve excellen t ‘Form
O r d e r s ’ and be rew ard ed with the pri­
vilege of working in the library. T hen
c a m e ‘D iv ision s’ and now Riley is
divided u p into fou r Divisions m ad e of
different people from different forms.
T h e Divisions co m p ete against each
o th e r not only in academ ic work but in
sports as well and that includes anything
from table tennis, five-a-side football,
tennis, sn o o k e r to ro u n d ers and cricket.
T h e names of the Divisions are D ro n ,
D upplin, B alm ann o and G len earn and
the H o usem asters in charge are M r Keir,
M r K eith, M r S neddon and M r Ralfs.
The divisional heads are Paul Joh nsto n,
Lynn M acL en n a n . E w an O v en sto n e and
Stewart A nderson.
W h ate v er Division you are in, you are
b ou nd to find som ething you are good at.
If it is football, it w o u ld n ’t be just the
boys w ho would be asked, the girls would
have a chance too , if th ey were any good.
T he most exciting o f the activities are
the plays. B alm an no won this year with
the production of ‘Sleeping B o ttle’. The
main ch aracter was Steven Buchan who
played the p art o f the ‘Sleeping B eau ty’.
E verything is for m arks, even form
o rders, so everything is always go and at
the en d o f the y ear the division with the
most points wins a trophy.
E v en if you a r e n ’t good at athletics and
you are picked to re presen t your division,
you try hard an d do your best. Even if
you com e last, the personal achie vement
of finishing is great. N o-one ever feels
left ou t and w h erev er you com e you get
points so you feel you have d one so m e­
thing to help yo ur division. W hen you get
good form ord ers there is also a sense of
achievem ent because every plus you get
is a m ark for your Division.
LINES
FROM THE NEW
BOYS
RILEY
THE YOYO CRAZE
A s the term “sp in s" on to the “en d o f
the string ” ,
We have so m e im po rta n t new s to bring,
O f R iley a n d the y o y o craze.
W hich hit us in the su m m e r days.
The snow , m uch wished fo r , never came.
O nly heavy clouds a n d rain upon rain;
Som ew here in the deepest, darkest store,
Y o yo s m ultiplied, secretly, galore.
W hile bo ys p la yed rugby in the w in d ,
G irls p la ye d h o ckey, captained by L yn n ;
The y o y o s sat in big brow n boxes.
N ext to so m e apples. (T h ey were C ox's).
The Spring term cam e, the rain kept
falling,
There was n o skiing, h o w appalling!
Still the y o y o s sat in boxes.
N ext to the apples, which were C ox's.
The S u m m e r term cam e, we h o p ed fo r
sun,
For the 2 n d fo r m cam ping which was to
com e,
C ricket m atches, rounders too,
Seco n d fo r m science, trips to the zo o .
The y o y o s invaded, first in tens.
M ultiplying fast, a n d then, and then,
They overran Riley, until every boy.
H a d one — the fa vo u rite toy.
S o n o w as the term draw s to a close,
W e ’re seeing less a n d less yo yo s.
The senior sch o o l beckons, so severe!
We w o n ’t have tim e fo r this, next year.
AND
MORE LINES
D o rm riot
Missing slippers
F ingle’s quiet
Y ucky kippers!
Tig down the valley
T e a c h e r’s m arkin g
M a t r o n ’s difflam
Kivie’s barking
L ectures, talks
Pillow fights,
Midnight walks
B ro ken lights.
M uddy shoes
Noisy nights
B locked up loos
Bursting pipes.
Morning duties
early p rep
M o re detention
I ’m all wet!
W a lkm en blaring
W a te r’s off!
E v e ry o n e ’s skiving
W ith a cough.
6
SUNGLASSES
I just tho ug ht I'd tell you abo ut
som ething you may have seen at the
p a r e n t - t e a c h e r s ’ m eeting which to ok
place at the beginning o f May.
Y ou may have noticed teac hers sp o rt­
ing pairs of sunglasses — but with a
difference. These sunglasses are small
perspex m odels a b o u t the size of a
pen -to p, and come in many different
colours. These glasses originated from
M r Keir and becam e a ‘tea c h ers’ t r e n d ’.
H e says, believe it o r no t, th at they
come from an optician who w asn't doing
very well. M r Keir rescued him by telling
him that he n eeded an em blem . So he
stuck a large pair o f glasses outside his
shop and also had som e m ade into
miniatures as advertisem ent.
Personally we think this story is a load
of baloney!
T h e o th e r story, the o ne a b o u t Aliens
invading the w orld, is much m ore likely.
Before this crisis o ccu rred. M r Keir
(being psychic) realised what was going
on and p ro du ced the glasses in mass to
protect everybody from the alien pow ers'
rays.
N o t everybody is with the m o v em en t,
however. O n e o r two teachers still sit
hunched over their mark books. In their
opinion the sunglasses are stupid and the
teac hers w ho w ear them are im m ature
and childish.
Yet the sunglasses could really be
described as the em blem o f the sum m er
term . T h ey have been helpful in more
than on e way: they are making their
a p p e ara n ce on an im p ortant showpiece
next term (the N arv o n n e T o u r Sweatshirt
and T-Shirt) and they are symbols to
show that the w e arer is a Strathallan
teacher.
H o w eve r, although these glasses were
a smash-hit at the beginning of te rm , the
craze — like what is h appening with
yo-yos — is dying out.
U n d o u b t e d l y a n o t h e r t r e n d will
replace it and history will rep eat itself as
usual.
FROM THE GIRLS
W atc hing “ N eigh bo urs”
Losing books
Boring lessons
N asty looks!
Blazers stained
C hoir practice
T ennis coaching
H o ckey tactics.
M asters bellow
M a jo r beating
Lyndsey’s cello
Q uick house meeting.
GIRLS’ SPORT
BOYS’ SPORT
RUGBY
T h e U13s h ad quite a successful
season, only losing three games out of
eight. T hey put on a good show at most
of the g am es, especially at M erchiston,
w here a late try m ade it 10-12 against.
Paul Jo h n sto n capta ined well, Jo n a th an
Wallace scored som e excellent individual
tries and Jam es R eekie tackled fiercely.
HOCKEY
H ockey this year was just as strong as
last y e a r . T h e t e a m c h o p p e d - a n d changed a bit, because of illness and
injuries. (G irls, at one point, had to be
brou gh t in to cover for the sick!). The
te am did not m anage an undefeated
season, but still p ut on a brave effort.
This year, Riley was defending the
‘hockey sixes’ title. T hey put on a brave
effort but failed on sudden death pen al­
ties in th e semi-finals. L o retto w ent on to
win. J o n ath a n Wallace captained the side
very well and scored many goals, but
Paul Jo hn ston en d ed up scoring the most
goals o f the season.
CRICKET
Cricket was played exceptionally well
this term , the U13s only losing o ne game
so far (to A rd v re c k ), o ut of seven. T h e
U12s have also played well and it was
nice to see their enth usiasm as they beat
A rdv reck. In the U13s, captain A n d re w
Jeffrey m a de a g reat “ d e b u t" by scoring
66 runs and taking 4 wickets in the first
match. D avid Nicholson an d G e o rg e
Kitson have excelled in most o f the
matches with their batting and bowling.
ATHLETICS
Athletics in Riley has been outstanding
this year. Jo n a th a n W allace, Michael
Wallace (no relation) and M artain Fitchie
have ta ken the field by storm. Jo n a th an
Wallace brok e the minute in the 400
m etres with 59.3 seconds an d M artain
Fitchie got an excellent time in the 1500
metres. T h e five star aw ard schem e has
been in action, with quite a few people
winning o ne of the badges.
D irty games socks
Smelly feet
Bleeping watches
“ G o n e to e a t” .
Chewing gum
lOp fines
M idnight walks
100 lines.
B ro ken rulers
Buying tuck
H o u rs o f exams
G o o d luck!
Form I Poets
A s you may have w o rk ed ou t, hockey
and netball are the main two sports for us
girls. W e have team s for these two sports
and play a fair n u m b e r of m atches
throu g h o u t the course of the first two
terms. O n e hockey match was against
Laurel B ank . . . it w asn ’t a fine day, but
the m atch w en t on as planned. W e were
barely 2 minutes into the game when we
had scored o u r first goal. A n d from there
it went on, goal after goal, after goal, until
th e gam e e n d e d with a final score of 13-0!
R o w e n a Taylor, o u r cen tre forw ard,
scored 8 of th e thirteen goals, virtually one
after the o th er. It was a very enjoyable
game!!
We were an un b eate n te am throu gh ou t
the whole season and in total, adding up
all the goals from all the different
matches, we had: F o r 43 goals, and
Against: 2 goals.
D uring the spring and au tu m n term s,
when the w e a th e r is bad (or just for a
change), we play b ad m in ton in the sports
hall. W e get taug ht how to score, where
to stand and generally how to play. It's
always good fun having a gam e as a
change from hockey or netball. We also
do aerobics every two weeks o r so. This
consists of w arm -up exercises, w arm down exercises with m ore vigorous ones
in betw een and a run to top it all off!
If you ask any of the girls which term is
best for gam es/sport, most o f them
im mediately reply ‘S u m m er T e r m ’. This
is mostly because o f the nicer w eath er
(th at we som etim es get!) and the great
variety of sports th at we can choose from.
A lth ou gh the main sport of the term is
ro u nd ers, we d o several o th e r sports like
ten n is, squ ash, riding, athletics and
swimming.
O n a T uesday we can go riding if we
want. Y ou get a choice. If we do choose
to go, then after lunch we get changed
and m eet at R othesay Pier, where we
catch the bus to tak e us ou t to Lochore.
Lochore is w here the stables are situated.
We spend the afternoon getting lessons,
jum ping o r going on hacks. T h en we have
to come back for late teas, th en on to
p rep . O f course, if you choose n ot to go
riding, then you play squash for the
aftern oo n games session in the S tra th ­
allan squash courts, which are at the side
of the dining hall.
O n a W e dn esd ay, we go down to the
athletics track where we take p art in the
100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, long
ju m p , high ju m p and shot putt. This
takes most of the a ftern oo n, but if we do
finish fairly early, then most of us are off
back to Riley to play on the tennis courts.
We d o n 't actually get taught how to play
tennis for a fixed games session, but the
tennis courts are always th ere waiting to
be used, so we all go o ut in o u r free time
o r during actives when w e ’ll have a fun
gam e o r just knock ab ou t. If you want
lessons, th en every Friday a professional
tennis coach co m es in to take several
different coaching sessions for pupils.
H e ’s very good an d im proves your game
a lot.
T h e tw o rem aining games days, T h u rs­
day and S aturday , are used for playing
ro un ders. W e split up into tw o team s and
c o m p e te against each oth er.
It's good fun an d a good laugh at the
sam e time.
Swimming is no t d o n e often , but when
it is d on e it can be during any o f three
term s. W e usually just have a few races,
in team s o r individually, do the odd
lengths and th en get a bit o f free time to
chuck balls a b o u t an d muck arou nd .
So as you can see, th ere are several
different things we can do for games —
and that isn't including all o f the things
th a t we d o during o u r free time on
Sundays, during “ actives" times and
during o u r gym sessions.
SILENCE IN COURT
“ o r I ’ll sm ash y ou r fa ce.”
Y es, there certainly was quite a lot of
friction in this y e a r’s rehearsals. But in
the en d the e n te rta in m e n t — a o ne act
co urt case — w ork ed beautifully and was
a hit success with all of Riley. U n fo rtu ­
nately the play a c c o m m o d a ted only 10
parts, but no-one really m inded as it
m e a n t th ey could relax w ithout an o th e r
thing on their mind. A fte r all, there were
exams on. Laurie C ru m p , the jud ge,
acted his part to perfection, an d wee
D u ncan F orbes (com m only know n as
F rann y), was in the middle of it all
playing the not-so-big ‘O ’. T he barristers
w ere excellen t (L ind sey M oir and
Lesley-Ann D ew ar) and so w ere the
witnesses — who were L ord M , the
R o m a n n u m eral 1,000, played by Jam es
G a m m ac k -C lark ; C , the R o m a n num eral
7
100, played by Paul J o h n s to n ; and
N u m b e r N ine, played by Allan Clark.
David Nicholson, the constable, although
he had nothing to say, kept his rigid
position perfectly th ro u g h o u t the whole
play, except for the final climax w h en, in
the thick of the action, he clapped the
p o m p o u s L ord M in irons. M atthew
D o v er, the sharp and alert clerk o f the
co urt, really fitted the p art and M artin
Fitchie, the lanky usher, e n su re d nononsense order. O n the w hole, the acting
was su perb and 100% must go to the
stage hands w ho really helped things
along. O n the day, the audience were
brilliant and even laughed in the right
places! B ut top m arks go to M r Keith
w ho really boosted e v e ry o n e ’s morale
an d m a de a fabulous play.
THE SIEGE OF EILDON HILL
O u r hill fort was peaceful before the
dark-eyed invader cam e along. Strange
m en , some on ho rseback , som e on foot,
cam e lum bering a l o n g — the R om ans. A
few of their b reath ta k in g ad ven tures had
re ached o u r hum ble ears.
T h e attack cam e at night. Surges of fire
cam e splurting into the fort. T h ere was a
A ROMAN SOLDIER’S
PRAYER
horrible clash. H orses' frightened, ring­
ing neighs could be h eard from miles
aro u n d . T h e re were groans and grunts as
d ead and injured bodies slum ped to the
g rou nd . O ften riders w ere crushed if
their horses w ent dow n. I co uld n't
believe that the R o m an s were winning.
A t the en d of the battle th ere was a
t r i u m p h a n t s c e n e . A s th e in j u r e d
R o m a n s cam e up, we co uld n't refuse to
let th em into o u r fort. We hung o u r heads
in sham e and sorrow as we sw ept our
eyes o v er the bloody battlefield.
M ignonne Kha/.aka
Swords clashing
H orses dashing
Spears flying
R o m an sd y in g .
Swords clashing
H elm ets bashing
Caledonii chariots flying
But th eir men dying.
Iain Macdonald
Gavin Aldridge
Mine deity, Mars,
Blessed be thy nam e.
T hine kingdom will be yours, forever.
I stand worshipping th ee in this sacred
place,
F or I have sinned in thy na m e.
A n d am afraid
O f any co nfrontation of w eapons.
But most of all, d e a t h .
T he standstill o f the beating o f mine
heart,
T he last pint o f blood th a t travels
ro un d my body.
In battle I cow er at the w ar cry o f the
Piets,
T he sadistic tribes o f the N orth
W h o kill w ithout mercy.
Thirsty for blood.
With bitter d e term in atio n , they
advance forward.
Slashing left and right.
M any fall, sta inin gth e e arth with their
blood.
B ut I swear I have seen those rise
again.
Back from the life of the deceased,
I plead for y o ur forgiveness, O Mars,
My cowardliness is fe e b le ,
B ut have mercy upon me,
I beseech thee.
Hanna Kranenburg
Warriors o f the UI2 Cricket XI.
THE VIKING RAID ON IONA
Form I take to the trees.
It was such a lovely day — all bright
and sunny. T h e m onastery shed a cool
shadow u p on the grass. T h e m onks were
pouring m elted gold u po n one o f the
Bible covers in a sort of pattern . T he
village m en were farming, the women
making their hu sb and s' lunch. My name
is Lukelga. I am the d a u g h te r of on e of
the village wom en.
My friend T a k a and I were looking for
shells on the shore when we spo tted the
tips of sails riding tow ards us on the crest
of the waves. W e w atched in bew ilder­
m ent until we finally saw the outline of a
ship. It cam e closer and closer an d we
w ere able to see the red and white
8
colours of the sails.
A s soon as I ran and told my m o th e r,
she m o u th ed the word " V ik in g ". T hen
shouting it, she g rabb ed me by the hand
and ran to the m onastery. A m onk ran up
to the to w er and started ringing the bell.
Within minutes the m on ks had hidden all
th e gold and gold coloured materials,
Bibles, easels, paints, quills and every­
thing th ey could find. I and oth er
children were rushed into a secret room .
T h ro u g h a small hole in the wall I could
see my m o th e r and this m an. H e had a
h elm et on and a cloak. He had a sword
and an axe tied to his waist . . .
Julia Wanless
THE SWIMMING LESSON
It was a typical s u m m e r's day in the
H ighlands — no, that's unfair, it was a
gloriously hot day — when I decided to
give one of my best friends his first
swimming lesson.
It was his first time in G airloch and he
was enjo ying every minute o f it. He
revelled in the large rolling lawns of
W esterdale H o u se, my holiday hom e for
the previous eleven years, the beautiful
beach w here he and I could play football
and race each o th er as noisily as we liked,
and the w ooded hills where we could go
on long hikes to gether. A lthough he's
y ounger than m e. he's quite large for his
age and has got a build totally different
from mine. (I'm not called w ee-m an for
nothing!). This m ean t he had a lot of
stam ina and was able to walk several
miles.
It was in a small dam up on e of these
hills where I first tried to get him to swim.
I was surprised to see th at he was scared
o f w ater. I m ean , he was good at football,
running, wrestling and he loved the
o utd oo rs, so why was he scared o f water?
He seem ed to be scared of putting his
head u n d er the w ater, like many y ou n g­
NONSENSE
RHYMES
PROJECT CRAZY!
2nd Form
The birds were flying upside down
Cows hanging in the trees
The cats w ere barking at the dogs
My ham ster's on his knees.
In the middle o f the morning
In the dark ness o f the night
T h e sad man would be happy
A n d the wrong man would be right.
T h e violets would be roses
If you failed exams, y ou'd pass
T h e hard would turn to easy
A n d the first would turn to last.
In the m onth of Sunday
In a town called June
O n a wet dry day
A witch rode at full m oon.
Gregor Watt
Matthew Dover
Catherine Piper
sters, and certainly the cold Scottish
w a ter put him off.
I tried to coax him saying. " C o m e on,
it’s not th at cold. I'll give you a special
t r e a t . " He w ou ldn 't budge. " O h , you
silly tw it." I said lunging at him. He
ju m p e d back quickly causing me to fall
splat on the h ea the r. S om e friend he is.
E ventually I did m a nag e to get him into
the water! T he only stroke he was any
good at was the doggy paddle. A fter all.
he is a dog!
Duncan Forbes
Form I
Form I Gnomes.
93BC — It was the time o f big teachers
towering o ver small children reciting
facts and figures and ham m erin g know ­
ledge into their brains, testing them and
teaching them a nd testing them and so on
and so on. T he classrooms were cold and
uninviting. T h e masters even co lder an d.
with their long black robes d rap ed over
th em , they would cane a nybody that
b reath ed.
1986AD — T h e year of the new G C S E
exams. W arm and friendly classroom s
and even friendlier teachers! With the
new exams com es a new age — The
project age! Projects are like a runaway
express. "P ro je c ts in English, projects in
F rench, projects in the strip-room . sitting
on the bench . . . Projects in M aths,
projects in Div. We'll be doing projects
for as long as we live!"
But we a re sick o f these projects!
Projects, projects, pro jects. The projects
a re driving us crazy! t h e s e projects are
taking up so much o f o u r tim e, th at we
have got no time to d o anything else but
projects. W hat h a p p e n e d to the ‘good
old days' o f mem orising facts an d figures
in fear of the swish of the cane?
MURDER AT THE CORNER SHOP
T h e wind howled. T he clouds grew
thicker, and the light becam e less, as I
trudged on through the m oorland c o u n ­
tryside. I knew tha t I needed so m ew here
to spend the night, but I d a re n 't return to
the city, for fear o f my deadly pursuer.
A h ea d of me was a small village, so I
made great haste as I travelled tow ards it.
O n reaching the village, I tried the
d oor-handle of the first building I came
to. T h e d o o r was locked, so I tried the
next and the next, but n on e o f them
would op en. By the time I reached the
small shop at the c o rn er of the street. I
was in such a d espera te panic th at I
lowered my sho uld er and charged, p u t­
ting my full weight against the door. The
old lock gave little a rg u m en t, and after a
second a tte m p t, it gave way.
A s I en te re d the old. dusty ro o m , time
seem ed to stand still. I soon realised that
the shop h a d n 't been used for many years
because the w ooden co u n te r an d till were
covered in cobw ebs and dust. Likewise,
the balance and the w ooden shelves were
very dirty. I guessed that the shop had
once had a very p ro u d , as well as neat
and tidy o w ner, fo r all the tins in the
glass-fronted cabinets were spaced out at
an identical distance from all o f the
others. It could be seen that, although
everything was dusty, at on e time all the
w o od en shelves and panels had been
varnished at regular intervals.
I was aw ak en ed from my trance as I
heard heavy breathing approaching. I hid
b ehind the c o u n te r and waited. 1 knew
my end was close. T h e d o o r c reaked and
9
swung o p en . Suddenly a tall m an was
standing in front o f me. He reached
inside his jacket and pulled ou t a black,
eight-round revolver. He held it in both
hand s and raised it. His right forefinger
to uch ed the trigger. With the left thum b,
he cocked the h a m m e r. I shut my eyes for
1 knew this was it. I o p e n e d my eyes to
see a yellow flash ac com pan ied by an ear
splitting bang!
“ C u t! " cam e the firm voice of the
director.
" H o w many times will it take you to
get it right!"
I did n't know w hat had gone wrong!
Peter Veates
Form II
FREELAND
T h e old H ou se has go ne, along with it
som e w e ll- m a t u r e d h o m e b rew , som e
cigarette packets o f a b ra n d even I had
not h e ard of and a collection o f ‘Tit Bits’,
circa 1955. T h e tales a ro o f space could
tell! T o g e th e r with Sim pson we have
m oved into o u r new palace — a m arriage
o f convenie nce which has gone far b e tte r
th an I d a re d hope. T h e facilities are
much b e tte r an d general op inio n seems
enthusiastic in spite of th e o n e m a jo r
draw back: we are now n u m b e r o ne on
the H e a d m a s t e r ’s w histle-stop tour.
O verall it has b e e n quite a g oo d year.
T h e talents o f the ju n io rs p ro d u c e d cups
of various shapes a nd sizes, including
rugby a nd cricket. T h e seniors cam e up
with basketball a nd , with a tre m e n d o u s
final effort, athletics. Well d o n e ; n ot just
to the ‘stars’ bu t to th e vital ‘supporting
cast’. A lot of de term in atio n was shown
by a lot of people.
I wish I could be convinced th at the
s am e d e te r m in a tio n was d irec ted to
w ork. T he T h ird F o rm p ro d u c e d o u t­
standing ord ers and reports. A b o v e th at
the picture was less satisfactory. T h e fact
tha t you capta ined the H o u se ju n io r
‘Scruples’ te a m m ay n ot cut m uch ice
with a prospective em p lo y er w hen faced
with yo ur single H ig h er Certificate. M ost
sport is in the public eye an d tha t
produces its own stimulus. M ost im p o r­
ta n t w ork is in y o ur ow n time and th at
d em an d s self-discipline, easy for m e to
preach a b o u t b u t m uch less easy to put
into action.
This y e a r’s serm on is a b o u t telling the
tru th. T o w ards th e e nd o f te rm on th ree
d iffere n t o ccasions m e m b e r s o f th e
H o u se lied to m e in o rd e r to get o ut of
trouble. I d o n ’t p re te n d to be a G eo rg e
W ashington. M ost o f us have lied at
various times in o u r lives. W h a t w orried
m e was the surprise which my anger
p ro v o k ed an d the a p p a re n t feeling that
such lies are an acceptable m ean s of
working th e ‘system ’. If th ey w ere to
be com e so then au tho rity will have to
p resu m e guilt instead of innocence and
n atural justice will go ou t o f the window,
to g e th e r with respect and security.
Living in any closed society im poses
certain strains an d stresses. I am grateful
to the H o u se as a w hole to the degree
with which th ey lo ok after each o th e r. O f
course th ere are ‘explosions’, b ut these
a re p a rt o f learning to live with o thers. It
is interesting to see how each y ear g ro up
deals with th ose it feels are getting above
The old House being cleared away
10
them selves. T h e re is nothing w rong with
this, providing it does no t becom e hab i­
tual.
N o d o u b t it will surprise th e leavers to
know tha t I am grateful to th e m also.
A m o n g st th e m th ere was considerable
potential for disaster. By an d large they
got throu gh their final term rem ark ably
well. In an o dd sort of way I shall miss
T o b y ’s cool sophistication, B rian ’s w hi­
skers, A lly’s m acho im age, A l a n ’s . . .
Well, p erh ap s I should a b a n d o n the list.
M ost o f you h av e, in yo ur own ways,
m ad e a real contribution.
My th an k s go to all the academ ic tu tors
w ho have pu t in a lot o f time and hard
w ork o n your behalf, to M r Pengelley
w hose unpaid stints allow m e to c ontinue
to watch C N C catch fish (incidentally, M r
F o rd has learnt to row quite well) and
especially to M r C o u rt him self w hose ‘e ar
to the g r o u n d ’ is invaluable, advice
essential an d con tribu tion tow ards my
resolution of a tidy study akin to th a t of
A ttila th e H u n to R o m a n culture.
By the tim e you read this we will be
well into next academ ic year. It should be
a good one. My best wishes go to all the
leavers — Y es A lan — A L L .
R .W .P.
LEBURN
O u r largest ev er new boy intake of 22
m a de for a busy start to the au tu m n term.
F ortun ately, th ere were few settling-in
p roblem s and all survived what has
b ecom e a daun tin g stretch of a b o u t 15
weeks up to C hristm as. W h at a g reat pity
it is th at early exam dates have necessi­
tated the presen t im balance in the lengths
o f the first an d third term s o f the school
year. T h e su m m e r term is still the best
but ten w eek s’ w orth is not long enough
to do justice to everything which must be
packed into it.
It is not easy to review a very busy
H ouse y ear in the space of a few
p aragraph s but h ere goes, and apologies
for any inad vertant ommissions. First of
all, a few notable achievem ents deserve a
special m entio n — Fraser R ea won an
A rm y Scholarship, D avid Clark a Ford
sponsorship, Mike W h itm e e was selected
for the Scottish Schools U19 rugby squad
an d Keith D insm o re deservedly won the
H o u sto n C u p for A ll-R o u n d Merit.
A s r e g a r d s a c a d e m ic w o rk my
im pression is th at, with a few notable
exceptions, most people applied th e m ­
selves pretty well, and th ere is no d ou bt
tha t som e w orked very h ard indeed. A s a
grou p, the 3rd form show ed up p articu­
larly well, and one hopes th at they will
k eep up their m o m e n tu m as th ey p rog ­
ress up the school.
I'm glad to say th at musical talent
continues to arrive and thrive in the
H ouse and the overall array has never
been stronger. Neil C o ck b u rn . a music
scholar and a most accom plished o rg a n ­
ist, has d e m o n s tra te d his expertise on the
new C hapel organ on many occasions and
he, to g e th e r with m any m ore of o u r
instrum entalists, has con trib u ted su b ­
stantially to the orchestra and the choir.
Keith D in sm o re, Craig Glim m and Tony
Hill com pleted distinguished careers in
th e Pipe B an d in the su m m e r, and I’m
sure will tak e aw ay with them many
happy m em o ries o f Pipe B and occasions
and particularly of winning the E ast of
Scotland c o m p etitio n twice in th re e
years.
O n the games front we co m p ete d well
in most of the co m petitions but ten d ed to
be o u t- g u n n e d by the H o uses with
greater dep ths of games talent. H o w ever,
this was not the case as far as swimming
was co ncern ed and than ks mainly to the
ju niors, and Nick Buckley in particular,
we came a close second to Sim pson. We
w ent on e b e tte r in the su m m er term
when we won the R ow an C u p for
Standards. This was very pleasing as it
was achieved by virtue o f the efforts of
th e whole H ou se (nearly) with Jam es
G re e n supplying a lot o f the necessary
back-up drive.
thing of a non-conform ist as regards
discipline during his time at school, and
n o t very h a rd -w o rk ing , an d yet he
co ntribu ted a g reat deal on the games
side (cricket, squash and rugby) and was
chairm an o f the debating society in his
last year. H e en joy ed life and his spirit,
sparkle and general bo nh om ie won him a
lot o f friends. A very large n u m b e r of
those a tte n d e d his funeral in A b e r d e e n ­
shire and his family was very grateful and
tou ched by the response of so many
people wishing to pay their respects. His
m o th e r has p resen ted the school with a
new cricket pavilion clock in m em ory of
C hris and its position overlooking the
lawn w here he spen t many happy hours is
so ap p ro p ria te and so right.
My grateful th an ks to th e ‘t e a m ’ for
their help o ve r the year — to my wife,
H ouse T u to rs M artin C o o m b s an d Klaus
G lim m , and the ladies who have do n e
their best to k eep the studyblock and
d orm s in good ord er. Sadly, after only
tw o years with us, Martin C o o m b s is
moving to pastures new. He has been
It is with great sadness th at I rep o rt the
d eath of C. N. C. H en d erso n (1982-87).
Chris, w ho was just tw enty, was killed in
a car accident in M arch. He was so m e­
a p p o inte d H ea d of G eo g rap h y at St.
A n n e ’s School n ear W in d erm ere and we
wish him good luck in the future. M r
Kitson, a close-season signing from Sim p­
son, will be joining us as H ouse T u to r
next term.
My than ks also to Keith D insm o re for
setting such a good exam ple as H ou se
C ap tain an d keeping the ship on an even
keel, and to Bruce Tilley and the rest of
th e prefects for their support.
I wish all the leavers happiness and
success in the future. K eep in touch —
my only request when you visit the old
school is th at you shave and leave your
chains, beads and earrings behind for the
day!
H ead o f H ouse: K. C. D insm ore.
D eputy: B. A. M. Tilley.
Prefects: G . D. C o o k e , J. R. K.
Ewing, C. H. A. G lim m , J. P. G r e e n ,
D. H. Rid doch, M. J. W hitm ee.
H o u se C o lo urs: All th ose n am ed
above and A. J. Hill.
H .C .A .
A. J. Sinclair.
11
NICOL
With a very small U p p e r Sixth it
seem ed unlikely that we would do well in
any senior sporting com petitions, and so
it proved. Only Chris Lawrence an d.
occasionally. Rinnes Brown (a successful
2nd X V capta in) a p p e a re d for the 'firsts',
but, aided by 3rd-X V ers Chris Clark
(also a captain) and Ja m e s W hitm ee. and
sundry others, the H o u se te am played
out its skin only to lose narrowly to
L eburn. The Seven m anaged revenge,
but cou ldn 't beat an y o n e else. With a
host o f rugby talent in D uncan R o b e rt­
son. ( U n d e r 15s) and G ra h a m A d diso n.
Philip A insw orth (yet a n o th e r captain).
Nick Jo n es and Mark Silver ( U n d e r 14s).
we did far b etter in Ju n io r com petitions,
beating all but Freeland. B row n. Clark
a n d W hitm ee all played 1st XI hockey,
but ou r senior ind oo r team just lost to
R uthven in the first ro un d. A gain the
juniors, with R obertson and Mark T a y­
lor, did b etter, only to fall to the dread ed
Freeland in the final o f the inaugural
to u r n a m e n t. W e did have d epth in
cross-country and at last won a cup.
R og er Bond won the middles. Lawrence
and Riki Sang got seconds, and good
packing in all the age groups saw us home
comforta bly. W e w eren 't so successful,
despite Keith A rn o tt 's first an d second,
in the swimming.
T h e highlight o f o u r su m m e r sport was
the ju n io r cricket final. With Mark Tench
(C a ptain ), Mark Silver. M atthew C ohen
and Ja m es D ucat we had the bowling to
win provided we scored en ou gh runs. We
only m ustered 62 a n d . although Freeland
wickets tu m b led , their su perio r hitting
just told. Davis Smith led a hopeful
sailing team , but e q u ip m en t breakages
put us o ut of the running. A n drew
Marshall (the yo un ger o ne) capta ined the
golf with distinction but a young team
co uld n't quite give the supp ort and we
cam e third. In squash we just went o ut to
Sim pson and (oh ignominy!) we lost to
W oo dland s at tennis. T h e juniors turned
ou t enthusiastically in athletic standards,
but the u p p e r hierarchy let us down. Four
full colours led the finals squad and we
had fine p erform ances from m any, not
least Jam es D ucat in ju n io r javelin and
C hris L a w ren ce in a thrilling 1500
metres. But third was all we could
manage. T he p erform ance o f the year
was R og er B o nd 's bronze medal in the
Scottish Schools 1500 m etres, when he
also b ro ke the school record.
N ot then a vintage y ear for sport, but
in m any o th e r less m easurable areas
th ere was excellence. Ian Clark discip­
lined him self aw ay from co m ed y to m ake
an o utstanding M acbeth , and was ably
su pp orted (and attacked ) by Jo hn M ax­
well. Ian stitched us up with a rendering
o f T h e Tay Bridge D isaster', and Chris
P ro cter showed fine feeling for ‘Tam
with a brilliantly staged o pening, but got
lost in a w elter o f political inn uen do , and
no o ne got a prize. Sebastian H e a d . John
Maxwell, Philip A insw orth and E uan
Smith were all stalw arts o f O rchestras.
(Sebastian is off to California with the
E d inburgh Y outh O rc hestra this su m ­
m er), and Colin G reg ory and Keith
A rn o tt continued to enjo y the Brass
E nsem ble. O n a less elevated plane Colin
Pettinger, E u an Smith and D uncan K en ­
nedy were the b ack bo ne of a sophisti­
cated, even musical, po p g ro up which
relieved the b o red om o f disco music at
dances. D un can also had a successful
piping sw ansong, winning the ju n io r cup
an d co ming second in the inter-school
com petition. He was jo ined by A n drew
M arshall, Ja m e s W hitm ee and Jam es
' D u c a t in the Pipe Band.
A cad em ic ac hievem ent takes longer to
assess, but on the evidence of the
much-maligned BS to NS system the
H ouse had a particularly good year. The
ju niors have seldom scored so highly.
David Clark m o pp ed up two fourth form
prizes, Mark Tench got on e and Duncan
Taylor scored in the third form. A nd rew
Marshall (the on e not m ention ed so far!)
is o u r C am b rid ge hope.
A ro u n d all this activity the building
continues to split and dete rio ra te. Mrs
Howie has been unflagging in he r efforts
to m ake it seem m ore like h om e and only
a few messy seniors got in the way.
A ttitu d e to prop erty, com m un al o r p e r­
sonal, is still not what it might be. but I
have been enco uraged by the co m m o n
sense o f the juniors. T h eir talent, and.
when it comes, the new building, m akes
the future bright. A fter the traum as of
last y ear Nicol has been a h ap p ier place.
F or this we are indebted to the quiet
enthusiasm of A n d re w D ow , backed by
Keith A rn o tt as an ou tstand ing H ead of
School. T hey and the o th e r prefects leave
with the know ledge o f a jo b well done.
T o them and all the o th e r leavers go our
best wishes. K eep in touch and let us
know how you fare.
Finally, my thanks to Messrs W ands
and Burgess, w ho do so much to relieve a
p o o r old H o u sem as te r's bu rd en , and to
Messrs Giles and Ross who, as academic
tuto rs, have kept their boys up to the
mark.
H ouse A u th o rity
H ead o f School: K. A rn o tt
H ead o f H ouse: A . H. D ow
S ch o o l Prefect:
R. A . B o n d
(S u m m er term )
H o u se Prefects: R. G. B row n
C. A . G regory
C. J. Law rence
A . M. M arshall
R. D. Sm ith
A . J. K. M arshall
J. J . W hitm ee
Captains:
R ugby:
H o ckey:
Cricket:
Squash:
Sw im m in g :
A thletics:
C ross-C ountry:
Skiing
Soccer:
Tennis:
Shooting:
Sailing:
G olf:
C. J . Law rence
R. G. B row n
R. G. B row n
R. A . B o n d
K. A rn o tt
R. A . B o n d
A . H. D ow
C, A . G regory
C. Clark
A . M. M arshall
C. A . G regory
R. D. Sm ith
A . J. K. M arshall
J.N .F .
gjfr&fr m ^ n i > n m >
S
S
S
S
n t tin nit t i t
O S h anter' in a hugely enjoyable Scottish
Evening. T h e ju n io r play prom ised well
12
S
hd
RUTHVEN
A lthough this has not been an o u t­
standing year in term s o f winning cups. I
d o think it has gone well in general. The
a tm o sp he re in the H ouse has been good
and we have c o m p e ted well in most
com petitions and com e very close to
winning a nu m b er, notably cross country
and athletics.
T h e latter was an excellent perfo r­
m ance with only a few points separating
us from the winners. T h e re were a
n u m b e r of very good individual p erfo r­
mances : in particular. M arc Wilkinson is
to be co ngratulated fo r winning the
Senior Victor L u do ru m and C am eron
C oo k for sharing the Middle. Both senior
and middle relay team s did well, as did
individuals such as E ddie Parker. Tim
L awrence. David Ismail and Craig G ib ­
son.
A n u m b er o f individuals c o m p e te d in
m ajo r running events such as H ad din g­
ton. the G re a t North Run and Loch
Rannoch. Tim L aw rence ran superbly at
Loch R annoch to be the clear overall
w inner in the m ini-m arathon : Martin
Ross and E dw ard Hall also did ex cep­
tionally well in the same race.
O nce again, with the sam e team as last
year (G ra n t A n d erso n . Bruce Guy, lain
Steel and Jo n a th a n Fram e), we won the
G o lf com petition. G ra n t just pipped
Bruce for the Individual S troke Play and.
in fact, scored an excellent double by
winning the Individual T ennis C o m p e ti­
tion. Iain Steel had a very successful
season representing the Perth an d Kin­
ross District, having a Scottish Schools
trial and being chosen to play for the
Malaysian ju nior side.
A lthough regarded by som e as not a
m ajo r co m petition, the football is taken
seriously by all boys and very seriously by
som e, for exam ple G o rd o n Piper. H o w ­
ever. Bruce Tilley did m anage to control
G o rd o n and the rest o f his team suffi­
ciently well to win this com petition.
Bruce also led the rugby sevens side
(D ave Mackay, M arc Wilkinson. Archie
Millar, C a m e ro n C o o k , R o b ert Jo nes,
G o rd o n Piper and Tim Lawrence) to a
very close victory.
A d rian G ow ers, who captained the
School Squash team , also led the H ouse
team , including G ra n t A n d erso n . Simon
Peters, Iain Steel and Nick Q u in n , to
victory. (N ick, incidentally, has com e to
fame this year as lead singer of the
resident school g ro up which has p e r­
formed at various discos).
As with athletics, we c o m p e ted very
well in the C ross-C ountry with Dave
Mackay winning the senior race, winning
the middles and coming second in both
senior and ju n io r races. Similarly the
swimming team u n d e r D u ncan Spinner
did well and it was good to see juniors
such as A n d re w Q u in n an d G a rry
Rogers making a good contribution.
D ave M ackay, who was captaining the
basketball team in the final, was d esp ­
erately unlucky to dislocate his knee and
was off gam es for the re m ain d er o f the
year.
In the winter term I was present at the
L auriston Piping Evening, which was a
most successful event. Simon Peters, the
Pipe M ajo r of the School B an d, an d Sam
Pate are to be co ngratulated for leading
their respective groups to first and second
places in this com petition. Incidentally.
Simon won all th ree m a jo r internal
pipjng com petitions and R o b ert Jones
and A n d rew Q u in n , respectively, won
the Senior and Ju n io r D rum m in g. T h ere
are also a n u m b e r of o th ers in the H ouse
w ho continue to co n tribu te well towards
this excellent tradition in the School.
A lthough we are not regarded as a
Thespian H ouse, it was good to see John
Tindal perform ing so well in M acbeth and
Martin Ross sharing the prize for the best
actor in the Ju n io r H o use Play C o m p e ti­
tion. David G r a h a m . Alistair Martin and
the rest o f the Juniors did a good job to
make this so successful.
O n an individual basis, I feel that
Malcolm D ippie's o utstanding achieve­
m ent this y ear should be noted. He was
selected for both the Scottish Schools
rugby and hockey squads at U.15 level. It
is not often th at we have anyone within
the School w ho is able to represent his
country at two sports — well done!
A s usual we have to say g oodbye to a
large n u m b er o f the H ouse at the end of
the year. W e will miss th eir com bined
talents and contributions and I will miss
them all as individuals, although I would
ra th er read D uncan S pinner's poetry
than try to tidy his study. We wish them
all the very best for the future.
In the sh ort time th at he has been in
the School and in the H ou se, D ave
Mackay has co ntrib uted im mensely and it
was a great pity that he could not have
co m p eted in his last term . H ow ever, he is
to be co m m e n d e d for the way he has run
the H ouse, along with R ob ert Jo nes and
the re m ain d er o f the Prefects. T hey have
all m ade a m ajo r contribution to m ain ­
taining a good a tm o sp h e re and a high
stan d a rd within the House.
Finally my th an ks, as always, go to
Dave B arnes for his im mense c o n trib u ­
tion and to Jo hn B roadfoot for his
increasing involvement in the House.
T h a n k s also to R o b Wallace and Paul
Elliott who act as academ ic tu to rs for the
fourth year and to o u r clean er Mrs
H owie, without w hom the H ouse would
most definitely not be the same. H ers is a
real lab ou r o f love and is very much
ap preciated by all!
B.R.
Prefects — D. M ackay — H e ad of
H ouse. School Prefects — R. Jo n e s. G.
A n d erso n . R. B atchelor. B. G uy. A
G ow ers. A. Millar. E. P ark er. S. Pate!
S. Peters. G. Piper. D. Spinner. M.
Wilkinson.
L VI A p p o in tm e n ts — K. C larke. C.
C o o k . R. Fawcus. D. Ismail.
Looking for advice on
School Fees, Pensions or Investment?
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COMMANDER PATRICK BRYANS RN RETD
Company Representative
H a tto n H ouse, Lundin Links, Leven, Fife. KY8 5Q D
Tel: Lundin Links (0333) 320251.
13
SIMPSON
W hat is a H o u se R e p o rt? Is it a eulogy
on individual and grou p successes or
m o re a reflection o f to n e ? T o an exten t it
must be the fo rm er, because there are
always plenty o f people who deserve
praise an d, m o re often than not, w orthy
p erform ances are o verlooked. My ap olo ­
gies to all those w hom I have forgotten
o v e r the years. H o w e v e r, u ndiluted
saccharine is an indigestible diet. T h e r e ­
fore, in a c u ra te ’s egg o f a year, I would
like to m ak e o ne specific c o m m en t on
attitude: T o o m any people expect every­
thing to be d o n e for th em . If each
individual from th e most senior prefect to
the newest third fo rm er would tidy his
stu d y-pre proo m , his b ed, his striproom
locker an d the brewing ro o m , as well as
clearing his place in the dining room on a
regular basis, an invaluable lesson in
self-discipline w ould be achieved.
Now to the good things. T h e New hall
is a considerable advance on the Study
Block and the sm oothness of the move
an d the harm on iou s sharing of facilities
with Freeland was a credit to all co n­
cerned. T h e academ ic tu to r system has
w orked well and m any, particularly the
younger boys, have appreciated the time
spent upon them . Joh n Sloan was Dux
before going to C am b rid ge, while Fraser
Fyfe and Dirk Paterson also won Speech
D ay Prizes. D irk also held a most
successful concert to raise funds for his
Project T rust year in H o n d u ras. Nick
D u n n won the Prize for Best A c to r in the
J u n i o r D r a m a C o m p e t i t i o n . B ru c e
T e th e r gained first class h o nou rs in
G eo g rap h y at Newcastle.
Farewell to all this y e a r’s leavers,
including the last of some large Simpson
families for this g ene ratio n, 4 Nivens
(o ne ho n o rary ), 3 Fyfes, 3 T eth ers, 2
Logans and 2 Patersons. Let us hope that
they prove to be equally good breeders
and th e school building pro g ram m e is
gaining m o m en tum !
Lastly, a m ention of th e sad death of
Jim P ato n , a Sim psonite and past P re­
sident of th e O ld Boys' C lub, who leaves
his wife N o re en and son Jam es, who were
all well know n to m any in the H ouse.
N .T .H . du B.
House & Academic Tutors
P. M. Vallot
G. Kitson
M. G ray
School Prefects
M. R. Logan
House Prefects
C.
C.
R.
D.
M.
C. A. Jo hn sto n
T. McLay
B. Moffat
A. Niven
W. Niven
House Colours
M. R. Logan
F. D. D alrym ple
C. T. McLay
R. B. Moffat
R. M. T e th e r
R. M. Cornish
Mrs E . H am ilton
A . L. K. D u tto n
R.
R.
F.
D.
R.
M.
G.
M.
P.
M.
Cornish
E ason
Fyfe
Paterson
T e th e r
J. F. D 'A th
N. D. D em p sey
C. M. F o rster
D. W. J. Smart
A. C. Logan
D. A. Niven
M. J. C lem ent
mu
■0
■m
0
\ CH§pf
#*r.
O n the sports side, victories were won
in Senior R ugby, In d o o r H ockey, Swim­
ming, T ennis and Sailing, the latter by
the Davidson b roth ers, the only sailors in
the H ou se. T he R ugby was particularly
satisfying as it relied to a great ex tent on
t e a m w o r k an d tactics. T h e K e d d ie
broth ers contested the Ju n io r Tennis
Final in a th ree day epic. O utstand ing
individual perform ers were num erous:
Craig M cLay, R o b e rt Moffat, F raser
D alrym ple and David Sm art for Rugby;
Michael C lem ent and Nick D em p se y for
hockey; R o b e rt Moffat, A nd y Logan and
R ichard E ason for cricket — they also
rep resente d the W ayfarers; Craig McLay
and Ky K ay, th e M id d le V ic to r
L u d o ru m , in Athletics; R oderick T e th e r
and Neil Russell for Swimming. R o b e rt
M offat won the C am p bell A w ard.
My than ks go to those w ho have fed,
clothed , tu to re d , m e n d e d and cleaned
Sim pson (n ot an easy jo b at times) and to
Mike L ogan and his Prefects; also to
G e o rg e Kitson, a T u to r this year, w ho is
moving to L e b u rn , and P ete r the Joiner
who has retired after years o f skilled and
good na tu red service.
F. D. D alrym ple
&
A. Logan.
WOODLANDS
I am writing this with the ‘fire and
brim ston e’ of en d-of-year tidying still
acrid in the air. E nd of y ear tidying and
beginning-of-year settling-in are the two
most u n p le a s a n t tim es o f the long
academ ic session th at now begins while
most o f the rest of the world is b arb e c u ­
ing on the beach.
Just a few hours to go before 1988-1989
ends: just the egg and spoon and three
legged races; the 4.30 p .m . roll call
(com pulsory for the six remaining girls
w ho h a v e n ’t p e rsu ade d their p are n ts to
come early for th em ) and th en the lie
down in the d a rk e n e d room to assess the
y ear past.
Last y ear I said that I was sure that
next year — this y ear — would be better.
A n d for on ce, I was absolutely right.
W oo dlan ds — the senior girls at S trath­
allan School — have had an outstanding
year in so m any ways: the old and the
new.
T h e new first o f all: Girls' cricket.
U n d e r the beady eye o f C arol A n d erso n
(herself, the first girl to upset a senior
school (i.e. boys’) cricket team ), the team
have p r o s p e r e d . W e e k ly practices
th ro u g h o u t the w inter (indoors) and
su m m er (o u tdo ors) successfully provided
a te am who easily d efeated L oretto
Girls' XI and Riley XI. B onnie Stevens
43 n.o. against Riley was as good as
anything M r T h om so n has witnessed on
the paddock.
Girls rep re sen ted the school at b ask et­
ball against the staff, and were in the
winning team . T he sw im ming te am came
fourth in the H o use C o m p etitio n, thus
beating two boys’ houses. T h e sailors
came 2nd in the inter-house com petition.
B ut com petition against boys is ulti­
mately meaningless. Bad big boys will
always beat good girls in sports where
physical prowess matters.
Skill is much m ore im p o rta n t, and so
too co m m itm ent. A n d these two attri­
butes were possessed in abu n d a n c e by
the First XI H ockey (m o re elsewhere).
Sheelagh G o r d o n 's personality d o m i­
nated the season, and we are all p rou d of
he r ac hievem ent in being the first in ter­
nationalist from W oo dlands. Sheelagh
cou ldn't and d idn 't do it single-handedly:
team w o rk was all im p o rtan t, and it was
this kind of te am work th at also provided
the excellent H ouse play, directed by
Nicola Robb.
Several girls played im po rtan t parts in
M acbeth, no ne m ore so than Louisa
M a c k e n z i e as L a d y M a c b e t h . T h e
strength of her p erform an ce, h er w ho le­
hearted a p p ro a ch , could only be m atched
by that o f C athe rin e Burns as assistant
p ro d u c e r and principal stage m anager.
Literally, the play would not have h a p ­
p ened without her.
Musically, this last year has been
m em orable. T he p e rfo rm an ces o f P a u ­
line L o ckh art and M arianne R u stad —
two new third form ers — at several
concerts augurs well for the future. Next
y ear Susie Leiper will lead the orchestra.
A choir, consisting solely o f girls, was
amongst the best features of the concert
for the Perth Festival.
This is merely a superficial repo rt on
th e n o tic e a b le a c h ie v e m e n ts of
1988-1989. T h e real virtues of a house is
its ‘a tm o sp h e re ': an atm o sp h e re o f co ­
o pe ratio n. kindliness, g o o d -h u m o u r and
hard work. These qualities have all been
evident in abundance..
S om etim es we have had less to boast
of. Petty unkindness th at has led to m ajo r
unhappiness is indicative of insecurity on
the part o f the torm en tors. Girls often
say th at they have to have a ‘best friend'
to the exclusion o f others; here they can
learn from the boys, who m anage to
maintain a m ore balanced ap p ro ach to
friendship.
T h a t p roblem s exist in a school is
norm al; that problem s are identified and
dealt with speedily and sensibly is the
m ark o f good m an ag e m en t. T h e m an ag e­
m ent team of K aren Salters, as H e ad of
H o use, A m a n d a R obertson and Lorraine
B urton as d e p u tes has been absolutely
outstanding. I speak on behalf of myself,
Mrs F orster and four house-tutors when I
say th at w ithout the sup po rt of the three
school prefects an d all the house prefects,
we could not do o u r jo b properly.
1988-89 is also the last year o f W o o d ­
lands H ouse as the only girls' house.
Next year, I will not be writing on behalf
o f the girls, merely th ose in the new
‘slimline' W oo dlan ds. I think everyone
w elcomes the d e v e lo p m e n t of a second
girls' h ou se, for it is a recognition o f the
im po rtan ce o f girls in th e school, and of
15
A house o f o ver o ne h u n d re d , plus day
girls is far too big to easily develop a
house identity — yet I know we do have a
house identity, and th at is owing to a
n u m b e r o f factors: M r and Mrs Williams’
o utsta nd ing jo b in developing a workable
an d efficient system of supervision and
care being of p a ra m o u n t im portance.
This last year o u r success in this d evelo p­
m e n t o f house spirit has to a large degree
b een a result o f Miss Smith, who by the
time you read this re p o rt, will be at the
en d o f h e r first term as H ousem istress of
T h o rn b a n k — no t, as was stated inaccu­
rately at speech day, the first girls’
housem istress at S trathallan , for Mrs
Fairbairn (in ‘T h o rn e y s h a d e s ’), Mrs Wil­
liams in W o o d la n d s from 1981-1986, and
Mrs F o rste r, have all tak en on m ajo r
responsibilities within the house for the
care an d welfare of the girls. Miss Sm ith’s
jo b is un iqu e, for she is in effect the first
fem ale ‘H o u s e m a s te r’. I can think of
no -o ne b e tte r able to cope, and to do
m o re th an cop e, than Miss Smith, and I
wish h e r every success in her new
v enture.
T w o of o u r academ ic tuto rs, Mrs
W atson and Mrs A d a m , go with h er to
the new house. I would like to take this
o p p o rtu n ity to th a n k th em for all the help
an d advice they have given both to me
an d the girls in their time here. I would
also like to th an k Mrs F o rb es, M rs
B ro ad fo o t and Miss E n g la n d for all their
attentio n to detail and care for the indi­
vidual needs o f the girls in W o odlands.
W o o d lan d s is dead!
L ong live W o o d la n d s , and as long as
we b e a t them at hockey, long live
T h o rn b a n k !
J.F.
/ “^ / e i x 7 I
t/imfc i t 5 too absurd
words, announced the new girl) looking
1 about her defiantly, 46 U/hdt ever ha/f**
\ lo censored mail, Qonid dcr/ns
J
y^azid
interminable
By the time this magazine is read
“ T h o r n b a n k " will have been running for
nearly a term but as I write this now in
S u m m e r 1988, the building is still rising
rapidly, and the reality of tw o separate
girls' houses is still a long way off.
It is hard to believe that the girls have
m ade such a d e e p im pression on the
school o ver such a short time (ab o u t 10
years). I was on e of the first “ guineapig" girls to live in Riley H ouse and have
m anaged to com e all the way through the
school relatively unscathed. Now at last,
on reaching the sixth form , I can look at
the changes the girls have brought to the
school and the changes which have ta ken
place within the girls' life here at S tra th ­
allan. Most people now, I ho pe, would
have to agree that Strathallan is no longer
a boys' school th at ta kes girls but a
co-educational school.
T h e girls are slowly becoming more
in tegrated into the school's everyday life.
O n ce the boys have living ac c o m m o d a ­
tion of a similar stan dard to the girls',
cries of “ inequality" should dwindle.
Having only one girls’ house is rath er
restricting. W o o d lan d s is now so e x te n ­
sive th at it is practically a three day hike
for the prefect on duty to check that
everyone is in at night. She must get a
good a m o u n t of exercise running up and
down the six corridors and four flights of
steps without having to go to gam es as
well.
T h e creation of the new girls' H ouse
should benefit everyone. T h ere will be a
clo ser a n d . I h o p e, h ap p ie r H ouse
a tm osp here . T h e prefects will be able to
look after their ju nio rs b e tte r and the
H o usem aster and new H ousem istress will
be able to get to know their charges
better.
T w o girls' houses will m ake c o m p e ti­
tion even fiercer in games o f all kinds and
in academ ic subjects. T he girls should
benefit both from this and from the
b etter a tm o sp h ere of a smaller H ouse.
I for one am certainly looking forward
to “ the m o v e " an d the cha ng e of
routine.
Best wishes and good luck to Miss
Smith in her new role as Strathallan's
first Housemistress.
A Sixth-Form ‘M over’
16
This is the tree that was felled in the morn to
m ake space fo r the House that 'Jack' built.
CHAPLAIN’S NOTES
A t an Ellis Scripture M eeting held at
Fettes College on the 13th O c to b e r,
1988, the Revd Stuart Taylor (D irector,
the Bloxham Project) initiated the discus­
sion on a consideration of the value and
place of Religious E ducation in the
curriculum, and as a training for life. The
m e m b ers of the grou p — from fifteen
schools in Scotland — were first asked to
discuss with their im m ed iate n eighbour
what they felt was the chief aim of
education. T he p o w er o f the “ filofax"
c u ltu re , an d to d a y 's ob session with
instant inform ation puts pressure on us to
subm it to the philosophy of instant
results, and to reg ard education as a
utilitarian exercise, merely useful for
training young people to take their place
in the world of work and wealth creation.
T h e difference betw een education and
schooling was discussed, as was the need
to develop the potential o f individuals in
the fullest sense. T h e word “ n u rtu re "
might well be an a p p ro p riate substitute
for the word " e d u c a tio n " insofar as this
jou rn ey o f self-discovery takes place both
inside and outside the school.
We th en considered the particular
stresses o f belonging to a world of
fee-paying parents, som e of w hom are
co m m itted to the following:
1) Econom ics is the key to life.
2) Technology can control the future.
3) People m a tte r chiefly insofar as they
work.
4) T h erefo re, arts, hum anities and relig­
ion are largely seen as pleasant extras
to be acco m m o d ated only if th ere is
time.
5) T he spiritual side of life is un im p o r­
tan t and secondary.
It was interesting to m use, for e x a m ­
ple, on my colleagues’ co m m e n ts regard­
ing the allocation o f time to F o rm s for
Religious E du cation — mostly one p e r ­
iod a w eek up to and including the IVth
Form . Few, if any, had Religious E d u c a ­
tion as a full option for G C S E , and the
V l t h F o r m e r s w e r e a lm o s t to t a ll y
neglected by the schools, at a time,
incidentally, when conceptual thought is
reaching its ascendancy. In alm ost half
the schools there was at least tacit
support from teaching staff to Chapel
Services. T h e o th e rs were reluctant to
state publicly how m any, if any, of their
colleagues a tte n d e d S unday Services,
never mind w eekday C hapel Services.
In a school like o u rs w h ere the
G o v ern o rs sanctioned the exp end iture of
a not inconsiderable sum o f m oney for a
new 4-m anual organ to accom pany the
hymns, and w here we w ere privileged to
tak e part in two broadcasts, and where
the n u m b e r of pupils offering themselves
for confirmation still stands in the 35-45
m ark , and when pupils are willing to
atte n d C o m m u n io n Services which begin
as the Rising Bell is ringing, and when a
book of c o ntem po rary worship (“ W o r­
ship N o w ") is published with 11 items of
Strathallan School worship in its pages —
I am convinced th at w hatever the faults
of “ C h a p e l” or T he C haplain — G o d is
alive and well here at Strathallan.
T h ro u g h o u t the A u tu m n T e rm all the
w o r s h i p w a s a c c o m p a n i e d by th e
O rch estra , cram ped and crushed in the
Chancel area. T h ey survived, and by
their willingness to maintain the standard
of hymn-singing —; even at 8.35 a.m . on a
dark w inter's morning — e arn ed th e m ­
selves a place in the annals o f the many
legends surrounding the School.
T hen the O rgan arrived — just in time
for the C arol Services. It cam e as
som ething as a shock — both physically
an d visually. T hankfully, its volum e has
been reduced (albeit at the expense of
som e o f its brightness), but 1 still find the
positioning of the console ra th er curious
to say the least. T h e organist is now
perched above the pulpit and although in
visual contact with the choir by electronic
m eans, there is now no visual contact
betw een himself and the Chaplain which
can give rise to unfo rtun ate pauses during
services. I have the feeling th at the O rgan
responds best to the C hapel acoustic
during the Riley H ouse services — but
there is no d o u b t that it can push the
Senior School along in its singing.
D uring the y ear som e o th e r new
“ f i x t u r e s " a p p e a r e d : th e c h o ra l
“ K yries" (from various traditions and
styles of music) and the singing o f the
“ S anctus” . T h e telling “ silences" after
some o f these were far m ore elo qu ent
than any words. T h ere is no d o u b t th at
the singing o f these liturgical texts by the
choir alone o r by choir and School, along
with a G ospel Alleluia, have a dd ed
an o th e r dim ension to the worship.
T h e School was invited to tak e part in
two broadcasts during the year. “ Sunday
H a lf - H o u r " — ra d io ’s equivalent of
“ Songs o f P raise” — recorded on S u n­
day, F ebru ary 19th and broadcast on
R adio 4 an d the W orld service on
F ebruary 26th was intended to have a
“ S c o ttis h ” flavour. T h ro u g h a lastm inute change of plan, the “ Scottishness" disappeared. It was a great pity
th a t the School did n ot h e a r A nn
S em p le’s script o r “ link" betw een the
hymns. T h e text was magnificent.
O n M o nd ay, F eb ruary 20th at 10.45
a.m . there was a live broadcast of “ T h e
D aily S e rv ic e " , again on R a d io 4.
Because the first rehearsal was scheduled
for 9.30 a .m . — the School was r e p r e ­
sented by the L ow er V lth , the School
C aptain w ho read the lesson, and by the
choir. Various contingency plans were
p r e p a r e d in re a d in e s s for a m a j o r
" b r e a k th r o u g h " in the world's news but
17
it w asn ’t th e o ne envisaged! T h e death
th reat to Salm an R ushdie came through
on T h e W orld Service in the early hours
of M on day morning. My ’p h o n e rang at
6.00 a.m . as p re -a rra n g e d , an d I dictated
th e first of w hat tu rn ed ou t to be 4
different prayers by the time we actually
broadcast to L on d o n . T h e last revision
was dictated at 10.25 a.m . an d vetted by
the Foreign Office. A n earlier panic,
occasioned by a snowfall m aro o n in g the
B B C staff in Perth m e a n t th at I was
briefed to take charge o f the service from
within the C hapel. T h a t latter change of
plan rem ain ed in force even after the
prod uctio n staff eventually arrived.
“ T h e M orning S to ry " ov er-ran, the
“ N ew s” which followed was bang on
cue. W h a t h a p p e n e d in betw een I could
only listen to later on th e B B C ’s tape.
T h e response to bo th broadcasts sur­
prised m e, in different ways. O u t of the
39 letters received, only one was about
" S u n d a y H a lf- H o u r" . T h e rem a in d er
were a b o u t “ T h e Daily Service” and
ra nged from a Russian O rth o d o x priest in
Brighton to a m e m b e r of the Faculty of
Medicine at G lasgow University, from
(?little?) old ladies in M anch ester to
businessmen co m m u tin g on the M o to r­
ways. All sp o k e , in o ne way or a n o th e r of
the catholicity and sincerity o f the music
and prayers. M any said how grateful they
w ere to Strathallan for an invigorating
and worshipful start to the week.
All the visiting preac hers w ho were
d ue to visit the School during the first
half of the A u tu m n T erm w ere cancelled,
w eek by w eek , du e to the O rg an installa­
tion. ev er-p re se nt scaffolding and then
the re-decorating o f the C h ap el, though
Services were m o re or less m aintained up
to 10 days before H alf-Term . O n the
S unday before R e m e m b ra n c e Sunday,
T h e R evd Professor M u rd o E w e n M ac­
d on ald [Glasgow University] preached
an d on R e m e m b ra n c e D ay itself, The
V ery R evd D r J o h n Paterson was the
p reach er. T he S unday following. The
V ery R evd Professor R o b e rt Craig [Jeru­
salem] pre ach ed and he was followed by
tw o o th e r M o d e ra to rs o f th e G eneral
A ssem bly, T he V ery Revd D r David
Steel and T he Very Revd D r Jam es
M ath eson [Portree].
Spring T erm preach ers were: T he Very
Revd D r D u ncan Shaw (E dinburgh], The
R evd Jam es K. W e a th e rh e a d [Principal
C lerk], T h e R evd Alistair Symington
[B earsden], T h e R evd R o b e rt Sloan
[P e r t h ]. T h e Revd David L u nan [G las­
gow and Chaplain to His G ra c e , H er
M a je s ty ’s L ord High Com m issioner],
T h e Revd J o h n C airns [D u m b arto n ] and
the R evd T o m C uthell [Edinburgh).
[O V ER
T. Lawrence.
S u m m er T erm preachers were: The
Revd Iain Taylor [N ewburgh], T he Revd
R oger Hollins [Craigie Hall College of
E ducation], T he R evd Alan Birss [Pai­
sley A b b ey ], T h e Revd David MacFarla n e [P e e b le s ], T h e R ev d A n d r e w
MacLellan [E dinburgh] and at the V ale­
d icto ry Service, T he R evd C anon
Kenyon Wright [C hairman of the E x ecu ­
tive o f T h e Scottish C o nvention and of
Scottish C hu rch es' H o u se, D unblane].
A t the C onfirm ation Service on Whit
Sunday, May 14th, the p re ach er was The
R t Revd Michael H are D u k e [Bishop of
St A nd rew s, D u nk eld and D un blan e],
who also confirmed into The Scottish
Episcopal Church: A n drew Nicholson,
Piers D u C an e Wilkinson, Tessa D unlop
and Alex Joh nso n.
T h e C onfirm ation Service to ok the
form of a C elebra tion of the Eucharist at
which the School Chaplain presided
assisted by T h e Revd Fergus Harris
(Episcopal Chaplain and R e ctor o f St
J o h n 's Episcopal C hu rch. P erth) and The
Revd Stuart B onney (R e c to r o f St Kessog's Episcopal C hu rch . A u c h terard er)
— both o f w hom assisted with the
Confirm ation classes. D uring the Service
th e following pupils w ere b aptised:
G avin W e b ste r, A n d re w W o o d and
Claire Russell, before joining the follow­
ing pupils who were confirm ed into: The
Church of Scotland: C am ero n C o o k ,
D avid S m a rt, D un can L og an, Scott
G ib b , Paul P reac h e r, Kirsty W o o d ,
L o u ise W e s t o n , G e r a l d i n e Sinclair,
A n d re w Sinclair, Kit Jo h nsto n . Duncan
Rid doch, Joh n B ayne, A n d re w Miller,
Fiona M ow at, Fiona H utchison, M a r­
ianne R u stad, A lan D avidson, Hamish
Blanche, Neil M cB ride, G avin W ebster,
David G a u lt, Jason Sim, Sheila D ow ,
Lyndsay G r a n t, Pauline M cC rack en ,
Z o e Stephens, Iain B a m b e r and the
School C ap tain, Keith A rn o tt.
In all this, the flowers in Chapel have
been faithfully, tastefully and beautifully
18
arran g ed (the C hapel itself gleaming
u n d e r the m inistrations of the H ousehold
Staff), the School has con tinu ed its
sponsorship schem e of 7 young people in
o th e r parts o f th e w orld, innum erable
charities have been s u p p o rted through
th e School's offerings week by w eek and,
most tellingly, th e H ostages' C andle
continues to burn on the altar — a
symbol (often referred to by visiting
preachers and often c o m m en ted upon by
pupils) o f the fact th at so m ew here in this
m aterialistically -o rien tated, technologi­
cally influenced, m onetarist society of
ou rs, th ere is need for a flame to burn
an d continue to b urn for those w ho have
w o rk ed for and stood up for all th at is —
in the words o f the p ray er used at the
beginning an d end of each T erm and is
inscribed on the plaque at the entrance to
W o o d lan d s —
“ . . . true an d p u re, lovely and of good
r e p o r t" .
T .G .L .
MUSIC
Chromatic Fantasia
II
est arrive! Such was the excitem ent
during the start of the au tu m n term with
the im pending arrival, then delay, of the
new organ. Eventually, and like the
annual race for the first bottle of Beaujolais N ou veau , news cam e through th at it
would be ‘in' during half-te rm, and
playing in all its glory in time for the
return o f the school, and for its first
concert ap pe ara nce for the H e a d m a s te r’s
Musick, a w eek later.
T h e problem s of heaving half a ton of
organ o ver the pulpit and into a loft not
much bigger th an an o sp rey 's nest, posed
an interesting problem for som eone.
F ortunately, w h oev er it was knew their
physics, so by design, technology and
with considerable craft, the m on ster was
lowered, swung and slid into place with
nothing m o re terrible to show for it than
a small blemish on the p ainted wall.
Sixteen speak ers were connected up. the
c o m p u te r w hirred and bleeped for four
days sending in other-w orldly messages
abo ut m utations and flutes, tub as and
tro m p ettes — and hey presto, we had a
cathedral organ without the fuss of pipes!
T h e console (or flight deck) is designed
on the lines o f a typical cathedral
pipe-organ layout, which (though d a u n t­
ing to a non-organist) — is, despite the
sheer size and magnificence, quite easily
controlled. T he detailed voicing of the
sounds to suit the building was quickly
d o n e, and the levels were set from the
loft as easily.
T h e congregation, who were used to
the organ emerging from the front of the
building, now had the full weight of
sound thrown off the back wall a few feet
above their heads, and th ere fore, to all
but the hardest of hearing, came a period
o f acute discomfort. H o w ev er, since we
can simply turn all the amplifiers down in
tu rn , ra th e r than rebuild five o r six
tho usan d pipes, the new volum e levels
a lter in m o m e n ts , an d now sounds
(ranging from the most hauntingly b e a u ­
tiful to the Day of Ju d g e m e n t T ru m p ) all
tu m ble out at the pull of a stop o r the
throw of a switch.
The ability to copy, add o r take
harm onics from notes by using the simple
instructions to a c o m p u te r keyboard
rem ains for m e as much a miracle of
m od ern science as does the production of
sound through a metal pipe, but I never
was a physicist anyway!
T h e prospect of half a term without
accom pan im en ts to hymns and services
was viewed with som e alarm , but the
orchestra, set up w ithout much style in
the C hancel, and cra m p e d to d e a th , rose
magnificently to the challenge, p e rfo rm ­
ing hymns and voluntaries alike with style
and a p an ache n ever even d re a m e d of.
With a new-found confidence, and their
identity confirmed in a m an n er never
before seen, the y ear has seen some
really excellent perform ances and their
sight-reading ability has leapt ah ead ,
perm itting a much increased repertoire
and thus enjoym ent.
T h e ability to lead a large congregation
in song or accom pany the most d e m a n d ­
ing solo concerto creates few problem s
for the gro up , and its willingness to adapt
to each new d e m a n d had been a most
impressive d ev elop m en t this year. The
Music of the early 18th century seem s still
to appeal to the orchestra most widely for
the lively rhythms and regular pattern s,
although looking a form idable challenge
on p ap e r, are covered with consum ate
ease and style. T he verve and charge they
m anaged to put into B ach's T w o H arpsi­
ch o rd C o n certo rem ains for me one of
the most powerful musical m em ories of
the season.
A n ability to play all music with vitality
and real rhythmic intensity is one o f the
aspects of music so rarely taught p ro p ­
erly, and , if this quality is lacking, an
audience can be reduced to som nolence
quicker than alm ost anything else.
S om nolent the congregation may often
19
ap p e a r, but not through any en c o u ra g e ­
ment from the choir, who being properly
a c co m p an ied and directed from the
g rou n d , have given p erform ances, which
if sung in the rev erb erent C ath ed ra ls or
Collegiate C h apels designed for the
purpose o f indulging the Prayer B o o k ’s
" B e a u ty of H o lin ess", would have c a r­
ried the spirits an d souls to alto geth er
higher places. G eoffrey Bolton (H e a d of
C hem istry) studied music before sw ap­
ping the smells an d bells of the C hapel
for the stinks of the lab. His co ntributions
to the services as A ssistant organist at
B radford C athe dra l serve us particularly
well at Strathallan, and his sensitive and
drifting descants to hymns, as well as the
101 stop-changes during a n th em accom ­
p anim en ts, have allowed the choir to
indulge in all the gems o f the C ath edra l
repe rto ire. T h e chance o f hearing Finzi’s
“ G o d is G o n e u p ”. P a r r y 's g re a t
an th em “/ was G la d ", o r the sensual
beau ties of Ire la n d ’s “G rea ter L o v e hath
n o m a n ” an d service music of H e rb ert
Howells is reserved norm ally only for
those lucky few living n e a r a cathedral
close, but this y ear they are here.
Dick Patterson in action.
alth o u g h p e rh a p s d en ied the rafterreaching echoing fullness. T h eir p erfo r­
m a n c e o f th e w o n d e r f u l “E v e n in g
H y m n " by B a lfo u r G a r d n e r m oved
m any at a recent concert in which they
p e rfo rm e d , a n d , I h o p e , tugged at the
heart-strings of the regular congregation
no less. I d o so hope that th ey enjoy the
musical w anderings th ro ug h the great
classics of the cathe dral rep ertoire as
m uch as c o n d u c to r a nd accompanist
enjo y their singing each week. Long may
the p resent happy increase in num bers
an d “ respectability" of the choir con ­
tinue.
P erh aps the im p ro v em e n t is in some
way linked to the start o f singing lessons
for som e of the pupils, from Mrs Taylor's
en co u ra g e m e n t o f the girls and the
fantastic vocal agility excercises given to
the boys by M r C ro w e. If the la tter’s own
ability has any bearing on it, we shall be
hearing Italian p a tte r arias by the dozen
within w eeks, and p e rh a p s Rossinian
chirpings coming from the practice block
. . . “ Figaro, Figaro, Figaro . . .
F i..g a ..r o ? ’’
Concert-giving this year has filled no
less a p art in o u r lives th an hith erto , from
the H e a d m a s t e r’s Musick (held this year
in the C h ap el), to a recent concert in the
“ Music at Six” series held in St Giles,
E d inburgh. O u r lunchtim e concert in the
P erth Festival series was well received,
an d included som e most d em and ing
music, notably M o za rt's F lute C on certo
with Dirk Paterson as soloist, a m ov e­
m e n t from B e e th o v e n 's C larinet Trio.
The Copeman Hart four-manual organ.
most capably played by the new com ers to
the musical firm am ent h ere, Neil Cockburn and M arianne R u stad , who both
have most promising futures in p e rfo rm ­
ing. T h e sense o f inv olvem ent and
enthusiasm for the music was brought
brilliantly into a perfo rm an ce of the E in e
K lein e N a ch tm u sik q u artet led by P a u ­
line L o ckh art, from w hom we may hope
for m any m ore fine perform ances. Laurie
C ru m p has again played his reco rd er
most beautifully this year with stunning
perfo rm ances of the C o n certo in F by
S am m a rtin i. and o th e rs by T elem ann .
A most adap tab le group o f eight
players gave a morning concert at D unke ld ’s highly regarded four day Festival of
the A rts. T h eir stylish acco m pan im ent to
H a n d e l’s F m a jo r O rgan C oncerto
played by Neil C o c k b u rn . o p e n e d what
was a splendidly played p ro g ram m e of
Kleine M orgenmusik.
N o less successful has been the list of
A ssociated B oard results been this year,
with, in all, 5 Distinctions, including
Laurie C ru m p 's o u tstanding 145/150 at
G ra d e 7 R e c o rd e r aged 13! T h e re have
been 10 Merits and six passes. All these
would not be possible were it not for the
devoted and dedicated assistance that the
part-tim e staff give the pupils. T h e miles
travelled in the course of a y ear to give
lessons at Strathallan in all w eath ers, and
always with a cheerful and helpful smile
is som ething for which we must all be
extrem ely grateful, an d my th ank s and
gratitude for all the work the peripatetic
staff do, goes w ithout saying. W e lose
20
Nicholas Smith and Sharon Wilkinson
who move on to pastures new, and thank
them particularly for their contribution.
Whilst on the subject o f contributions,
the concert given on behalf o f Dirk
Paterson to raise m oney for his Project
T rust appeal was a fitting culm ination to
a musical c a re e r at Strathallan and
contribution to music-m aking not found
every year. W e all wish him well in his
y ear in H o n d u ras, and th e re after in his
music-m aking. His playing in groups of
w ind-players, the B and , o rch estra, and
singing a lusty te n o r in the C h oir, will all
be missed.
T h e new y ear brings chances o f all
sorts of op po rtu nitie s; a new full-time
m e m b e r of the d e p a rtm e n t is D r M ar­
garet M cLay. whose interest in S y nth e­
sised music will add a new dim ension and
new A fro -C a rib b ea n sound to be heard
em erging from th e Music R o o m . Roll on
change! T h ere will be tak ers for the brave
new world of G C S E music as well as the
b rave old so un ds of Byrd.
In all b ran ches of music th ere is
activity, and my congratulations to all
those w ho both m ake it and help en co u r­
age it h ere are no less strongly felt this
year th an ever before.
F .N .R .
Prizes
Robert Barr Memorial Prize for Music:
Dirk Paterson
Patrick Grandison Prize for Strings
Philip W alker
Headm aster's Prize for Junior Music
L aurie C ru m p
A fter thorough appraisal of all types of electronic organ, the D irector of Music. Nicholas R eed, chose a Copem an H art four-m anual organ for the
school chapel. The specification reflects the requirem ents of a versatile instrum ent for service accom panim ent, teaching, recital and concert use.
GREAT
Q uintade
O pen Diapason I
O pen Diapason 11
Hohl Flute
Octave
Harm onic Flute
Twelfth
Fifteenth
Fourniture
Scharf
Double Trum pet
Posaune
Clarion
M ounted C ornet
Swell to Great
Choir to Great
Solo to Great
PEDAL
Double O pen W ood
C ontra Salicional
O pen W ood
O pen Metal
Sub Bass
Salicional
O ctave M etal
Bass Flute
Choral Bass
Mixture
Contra Posaune
Ophicleide
Trum pet
Schalmei
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Solo to Pedal
Great and Pedal pistons
16
8
8
8
4
4
2%
2
IV
111
16
8
4
V
32
32
16
16
16
16
8
8
4
V
32
16
8
4
SW ELL (Enclosed)
Geigen
Stopped D iapason
E choG am ba
Voix Celestes
Principal
Wald Flute
Fifteen
N ineteenth
Mixture
Sesquialtera
C ontra Fagotto
T rum pet
O boe
Clarion
Tremulant
Solo to Swell
CH O IR (Enclosed)
Viole
Rohrflote
U nda Maris II
Spitzflote
Recorder
Nazard
Principal
Blockflote
Tierce
Larigot
Sifflote
Cymbale
Krum m horn
H arpsichord
Tremulant
Swell to Choir
Solo to Choir
8
8
8
8
4
4
2
VA
V
II
16
8
8
4
8
8
8
4
4
2
2
1%
m
i
in
8
8
SOLO (Enclosed)
Bass Viol
H arm onic Claribel
C o rd e Nuit
Viola da G am ba
Viola Celeste
T reble Viol
Flauto T raverso
Sylvestrina
Flageolet
M ixture
C or Anglais
O rchestral O boe
C larinet
Voix Hum aine
Tremulant
T uba Mirabilis
T rom pette en C ham ade
16
8
8
8
8
4
4
2
2
IV
16
8
8
8
8
8
Drawstop console in oak, with 'trac k er' touch to m anuals
Eight thum b pistons to G reat
Eight thum b pistons to Swell
Eight thum b pistons to C hoir
Eight thum b pistons to Solo
Eight toe pistons to Pedal
Eight G eneral pistons
)
)
)
)
)
)
all adjustable by capture system with
three m em ories
G eneral cancel
Reverser pistons to: Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, Choir to Pedal, Solo to Pedal,
Swell to Great, Choir to Great, Solo to Great
B o w r in g M a c a la s te r
&> S e n io r L td
IN S U R A N C E BR O KER S
To
S TR A TH A LLA N S C H O O L
THE BOWRING BUILDING
151 WEST GEORGE STREET
GLASGOW G2 2NZ
Telephone: 041-204 2600
Telex: 77100
Telegrams: MACAU GLASGOW
A M E M B E R O F T H E B O W R IN G G RO U P A N D
m a r s h & M c l e n n a n c o m p a n i e s u .s .a .
21
PIPES AND DRUMS
This Pipe B and year seem ed to beg the
cliche o f having been a “ y ear o f ups and
do w n s” , but I think th at it really was.
T h e actual eng agem ent calen dar, ou r
“ O u ting C h a rt” , was not as full as it had
been in recent years, d ue to the n u m b er
of m em bers sitting external ex am in a­
tions, which had to com e first. H ow ever,
the places we played at w ere, on the
w hole, fun for us and , we h op e, fun for
them .
T h e B and w ent twice to the Perth Ice
Rink to play for the opening of both
“ T he B ank of Scotland Curling C h a m p ­
i o n s h i p ” a n d “ T h e W o r l d C u rlin g
C h am p io n sh ip ” . B oth occasions were
slippery affairs (one d ru m m e r being
physically hauled off the ice by an
observant Chaplain w ho suspected th at
said d r u m m e r ’s foothold was m o re than
suspect and could bring the whole Band
to an ignominious en d ), but we were well
looked after and I ho p e that ou r playing
reflected o u r gratitude for this.
T h e first o f the “ c om p etition s” was
held at the School early in the y ear with
“ T h e Lady o f Lauriston B roadsw ord
C hallen ge” — a new prize for which
G le n a lm o n d , F e ttes, L o re tto and
o u r s e l v e s c o m p e t e d ( o t h e r in v i te d
schools having “ called-off" at the last
m inute). O u r two q u a rte ts seem to have
b een sp urred on by the distinguished
guest list and by the “ hom e crow d ” as
well as the food supplied by the School
C atere rs, Pipe M a jo r B arron and Mr
Longm uir, because we won both first and
second places.
T h e S u m m er T erm began with three of
o u r pipers en tertainin g the “ E u ro p e a n
E ducational S em in a r" at H ou ston H ouse
outside E d inb urgh as hosted by The
D ram b u ie L iqu eur C om p an y. C harles,
A n d re w and young Alastair G aw came
back to School ov erw helm ed by not just
the high-powered n ature of the American
guests, but also by the wealth so lightly
carried. S tra thallan’s n am e will be car­
ried far and wide by the T o u r op era tors
as well as by the various Whisky C o m p a ­
nies rep resented at th a t event.
compulsorily ours. T h e urge to win, not
just to co m p ete, seem ed to d om in ate. It
was a pity th at the T A V R C h am pio n sh ip
fell on the day before the C C F C h a m p ­
ionships, because there is no d o u b t that
even though we would have been c o m ­
peting against adult and m ore e x p er­
ienced bands, justice would have been
d on e and seen to have been done.
W hen we did lose, and without being
overtly sentim ental, it was in the kn ow ­
ledge th at we really tried — in spite of the
curious decisions m ade by som e judges.
If this d idn 't actually co m p en sate for the
loss, it did allow us to live with our
defeat, and — a n o th e r good cliche —
“ T h e re 's always next y ear".
Robin Jo h n sto n and Duncan Kennedy
did win the D rum M ajo r an d Jun ior Solo
Piping com petitions respectively, so the
trophy rack, already resplendent with
“ T he Lady of L au risto n " B road sw o rd, is
not completely d en u d ed .
Finally, som e m e m b ers o f the Band
visited two different castles — C rathes
and Fordell to su pp o rt three charitable
causes, The N ational T rust (C rath es) and
S cotlan d's G a rd e n s Scheme and the
Scouts (Fordell, the hom e o f Sir Nicholas
and Lady Fairbairn). Both were made
m o re e njoyable by the curious and
equally mysterious dis appearance o f a
large quantity of o u r N u m b e r I Dress —
which is unmistakably u nco m fo rtab le,
hot, very often too small, but, as “ so m e­
o n e " often says, " T h a t 's what m akes my
boys look like m y boys".
T h ro u g h o u t the year we have had the
benefit of o ur instructors, M r C lark e. Mr
Braid and Pipe M ajor B arro n, w ho were
always p resent at the various practices,
w ithout fail. O u r th ank s must go to them
for all they have d o n e for the B and over
T h e S u m m e r term itself witnessed a
stepping up o f gears in o rd e r to put
forward a com petition te am ready" for
“ th e big o n e " at F ettes College (T he
Scottish Schools’ C C F Cham pionship).
A s well as this main ev ent, the Band
fielded a record n u m b e r of pipers and
dru m m ers on Speech D ay, though up to
the very last minute there were w ithdraw ­
als as well as sudden substitutions. In the
e n d some 35 pipers and d ru m m e rs
assaulted parental e a rd ru m s in what we
trust was an interesting way.
T h e C om petition itself was alm ost a
relief after the pressure of the build-up
b efore the actual event. This pressure
came from o u r tw o previous wins, which
m a de the third alm ost, in many minds.
22
and above what used to be their " n o r ­
m a l” hours. It even d o e sn 't stop at
teaching — o u r instructors have been
decorating the "P iping Palace" which, in
the A c adem ic Y ear will have to be
know n as the "P iping and D rum m in g
P alace", for, at last, the D ru m m e rs are
going to have their own tuition rooms.
T h a n k s must go to o u r inimitable
President, the R ev eren d T. G . Long­
muir, w hom we all loved to h ate, but
appreciated nonetheless!
U ps an d down th en — the “ do w n s”
being the dis ap po intm ents, the pressure
and the various hassles (particularly
“ T he Case o f the D isappearing K it" and
the mysterious g entlem en who whisked
Mr L ongm uir off into dark corners and
filled the boots of their cars with, on
different occasions, brogues, kilts, spats,
flashes, hose tops, etc., etc.). T he “ up s”
being the p eop le, the sunny days of
outings and the ca m erad erie. If th ere is
on e single thing th at those w ho leave the
Band this y ear will miss most, it is that.
Craig Glimm
(ex Pipe Sergeant)
School Competition:
Bass Section T rophy: (new this year):
H en ry Brown.
Ju n io r D rum m in g: A n d rew Q u in n .
Senior D rum m ing: R o b ert Jones.
Most Im proved Piper: H amish McCartan.
Ju n io r Piping: Hamish M cC artan.
M arch, Strathspey and Reel: Simon
Peters.
H o rn p ip e and Jig: Simon Peters. D u n ­
can Kennedy.
Pibroch: Simon Peters, C harles D u n ­
bar.
P resid ent’s T ro p h y for all-round service:
Charles D u nb ar.
MACBETH
With custom ary im agination, energy
and confidence Jo hn B ro adfoo t and
Jo n a th a n F orster set a b o u t producing
on e o f the most p o p u lar o f all plays — the
“ Scottish play .” T o em b ark on such a
project with a critical audience holding
preconceived ideas on how S hakespeare
“ o u g h t” to be do ne is a d aunting task but
we were amply rew a rd ed, for here was a
production th a t kept the essential in te­
grity of the play, yet was boldly innova­
tive in its ideas.
M acb eth 's excellent set construction,
designed by G re g Ross and built by
Martin C o o m b s, and aided in particular
by the tireless and ever-cheerful direc­
t o r ’s assistant C ath erine B urns, included
this year a thrust stage with brought the
audience into the very h eart o f the play.
Full and skilful use was m ade o f the
whole hall, a nd the set p ainted by Torquil
M acleod offered real a tm o sp h e re , depth
and versatility.
T h e opening eerie green light estab ­
lished an a tm o sp h ere o f intrigue and the
h aunting sound o f the bagpipes — the
d ron es of battle — could be h eard. This
set the m ood of the p roduction which, by
subtle blending during the lines "m a k in g
the green one re d ” created m em o rable
visual im ages on stage. A t times u tter
darkness followed a scene of violence to
great effect. T rev o r G o o d y and Jam es
G re e n m asterm ind ed the lighting crew.
“ Fair is fo u l.” As the noise o f battle
died aw ay, we were m et by the sinister
sight o f the witches slum ped over the
th ro n e — the focal point. T h e individu­
alised na tu re of the witches was strongly
po rtrayed by Elizabeth R e ek ie , Katie
P a ttin s o n , a n d Susie L e ip e r. T h ese
ho od ed figures with w hitened lips a dded
a chill at each ap pe aran ce. T he ir p re ­
sence was enh an ce d by the excellent live
sound effects from E u an Smith and Colin
Pettinger.
T h e w a rd ro b e girls (A ilsa, Y vo nn e,
a n d Carol) rose to the challenge adm ir­
ably. Dressing the lords in kilts was an
inspiration — for it ad d ed to the essen­
tially Scottish natu re of the production.
T h e cast m oved easily in familiar garb far
rem o ved from the usual do ub let and
hose. I was particularly im pressed by the
excellent crow d scenes. Joh n Maxwell
played a sensitive and quietly au th o r ita ­
tive Ross, leading the reactions of the
lords to the events. T h e lords m oved with
real skill — n ever obtrusive but height­
ening the central action. T h e addition of
“ ladies” effectively helped establish the
ironic notion of M acbeth as host. I also
en joy ed the arm y scenes from Michael
C l a y t o n ’s “ b l o o d y ” s e r g e a n t to the
English arm y led (with confidence) by
Sandy Milroy and A lec Jo h nsto n. Tarren t Steele as young Siward b rought just
the right am o u n t of energy and aggres­
sion to challenge M acbeth at the end.
D irk P a tte rs o n , as D u n c a n , c o m ­
m an d ed with an air o f confidence and
Ian Clarke as MacBeth.
23
good n atu re and a graciousness which
was reflected to o in Keith D in s m o re ’s
Malcolm . Kristian R ob ertson played a
convincingly younger, m o re vulnerable,
b roth er. Richard H a sla m ’s B an q u o reve­
aled his cheerful o pen n ature with his
friend and ease with his son (Iain
Wilson). H u m o u r o f a different kind was
conveyed by Craig G lim m ’s Porter. His
ready wit and obvious e n jo y m en t was felt
by all in his hugely en jo y e d and fam ous
“ rib a ld " scene. A stro k e of genius
rend ered him also the C o m m o n M an and
Seyton. N ot only did the fo rm e r role
e n able scenes to be sum m arised, but the
latter offered a d e e p e r poignancy to
M a c b e th ’s growing state of m adness —
with his servant all too ready to “ tu r n ­
c o a t" when he felt it expedient. Fraser
Fyfe played a magnificent M acduff — his
grief expressed in A ct IV being especially
moving. O th e r strong parts w ere played
by the m urd erers (alias D em p sey and
T indal) and Rhidian Davies as the old
blind seer.
It is invidious to select particular
scenes for m ention but I must co m m e n d
the tense m u r d e r scene; the haunting
b an q u e t scene; the striking apparition
scene (all too often dull); the po ignant
scene o f Lady M acduff (L aura M arshall)
and h er son (D u n ca n F orbes). If ever the
th em e “ fair is fo ul” was illustrated to
effect, it was h ere, with “ family-friend”
P o rte r cruelly revealing him self as a
m u rd erer. I en joy ed the beautifuly con ­
trolled e n co u n te r of Callum D ru m m o n d
(D o c to r) and Penny C arru th ers in A ct V
scene i and the very well-directed final
sword fight cho re o g rap h ed by K en neth
G len av o n o f P erth T h eatre.
Finally o f course the success o f the
pro du ctio n lies with its leading actors and
here both Ian C lark and Louisa M a c k e n ­
zie w ere quite superb. I a n ’s lean face
becam e visibly m ore gaunt with the strain
o f bearing a false crow n, a nd his eyes
revealed the isolation of a m ad d e n e d ,
d esperate yet lonely m an. His w ords were
spo ken with true conviction, an d often for
m e with fresh meaning. His final soliloquy
left on e silent. H e and Louisa increasingly
m oved as a pair playing the d o m in a n t or
submissive p a rtn e r caught up in the web of
intrigue. L ou isa’s intelligent and gripping
portrayal of Lady M acbeth held us all.
H e r strength and exhaustion and final fall
to m adness carried us into a mind b ro ken
with guilt an d fear. A n outstanding
partnership.
It was a production which was satisfy­
ing to e a r and eye — an d w hat h ou rs
must have gone into mastering the text
itself! But it was also deeply satisfying to
the mind, and I app reciated greatly the
subtleties th at gave rise to d e b a te and
discussion and op en ed up for me new
insights into a much loved “ set te x t .”
O u r thanks go to all w ho gave us such a
feast.
J.T .F .
HOUSE DRAMA COMPETITION
Why is the H o use D ra m a C om petition
so successful? B ecause each play m atters
to those w ho w ro te, directed and p e r­
fo rm ed it, because th ey w rote, directed
and p erform ed it them selves! T h ere is no
e lem en t o f compulsion in this co m p eti­
tion, now in its sixth year, and it is
p ro du ced with minimal staff involve­
m ent. O f course, som e of the plays are
b etter than others: some people can act
well, and do ; som e c a n 't, and do n't.
By the time you read this, you will
have forgotten ab o u t w ho did what and
how. Suffice it to say that every house
pro vided a play of som e quality; Freeland
provided “ The F reelan d H ou se Play,"
chiefly written by Kristian R o b ertso n and
S tuart M o n ro an d chiefly starring Niall
G r a y as ‘E la i n e ’. Niall G ra y m ade
o utstanding use o f his natural talent for
co m ed y, and must have been very close
to picking up the best acto r award.
L e b u rn , p eren n ial fav o u rite s,
surpassed them selves with an hilarious
sp o of, “ S a d m a n ," w ritten by Sandy
Milroy and Richard Townhill. Richard
Townhill took the lead role (w ho else?) of
S adm an — a sort of depressed B atm an —
and did extremely well. Sadly for Sad­
m an. his side-kick 'S w allow '(C hristopher
M o o re ) sw oo ped , and snatched success
with a scintillating showing: it was that
kind of play. It also involved a b o u t 25
people.
Nichol H o u s e ’s “ Island X " had the
best p ro g ra m m e , d esig n ed , w ordprocessed and draw n by P eter G oody.
“ C h ief V e g i," Chris Procter was an o th e r
impressive p erfo rm er. T h e imaginative
quality of this play was outstanding:
c h a r a c t e r s included " S c r o tu m P o le "
(D avid B radbury and Alistair Nicoll).
“ Little B ra t" (M ark T aylor) and " H u t "
( A n d re w Wallace). The plot was not easy
to follow but jo kes flowed thin and fast,
and the audience laughed non-stop.
R u t h v e n ' s " B l i n d D a t e , ” loosely
based on “ Blind D a te " on T .V . . was the
funniest pure com edy of the evening.
Inevitably it did not possess much in the
way o f plot, and the jo ke wore thin after
a while, but Martin Ross and A lastair
Below: The cast o f the winning play.
24
Martin were revelations as Cilia Black
and a co nte stant. " O s m o n d R a d le y ."
S i m p s o n ' s p la y " H i j a c k " w a s a
rew orking o f a rather dull play in a school
text b o o k , and was certainly an im p rov e­
ment on the original. I would still have
liked a m ore original script, but all the
p erfo rm e rs were disciplined and co n ­
vincing.
W oo dla nd s again nearly pro vided a
m asterpiece, but fell short in p e rf o r­
mance: " L o n d o n to Y o rk " by H e a th e r
D ew a r and Claire T om lin was highly
imaginative an d well crafted. It was a
sophisticated story with a double time
scale. T he acting was very sou nd , but the
final product lacked the vitality of the
o th e r houses' attem pts.
Mrs Pengelley and Mrs F orster judged
that the best actor was Martin Ross and
the best play was L eb urn 's " S a d m a n . "
T h e overall winners how ever, were
those 3rd and 4th F o rm e rs who collec­
tively provided, with assistance from
m ore senior pupils, an interesting, varied
and highly amusing evening.
J.F .
LABOUR OMNIA VINCIT
“ All things going to plan you should
arrive on E arth by W ed nesday , and I'd
expect you to be in full op eratio n by
F rid ay."
“ But w here on E a r th ? . . . " I began.
“ Shut-up R ustad. This is no time for
wit o r rath er stupid questions. I expect
you to act with o ne hu n d red per cent
effic ien cy , res p o n sib ility , p o lite n e s s,
eagerness and general intelligence, if you
can manage . . . G o o d n e ss only k n o w s."
He rolled his eyes upwards. "Y e s. well,
Perthshire by Friday, Strathallan School
is your destination, as described h e re ."
I le h an ded me a very large worn folder,
ten prospectuses and eighteen school
magazines.
" N o t much else I can give as additional
inform ation, only re m e m b e r you will be
wearing clothes, and may find this group
of twits ra th er inferior a nd stupid . . . "
Inferior o r stupid? How could he . . .
" O h . and please be punctual. Flight
leaves at 0700 hours precisely, sh arp !" he
add ed for emphasis. " A n d re m e m b e r
your m ann ers, they d o n 't cost anything
and they'll stand you in good stead to o -—
you are a guest. A nd w hatev er you do,
w h atever, d o n 't you dare em b arra ss this
regim ent, y' hear. If you do . R u s ta d .”
“ Yes sir. I am well aware o f the
c o n seq u en ces , my misconduct g en er­
ally."
“ G o o d , you seem to learn from
experience. Well, go, off, go, and get
ready. Y o u'v e only got thirty-one hours.
A n d . um . well the best o f luck."
O h yes. what luck! A nd as soon as the
d o o r slam m ed shut behind m e. 1 let off a
wild w hoop o f joy, ignoring the M ajo r's
shouts and ran down the corridor. Incre­
dibly, unbelievably and unreally my
life-long ambition had just been fulfilled.
I was free!
I laid down my pen and massaged my
tired hands. T he last, most im p ortant
report lay finally com pleted on the desk
before me. Well, it looked alright, quite
neat and respectable. But would it satisfy
the M ajor? A stupid question not worth
answ ering, but I was nervous despite
myself. T he M ajo r — tha t very word
filled me with d re ad and fear. But why
should it? I h a d n 't really d o n e anything
notably bad. stupid o r em b arrassin g to
the regim ent. A t least I d id n't think . , . I
th o u g h t I'd , but . . . I could have . . . no,
no I h a d n 't, had I? O h my goodness, I
could just im agine it all now, the d o o r as
I p ushed it o pen and tripped over the
d o o r sill, spilling p ap ers everyw h ere,
hearing it slam behind m e, and having to
slowly cover th at endless distance, th at
gulf betw een the d o o r and his desk,
getting closer, n e a re r . . .
" A h R u stad , still the sam e as ever I
see. H e a rd yo u 'd had the time o f your
life dow n at the cen tre of the universe,
th a t's good. N ow , as to this last repo rt.
I'd like to see it first if y ou 'd be so kind,
th ank you. A n d , u m . if you d o n 't mind
I'll just read throu gh it now. D o sit
d o w n ."
A n d he read. A n d I sat th e re , silent.
A REPORT ON THE STRATHALLIAN
(Strath-AP yen)
A d ditional buildings are the D ining Hall
em barrassed and
F IL E M : Brainbrilliantines
C LA SS: Publicschoolarians
O R D E R : D im inuitidea
F A M IL Y : Twitenciensis (abb. to Twits)
S P E C IE S : Strathalliensis Clotius
Topic 1 — Habitat
T h e Strathallian (a ra th e r u n adap ta ble
creature generally) lives only in the Perth
district, on the outskirts of the small
village of F organ den ny . overlooking the
E arn Valley. This a rea may be described
as ‘peaceful’ tho ug h, as five h un d re d and
tw enty -tw o young alone occupy the
territory, I may disagree. The total area
o f land (School G r o u n d ), am o u n ts to 150
acres, but as to w h e th e r som e of this has
been ad ded as a result o f skirmishes with
o th e r Twits (during the mating season),
natu rally e x p a n d e d th ro u g h civilised
exchange or simply stolen. I can no t say.
A large p ercentage o f this land has been
developed and built on . for like o th er
Twits, the Strathallian builds rem arkably
large houses which give shelter from the
harsh, miserable climate (advisable since
they have a w eak constitution). This is a
primitive form of sub-divided com m unal
living. These five large houses (nam ed
Nicol, L eb u rn , Sim pson. Freeland and
R uth ven ), are based aro u n d a nucleus
containing the C hapel (a strange building
w here religious rites and timeless chants
are perfo rm e d ), the Main Building and
the one and only house for the females of
this species. I conclude this central
positioning to be a reflection on the
am o u n t the males respect and h o n o u r
females, though they very rarely e n ter
the house without express perm ission).
w here the Strathallian eats, and a n u m ­
b er of one-storey classrooms. Large areas
of land are left as lawns, particularly
aro un d the nucleus, o r otherwise tarm ac a dam ed
because I assume, o f the
problem s th at elderly Twits have in
propelling them selves aro u n d the school
unaided. T h ere is also a big field below
the female house which both males and
females love running a ro u n d in the height
of sum m er. H ow ev er, in w inter, large
‘H ’ shaped poles are erected at eith er
en d. and the males, in front o f an
admiring audience of females, practise
a n o th e r religious ritual as they aim to
prove their prowess by seemingly co v er­
ing them selves in m u d. fighting ov er a
ball as it is throw n or kicked up and down
the field, thus exhausting them selves and
even on occasion, suffering injuries.
A s for the food, there are the various
usual types o f anim al and plant food in
the countryside (none o f which is hunted
by the Twits), and as regards climate, we
find precipitation to be quite substantial
— ideal conditions for the Twit, who,
though of a w eak constitution, seems
generally indifferent and ad ap te d to any
w eather.
Topic II — Anatomy (and Crowth)
All Strathallians follow a certain sta n ­
d ard a p p earan ce, although ‘M asters' and
‘Prefects' differ slightly. T he physical
structure o f a Strathallian is very similar
to o th e r Twits, being o f an a n thrap oid
natu re, though the intelligence level may
vary. For a reason known only to
themselves. Twits w ea r clothes — though
t h e y a r e s a id to be v a i n , e a s ily
25
need the w arm th and
protection. T he Strathallian has a drab
uniform a p p earan ce ab ou t it and this
regular w a rdrob e seldom changes, except
in the cases o f Prefects and Masters. It is
a privilege of these adults to w ear
different clothes (a form of adult m a i"
ings), but they also have a second
distinguishing featu re. T h e prefects parti­
cularly d evelo p parasol-like organ s which
they o pen in wet w e a th e r as a form of
protection. M any masters, how ever may
lose this ability, o r else have extracted for
reasons o f personal taste, this organ
which d oes not rege nerate . Height of the
Strathallian (excluding the parasol), may
vary from 4' 8" to 6' 7".
T h a t is all to be noted from the
ou tw ard a p p e a ra n c e , but I have also
studied the attitud es and general be hav i­
o u r o f the species, and in doing so have
found it to be distinctly divided into
se p a ra te levels, each with its own task
and purp ose to fulfil. You really seem to
have the beginning o f an org anised social
com m unity.
T h e H e ad M aster is the title given to
the chief male ad ult, who is seen some-•
w hat as an administrative figure-head.
H e is aided by the o th e r adults — his
Staff, which consists o f both m ales and
fem ales (given th at title because o f the
su pp o rt given to th eir H ead M aster). In
singular form , th ose of the staff are
referred to as eith er M asters (m ale), or
Miss (fem ale). It is the jo b o f a master/
miss to ed ucate certain different groups
o f the young. Prefects are the young
adults given the responsibility o f discip­
lining, training, to ug hen in g an d fittening
th e y ou ng er Twits. T hose that excel at
this task are m ad e School Piglets (the
co nnection being that th eir m anners
leave som eth in g to be desired). The
fourth and final level is the largest,
containing th e young o f various different
sizes an d intelligences.
Topic III — Feeding
As a rule, the Strathallian eats reg u­
larly three times a day (being fond of
food). Its diet is obviously very w hole­
som e and nutritious, for every single
anim al of the species ap p e a rs to be
well-fed, having th at co n te n te d , docile,
sleepy look abo ut it (especially in the
morning). Meals are eaten in the dining
hall, built solely for this p urp ose. Food is
b rou gh t to the school in trucks for the
Strathallian is far to o fussy to hunt its
food. T h e food com es packaged in tins or
boxes and is stored according to the
instructions. W h en it has m atu red suffi­
ciently, it is p rep ared by a section o f the
staff — chefs, w ho instruct a group o f
young on the pre paratio n and cooking of
food. T h e diet of the Strathallian is also
very varied, an d at every meal time, they
seem spoilt for choice, having two main
meals to choose fro m , o ne for the leaning
o m niverous a n o th e r for the m ore carniverous. A Strathallian, I also find to be
rath e r wasteful and greedy, for he leaves
a large percentage of his food behind,
and yet always com plains of being h u n ­
gry, which seem s to be a slight con trad ic­
tion in terms. B ecause of this ra th er
strange need for su p p lem en tatio n ,
a n o th e r small food m a r k e t has been set
up. H e re , how ever, a Strathallian has to
pay for his foolishness, doing so using an
accepted form of currency.
T h e re are also a n u m b e r of customs
and cerem onies totally unique to the
Strathallian. I believe to do with the
tr a d it io n s an d religio u s c o n n e c tio n s
behind eating. For instance, there are
two groupings w ho may only eat at a
certain time. T h e first grouping of the
y ou ng er Twits must stand in as straight a
line as they can m anage for at least five
m inutes (this is supervised by a Prefect).
“ D o th ey ind eed, well this is most
interesting. I must adm it I really d id n ’t
think you had it in you. but perh aps I was
w rong, con gratu latio ns,” an d he leant
o ver the desk and shook me by the hand.
I grasp ed it feebly, sweat suddenly
pouring down my face with relief. P e r­
haps I’d been wrong. T h e M ajo r was
really quite de cen t, a fair man.
“ Well thank you sir, I tried my best.
A n d you know what they say, ‘If a j o b ’s
worth doing, it’s w orth doing w ell.’
Besides, I love T w its.”
“ Y es, I had noticed . A nd R ustad
O n ce this has been accom plished, th ere is
then a fierce struggle to e n te r the Dining
Hall, as the Strathallian fights de sp ­
erately and wildly to obtain access to its
food. W hen inside he must take a tray,
then q u eu e again, on the way picking up
various o th e r im plem ents with which to
consum e his meal. D epen din g on which
house he belongs to , he will be forced to
sit in tha t particular reserved area. The
most im portant table is the H igh-Table,
where the School Piglets and H e a d m a ste r
meet to discuss the quality of the food. I
have known for a g reat gong to be hit,
and then a hush descend while a short
p ray er (I can only assum e) is spoken.
S po n tan e o u s singing I have also e x p e r­
ienced. O n leaving the Dining Hall they
must stack the im plem ents in various
different containers. T hese are then
w ashed and recycled. I leave no ex p lan a­
tions to any o f these custom s, as I know
no better.
Topic IV — Natural Predators
It seem s a curious thing, but I do not
know of any p red ato rs o f this species.
H ow ever, sadly most die after reaching
the stage of Prefect. Only a handful
survive to continue the following year as
a M aster, yet this process ages them
greatly and they becom e m ore dignified
and respected. I have n ever seen a
Strathallian die, an d d o not know what
h ap p e n s to the carcass once dead.
In an odd form , how ever, the Masters
and Prefects may consider them selves
p re d a to rs of the young. Prefects, I have
noticed, will frequently punish a young­
ster for general m isconduct, the punish­
m e nt varying to suit the crime. Physical
exercise is a main type and is most often
supervised in the early hours o f the
m orning by eith er a Prefect o r M aster
w h o ex ercises th e m cruelly w ithout
mercy until th ey beg for forgiveness and
relief. T he young can also be m ad e to do
‘Strip C h a n g e s', w hereb y they rep ort to a
m aster w ho then o rd e rs them to run and
get changed into lots of different items of
clothing. This process is re p e a te d until
th at's just as well because I have a n o th e r
little surprise for you — the ideal job.
You'll be leaving on T hu rsd ay, should
arrive on S aturday which is when I want
your first repo rt. Y o u r visit should last
a b o u t a year an d you should settle in well
with th e L o rre to n ia n s . H e r e ’s som e
relevant info, and r e m e m b e r your flight
leaves at 1300 hours. D o n ’t be late. I'll
be counting on you to act as well as you
have been d o in g .”
“ O h n o, n o, no he ca n 't do this to me.
N o t a n o th e r year, a n o th e r mission of
cold w e a th e r, awful fo od, stupid uni­
26
the p u nish m e nt proves to be satisfactory.
A lternatively they may be forced to write
a set n u m b e r o f lines o r do a particularly
nasty o r bo rin g task. All o f these
m eth o d s prove to be adeq uately effec­
tive, though for the very worst behavi­
o u r, a Twit can be sent to the H e a d m a s ­
te r w ho punishes it horribly (or so it is
ru m o u re d ). A n d if this is of no effect, the
Twit will be expelled from the species
and forced eith e r to beco m e a vagabond
or e n te r a n o th e r species (relative of
Twitenciensis).
Topic V — Growth and Reproduction
I know nothing o f the mating and
e m bryo d ev elop m ent of the young, since
the Strathallians are very p ro u d , private
c re a tu re s an d could not allow this.
H ow ev er I was able to observe the
spawning time. Spawning occurs in late
A ugust w hen , on the same day, many
self-propelled carriages o f different col­
ou rs arrive on the tarm a cad am (o r rather,
nursery grounds). It would seem this is a
chrysalis and contains as well as the
feotus, both parents. T h e young ‘child’ is
hatched, and the p arents also are hatched
a few m o m en ts later. T hu s it can no t be
said th at the female herself gives birth to
the child viviperously as she ap p e a rs to
be quite in d ep en d e n t of this process.
Once b o rn, the child is already app ro xi­
mately adult height, fully clothed and
seem ingly able to think for itself. It
gathers tog eth e r some bag-like food
stores, found inside the chrysalis and
along with the pa ren ts, the child m akes
its way to a particular house w here the
child establishes its territory in a room
full of similar young. A meal is then
eaten by all the young Twits an d their
parents, after which the paren ts will leave
again in the chrysalis. From th at stage
o nw ards, the child must fend for itself,
helped only by o th e r young. Prefects and
Masters. Alm ost all Strathallians survive
birth and indeed it must be a process
greatly en jo yed , for th ree times each year
after a period o f hibernatio n, they go
th rough the motions of birth once again.
fo rm s, Twits, schools, incredibly detailed
rep orts, classes, confusion, questions, an
alien land , time . . . ”
It was th en I w oke up from the
nightm are. I sat up in bed , eyes op en,
staring into the blackness as my everyday
rational senses re tu rn e d , and my b re a ­
thing an d pulse slowed. N o , than k
go odness I was n ot, as I’d im agined, a
School Insp ector — I was still a Biology
T eacher.
M arianne Kustad
Form III
Twitenciensis in action
—
Sian raises the ro o f al the Christmas Concert.
27
AN EXAMINER S REVENGE
(prompted by “ G .C .S .E . FROM THE SHOP FL O O R ” and “ G .C .S .E . A W O R M ’S EYE V IEW ”
“ The Strathallian” Vol. 14 No.5 1988
A s som e day it may just h ap pen that a
victim must be fo un d.
I’ve got a little list, I've got a little list.
O f exam inee offenders who might well go
un dergrou nd .
A n d who n ever would be missed, they
n ever would be missed.
T h e r e ’s the can dida te w ho answ ers all
the eithers a n d the ors.
W h o when asked for his opinion gives the
o n e he thinks is yours.
A n d when you ask him what he knows,
he answers “ not a lot".
T h en ties his answers tightly with a
fiendish granny knot.
He tells you Muslims go on H ajj to
Mecca “ cos it’s h o t ” .
T h ey n ever would be missed, they never
would be missed.
I've g o t them on m y list. I've g o t them on
m y list,
A n d th e y ’d n one o f them be m issed,
th ey 'd n one o f them be missed.
T h e r e ’s the te achers w ho get muddled
with the “ K ” and “ U ” an d “ E " :
O what a silly B ........... . just like you and
just like me.
T h e y send th eir C o u rse w o rk to be
m ark ed to an yo ne b u t me.
W hen of course it sh o u ld be m e — what
inefficiency!
T h en th e r e ’s M r W a tt A Pillock w h o ’s
still teaching G . C .E .
W h o predicts th at all his pupils will get
“ b e tte r th an a B ” ,
A n d his y ounger colleague Mark U.
R oan whose figures w on't agree
With the to tals on the m a r k s -s h e e ts — so
it's left to little me
T o bring o r d e r out of chaos through
astute accountancy.
Alas O woe is m e, it really should not be.
I've g o t them on the list . . . etc.
T h en there are the subject officers, like
Alison and Steve,
T hey really would be missed. T hey really
would be missed.
It’s not their fault you u n d e rs ta n d , ’twas
G o v e rn m e n t decree
T o pack into a single year, what really
n eeded three.
So y o u’re told to send y ou r C ou rsew o rk
off by May the 31st,
In a letter that arrives in schools — on
glorious Ju n e the 1st!
T h e addresses of the m o d era to rs d o n 't
arrive at all.
So " T h e C o u rse w o rk ’s stacked in boxes
in a co rn e r of the hall."
“ T h e L ab orato ry Technician put them
on he r bonfire list.
I hope it w o n 't be m issed ." — I'm sure it
w o n't be missed.
I've g o t them on the list . . . etc.
W hat keeps the m ark ers going are the
howlers on the scripts.
T hey never would be missed — I have a
longer list . . .
“ Perjury is w here R o m an Catholics go
when they die.
Muslims on the H ajj throw stones at the
five pillars.
T h e Salvation A rm y worship in the City
Dell.
R o m an C atholics get an ann u lm e n t when
their marria ge is dull and void.
T h e moral of the R a m a y a n a is — never
leave yo ur wife alone.
In South Africa they have very little rain
to give them a good harvest.
So they'll en d up eating each other.
D o n ’t u n d e rs ta n d anything to d o with
Bible.
In the T hird W orld th ere is too many
peop le.
T he world total is nearly the same as the
am o u n t of people in the T hird W orld.
If the b o m b were d ro p p e d Christians
believe we would go to a b e tte r place.
If so m e o n e has co m m itted m u rd e r they
to o should be executed because G o d
says th at you should forgive people.
O. D o C hristian arg u m e n ts have any
influence in the deb ate ?
A. Yes they do. I think all rapists should
be locked u p . "
. . . So if th ey ask m e back next year I'm
sure I will resist.
T h e m o ney 's not th at goo d, to m ake me
re-enlist.
B ut if they then insist — and I think they
will insist —
T h en I'll fly again to L o n d o n and hope I
w o n 't be missed!
Reverently Anon.
DEBATING
T h e Society cam e across much the
sam e p roblem s as last y ear in the shape of
a furth er waning o f d e b a te rs, an d a lack
o f time for the U p p e r V lth de bate rs and
com m ittee alike as a result o f an increase
in w o rk load an d a m ore rigorous exam i­
n a tio n p e ri o d . D e b a t e r s w ere soon
likened to gold-dust and most of the Sixth
Form succum bed to tha t well known
m alady “ p e e r p res su re ” . By applying the
Scots concept th at “a close m o u th catches
nae flie s ” m any w ere eith er to o scared or
too a sh am ed to give it a go and speak
their mind. E n thu siasm in the L ow er
V lth was particularly lacking with only
Kristien R o b e rts o n , C a therin e B urns and
R hidian Davies com ing forward. A t a
school level, d e b a tin g is n o t a b o u t
winning o r losing the a rg u m e n t, but
rath e r, overcom ing the in-bred hostility
to p u b lic s p e a k in g . S e v e ral p e o p le
achieved this goal, and one most c o m ­
m e n d a b l e p e r f o r m a n c e fro m E d d ie
P a rk e r an d D uncan Spinner stands o u t as
they battled against each o th e r, exchang­
ing quick-fire rep artee and lucid theories
a b o u t E uth ana sia and w h e th e r it would
be beneficial to society.
Topics discussed in the deb atin g year
focussed on the Public School System,
education an d m orality, and although
m any ideas were floated: such as a H ouse
D ebatin g C o n te st and m o re formality in
the structure of the d eb ate s, time b e t­
rayed us in the end . H opefully, next year
the com m ittee may succeed in reform ing
the system which would definitely be
m ore beneficial to everyone c oncerned.
F raser Fyfe and Craig G lim m re p r e ­
s e n t e d S t r a t h a l l a n a t t h e S c o ttis h
S c h o o ls ’ D e b a tin g C o m p e t it io n , but
were unlucky enough to fall at the first
hurdle to the G le n a lm o n d contingent.
M any th ank s to F raser Fyfe (C h air­
28
m an) and Philip W alk e r (T im e-K eep er)
for devoting much o f their tim e, and also
to the d eb ate rs them selves w ho w orked
hard — bo th in the prep aratio n and
execution of their argum ents. A n o th e r
Scots pro verb rules that “A g u d e tongue
is a safe w ea p o n ”. This is quite tru e , yet a
tongue can only be “ g u d e " through using
it, and d ebating is the best way in which
to perfect this skill. I sincerely hope that
next academ ic y ear m ore people will
su pp ort not just the Society but this idea
and show a willingness to speak out.
Keith Dinsmore
(Secretary)
(A w ord o f th a n ks to the Secretary,
K eith D insm ore, fo r the irreverent and
som etim es irrelevant ''M in u tes" which
seld o m were a true record o f the previous
debate b u t nevertheless ensured that each
evening g o t o f f to a g o o d -h u m o u red start.
T .G .L .).
1992 ET TOUT CA!
If you h a v e n ’t h eard a b o u t 1992 by
now, you must have been on a protracted
space mission w ithout a radio. If you
have h eard a b o u t it, you will know that
the Single E u ro p e a n M a rk et is expected
to result in an u n p re ced en ted mobility of
the workforce. A n d th at, inevitably, will
include us! F o r those willing to m eet the
challenge, the ability to com m u nicate
ad equ ately in one o r m ore o f the E u r o ­
pean languages of o u r fellow E uro p ea n
nations prom ises to be a much more
valuable skill th an for the present g e n e ra ­
tion of Scottish em ployees, business and
professional people. O u r p o o r p erfo r­
m ance nationally in this field has long
been notorious. Like it o r no t, we can't
afford not to change.
W h a t has all this to d o with Strathallan? W ell, the M o dern Languages
D e p a rtm e n t intends to respo nd to the
situation within the E C and to the
thinking behind the new U K language
e x a m in a tio n s — G S C E . S ta n d ard
G r a d e , new Highers and ' A ' Levels. T o
this en d the H ea d m a ste r and G o v ern o rs
have agreed to eq uip the D e p a rtm e n t
w ith T a n d b e r g 600 L e a rn i n g L ab s.
R oo m s 2 and 5 are due to be in use by
A ugust *89, with the "Lab’ and R oo m 3
to follow shortly. These will enable pupils
to work singly, in pairs o r in groups,
working ind ependently of the teac h e r for
much of the tim e, but nevertheless
m on ito red continually. Each pupil will
have greatly-increased o pp ortun ities for
both speaking an d listening. In addition,
it is now D ep artm e n ta l policy for the
target language to be used for all class­
room com m unication and organisation.
Pupils have ta ke n to this like frogs to
w ater and speak French to me a ro u n d the
school as if to the m a n n e r born. O th e r
classroom m eth o ds are changing to o and
we aim to enco u ra g e pupils to initiate
language them selves without waiting for
a p ro m p t from the tea c h er, and generally
to be m ore in d e p e n d e n t in their learning
and problem-solving.
T h e g re a te r fluency resulting from
increased oral and aural w ork will have
the a d d ed benefit o f a ‘knock-on effect'
— giving m ore confidence and na tu ral­
ness to the written w o rk , which will of
course co ntinu e to be an im po rtant part
o f all courses. Finally, we are looking
into ways of introducing s u p p o rted selfstudy o f languages o th e r th an those on
the sta n d a rd curriculum.
Inevitably, we can still look forward to
the occasional how ler to lighten o u r day.
Like the pupil w ho told us recently he
w ould be taking on a cam ping trip his
"m aitre sse p n e u m a tiq u e " !
J .W .
COMPUTING
It is usual to write generally u n d e r a
subject heading a b o u t the events of the
year, both successes and failures, but I
should like to dedicate this space to one
individual. T h a t p erson is David Clark
w ho has left the u p p e r sixth this y ear to
continue his studies at University.
I first m et D avid w hen he was in the
lower sixth pursuing a rigorous m a t h e m a ­
tics course. It soon becam e clear to me
th at he had the qualities required to look
to the future in a rapidly changing field of
study. David was self-taught in c o m p u t­
P
ing, taking up his interest in the fourth
year and rapidly mastering the basic
language n ee d e d for c o m p u te r operation.
His forte has b een to ex ten d this qualifica­
tion into the full range of c o m p u te r
application.
It has been a very great pleasure to
watch him work and to work with him.
His reliability and responsibility at work
in the d e p a rtm e n t have been observed by
o th e r pupils, so setting a stan d a rd of
involvement for those pupils for future
years. T h ere were som e m o m en ts of
im patience with y ounger pupils but they
had great respect for him which he
r e t u rn e d with genuine affection and
assistance.
D avid's a chiev em en t has been to make
co m p u te rs available to m any people in
the school. His athletics stand ard s p ro ­
g ra m m e used in the su m m e r term is just
o ne exam ple o f this wide involvement.
David will be missed greatly and I wish
him every success in the future.
G .R .N .R .
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30
.
STRATHFLIGHT
(or “ Geography is Going Places” )
W h at b etter way to celebrate the naming
o f the new fleet of British Airways
A dvanced T u rb o p ro p jets after Scottish
Straths, th an to invite a planeload of
Strathallan pupils to occupy their n a m e ­
sake in an inaugural run on the W estern
Isles ro ute? So ran the first o f the B .A .
S cotland m a n a g e m e n t's thinking last
March when 60 aspiring geographers set
out for som e higher flying th an norm al,
doing field work o ve r features which by
their own admission they had only h eard
o f in the classroom.
T h e media greeted us with m icro­
p hones. flash bulbs and T .V . cam eras for
what was obviously a big public relations
exercise. A fter several photocalls and the
naming cerem on y by C a m e ro n Mackay,
we to o k off for o u r high-speed fieldwork:
observing snow levels; river m eanders;
urban morphology; clouds a nd on e fea­
ture which the m ore sensitive observed
from the inside of the little bags provided
by the airline — that o f turbulence!
Back on the g ro u n d and all queasiness
go ne, an airline lunch d isap pe ared m ore
quickly than anything provided at school.
T h e n hostesses' n a m e s were no ted by
m ore th an just the senior boys, while
badges, stickers and n o te p a d s were all
gath e re d up and we re tu rn ed to school
after a w orthw hile and en jo yab le flight.
A .J.H .W .
Stralhallan
The High-Fliers.
31
CDT REPORT
Life within the C raft, Design and
T echnology D e p a rtm e n t continues to be
full of interest, with every day presenting
a new challenge to all.
This year we have seen the first large
g rou p th ro ug h their A Level Technology
C o u rse, with a w onderful variety o f final
projects, th at ranged from an autom atic
fish counting device, to a selection of
id e a s to h e lp h a n d i c a p p e d p e o p le .
In d e ed , several of the stu d en ts not only
ea rn ed the respect of their ‘clients' by the
quality of their w o rk , but Simon Peters
and G avin R o b b gained 1st an d 2nd
run ne r-up places in the Scottish section
of the Y o un g Scientist of the Y ear
C om petition.
My very best wishes go to all the Sixth
F o rm ers who have w orked so hard
th ro u g h o u t this d em an d in g year, and I
ho pe they will have good luck in their
fu tu re careers.
C h ang e continues, and we have wel­
com ed the introduction o f a radically new
H ig h er C o urse, tha t certainly attem p ts to
address the p roblem of keeping in touch
with the changing face of the ‘real world',
som ething th at it is all to o easy to ignore.
L o w er dow n the school we have been
able to build on o u r previous G C S E
experience, to consolidate and expand
th e courses and to continue to offer a
b ro ad selection to all.
All this change and the d em an d s of
extra curricula activities, place a tre ­
m end ou s b urden on all the staff, and I am
extrem ely grateful for their help and
su pp ort in every way, an d I look forward
to a n o th e r year of interest an d challenge
— they d o say th a t ‘variety is the spice of
life,’ d o n ’t they?!
P .J.E .
Above: Simon Peters. Below: Gavin Robb.
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19 FEUS RD., PERTH
AN APPLE PIE
If there was o ne thing th at m ade me sit
up it was an apple pie. I h a d n 't actually
had a lot o f them in my life, just a couple
of times at my g ra n ’s — M m n, G o rg e ­
ous. T he hot pale brow n pastry with
marble cream oozing over, the light
green chunks of succulent bram leys, with
melted brown sugar chanelling betw een
them like m ountainside stream s m e a n ­
dering s l o w l y .............
I was just abo ut to swallow my apple
pie with its pale brow n — when so m e­
th i n g in h u m a n s c r e a m e d ‘M u r d e r . ’
Ahhh! — N o, it was my alarm clock. I
looked at my digital watch — 8.30. only?
School at nine. Ssssugar. I hate school.
Som ehow my hand found its way to the
freezing wastes of my bedside table. I
sm ashed the o ffend er who im mediately
choked and decided to shut up. So m eon e
said som ething. Mmm I could stay in my
cosy bed all day. “ H u rry !"
I fought into the bath ro o m still half
asleep and still trying desperately to get a
sock on. I sjjlashed the cold w ater over
my face and rub bed it vigorously with a
towel. I fell down the stairs and sat down.
My m outh pulled back in a w ho le­
he arted yawn . . . “ D o n 't sit there
yawning — get a move on !"
“ O k ay , o k a y ."
G o d my mum could go on right
enough. I to ok a bite o f som e cold, burnt
toast, g rabb ed my b reak and school
books, kicked on my dirty shoes and
burst o ut the d oo r. “ Bye, m u m ."
“ Bye, I hope your shoes are clean! Do
you h ear me Paul? Paul? Pa-aul you
forgot your tie. I c a n ’t un derstan d that
kid. T w o hours T V last night, and he says
he d id n ’t have time to . . . ."
I collapsed through the old school
gates at five past nine. Hell! W hat have I
got, what have I got. M aths, maths, oh
no M rrr. M r B arb er, I put away the
tatte red parch m e nt that bo re my tim et­
able. T h a t was one thing th at was cool . .
. Maths! I started to sprint again. Across
the frosty p layground, in the boy's doors.
It wasn't much w arm e r inside th an out
and I d id n 't w elcome the sight of the
ancient o ak e n bannisters, scratched and
w o rm -rid den , ascending steeply with the
stone staircase. I finally reached the top
and staggered into the deserted corridor.
I ran and ran, the footfalls echoing,
chasing me. E -on e, E-two. Classroom
E -three was at the end. I flung myself the
last two yards and exploded through the
door. O w I was on e inch through the
d o o r O ne inch!
“ Y ou , a re , late — F erg u so n " Mr
B arb e r — B arb er spat my su rn am e and
snarled. I could feel my cheeks and ears
go h ot with em b a rrassm en t and could
feel the pupils’ laughter. B a rber's u p per
lip twitched as it always did when he was
enraged.
“ Sit down and see me at lun chtim e ."
D are 1 say h u t. then excuse?
“ B u t."
“ Sit down and see me at lunchtim e? I
knew the punishm ent. I had experienced
it too many times before. Lecture, verbal
to r tu re , to r tu re , lines.. I must have
known his cane like the back of my hand.
“ F e rg u s o n ."
“ Sir?"
“ W h ere is your tie . . .? ”
“ O ui M ad am Lucas. Bien sur . .
the
lessons bell rung: like the sound of spring
to my ears. N o. the sound of C hristm as,
“ D o not forget your french textbook
Paul!"
“ Merci M a dam e. Merci B eaucoup. Au
rev oir."
“ G o -od -b ye, P au l”
A re n 't I just a wee su cke at F rench?
Breaktime! I sat with my friends in the
c o m m on room . Break was half an h o u r to
socialise, eat and talk. Eat. I was to eat
my usual b reak. My m u m 's raspberry
pie. I looked at my pals. Bob had chips.
Kay had an apple pie. D ou g had just
e aten his.
“ Kay could I have a w ee. wee sm id­
geon o f yer apple p ie ."
“ N o way Paul. I love 'em. No. H ere
I'm just going to the bog. I ate a couple
o f rasberries from my m a's p u d d ' last
nig h t."
I began to laugh.
“ N o I’m no kiddin, it’s an allergy,
A h h -a h !"
Kay ran off, bent double and clutching
his abd om en.
His apple pie. Huh. Kay was a well
brought up child, a son of an engineering
m anag er, in fact, and his m u m always
m a de him apple pies. H e had left half on
the table. N o no he was a m ate of mime,
even if I loved apple pies. T he raspberry
pie tasted worse.
The day passed slowly.
A t 5.30 — definitely not a m inute too
soon — the old bell rung away . I’d just
had c h e m ’y (groan, b oo . hiss). I packed
aw ay my books irritably, thinking abo ut
o u r difficult hom ew ork . A s I ran hom e
my mind began to w an der on to more
pleasant things. A pple pies. But: Kay
alw ays had an apple pie, and I never! It
w asn't fair. An old lady passed by. It isn't
fair! Y ou h ear me? . . . Sorry M a'am . It
w asn't. W hy c ou ldn 't I have my m other
m ak e me one. I reached o u r house and
pulled back the heavy do or. The bank of
red and brown au tu m n leaves crawled
back. I stam p ed in and slam m ed the'
door.
T h e next day (I had asked my m um if
she would m a ke me an apple pie, but she
said to be quiet and eat my dinner. I had
kept nagging on and I m entioned it again
before I went to bed. She nearly threw
the soap at me: “ Y o u 're lucky you get
som ething to eat at all," she said. So I
was stuck with my raspberry pie). I let the
brown pie dro p heavily o n to the bench.
Kay was unw rapping a n o th e r of his
apples. "O h b lim ey, I need the b o g ! . . .
S o m eon e pulled the trigger; from th en on
I d id n ’t know what h ap p en ed . I ’d never
33
really stolen anything before. (O nce I
found ten pence). My forehead was hot
and my ears began to th rob. I swallowed.
My sweaty hands crept slowly o ve r K ay ’s
pie. As I felt behind me I could feel it
vibrating, radiating on e message, apple.
T h e bell rang. Five minutes until next
lesson. I raised the pie to my m o uth . It
sto p p ed inches from my chapped lips. My
arm stop ped , su spended by the maniac
p u p p e te e r who had first p rop osed this
criminal m otion. E a t it!
Eh?
“ E a t it” said a voice in my head. T h e
p u p p e te e r ’s voice. My hand w renched
forw ard, my m outh ripped op en and the
pie was forced in. O n e half, three
q uarters, I was going to be sick. B ut my
hands and m outh kept w orking. The
apple pie. cold and soiid, slid dow n my
throat. Every last bit was gone. I saw
Kay.
“ Hey! Lessons? Holy Maria A n d ersons! I d id n ’t even start my p ie ."
Kay picked up m y pie. A t least it must
have been. But d idn 't I see his pie put on
the right hand side?
“ O h well, see you P a ul."
Kay stuffed the pie in his face, swal­
lowing what he could and letting w h at­
ev er else d ro p to the bin. I stared after
him. He can't have noticed my raspberry
filling. I breathed . But wait, he said he
was allergic to raspberries, d id n ’t he?
T hen the word would get out. He would
rep o rt me! I would have to go to see the
h e a d m a s te r d urin g lessons. W h a t if
so m eo ne had seen th at it was K ay's pie I
ate? K ay’s pie! My pal he was, (was, what
have I d o n e? ) His p a re n ts ’ll tell mum .
H e ’ll never be my friend again. I’ll never
have any friends. ‘T h ie f’ I'd be b ran d ed ,
a thief!
I ran to the art room . We were painting
pictures, but I cou ldn 't begin to think.
T h e n the h e a d m a ste r would call my
m other! O h Jesus! I'd really get it then.
A t 5.30, I ran all the way hom e. W hat
could I do ? I could b ake an apple pie,
and try to give it to Kay the next day but I
c a n ’t m a ke apple pies!
I sat all evening u n c han ge d, sweating.
W o n d e rin g w hat to do.
T h e cast iron
lock shuffled and clicked, and the front
d o o r th u m p e d o p e n . Mum!
“ H i. I'm b a c k ."
“ H i."
My m o uth was dry and my voice was
weak.
“ Well Paul, did you en joy yo ur apple
p ie ? "
W h at? Did she know I had stolen one?
H ad she been called up from work to see
the he a d m a ste r? So had I been repo rte d?
“ P ard o n , m u m . ”
“ I said, did you en joy the apple pie? I
th o u g h t I'd m ak e you one with apples
instead of those ‘boring' raspberries .
H. McCartan
SURVIVAL 1989
E arly in the su m m e r term , the main
notice b o ard has a small unobtrusive
addition. The heading is “ survival" a n d '
most people pass on and go to the tuck
shop instead. Every year how ever a few
stop, think, m aybe talk it over, and sign
up. (T hen go to the tuck shop). T h e re are
different reasons why so m eo ne might
wish to go — nice tie, U C C A forms,
crash diet, im press the girlfriend. B ut in
general the people w ho e n d ed up in the
minibus at 1 p.m . on T uesday, 22
A ugust, felt th ey might learn something
im portant. H ow we passed the time could
be d o cu m e n te d , in a deadline friendly
sort o f way, in a few lines, but readers
probably also w ant to know w hat we got
ou t of transmitting ourselves away on the
west coast playing with fishhooks and
ponchos for a week.
S torm b ou n d boats at Fio np hort m eant
tha t we co uld n't go to the Treshish
Islands as p lanned. Before we could
make practical suggestions (A b o rt Mis­
sion), M r Glim m introduced us to Plan
B. It had been brilliantly p re-arranged
for just this eventuality and involved a lift
from Malcolm to the end o f the world
and a trek out from there to arrive at a
little finger-bay on the Ross of Mull, by
which time the m ore inquisitive a m ong us
had began to ask such searching q u e s­
tions as “ W hat are we d oin g?” . A
question which intrigued us all week!
This area in which we were to survive
seem ed ju st as challenging as we'd
imagined Fladda to be. Civilisation was
much too far away to be tem pting. The
terrain was boggy and b arren , the rain
very wet and the prevailing winds very
prevailing. Shelter was the im m ediate
priority, and as we trapezed aro un d an
overhanging rock with p onchos and robes
we gleaned w hat was to be a useful
th ou gh t for the day. R edu ced to a
situation o f bare minim um s, what ulti­
mately is im po rtant? T he most basic
elem ents o f n a tu re are beyond ou r
control, and we fulfil o u r basic needs
firstly by protecting ourselves against
them and secondly by providing for
THE PANTHER
Prologue
O n ce bitten, twice shy,
K eep a look ou t for the bad guy,
H e ’s waiting in the heat of the jungle
night,
Y o u w o n ’t have a chance when his
timing is right.
H e ’ll p ou nce, he w o n ’t miss, no time
to cry,
T h e jungle is savage, a sad place to
die,
Life is a g a m e , d eath com es too fast,
Be careful — tha t breath could be
your last.
So watch o ut in the jungle.
Because you n ever know,
ourselves from them . A nything else is
secondary, and the cathartic effect of the
w eek was to release us from the everyday
w orries of civilisation and to m ake us see
them as luxuries. Exam s, holiday work,
interviews — how lucky we are to have
these things to worry about! Isn’t it nice
to worry on the level o f what w e ’re going
to w ear to a 21st birthday! T h ere was a
trem en d o u s feeling o f solidarity within
the group — adverse conditions create
strong bonds betw een those fighting
them . T h e re were no argu m en ts —
squabbling is superfluous and w o n ’t keep
us dry or catch the dinner. G ro u p living
was learned very quickly by all — not
only is it basic decency to m ake sure that
everyone else is ok ay, but team w ork
produces far more than purely selfish
effort and if you look after others they
will probably look after you. I think we
saw the best in each o th e r, o r ra th er we
saw each o th e r without preten tion s and
liked what we saw. T he level o f co nv ersa­
tion was surely a feature o f the week.
E v ery one 's views were listened to and
discussed, no-one was m ade to feel
stupid. Even such controversial state ­
m ents as “ I'd love a Mars B a r" were
given a fair hearing. E nough philoso­
phising, let's talk abo ut the w eather.
T h e first th ree days were grim. Rain
during the day is not so bad. but during
the night when you are not moving
aro un d and need to sleep, it is, well,
mildly harrassing. T h e shelter was as
good as we could make it but there was
no way o f stopping that rain drenching
o u r sleeping bags at night. Mercifully the
rain was not co nstan t, and during the
breaks in the daytime we dried off as best
we could. P erm anently wet walking boots
is an evocative memory! S unday, how ­
ev er, was ecstacy. The sun cam e out! It
can 't e ver have been greeted as gratefully
in its life. We felt totally justified in
sunbathing by the sea, bathing in the
f r e s h w a t e r pool we fo u n d , read in g
books, and doing exactly the sam e on
Monday. This change in the w eather
b rought on nothing less than a psychoO n the trail which is well tro d d en —
with d eath in tow.
H e laced up his boots and quickly
p rep ared
T o jou rn ey a path no m an had yet
d are d .
Exploring was risky, he'd always been
told,
B ut k ept on exploring until he struck
gold.
No gold to be fo un d, only de ath and
pain.
B u t my efforts to warn him were
som ehow in vain,
H e just brushed me aside, strode out
th e do or,
I knew from th at m o m e nt just what
was in store.
34
logical rev ersal, an d h a rb o u r s som e
idyllic m em o ries. Mull has its own
pec u liar b e a u ty even in h o rre n d o u s
w e a th e r, but th ere really is som ething
timeless in a fine a u tu m n day and all its
rich colours. H a d th ere been a postbox,
w e'd have sent a card hom e.
H ow e ver it might have read . "Wish
you were here — I'd eat y o u ." Lack of
food is an obvious challenge posed by the
exercise. It was a strange progression,
from h u ng er through nausea (for som e)
to a physical w eakness which was rather
alarming. The most diminuitive walks
would send the heart racing. O u r bodies
adju sted surprisingly easily to the pattern
o f not eating, but we knew that we
n eeded fo od. Lee an d John distinguished
them selves as co rm o ra n t h un ters a nd this
was much m o re p alatable th an the o th e r
nonsense we fried (boiled kelp is foul!).
R abbits had m a de them selves scarce; fish
were very much in evidence but cheekily
ju m p in g a ro u n d way out of reach o f any
lines we could throw. A gain, what it
tested was not how many anim als we
utterly failed to sn are, but how we coped
u n d e r th e stress of not having what we
take for g ranted . We discussed this, and
ven tured th at the com paratively little bit
o f discomfort which we went through
may just increase o u r capacity for sym­
pathy tow ards th e world situation of
underprivilege. I'm not claiming we are
b e tte r p eop le an d will instantly give all
o u r m oney to charity, but we might now
hesitate to say “ I'm starving."
T h e last (truly the last, promise!)
p arag rap h is calling all old survivors who
have been out with M r Glim m to please
get in touch with him soon — even just a
copy o f yo ur ad dress and a note of any
time off. W e would like to hold a dinner
o f som e sort for the Strathallan Survi­
v or's Club, and it is a start if we are in
touch with as m any o f you as possible.
Bring your own mess tin.
L. Mackenzie
I L ouisa prepares fo r her ordeal.
P hotograph on p 5 — E d ./
In the jungle he ve ntu re d, with sweat
on his brow.
His time was n ear, it would happen
right now,
Call it gut instinct, but som ehow I
knew.
The Pearly G a te s op en ed for next in
th e q u e u e . . .
The cat cam e from n o w here, a shadow
of black.
T h e speed was w hat to ok me
completely aback,
I t s p r a n g o n him , pen etratin g sharp
teeth and claws.
He fell to the g ro u n d , but the cat
didn't pause . . .
It tu rn ed and saw me . . .
Jill (irieve
A SMUG
INTERJECTION
FROM A SMALL
NON-HOCKEY
PLAYER
W e of the rejects find a quaint fascina­
tion in the archaic idea th at to play
hockey and to play it well, is the design of
every rational schoolgirl. Why should this
be? Brief empirical research d e m o n s­
trates th at the old (the wise) d o not play
hockey. N eith er do the young — their
minds have not yet been co rru p te d by
this all-pervading ethos. In conclusion,
hockey can no t be a sensible thing to do,
else the entire po pulation would be at it.
G o o d ideas — like eating, sleeping and
the bringing o f new life into the world —
caught on pretty quick.
T h e result o f holding the above views
in a hockey-m ad institution is (likely as
not) being obliged to play hockey three
times a w eek. In doing this o ne is
installed in a hockey te am b rand ed
“ rejects” — a team o f people who would
ra th er be doing som ething else. The
point we would like to m ake is this — it is
insulting to lump all of those u ninterested
in hockey to g e th er in this way. W e have
individual identities. Some o f us would
ra th e r be playing shinty, som e sn oo ker,
som e scuba diving. Some would ra th e r be
eating, sleeping and the rest. This leads
to discord in an already u n h arm o nio us
game (hockey, if you h a d n ’t already
picked that up).
Since we are realistic people and are
fully aware th at is not practical for girls to
be doing m ore im aginative, m o re cre a ­
tive o r m o re exciting things, th e least that
can be expected is that a bit of segrega­
tion be achieved on a national scale. The
t e a m o f th o s e - w h o - w o u l d - r a t h e r - b e p la y in g -A m e r ic a n -f o o tb a ll from each
school could have matches arranged
alongside the ra th e r different fixture
betw een those two team s o f people-whow o u ld -ra th e r-b e -fin g e r-k n ittin g . These
team s w ould becom e the elite of their
particular field representing their chosen
p ipe-dream proudly and with vigour. Not
just any old reject could join the school
t e a m o f th o s e - w h o - w o u l d - r a t h e r - b e sp read in g -th e-g o o d -w o rd -in -P acificIslands. Tests o f conviction, “ D o you
believe in G o d ? ” , strength “ C an you
cope with m osquito bites?" and ability
“ Y o u have two and a half hours to
proclaim absolute codsw allop to this
em pty hall” , would have to be passed.
T h e interesting question is: when the
h o ck ey team of th o se-w h o -w o u ld p r e f e r - t o - b e - o f f s h o r e - r a c i n g m e t the
scrap ed-to gether 1st IX in an im aginary
pu b brawl, w ho would win on phsyical
strength, and who shine in strength of
character?
C .F.B urns
A 'reject' slopes o ff to spread the good
word, by Hamish McCartan.
STUDY BEDROOMS
Now th at the rebuilding pro g ra m m e is
well u n d e r way, it will not be long before
most o f the school accom m o datio n con ­
sists of study bed ro o m s. T h e new study
b ed ro o m s will be m ore com fo rtable, and
hopefully m ore hom elike.
H o w eve r, m any people think that the
demise of the old d o rm itory will irrep ar­
ably da m ag e the whole school system.
T h e re will be no m ore pillow fights or
mass do rm discussions, and the overall
“ c om m unity spirit" will suffer for it. The
new houses are too much like hotels, with
their u nen din g, faceless corridors, and
how ever much this induces the occupants
to w ork, they d o nothing tow ards making
life interesting.
It has already b een noticed in the new
S im pson/Freeland block that th ere has
b een a b reak d o w n in com m unication
b etw een u p p er an d lower forms. People
are m ore co n ten t to sit in their nice warm
studies with doors th at shut themselves
th an to go to the c om m on ro o m , the
traditional meeting place. So when the
studies finally bec om e study b edro o m s,
the last m eeting place, the d o rm , will
cease to exist and the house may stop
being a close com m unity. T h ere will no
longer be a teeling ot belonging to a
h ouse, and p erh aps this will show itself in
the decline of inter-house competitions.
S tud y b e d r o o m s a re n ot bad for
ev ery o n e, though. It is right that the
pupils in u p p e r and lower sixth forms
should have ro om s to them selves because
they need the privacy to study, and by the
time people get into the sixth form they
have already m ade friends. Study b e d ­
ro om s may n ot be a g o o d .th in g for the
lower form though.
Alan Davidson
T he conversion of the boys' school
acco m m od ation to study b edro o m s, has
been m e t widely by approval. G o n e will
be the days o f co m m e n t to the tu ne of
“ the girls have got it easy” , and for many
reasons it is a change for the better.
T h e rem oval of d orm itories changes
nothing except the old. traditional idea of
a boarding school. Study bed ro o m s have
in no way d am aged co m m unity spirit in
the girls' house and th ere are no " i d e n ­
tity crises".
N o on e w ould d are call life in the girls'
houses boring — those u n ending, faceless
corridors are usually filled with loud
music a n d , m ore often than not, people.
C om m un icatio ns betw een u p p e r and
lower forms, as far as the girls go. are
good, probably due to the fact tha t the
ironing board is in the dow nstairs kit­
chen! Also, although the co m m o n room
is not used very much, people spend a lot
of time cram m ed in each o th er's roo m s,
o r are often seen simply sitting in the
corridors where midnight conversations
are c om m on . T h e advantage o f studies in
this case is that if people want to sleep,
they can.
Study bed ro o m s m ean less bullying
and allow people to develop an individu­
ality which they may have suppressed in
do rm s for fear of not ‘fitting in’.
T h e re was som e worry tha t study
b ed ro o m s would m ean th at new pupils
would not m eet people and m ake friends.
In third form , how ever, all girls share a
room with so m eo n e and there is talk of
this being the case in fourth form also
next year. E ven if people d o n 't m eet in
the h ou se, th ere are always lessons,
meals and games. In fact in this school it
is alm ost impossible not to m e et people.
Study b e d ro o m s are h ere to stay. Tim e
m o v e s o n a n d s c h o o l s , a n d th e i r
ac co m m o d atio n , must k eep up.
S arah M cD o u g a ll
RED
H e could no longer see anyone. H e
was perplexed. Usually at this junction
th ere was a g reat flow of traffic, a u to m o ­
biles and pedestria ns, bu t this time there
w ere none. It was very strange. Five p.m .
should be rush h o u r, but th ere was not a
soul in sight. H e shrugged. T h ere was
little he could do a b o u t it, so he walked
on and forgot.
A n d why was th e re red dust covering
everything? P avem en ts, benches, build­
ings, roads, all were covered in the dust.
H e looked at himself: even he was
covered in red dust.
Those benches: there was som ething
strange a b o u t th em . T h en he realised.
T h ey were no t merely benches. People
w ere sitting o n th e benches, bu t the
people also w ere covered in the dust. It
was strange, th e people did no t move. He
frow ned an d w alked on.
H e loo ked up. T h e sky was also red.
T h e sun was red. T h e clouds were red.
His eyes began to sm art from looking:
th ey were filling with red dust. H e
blinked. H e did no t w ant eyes o f red dust
like those p eop le on th e benches. H e
som etim es w o n d e red a b o u t them . Why
w ere th ey on the benches anyway? A nd
w h ere did the b ench es com e from ? He
shook his head: red dust fell from his
hair. H e was becoming angry with the red
dust.
H e cam e to a d oo r. T h e d o o r (th ank
G o d !) was blue. H e pushed o pen the
d o o r and e n te re d a house. Well, hardly a
house, m ore a small hovel, a flat. In h ere,
things would have b een red even if they
h ad n ot been coate d in red dust. R ed
p a p e r peeled from the wall, and in places
hung like ancient, dried up skin. He
walked on through the hall and cam e to a
room . T h e room contained seats and a
television. T hey w ere red. H e had been
angry with red for som e days now , yet he
could not speak to red , reason with it, tell
it to go away: he knew red could not be
spoken to; he was unw orthy. R ed would
not listen. H e knew it was abnorm al
speaking of a m ere colour in such a
m a n n e r , b ut n o -on e could tell him
otherwise, so he did as he pleased.
H e sat down in the red arm chair in
front o f the television. His red face broke
o u t in a slow s n ee r and he pressed the red
‘o n ’ b u tto n on the television’s rem ote
control.
“ Fish!” said the television and the
d ead screen aw oke and filled itself with
white streaks. He laughed, a d eep ,
funereal laugh. It had been like this for a
time now. H e had alm ost forgotten what
36
this box had d o n e b efore, an d now he
enjo yed the sound o f a th ou sand m a d ­
m e n ’s whisperings. H e closed his eyes
and tried to think; but he could not.
H o w ever he tried he could not re m e m ­
ber. H e repressed the red b utto n , and
m oved through to a n o th e r room .
This new room seem ed to him both
m o re interesting and m ore familiar. He
en joy ed this room . It seem ed to him he
always had, although he did not know if
he had b een h ere before. But one thing
he knew: the white (n ot red) box con ­
tained food, cold food. He ate well. He
tho ug ht he should have been happy now
b ut he was not. T h ere was so m ething else
he n eed ed: som ething red.
H e pulled o p en some sort of container.
Inside were m any things. All looked
interesting. H e did no t know w hat they
w ere, bu t he knew they w ere w hat he
ne ed ed . H e lifted one up and m oved it in
his hand. It sparkled. It was beautiful. He
pressed it to his th ro at and m oved it
sharply. A glut o f blood a p p e a re d like
o bscen e magic and fell slowly to the
floor. H e slu m ped down.
“ O h , r e d , ” he sm iled, “ so red . .
H e closed his eyes in ecstasy.
N. Dempsey
LVI
Building Contractor.
Union Street,
Cowdenbeath.
KY4 9SA
Telephone 510466
37
DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD
In term s of aw ards gained, this has
been o u r most successful year, with 24
participants com pleting the B ronze, 7
their Silver and 2 their G old. This
reflects the increasing n u m b er of pupils
w ho are w anting to atte m p t the Silver
and G old levels and are going about it
with genuine enthusiasm .
N o less im p ortant is the fact th at the
activities u n d e rta k e n by those involved
have been m ore diverse th an ever. This
has been particularly true in the Service
section where much of the credit must go
to M r C o o m b es and his re-vitalising o f
the C o m m unity Service g rou p within the
school. He will be continuing similar
work next year but, alas, in an o th e r
place. His su pp ort will be sadly missed.
T h e work in the hospitals, old peoples
hom es, primary schools and so on will
continue however.
Also within the Service section, very
successful First A id an d Lifesaving
courses have occurred with ov er 30 o f the
T hird form getting the Ju n io r First Aid
Certificate from St. A nd re w s A m b ulan ce
and 13 the RLSS Bronze Medallion.
Fund raising events proved successes
with a total of aro u n d £700 raised for
C ancer R esearch. G uid e Dogs for the
Blind and Help the A ged. E vents ranged
from the Jum ble Sale arranged by Louisa
Mackenzie and several W oo d land s hel­
pers, to the sponsored m ountain bike
ride of C a m e ro n Hill and G ra h a m
A ddison.
E xpeditions have again ranged far and
wide through the Highlands and Islands,
with the w e ath er being alm ost always
kind. T h e vast majority of participants
have com pleted these without serious
mishap but som e have found navigation
more difficult than expected. T hey will
try again next year. A new d e p artu re has
been the E xploration work being planned
by some of the girls. T hese include
studies of the River features in Glen Roy
and o f po pulation changes on the Island
of Lismore. Miss E ng land , w ho joined us
at the start o f the year, has been
particularly hard at w ork helping develop
these projects.
Again the variety of activities and
sports offered at Strathallan has m ean t
that anyone with the least spark of
enthusiasm has been able to find so m e­
thing suitable for their Skill and Physical
R ecreatio n. O u r th ank s are d ue to all
those m em b ers of staff who run these.
In conclusion I must th ank those
m e m b e rs o f staff who have been particu­
larly involved in the running of the
schem e th ro u g h o u t the year. T o Messrs
S ned d o n , Elliot. W allace, B roadfoot,
C o o m b e s and Miss E ngland must go a lot
o f the credit for a successful year. T heir
enthusiasm is infectious and their hard
work much appreciated.
J .S .B .
COMMUNITY SERVICE
A t times during the last 12 m onths, our
C om m un ity Service g ro up seem s to have
been intent on taking over the National
H ealth Service! W e have benefitted from
new links with the D u k e of E d inburgh
A w ard Schem e, and the result has been a
much wider range of activities.
O u r established visits to the old people
at Bridge of E arn H ospital, have been
ex tend ed to the Moncrieffe H o m e . A
cheerful and reliable band of W edn esd ay
afterno on visitors has been au gm ented
on occasions by musicians, pipers, carol
singers and country dancers, and seven
pupils even c o m p le ted the y ear by
w orking a full nursing shift on the wards
— to see what caring for old people really
involves.
F o r the o th e r end of the age range. Jill
Fraser, Marion G ritte n . and Stephanie
Sneddon w orked regularly in the infant
classes at F organdenny and D u n b arn ey
primary schools, whilst Kate Milnes and
M argaret Low were learning a good deal
a b o u t child care by looking after the
Burgess boys, and several ex pert sw im­
mers taught Riley pupils on a one-to-one
basis.
A pleasing d eve lop m ent has been the
increasing n u m b e r o f pupils working
independently: C atrio n a. Suzy and Z o e
gardening for Miss Ross in the village.
J o n a th a n Taylor making eq u ip m e n t in
C D T for the Moncrieffe H o m e , and
C ath erin e B urns teaching English as a
foreign language to a C hinese boy.
E v en Africa has b een helped by the
Social Service gang! — albeit n ot in
p erson; several hu n d red old ‘O ’ level
textbooks were g ath ered , sorted and
boxed for dispatch to needy African
schools.
I could go on. T h ere have been flag
days, old peo p le's Christm as shopping, a
carol service to help at. lifesaving train­
ing, and fund raising for C ancer Research
— and th ere are even more ideas for next
year! In conclusion, many than ks to all of
this y e a r’s helpers, best wishes to John
Burgess who will be taking over the
organisation of o u r activities next year,
and please can we have som e more
v o l u n t e e r s fro m h o u se s o t h e r than
W o od lan ds and T h o rn b a n k .
M .C .C .
STEPHEN GARDINER
JO INER & BUILDING CONTRACTOR
(N.H.B.C. Reg.)
33-35 F eu s, A uchterarder
Tel. 62595
EXTENSIONS — RENOVATIONS — ATTIC CONVERSIONS
FITTED KITCHENS — NEW BUNGALOWS — JOBBING WORK
TIMBER FRAME KITS
ESTIMATES FREE
38
Cam eron Hill and G raham Addison on a fund-raising spin with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
39
ST ANDREW’S NIGHT
O n the eve o f the last day in N o v em b e r
the music hall becam e very much alive —
transform ed by Scottish festivities, as
te a c h e r s a n d p u p ils a lik e g a th e r e d
tog eth e r to celebrate St A n d re w 's Night.
T h e evening’s en te rta in m e n t included
Scottish poetry (m uch of which was, of
course, written by R o bert B urns) as well
as Scottish fiddle music, piping medleys,
country dancing and singing.
T o s ta rt the e v e n in g ’s busy p r o ­
g ra m m e , m em b ers of the choir sang
‘C harlie is my darling’, accom panied by
strings, an d this was followed by a
selection o f poetry from Hhe first form.
Riley also co n trib u ted , slightly later on,
w hen the second form recited som e more
Scottish p oem s — the rest o f the poetry
for the evening being from the third and
sixth forms. O n e p o em in particular,
entitled ‘Lady of Shalo tt’ by Liz Lochh ead , was very effectively perfo rm ed by
L ouisa M ackenzie. F raser Fyfe also
deserved g reat credit for his in te rp re ta ­
tion of 'Holy Wullie's Prayer' by R o bert
Burns. He looked very much the p art,
dressed in his nightshirt and eq uip ped
with a lit candle.
A light-hearted sketch o f the wellknown ‘T am o ' S h a n te r' followed, as six
m em b ers of the fourth form both e n te r ­
tained and am used the a ud ien ce, judging
by the a m o u n t of la ughter which was
heard th ro u gh ou t the p erform ance.
T h e re was also a selection o f 'wellplaid' fiddle tu nes, and Pauline L ockhart
played Scott S k in n e r’s 'W elco m e to
Inverness’ so fast, th at it was not surpris­
ing th at she felt a bit tired at the end.
A n 18th century drawing room song
depicting country life called 'F air Jesse of
D u n b la n e ’ was sung by Dirk P aterso n,
and th ere w ere th ree country dances
included in the evening — 'T he D u k e of
A tholl's R e e l’, ‘G a te s of E din b u rg h ' and
‘T h e Scottish R e fo rm ' — all of which the
audience seem ed to en joy as they p ro ­
vided the dancers with the app ro priate
‘w ho op s' as th ey clapped in time to the
music.
T h e re w ere tw o piping medleys, one
before the interval, during which a buffet
was served for a ny on e in need of refresh­
m en t. and on e in the second half o f the
p ro g r a m m e , including 'M h airi's W e d ­
ding' an d 'T h e B raes of M ar'.
M r M c L eo d sang ‘Eriskay Love Lilt'
and ‘R owan T r e e ' before the special
guest — the distinguished poet and
novelist, lain C richton Smith, addressed
the audience. He read som e o f his poetry
an d m ade a very witty speech which
prov o k e d much laughter.
As the e n te r ta in m e n t drew to a close,
M r Y o u n g sang a few songs, such as 'A e
Fond Kiss' and 'B o nn ie S tr a th y re ’. and
as staff and pupils alike sang to g eth er the
traditional ‘A uld Lang Syne’ at the en d,
it was clear tha t the evening had been a
great success.
Tracey Morton
THE SIXTH FORM BALL
Life at Strathallan rarely seem s to p ro g ­
ress further than the previous day. It
is od d to im agine in a school o f such
rep u te and ch aracte r th a t nothing ever
seem s to occur th at could stir even those
partially-alive inhabitants. D o e s it th en
n ot seem unlikely th a t so m ethin g o f great
im po rtan ce should sh ake th e school with
such vigour a nd energy th a t it could
disrupt the entire b oo k of tradition and
ro utine? Y e t, ind eed this was the case!
T h e annual sixth form ball d aw n ed once
again on the unsociable a n d rebellious
sixth fo r m e rs — d e s p ite e v e r y o n e ’s
annoyance at this unw elco m e alteration
to routine.
B ut w hose bright idea was it to invite
rival girls from th e n eighbouring schools
Kilgraston and Laurel B an k? Such a man
should be shot . . . b ang w en t
our
chances of trap pin g tonight, we thought.
H o w ever, this was not so . . . th ere were
un do ub tedly th e usual ‘silent’ flings and
transactions b etw e en Strathallan sixth
form ers — n o t, o f course, to a n y o n e ’s
g reat surprise. Seeing th e boys un reco g ­
nisably sm art in the D Js and
kilts
shocked their fem ale c o u n terp arts, who,
in turn fou n d th e m unusually irresistable?!
T h e band from the fifth form hardly
qualify as b ack gro un d music artists —
during d in n e r th ey
shook the
created an electric a tm o sph ere: a definite
‘m u s t’ for next year! T h e ball, how ever,
would not have been com plete without
40
the ‘punch hosts’ . . . Messrs De Boulay.
P ro ctor, F orster, Giles and Keir. T heir
unbelievably swift servings o f the concoc­
tion to alcohol-starved pupils suggested
that th ey w ere well used to such em ploy­
m en t, while the beady eyes o f M r Vallot
kept a close watch on the d o o r, much to
the frustration of several — who I’m sure
would like to rem ain anonymous!
O nce again the organisation of PM V
and his ‘terrific’ ball com m ittee(!) was up
to scratch. It was an evening en jo y e d by
all and sundry. M any th ank s are due to
P M V , canteen staff, the bands and
stage and else involved — especially o ur
everyone
dance instructors in the run up to the big
event!
Kirsty Boyd
S T O P PRESS
C andid C a m e ra
on the
Rugby T o u r to N arbonne
August 1989
Mr Du Boulay has a snooze on the
bus while Hamish Blanche receives
medical attention from Mr Keir, and
James d'Atli makes friends with a
Frenchman.
capte
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41
42
jm *
THE YEAR IN COLOUR
Lady M acbeth (Louisa M ackenzie) looks
forw ard to the arrival of King Duncan.
Lady M acduff (L aura M arshall) with
her son (Duncan Forbes) learn that
M acduff has lied.
la d y of the court (Tessa Dunlop) serves
the Old Man (Khidian Davies) at the
Banquet.
Macbeth (Ian Clarke) threatens the
First M urderer (John Tindel).
Lady Macheth prays for
evil aid.
Macheth listens admiringly to Lady
M acbeth's resolute plans.
Below: The Three W itches— Katie
I’attinson, Susie Leiper and L i/ Reekie.
Lady Macbeth begins to
suffer.
Below: The Second
M urderer (Nick
Dempsey).
Andrew M arshall, Alistair Gow and Charles D unbar playing for
the European Educational Seminar at Houston House.
Parents and friends enjoy meeting on the lawn at Speech Day.
C .C .F . Army Section with the Pearson Trophy for the “ Sum m er Stroll” competition at Gairlochead.
M r W allace, M rs M cEarlane and M r Keith —
Speech Day.
Alec Lochore pounding in on Sports Day.
Hall No. 1 is up and occupied.
The G overnors’ Luncheon Party — Speech Day.
“ Which way now?” Pipe Band at Speech Day.
Pauline Lockhart, Andrew Yeates, C atherine C arru th ers, Bill Patterson and
M arianne Rustadt outside the Music Room.
Hoeng-Poc limbers up.
SAILING ON
THE BROADS
Andrew Miller pulls it to see.
Katie and C ath in the Half Decker chase Pauline,
Baldric and M atron across Horsey Mere.
Baldric models the latest in w aterproof sailing
wear
Miss England takes THE rucksack for a walk
at Stalham .
Katie and Pauline pretend they d on't mind
being overtaken — “ Lovely!”
Below: Katie, Liz, Sarah and C ath head for
th e . . .
. . . and listens for the applause ..
Below: M r Coombs tilts to
starboard.
. . . and doesn't get any!
How long is a piece of string? Field work on A rran.
43
RUGBY
With the experience o f the W orld T o ur
behind us during the s u m m e r, we faced
the 1988/89 season with som e optim ism ,
even though indications a b o u t lack of
scoring potential on to u r were worrying.
H o w e ve r, with a n u m b e r o f boys who
had been on to u r and o th ers back from
the previous season it was felt th at we
could be a good side.
T h e opening match against the Old
Boys had the following players: Backs:
G . W. Piper: G . W eb ster, A. C. C o o k .
R. J. G uy (vice c a p t.), R. J. G ray; D. A.
Mackay, R. B. Moffat. Forwards: A. J.
Millar; M. J. C. W h itm e e. F. D. D alry m ­
ple, J. van B eu sek o m . E. A. R. P arker,
C. T. D. M cLay, M. R. L ogan. N. O.
H ow es (capt.).
T h e O ld Boys o p en ed their account
with a try by J o n a th a n Christie, after
Richard R eah had jinked and weaved
through what seem ed to be im penetrable
gaps. T h e 1st X V resp on ded well and
with some good rucking, ground was
m ade. R ob Moffat was re w arded for his
persistence after charging down a clear­
ance to follow through and score. At 4-4.
good defence by the O ld Boys kept out
the 1st XV until D ave Mackay d ro p p e d a
goal. Some fiery counter-attacking by the
O ld Boys ensued with Rich R eah and
Max G o rd o n well in the van. T h e form er
kicked a penalty to even the score but
an o th e r penalty, this time by Dave
Mackay sealed the victory for the 1st XV
at 10-7.
T h e sam e side was kept for the first
school gam e against Glasgow A cademy.
T he conditions were ideal for good
running rugby and after a sluggish start
this is exactly what was p roduced. A t 0-3
down through a penalty. Nigi Howes
took us into the lead with a try on the
blind. G o o d handling and support play
c ontinued until half-time and som e fine
individual skill brought a try for Bruce
Guy. Dave Mackay converted. A fter the
re-start we took the initiative again and
Robin G ray , w ho had an outstanding
game offensively and defensively, scored
a try in the right hand co rn er to lead 14-3
at half time.
Technically the second half was not
quite so good as individuals tried to do
to o much them selves but further tries
ca m e th r o u g h C a m e r o n C o o k . Nigi
H owes and R o b Moffat, w ho was wellrew ard ed for a fine individual gam e of
p enetratin g running with the last try.
D ave Mackay converted two and ad ded a
penalty.
T h e o n ly c h a n g e f o r th e P e rt h
A ca d e m y gam e was Marc Wilkinson
coming in on the flank for the injured
Craig McLay. A big score o f 56-0 was the
result but this was not a strong Perth XV.
Eleven tries were scored by G av W ebster
(2). Robin G ra y (2). Nigi H owes (3).
Mike Logan (1). M arc Wilkinson (1).
C am ero n C oo k (1) and R o b Moffat (1)
with 6 conversions by D ave Mackay.
G avin W eb ster was injured for the
R an no ch match and was replaced on the
wing by Neal Dods. T h e first try in this
gam e cam e from good control at the
scrum with Dave Mackay having only to
step over the line to score. T h e second
resulted from a push-over with Nigel
H owes scoring and the third was due to a
good and incisive break on the blind side
of a scrum with Rob Moffat linking with
R obin G ray. The final try o f the first hall
was again du e to good scrum m ag e
control with Nigi H ow es scoring.
The first score after half-time was well
w orth an action-replay: starting with
pressure on the scrum-half from which
R o b Moffat won the ball, followed by
good support play through the forwards,
finally the ball moved wide to Robin
G ra y to squeeze in the corner. Two
fu rth er tries cam e from C a m ero n C ook
and Nigel Howes in addition to four
conversions by D ave Mackay.
T h e next g a m e ag ain st S tew artsMelville was a much stiffer task. It was a
go od , competitive gam e but o u r finishing
let us down and cost us a victory.
Stewarts-Melville got the first try from a
pivot penalty move. This was converted
to give them a 6-0 lead. T h ere was a
quick response by the 1st X V with a
period of sustained pressure and support
play which resulted in a try by Mike
L ogan. A p enalty in addition m ade the
score 7-6 at half-time. At this stage we
did not capitalise on o u r d om inance
(except for I penalty) nor did we continue
to do m in ate. Poor tactical kicking and
finishing allowed Stewarts-Melville to
seize the initiative and they totally
d om in ated alm ost every phase o f play for
a period. A well-deserved try bro ught the
scores level at 10-10 and although both
sides had chances to win: th at was how it
rem ained.
D ave Mackay was injured for the
F ettes gam e and was replaced by Rinnies
Brown at fly-half. R a th e r futile and
endless nonsense betw een the front rows
spoilt the gam e and with conditions not
ideal for running rugby it becam e a d ou r
a n d very scrappy match. T w o penalties to
o ne just about sum m ed up an appalling
afternoon.
T h e last game before half-term was
against G len alm o nd . Dave Mackay and
Craig McLay both re tu rn ed to the fold
b ut. un fortunately, we were to lose
R obin G ray for this match and the
r e m a in d er o f the season. This was to be a
sad blow to the 1st X V a n d . th ereafter,
his attacking and defensive qualities were
sadly missed.
It was a glorious day at G le nalm o nd
but o u r play did not quite match up to the
occasion. Firstly. G o rd o n Piper, o u r full
back who had been a pillar o f strength up
till now. had an 'off-day'; secondly, their
forw ards seem ed much m ore determ ined
and com m itted to winning the ball,
especially in the loose. D ave Mackay
o p e n e d the scoring with a drop-goal but
this was followed by a period of sustained
G le n a lm o n d pressure. A fairly simple
back move and so m e defensive indecision
led to G le n a lm o n d 's first score and a
penalty consolidated their lead at 7-3.
Just after half-time a line-out infringe­
m ent against G le n a lm o n d brought the
score to 7-6 a nd th ere it rem ained until
the last 10 minutes. A t this stage the 1st
XV p ro du ced its best spell of team rugby
in the match during which chances were
create d but not taken . Eventually Nigi
H ow es drove ov er a right hand co rn e r
a n d D ave M ackay c onverted magnifi­
cently from the touchline to m ake the
score 12-7. With little time left, all we
had to d o was control the gam e and
victory was o urs. H o w e v e r, it was
snatched away in the dying m o m en ts by
an individualist effort by the G len al­
m ond capta in. M arc Wilson, from what
s e e m e d to be a h arm less position.
U n d o u b te d ly we could have won this
gam e but on the day G len alm o n d p ro ­
duced the b e tte r rugby overall and in
addition to the above points, o u r tackling
was poor.
T h e second half of the season started
with a devastating display by a fo rm id­
able M erchiston side w ho beat us c o m ­
prehensively with an excellent display of
15-man rugby, especially in the second
half. H o w e v e r, it was also a po or
perform a nce by ourselves; from the start
o u r tackling was p o o r and it did d e te rio r­
ate. but the com b in ed p erform ance of the
M erchiston back row and Eriksson,
W hite and A n d erso n along with two
speedy wingers was just too much.
T h e following S aturday p rod uced an
unbelievable gam e. A ny scoreline of
25-24 against E din bu rg h A ca dem y sug­
gests m ore th an just a close e nco un te r,
but. in fact, it does not begin to convey
the real d ra m a. In the first minute
F o w e ra . th e Scottish S chools p ro p ,
a p p e a re d to drift effortlessly outside our
backs to score the first try. C am ero n
C oo k opportunistically dribbled through
after a mid-field tackle to even the score.
A drop-goal by D ave Mackay m ade it 7-4
b u t 2 f u r t h e r tr i e s by E d i n b u r g h
A cad em y b ro ug ht the score to 14-7 at
half time.
44
T h e second half saw the opposition
f u r th e r in c o m m a n d an d the score
advance to 18-7. A t this stage the 1st XV
did lift their game and . with som e
excellent tactical kicking by R o b Moffat
and D ave M ackay, we kept the A cad em y
u n d er a lot o f pressure. A con verted try
by C am e ro n C ook m ade the score 18-13
but again the balance shifted and E d in ­
burgh broke away from well within their
own half to give them a convincing 24-13
lead. With only eight minutes left it
seem ed th at all was lost. H ow ever,
constant pressure in their 22 and on their
line brought a try by Nigi H ow es driving
o ver from a five m etre scrum. A n o th e r
set piece with o u r n u m b e r eight again
breaking and drawing cover released
D ave M ackay, who just managed to
squeeze over. Now all that was needed
was a conversion at 24-23 to win the
gam e. Dave A n d e rs o n , w ho had refereed
superbly, ad d ed to the pressure by
advising D ave M ackay that this would be
the last kick o f the gam e. A lthough there
had been slack m o m ents, the mid-field
tackling was much b e tte r a nd Chris
Lawrence had helped considerably in the
back-row.
T h e early stages o f the M orrison's
match were just as impressive as the
closing stages o f the last match with ten
points through tries by G av W ebster and
Nigi H owes and one conversion in the
first q uarter. U nfo rtu n ately, at this stage
we sat back and held the ball too much in
the forwards. A fu rth er try by Nigi
H owes from close to the line took the 1st
XV to 14-0 at half-time. Fortunately, the
pace was picked up again in the second
half with four tries by C a m e ro n C o o k (2),
Craig McLay (1), Dave Mackay (1) — the
latter converting two. Rob Moffat had
an o th e r good ga m e, exerting a lot o f
pressure on his opposite n u m b er, but
overall it was a good perfo rm ance.
T h e Dollar gam e proved to be ‘the one
.t h a t got aw ay-. In nu m erable dro p-outs
w ere forced in the first half due to
sustained pressure but with little real
rew ard, a p a rt from a drop-goal by Dave
M ackay. T he second half was equally
frustrating, although probably we ran the
ball m o re — but again were unable to
finish satisfactorily. D ollar's score came
with minutes to go from a ball to which
the injured R ob M offat was unable to get
dow n; ou r blind-side defence was caught
napping and the scrum half was over.
O n ce again we cam e unstuck in the
G lasgow jam and mire at Kelvinside
against a side which played to and
through th eir strengths — the forwards.
We were o u t-ruc ked , out-driven a nd they
45
won most of the line-out ball. U n d o u b ­
tedly, we had m ore of the running game
but we had little ball, especially good
ball, with which to play.
T he last match of the term was most
disappointing. G av W ebster was injured
and was replaced by Hamish Blanche and
M arc W ilkinson filled in for Chris
Lawrence, who had left for H o ng Kong.
It was an excellent all round perfo rm ance
by a L o retto side which, particularly up
front, played well and behind the scrum
ran positively and exploited o u r w e ak n e s­
ses well.
O u r final match was played in Jan u ary
as a result o f o u r W orld T o u r co nn ec­
tions. This was a V ictorian State Schools
side which was a very big and powerful
unit, especially up front. A ltho ug h we
held them well in the first half, age,
weight and athleticism began to take its
toll on a 1st X V just back from the
Christm as holidays.
T h e overall results of the season were
disappointing for, although this was not a
great side, it could have been a good side
and the balance sheet should have been
much m ore heavily w eighted to w ards the
victories.
T h e seven's to u rn a m e n ts did not re d ­
ress the balance but did produce som e
g oo d and positive perfo rm an ce s. In
particular, we were unlucky to iQse 8-6 to
D u rh a m School in the first rou nd at
M erchiston and lost eventually 26-12
against Stewarts Melville in the plate
com petition. A t P erth , having struggled
to beat R annoch 12-10 we should have
beaten Dollar but eventually lost 16-10,
and in o u r first venture in the G o ld en acre Sevens we narrowly lost o u r second
round gam e to L o re tto after playing
possibly o u r best sevens of the season.
1st X V colours were aw arded to Nigel
H ow es, Archie Millar, Bruce G uy , Dave
Mackay and R o b Moffat. Half-colours
were aw arded to C a m e ro n C o o k , Craig
McLay, Mike W h itm ee, and Ja m es van
B eusekom .
R e p resen ta tiv e h on ou rs: D ave
M ackay, Nigel H ow es, Mike W hitm ee
and Jam es van B eusekom played for the
Presidents X V (R o b Moffat was in the
squad). Nigel H owes was a Scottish
Schools trialist and Jam es van B eusekom
was capped against Wales. B oth Mike
W hitm ee and Jam es w ere on the bench as
replacem ents in various internationals.
T h e 2nd X V (coached by Mr Pengelley), although an elderly side, was a little
bit capricious but could play good fluent
rugby. Victories, such as Merchiston
(7-3) against an u nb eate n side, w ithout a
scrum half for part of the g am e, were
c o n tra ste d with dismal p erfo rm an ces
such as that at G len alm o n d (3-11). T he
4th X V and 6th XV lost heavily to
G lenalm o nd and M erchiston but won all
their o th e r matches and their co m bined
perform ances were most encouraging —
my thanks go to M r Kitson and M r Ross,
respectively as they do to all o u r rugby
coaches th rou gh ou t the School.
T h e U.15 te am s at A , B and C level
according to M r B arnes 'synthesised'
much skill, m o d e ra te pace and m e as u r­
able cerebral activity to g reat effect.
Success far outw eighed failure but all
those ‘who know because they were
th e r e ’ should not forget th at good deci­
sion making will, m ore often than n ot,
bring the desired result. T h e re were
strong individuals but the team s were
stronger.
T h e U.14 team s lost only th ree games
with som e very good results at all levels.
T h ere is still a lot to learn at this level but
success and enthusiasm were in good
evidence and this augurs well for the
future.
O n ce again we are in deb ted as a club
to all those who help to organise at
w hatever level and in w hichever capacity.
In particular, my than k s on b ehalf of
everyone go to those in the sewing ro o m ,
the san and the kitchens for all their
efforts.
B.R.
RUGBY RESULTS 1988/89
1st XV
v. Glasgow A cad em y
v. Perth A cadem y
v. R annoch
v. Stewarts Melville
v. Fettes
v. G len alm on d
v. M erchiston
v. E din bu rg h A cadem y
v. M o rrison ’s A c ad em y
v. D ollar A c adem y
v. Kelvinside A cad em y
v. L o retto
Club Matches
v. O ld Boys
v. V ictorian State
Schools U.19
W on
W on
W on
D rawn
W on
Lost
Lost
Won
Won
Lost
Lost
Lost
33- 7
56- 0
36- 3
10-10
6- 3
12-13
6-42
25-24
32- 0
3- 4
0-10
0-18
•
Won
10- 7
Lost
6-30
Schools
Played 12, W o n 6, D raw n 1, Lost 5
Points for 219
Points against 134
All matches
Played 14, W on 7, D raw n 1, Lost 6
Points for 235
Points against 171
2nd
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XV
Glasgow A cad em y
Q .V .S . 1st XV
Stewarts Melville
Fettes
G le nalm o nd
M erchiston
E d inb urg h A cad em y
M o rris o n ’s A c ade m y
D ollar A cad em y
Kelvinside A cad em y
L o retto
Played 10, W on 7, Lost 3
Points for 174
Points against 42
Right: The 1989 pre-season Tour to Narbonne
was a great success. Here the team run onto the
pitch at Canet where they won.
46
Won
26- 0
Won
29-0
Won
22- 9
Won
13- 0
Lost
3-11
Won
7- 3
0- 4
Lost
W on
52- 3
Won
22- 6
Lost
0- 6
Cancelled
3rd XV
v. Glasgow A cadem y
v. R an no ch 2nd XV
v. Stewarts Melville
v. Fettes
v. G len alm on d
v. Merchiston
v. E din bu rg h A cadem y
v. D ollar A c adem y
v. Kelvinside A ca dem y
v. L oretto
Lost
0-10
Won
20- 0
Won
40- 0
Won
7- 3
Lost
0- 9
4-10
Lost
D rawn
4- 4
Lost
8-13
Lost
4-11
Lost
6-11
Played 10, W on 3, Lost 6, D raw n 1
Points for 93
Points against 71
4th XV
v. Glasgow A cad em y
v. Perth A c ad em y
v. Q .V .S . 2nd X V
v. Stewarts Melville
v. F ettes
v. G len alm on d
v. M erchiston
v. E din bu rgh A c adem y
v. M orrisons A cad em y
3rd XV
v. D ollar A cad em y
v. Kelvinside A cad em y
v. L o retto
W on
8- 0
Cancelled
Won
3- 0
Won
18-12
W on
12- 8
Lost
0-33
Lost
0-22
W on
20- 4
W on
W on
W on
W on
24- 0
36-0
10- 0
13- 0
Played 11, W on 9, Lost 2
Points for 144
Points against 79
U.14
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‘A ’ XV
Perth A cadem y
R a n n o ch
Stewarts Melville
Q .V .S .
Fettes
G len alm on d
Merchiston
E d in b u rg h A cad em y
M orrisons A ca d e m y
D o llar A c a d e m y
Won
36- 6
Won
47- 0
Cancelled
W on
31-10
W on
24- 0
Lost
3-18
Won
24- 4
W on
4- 3
W on
32-0
Lost
0-12
v. Kelvinside A cad em y W on
v. L oretto
Won
4- 0
10-4
Played 11, W on 9, Lost 2
Points for 215
Points against 57
U .14
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B' XV
Stewarts Melville
O .V .S .
G len alm on d
Merchiston
E d inburgh A cad em y
D ollar A cad em y
L o retto
G len alm on d
Cancelled
Won
26- 0
Won
8- 0
Won
14- 4
Lost
4-10
Won
26- 0
Won
12- 0
Won
24- 0
W on
Won
44- 0
65- 0
Played 2, W on 2
Points for 109
Points against 0
U.14
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Stewarts Melville
G len alm o n d
Merchiston
G lenalm on d
L oretto
Cancelled
Won
24- 0
Cancelled
W on
22- 8
Cancelled
Played 2, W on 2
Points for 46
Points against 8
U.13
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‘A ’ XV
R annoch
Won
o .v .s .
Won
Fettes
Won
Craigclowan
Lost
Merchiston
Lost
E d inb urg h A c ade m y Lost
M o rrison ’s A cad em y Lost
D ollar A c adem y
Won
Kelvinside A cad em y W on
36- 0
16- 8
45- 0
7-19
10-12
6-14
10-18
16- 4
28- 0
Played 9, W on 5, Lost 4
Points for 174
Points against 75
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4-14
Head,
U.12
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XV
A rd vreck
Stewarts Melville
Stewarts Melville
E d inb urg h A cadem y
Lost
0-34
Cancelled
Lost
0-32
Lost
0-54
Played 3, Lost 3
Points for 0
A gainst 120
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U .15
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‘A ’ XV
Perth A cad em y
R annoch
Stewarts Melville
O .V .S .
F ettes
G len alm o n d
M erchiston
E din bu rg h A cad em y
M orrisons A cad em y
D ollar A cad em y
Kelvinside A cad em y
L o retto
Won
52- 0
W on
52-0
C ancelled
Won
15- 0
W on
12- 6
W on
32- 0
W on
14- 3
Won
18- 6
W on
40- 0
Won
20- 6
W on
50- 6
Lost
10-13
Played 11, Won 10, Lost 1
Points for 315
A gainst 40
5th XV
V. G lasgow A cadem y
v. R an no ch 3rd XV
V. S tewarts Melville
v. Fettes
V. G lenalm on d
V. Merchiston
V. E d inb urg h A cad em y
V. Kelvinside A cad em y
v. L oretto
Won
Lost
Won
Won
Lost
Lost
Won
W on
Lost
52- 0
9-12
25-10
12- 9
0-33
4-26
32- 3
36- 4
0-28
Played 9, W o n 5, Lost 4
Points for 170
Points against 125
6th XV
v. O .V .S . 3rd XV
v. Fettes
v. G lenalm on d
v. Merchiston
v. E d inb urg h A cad em y
v. Kelvinside A c ad em y
v. L o retto
U.15
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B’ XV
Stewarts Melville
O .V .S .
Fettes
V. G len alm o n d
V. Merchiston
v. E d inburgh A cad em y
v. G len alm o n d
( A + B mix)
V. L o re tto
C ancelled
W on
64Won
62W on
56W on
60Won
50Won
Won
W on
18- 0
Won
25- 4
Lost
0-20
Lost
0-34
Won
8- 4
Cancelled
W on
19-10
U.15
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v.
v.
‘C ’ XV
Stewarts Melville
G lenalm o nd
Merchiston
Merchiston
G len alm o n d
L oretto
28- 0
16-15
C ancelled
C ancelled
Cancelled
D raw n 10-10
W on
10- 4
W on
28-12
Played 6, W on 4, Lost 2
Points for 70
Points against 72
Played 3, W on 2, D rawn 1
Points for 48
Points against 26
7th XV
v. G len alm on d
Lost
0-32
v. Merchiston
Lost
0-30
v. E din bu rg h A c ade m y Cancelled
U.14 ‘A + B Select
v. A rb ro a th H .S.
v. H ow e o f Fife
Played 2, Lost 2
Points for 0
Points against 62
Played 2, W on 2
Points for 109
Points against 0
29 ST JOHN STREET
PERTH
Telephone: (0738) 24928
4
Be advised by David Banks, former Scottish Ski
Champion, and his experienced sales team on
the selection of Ski Equipment and Clothing.
47
3
0
0
0
0
Played 7, W on 7
Points for 336
Points against 18
BANKS OF PERTH
BOOTS — Nordica, Salomon, Dynafit,
San Giorgio.
BINDINGS —
Emery.
Lost
Played 1, Lost 1
Points for 4
Points against 14
Played 7, W o n 6, Lost 1
Points for 114
Points against 14
U .14 ‘A + B Select’
v. A rb ro a th H.S.
v. H ow e o f Fife
U.13 B ’ XV
v. O .V .S .
W on
W on
44- 0
65- 0
BACK
PACKING
OUTFITTERS
Walking Boots, Breeches, Rucsacs,
Country Style Trousers, Curling Shoes,
Curling Trousers and Accessories,
Sailing Suits, Bouyancy Aids.
W A TE R P R O O F
FOUL W EA TH ER W EAR
TENT EXHIBITION 19 Mill Street, Perth
HOCKEY
T h e senior ind oo r season began well
with co m fortable wins over R ann och .
G len alm o n d and the O ld Boys, and all
seem ed set fair for a dash at Challenge
T ro p h y organised at Bell's C en tre by
G len alm on d. But on the day a change to
six-a-side an d ‘half-term itis’ reduced o ur
game to a shadow o f its fo rm er high
standard. W atsons proved too e x p e r­
ien ce d , a n d , altho ug h we o v ercam e
E dinburgh A cad em y easily, Rannoch
played far b etter than before, put us out
and went on to win the to u rn am en t.
E arlier in the term , second team and
under-15 gam es were also held with
Rannoch and G le n a lm o n d . each side
having one win and one loss.
O u td o o rs the 1st XI started with a big
win over a young A b b ey side. Play was
even until the last 15 m inutes, when our
visitors tired an d a feast o f goals came.
We travelled to M ead ow ban k to play
Watsons. T hey were a highly organised
(and vociferous) side and we struggled to
stay in the game. Most of their players
have club experience and it showed! The
next w eekend saw training matches with
the Scottish Y outh B oard ju n io r sides.
T h e re were th ree close matches. Brown
scored twice and McKenzie-Wilson once
to bring the 1st XI victory, the 2nd XI
lost by the odd goal but the Senior Colts
began their excellent season with a 2-1
win. T h e p rem ier F ettes match was
switched to M ea d o w b an k because o f a
flooded pitch. This suited us a n d . despite
not having a left w inger fast enough to
catch a bus, we d o m in ate d the first half
and created innum erable chances.
D e b u ta n t Clark eventually scored, but
we were pegged back by a Fettes goal,
and in an a bbreviated second period we
were only able to get one more. The
hom e gam e with G o rd o n sto u n followed
the usual pattern o f missed first half
chances. G o rd o n sto u n were full of speed
and e n d e av o u r and we found ourselves
2-1 down with five minutes to go.
M cKenzie-W ilson's goal saved us in a
match which should have been settled by
half time. Harris A c ade m y played d efe n ­
sively and gaps were hard to find, but this
time we were on target and won c om for­
tably. A b e rd e e n G r a m m a r were not as
strong as usual and , although they played"
attractively, we had the edge in speed
and were never seriously th re a te n e d . The
O ld Strathallian match was a bizarre
affair. Despite shortage o f resources
Ross McCulloch and G r a e m e R obertson
m arshalled the Old Boys' defence well
and until half time the game was even.
T h en fitness told and som e odd positional
changes allowed an avalanche, the chief
scorers being McKenzie-Wilson (5) and
Moffat (3). Monifieth away is always a
tough proposition: it takes time to adjust
to the shale pitch and they always have
the technical skill to outw it us in one-toon e situations. O nly some magnificent
goalkeeping kept us in the hunt an d we
w ere thankful to escape with a draw. In
the final hom e game with L oretto we
c reated well o ver tw enty chances. T hey
had three shots, scored twice and we lost
— an ex trao rd inary result which ep ito m ­
ised a season w here we never had quite
enough ’bite' to capitalise on chances.
T h e O xford Festival was held during
o u r term so. for once, we w ere able to
take a full squad. We found it hard to
adjust to grass and lost these matches,
but on the familiar concrete we easily
b eat A ld e n h am . G oing a goal down in 30
secs, against Stowe was hardly a good
beginning to the p ro g ra m m e , but the rest
o f the g am e was even and the result
d idn't reflect the play. H uu stp ierp oin t.
with an English Schools centre forw ard,
w ere far to o good for us on a w et. but
reliable surface. The Bro m sgrove match
should not have been played; the pitch
was quickly a mud bath. We looked likely
winners when 2-1 up with little time to
go. but o u r o p p o n e n ts forced two further
goals. T h e pitch for the Rugby match was
bum py, they were a hard running side,
but we stuck to things well and nearly got
a draw.
T h ro u g h o u t th e season the attack
never quite gelled, an d. with Moffat not
able to regain last year's scoring touch,
t o o m u c h w as left to th e y o u n g
McKenzie-Wilson. T he wingers. Lochore
an d Fyfe. had sp eed an d flair, but not the
technical skill to overcom e really good
defenders. C ap tain Philip an d Jon es were
the h eart of the midfield. Both were
accom plished players but n eith er could
d o m i n a te m a tch es for long enough.
B row n. C le m e n t an d. at times. Clark
m ade up the rest o f the midfield, with
Brown playing at the front when five
forw ards w ere used. O f these Brown and
C lark were w h o le h e a rte d , and Clem ent
show ed the greatest skill, if not the
c o m m itm e n t. T h e experienced Dalrymple was often sound but it needed
W h itm e e 's pace on the o th e r side to
m a ke up for slowness of turn. In goal
S p in n e r p r o d u c e d so m e tr e m e n d o u s
saves and kept his defence alert. O nce he
o verco m es a tend enc y to go down with
the h a n d , he looks a fine prospect as a
club player. H e . Philip. C lem ent and
Jo n e s a tte n d e d national training, but
none was able to get beyond the early
stages of selection.
T h e 2nd XI had a disappointing sea­
son. losing most gam es, but their p ro ­
g ram m e is largely against 1st XIs and
usually they were b eaten only by the odd
goal. T h e Senior Colts, with a wealth of
ball-playing talent, had a su p erb run,
scoring 29 goals with only eight against.
From this g ro up Jo h n s to n . Philip. Salters
and D ippie received national junior
coaching. Salters was ruled o ut on
g ro u n d s of nationality, but Dippie won
selection for Scotland U nder-15 in the
inaugural internationals with England
and Ireland held in Ju ne.
In such a good period of w e a th e r the
P rep Schools w ere unlucky to hit such an
awful day for their Sixes: the pitches
b ecam e sw am ps and L o retto waded to a
win.
My th an k s to all w ho fed. w atered ,
c lean ed and p re p a r e d pitches for hockey
players. In co m petition with schools
which play all year we are beginning to
struggle, and only a hard working ban d of
ageing coaches keeps us in touch. My
special gratitud e to those who cope with
such a hectic few weeks. New blood is
beginning to a p p e a r bu t we need m ore of
it!
J.N .F .
Te a m s
1st XI
S. Philip ( C a p ta i n ) * * , M. C le m e n t
( S e c r e t a r y ) * , F. D a l r y m p l e * * , D.
Spinner**, R. Jones**, R. Brow n*, F.
F y f e * , H . M c K e n z i e - W i l s o n * , R.
M offat*, J. W h itm ee , A. L och ore, C.
C lark, B. Tilley.
**Full C olours
‘ H alf C olours
2nd XI
G. Piper (C ap tain). D. Sm art. A. D een ,
I. Steele, C. C lark , N. D em psey , B.
Tilley, J. W inche ster, D. Ismail, F.
Small. I. Wilson.
Senior Colts A XI
C. Philip (C a ptain). D. R o b erts o n , J.
F raser, M. Taylor, G . M aclen nan, G.
M cG reg o r-C h ristie, R. Jo h n s to n . M.
D ippie, J. Low, E. A n d e rso n . K. Salters,
M. V ance, H. L o ch ore, J. Ford.
Junior Colts A XI
D. D aw es (C a ptain), D. G r e e n . N.
G ray , T. Hughes. A. W o o d . S. Nicol, T.
C h a n , A. K eddie, H. B row n. M. Silver.
C. Nicol, A. Bayne.
INDOOR RESULTS
1st Team
Rannoch
G le nalm o nd
O ld Strathallians
Won
Won
Won
12-4
7-2
14-4
2nd Team
Rannoch
G le nalm o nd
Won
Lost
9-7
6-8
Under 15 A Team
G lena lm o nd
R annoch
W on
Lost
12-3
6-9
Under 15 B Team
G lena lm o nd
Rannoch
Won
Lost
11-4
3-9
House Competitions
Ju n io r — Freeland
S enior — Simpson
Field
Results
1st XI
A bbey
W a t s o n ’s C o ll e g e
S Y H B U 1 6 XI
F ettes
G ordonstoun
H arris A cadem y
A b e r d e e n G.S.
O ld S t r a t h a l l i a n s
M o n i f i e t h H.S.
L o retto
O xford F e stiv a l
S to w e
H urstp ierp o in t
B rom sgrove
A ld en h am
R ugby
W on 11-1
1-2
L o st
W on 3-2
W on 2-1
D r e w 2-2
W o n 4-1
W o n 3-0
W on 13-4
D r e w 1-1
0-2
L o st
L o st
L o st
L o st
W on
L o st
1-4
0-4
2-3
3-0
0-1
2nd XI
M organ A ca d e m y 1st XI
S Y H B U16 XI
G le n a lm o n d 1st XI
R ann och 1st XI
L o retto
Stewarts Melville 1st XI
Lost
Lost
Lost
Lost
W on
Lost
1-2
1-2
1-2
2-4
2-1
0-3
3rd XI
G le nalm o nd 2nd XI
H arris A cad em y
R annoch 2nd XI
L o retto
D rew
Won
W on
W on
1-1
3-1
7-2
6-0
4th XI
Morrisons A c ad em y 1st XI D rew
L o re tto
Lost
2-2
2-4
Senior Colts A XI
S Y H B U15 XI
Harris A cadem y
G o rd o n sto u n
F ettes
A b e rd e e n G .S .
L o retto
3-2
6-1
2-1
3-1
9-0
3-2
Won
Won
Won
W on
Won
Won
Senior Colts B XI
H arris A cad em y
Fettes
L o retto
Lost
Won
Lost
2-3
1-0
2-5
Junior Colts A XI
Harris A cad em y
F ettes
L o re tto
W on
Lost
Lost
4-2
1-2
2-4
Junior Colts B XI
A b bey
Harris A cad em y
F ettes
Lathallan
L o re tto
Won
W on
Won
Lost
Lost
5-0
3-0
2-0
0-2
0-2
Overall Record
Played 39. W on 21. D rew 4. Lost 14.
C ancelled 13. G oals for 118. G oals
against 68.
SUMMER HOCKEY
P rospects at the beginning o f term
looked promising, for a nucleus o f 1st XI
players was su pp orted by a n u m b e r who
had played in the su m m e r hockey XI the
previous season. A las, it was not to be —
a sh o r ta g e of n a tu ra l fo rw ard s (as
o pp osed to ex-full backs who fancied
their chances up front) m eant th at we
w ere n ever really th reaten ing in attack
and som e u nexpected erro rs in defence
resulted in goals th at should not have
been conceded. A discreet veil will be
draw n over the results o f o u r matches
against G le n a lm o n d . R annoch and E d in ­
burgh A cad em y , except for the ad m is­
sion that on each occasion the opposition
scored m ore goals than we did.
H ow ever, som e c h e er was provided by
the mixed XI which this y ear had fixtures
against Fettes and G ran g e . Both resulted
in draw s. 1-1 and ()-() respectively, but in
both matches som e encouragingly good
hockey was played and the players
obviously en joy ed this form of the game.
With m ore girls playing in the su m m er, it
may be that the n u m b e r of mixed fixtures
49
will be increased if suitable opposition
can be found.
T h e boys' XI was selected from:
R. A. Jo n es (cap t), M. J. C lem ent
(vice-capt), F. G. D alrym ple, A. D een,
N. D. D em psey. J. C. Fraser, F. M. Fyfe,
S. R. M. Philip. G . W. Piper. I. A. Steel,
J. J. W h itm e e , M. J. C. W hitm ee.
A n n a B eath . Sheila D ow , Lynne Mel-,
d ru m , Tui O r r and Kirsty R eynolds
played in the mixed XI.
A .J.P .
GIRLS’ GAMES
I said at the en d of last y e a r’s Girls'
G a m e s rep o rt th at the girls would need
to be fit to cope with yet a n o th e r busy
season — this they have d o n e , admirably.
Y ou will read from the C aptain s' reports
just w hat a busy y ear and a successful one
we have had.
T h e start o f the new session brought
Miss E n gland to Strathallan and for
games this m e ant the establishm ent of
“ p r o p e r " netball — te am netball, with
fixtures.
H ockey continues to be the main
w inter sport for most of the H o use and
along with Basketball, Sw im ming. T e n ­
n is, A t h le t ic s , C r ic k e t , B a d m i n to n ,
S quash, Sailing, etc. each girl has the
o p po rtu nity to rep re se n t the school in
some sporting field.
My than ks go to all staff coaching these
activities and to the captains for their
continued sup p o rt th ro u g h o u t the y ear —
including putting these reports tog eth er
b efore, during and after exams. A special
m ention on my p art must go to Sheelagh
G o rd o n on becoming o u r first School­
girls H ockey Internationalist — a w o n ­
derful ac hievem ent on h er part. I thank
he r for all he r help during a very long
season and hope to see h er playing
hockey for Scotland in the years to come.
With girls returning from the T o u r
already fit, a nd a total of nine players
already with 1st XI playing experience,
the early season training sessions were
most successful — building up a very
strong side.
Only three days into the winter term
we were faced with the task of playing St.
L eo n ard s, who by reputation are always
a strong side. A lth o ug h initially nervous,
the team soon settled d ow n , playing well
on ou r own surface. Nicky M cA uley and
Tui O rr. both scoring with ease, helped
us em erge with a convincing 4-0 victory.
W e continued o u r winning run for the
next nine fixtures putting behind us
schools such as Mary E rsk in e, A lbyn,
G eo rg e H eriots and G o rd o n sto u n . A
win against M orrisons was alm ost ours,
leading for all but the last 5 minutes of
the g am e, only to draw 2-2. A fter playing
10 of o u r 17 fixtures the 1st XI looked
close to an u n b e a te n season — u n fo rtu ­
nately D u n d e e High put paid to this
d ream by defeating us 1-0. This was o u r
only d efeat in a w inter term full of
fixtures against som e very tough op po si­
tion. Fo rtu nately when first class players
such as Jo Smith and Kirsty R eynolds
were unable to play, because of injury,
ad e q u a te substitutes were found; Corrie
M clv er show ed her flexibility as a player
by managing to play in both defence and
attack.
T h e spring term was not as successful,
with the 1st XI suffering two defeats.
H o w e v e r, o u r victories w ere still as
convincing. A 9-0 win ov er Kilgraston
“ no we d o n 't w ant to com e off the bus,
w e ’ll get w e t" School being on e of the
high points of the season. Having failed
to defend o u r title as M idlands C h a m p ­
ions we re d e e m e d ourselves by winning
both the In d ep en d e n t Schools T ro ph y
(held at S trathallan) and the G eo rg e
H eriots G o ld en A cre Sevens. In the
latter to u r n a m e n t A m a n d a won the day
by saving a penalty stroke with he r very
petite derriere!! A n n a proved vital and
exceptionally d e te r m in e d in defence,
whilst in attack Kirsty R eynolds used her.
sp eed a nd skill on the right wing to
“ ruffle” up the opposition and Nicky
McA uley finally m astered the infamous
slapshot.
O v e r these tw o term s, along with
learning and im proving old skills, some
veterans acquired new and interesting
skills: Tui proved to be an adm irable
footballer, A n n a 's m otto becam e “ if at
first you d o n 't succeed, take them o u t"
and Kirsty c ontinued her tr adition, even
with new football boo ts, o f falling down
as soon as she saw the ball coming to her.
Tui, Sonya and Sheelagh gained posi­
tions in the Midlands Squads. Sheelagh
captaining the u n d er 18 side. Tui and
Sheelagh went on to be selected for a
Scottish Schoolgirl trial. Sheelagh going
on to play for Scotland in Belgium and
Ireland. A lthough on p a p e r o u r Indoor
side was exceptionally strong, we did not
seem to transfer this strength into ou r
play, but th ere were individual stars —
T u i, Sheila D o w . C arol A n d e rso n and
Sonya Reid gaining places in the victori­
ous M idlands Inter District side.
This year six team s were run altogether
an d although the repo rt is mainly on the
1st XI o th e r n otable p erform ances were:
2nd XI lost only to Glasgow High,
M orrisons and D ollar in the first half of
the season.
3rd XI had seven as a lucky n u m b e r
with two victories, scoring seven goals,
7-1 o ver Mary E rskine and later on 7-2
against Fettes.
4th Form im proved their results as the
season went on but had a frustrating
season either drawing or losing just 1-0.
3rd Form and Riley lacked nothing in
enthusiasm and showed d eterm ined play
(a n o th e r way of saying they refused to be
b eate n ) — things look good for the.
future.
Shcclagh Gordon
L .J.S .
NETBALL
This year saw the arrival of the Netball
option for the first tim e, and with it the
creation o f the senior netball team .
Initially there was confusion as to the
general strategies and fu nd am en tal rules
o f the g am e, but soon the players
stum bled on regardless of both and a
season o f u nending fun followed.
T h e t e a m h a d d if f ic u l ty p u ll in g
to g e th e r due to the height differences of
the players (from 5ft to 6ft) and also the
different tactics each player seem ed to
ad o p t (from the passive to the unfeasibly
aggressive). A lth o u g h the te am suffered
d efeats against D u n d e e High and G o r ­
d o n sto u n . we pu t these down to experi­
en ce and struggle onw ards.
I have b een told to em phasise our
victory against F ettes (the highlight of the
seaso n), which was played away. For
once we could feel th a t o u r efforts had
paid off.
L o oking tow ard s next season, I must
be bold an d say th at, hopefully, o u r game
will im prove. T h e re will be additional
fixtures an d generally a new a pp roach
will be taken .
Nicky Robb
SWIMMING
This year was the first y ear th at the
girls have swum against o th e r schools and
the tea m , although containing only 12
girls, put up brave fights in all their
matches. H aving won against R an n o ch ,
we w ere ready to ta ke on St. L eon ards,
b u t a ft e r th e y p r o d u c e d a 35-m an
(w om an!) team we w ere not all th at
confident. W e did in fact lose but in the
re tu rn m atch, at h om e to w ards the en d of
J u n e , we red uced the points margin
considerably.
M any m em b e rs of the te am have swum
w e ll i n c l u d i n g S. A r n o t t a n d P.
M cC racken who won the backstroke over
all the boys houses in the In ter H ouse
G ala in which we cam e 4th o ut o f six. I
hope that next year the sw im ming goes
even better. Well d on e all.
50
1st X I Hockey photograph at the top o fp .5 1 . In
the centre front is Sheelagh Gordon, Captain
and first Strathallan Schoolgirl Hockey Interna­
tionalist.
HALLS
OF
RESIDENCE
#*•'
Boswell Mrtchell & Johnston
18 Woodlands Terrace Glasgow G3 8DH Telephone 041-332 9184
Chartered Architects and Planning Consultants
51
__
ATHLETICS
BASKETBALL
N othing v en tu red , n othing gained . . .
and in the 1988/89 season the girls' team
started to ven ture w here no Strathallan
girls’ Basketball te am had been before.
A f te r m an y W e d n e s d a y a fte rn o o n
practices co ac h e d by M r G iles, we
eventually m an a g e d to get a match date
set against the Linlathen Lions o f D u n ­
d ee. In o u r tactics’ practice, which we all
to ok very seriously(l), Nicky Beale m an ­
aged to catch the ball in a rath er unusual
fashion resulting in a fractured wrist
which ne ede d plastering and she was
unable to play in o u r first fixture. It took
place at hom e with o u r to p scorers o f the
match Tui O r r an d Sonya Reid leaving
half way through to join a celebratory
hockey meal. O nce they left we failed to
place the ball in the basket and lost by a
narrow 10-13.
But we did not give in! W e retu rn ed to
the sports hall on W ed ne sd ay s and even
becam e a regular feature o f Mr Pighills’
p arent tours. O u r second m atch, which
was to be away — a return match with the
Lions — proved to be much more
successful. A fter negotiating the D u nd ee
r o u n d a b o u t th ree times, M r Giles ev en­
tually found the venue and the game was
p ro b a b l y o n e o f th e h ard est-fo u g h t
m atches we have ever played — we
struggled from being alm ost 10 points
b ehind at the end of the first half, to
w inning 28-23: C a th e rin e C a rru th e rs
proved useful with he r height and inter­
cepte d most balls while Katy H aines and
Tui O r r m anaged to k eep putting the ball
through the basket — so a victory was
ours. We must than k the Lions for the
two they put up for us and C athe rin e for
h e r J i m m y S a v iI le / C l in t E a s t w o o d
im pressions in the minibus on the way
home.
T h e third and final match we fixed up
was against (surprise, surprise) the Lions.
T h ey cam e to Strathallan and for the
second time sam pled the school baked
p ota toe s and beat us. T h e re must be
som ething ab ou t playing on hom e ground
— we always lose. Katy unfortunate ly fell
badly on her ankle putting he r o ut of
action in the match and for a long time
after.
It's raining again! T h e Juniors all keep
asking “ Is it c ancelled?" "W h y am I
doing th at even t. I'll be last?" But for
most o f the matches both suppositions
turned out to be wrong. T h e rain cleared
up before the m atches and the juniors did
not come last (well most of them ).
A lthough we did not win any match,
th ere were close races and great pe rfo r­
mances from all com petitors. T h ank s
must go to M r R aine. M r Barnes. Miss
E n glan d, Mrs B roadfoot and M r Pengelley — all o f whom pushed us on when we
th ought we could go no further. (Special
than ks also to the Scottish coach who
cam e once a week thro u gh ou t the sea­
son .)
T h e first match we had was pro bably
the most dem and in g, being against Fettes
and St L eo nard s at hom e. T h ere had
been heavy rain the night before but the
sun came out in time to m ake the match
possible. In the Senior age gro up field
events Tui O r r recorded the first of many
winning positions in the High Ju m p with
C atherine C a rru th e rs getting a first in the
Long J u m p (4.55) and a second in the
Shot Putt (7.99). T h e track com petitors
from the two o th e r schools proved to be
slightly too strong for us. o u r best race
being the 400m when Sonya Reid ran an
excellent tactical race to be just beaten by
St. L. clocking a time of 65.60 — not bad
for the first race o f the season and a time
which is continually being bette red . In
the Ju n io r team B onnie Stevens recorded
two second places in the Javelin an d Shot
whilst on the track Rachel Taylor strolled
along in one of her many leisurely 1500m
to come in second. In both age gro up s we
failed to get the crucial timing necessary
for a sm oo th and successful relay team.
(In the senior team race I definitely
missed the baton and as a result the team
was disqualified.)
T h e next match was against R annoch
at hom e. (T h an k goodness we let th em
travel along th at fam ous road!) For the
girls it proved to be a close m atch, the
result dep end ing on the relay team
co m posed of F. M ow at. C. M artin. H.
Niven. S. Reid. W e all m anaged to
co-ordinate this time and were just
beate n by a fraction o f a second — bad
O u r short basketball season finished
with mixed results. E v ery o n e 's game
im proved, yet I w o n d er why I have not
m en tio ned the results for the W oodlands
team in the Inter H ouse com p etitio n ? A
few of us were privileged to play in the
pupils v staff match and the Slam Dunk
T ro p h y stands proudly in the W o od land s
C o m m o n R oom.
I hope that B asketball will now be a
sp ort firmly established at Strathallan,
thanks to M r Giles an d the enthusiasm of
the girls. R e m e m b e r th at nothing v en­
tured . . .
Clare Martin
52
luck. B onnie Stevens continued her run
of success in the field events. Rachel
sprinted round the 800m. far a head of
any opposition and show ed no lack of
energy in the 1500m later w here she just
beat Clo dagh M eiklejohn — d oes she
e v er tire? Tui m oved into throwing the
javelin a nd retained her repu tatio n of
achieving first positions, including the
High J u m p again. I. much to my a m az e­
m en t. m anaged a first in the 200m — ail
the points were m ounting up. We started
to throw o bjects in the field events that
we did not think we could, while Angie
F raser, who failed to get a first in her
sprints, kept going. T h e re is always next
year!
T h e match against D ollar in which we
thought we might have scored o u r first
victory, was prob ably the best organised
— Miss Smith even put the events on the
co m p uter! H o w ev er this must have been
a bad o m e n as it was called off du e to
traditional Strathallan rain. All th at was
left was the Scottish Schools at Crownpoint R o a d , w here I e a rn e d my famous
red legs (now peeling badly). Tui n a r­
rowly missed a B ronze Medal in the High
J u m p , while R achel, Clo dagh an d Sonya
reco rded personal bests in the 1500m and
400m respectively. T h eir times were
nothing to be ash am ed of. Well done.
A note o f thanks must go to the girls in
W oo d lan d s (with the exception o f a few
— no n am es m entio n ed ) who for the first
time e ver c o m p e te d in S tand ards with
little fuss. I would also like to bring to
e v e ry o n e 's a tten tion the way th at Carol
A n d e rs o n has sacrificed her Sunday
m orning lie-ins this term to take part in as
m any road races/m arath on s as possible,
including the G re a t N orth Run and
C um b rian R un. K eep it up Carol! A nd
Lynn M a cL e nn an (Riley) won the R a n ­
noch R oad R ace this y ear, keeping up
the Strathallan girls' first place tradition.
It has been a mixed y ear with lots of
good individual results, yet unfortunately
not enough points to win team events.
H ow ever, the Ju n io r section will be a
team to be reck o n ed with in time. Full
C olours: T. O r r . C. Martin. H alf C ol­
ours: S. Reid. C. M eiklejohn.
Clare Martin
TENNIS
With a much ch ang ed te am , this
season's play has been very mixed.
G enerally things im proved as the season
wore o n, beginning with p o o r perfo r­
mances at L o retto and Fettes but excel­
lent play at the end o f the y ear especially
by G erald in e Sinclair and Claire Tomlin
w ho won the U15 section o f Kilgraston's
A m erican T o u rn a m e n t. O v e r the season
there has been m any a time when the
team has not been com plete du e to
school trips o r exams. H ow ev er next year
will see m o re gam es at h o m e, less
travelling, m ore time to practise and a
m ore established ap pro a ch . G o o d luck in
the future.
w
A m a n d a R o b e rtso n
53
n
SPORTS DAY
It was a most unusual day! N o t'o n ly did it rain off and on th ro u g h o u t the a fte rn o o n , leading to ru m o u rs th at the H e a d m a ste r had
spent too m uch time on the building site(s) an d not en ou gh in chapel, but then the F reeland H o u se m a s te r, athleticism personified, was
not only at the track but was seen leaping(?) with ex citem ent at the finishing tape!
T h a n k s — and I d o mean it — to all those pupils and colleagues who have helped with stan da rd s a nd Sports D ay this year. Also to
Mrs Gillian D insm ore who (m uch to K eith’s e m b arra ss m e n t), p resented the prizes.
Well do ne to all those w ho too k p art, particularly in the difficult conditions on the day. T h e com petition was as keen as ever.
T o the p aren ts an d friends who w atched in the rain, than k you for your su pport — the com p etito rs do ap preciate it. But the question
on everyone's lips was " W h e r e is R oger B ond, star athlete and new Nicol H ouse C aptain and w here is Rachel Taylor . . . ?
I). J. B.
BOYS’ RESULTS
100m
Ri
J
M
S
W inner
Wallace J.
Low J.
C oo k C.
Wilkinson M.
Time/Dist
12.37
12.45
11.70
11.37
Record
12.14
12.0
10.9
11.0
200m
Ri
J
M
S
Ri
J
M
S
Ri
J
M
S
Ri
J
M
S
Ri
J
M
S
Ri
J
M
S
RI
J
M
S
J
M
S
J
M
S
Ri
J
M
S
Wallace J.
Low J.
C oo k C.
Wilkinson M.
Wallace J.
K eddie A.
G ritten D.
L ochore A.
Fitchie M.
L o k k o S.
L aw rence T.
Park A.
Fitchie M.
L o kk o S
Sang R.
Lawrence C.
Wallace J.
G ibson C.
Jon es G.
D ow A.
Wallace J.
Addison N.
Jon es G.
Wilkinson M.
Wallace J.
Sochart P.
Kay K.
P ark er E.
D ucat J.
Lawrence T.
H owes N.
Silver M.
Kay K.
W eb ster G
D ron
Freeland
Ruthven
Ruthven
26.60
25.58
24.50
23.97
62.2
60.82
56.20
56. (K)
2.31.12
2.19.66
2.09.00
2.08.83
5.13.97
4.57.73
4.37.01
4.29.84
1.40
1.44
1.60
1.61
4.49
4.45
5.26
5.52
12.(HI*
10.10
10.80
10.53
32.87
30.30
34.32
23.73
33.42
31.45
59.20
51.92
48.71
47.10
25.34
24.5
23.2
22.8
59.3
56.5
52.5
50.3
2.24.4
2.12.9
2.03.6
1.55.2
4.55.0
4.32.7
4.14.5
4.09.02
lm 48
lm 63
lm 775
lm 895
5m (K)
5m 55
6m 17
6m 52
11m 29
11m 43
14m 73
12m 90
49m 81
49m 81
57m 07
36m 29
42m 00
40.26
56.7
50.5
46.6
45.5
400m
800m
1500m
High Ju m p
Long Ju m p
Shot
Javelin
Discus
Relay
4 x 100m
VICTORES LUDORUM
Riley: J. Wallace
Junior Boys: J. Low
Middle Boys: K. Kay, C. Cook
Senior Boys: M. Wilkinson
VITRIX LUDORUM
Riley: E. Currie
Junior: C. Meiklejohn
Senior: S. Reid
54
H older
CookC.
L in gT .
Ogilvie
Lockhart/L ing
Smellie/K irkland
Stew art R.
CookC.
L in g T .
L in g T .
Stewart R.
C o o k C.
Millar
R o ger G .
Stewart R.
L aw rence C.
L aw rence C.
R o g er G.
L aw rence C.
L aw rence C.
Bond R.
B ond R.
T o rn o s J.
H olm es
C u th b ertso n A.
R og er G.
Tindall
L e a r C . P.
Lawson
Smellie D.
KayK.
Knox S.
M cK enzie G.
C alland er
M cB ride J.
M cB ride J.
McBride J.
Knox S. B.
Knox S. B.
M cKenzie G.
D ro n
Ruthven
Simpson
Freeland
Year
1985
1971
1978
1971
1978
1987
1987
1973
1974
1987
1987
1977
1982
1987
1984
1985
1982
1984
1985
1988
1989
1987
1965
1984
1982
1961
1967
1967
1978
1987
1974
1973
1979
1969'
1969
1971
1974
1974
1974
1987
1987
1972
1981
Rowan Cup for Standards:
Leburn
Inter-House Athletics
Champions: Freeland
Girls Inter-Wing Athletics
Champions: West Wing
GIRLS’ RESULTS
100m
200m
400m
800m
1500m
High Ju m p
Long Jum p
Shot
Relay
Javelin
Discus
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
Ri
J
S
J
S
J
S
J
Winner
Time/Dist
Currie E.
14.42*
F raser A.
14.04
G o rd o n S.
13.75
C urrie E.
31.36
F raser A.
29.64
Reid S.
28.13
M oir L.
71.77
M eiklejohn C.
76.74
Reid S.
70.50
Moir L.
2.57.21
M eiklejohn C.
2.46.50
3.08.49
W a rdh au gh E.
M ac L en nan L.
6.05.11
M eiklejohn C.
5.33.37*
M eiklejohn C.
5.33.37*
C urrie E.
1.23
C orrie C.
1.35
G o rd o n S
1.35
Moir L.
3.60
Corrie C.
3.92
Boyd K.
4.27
Burrell S.
6.81
Cust J.
7.50
C a rru th e rs C.
7.32
W est Wing
58.20
N orth Wing
57.31
M eiklejohn C.
17.60t
O r r T.
21 .05 t
Stevens B.
16.311
* New School R ecord
Record
14.5
13.0
13.0
31.3
28.37
27.3
69.95
66.00
65.2
2.50.9
2.34.9
2.37.7
5.59.3
5.57.0
5.37.4
lm 26
lm 45
lm 55
4m 08
4m 46
4m 38
8m 20
8m 55
8m 03
56.9
54.9
Holder
F ra s e rJ .
Streule K.
Streule K.
F ra s e rJ .
BoydK.
C ornish V.
Blackstock S.
R eid S .
C ra w fu rd T . H
B rodie A.
R eid S .
C ornish V.
Taylor R.
M eiklejohn C.
M cD o n ald A
R eekie E.
O rrK .
R u th erfo rd R.
B rodie A.
G o rd o n S.
R u therfo rd R.
O rrT .
Smith Jo
O rrT .
East Wing
W est Wing
t N ew E vent
T K U
D avid Downes
Mrs Dinsmore presents Marc Wilkinson with the Victor Ludorum prize.
55
fh ilip Ainsworth.
Year
1984
1982
1983
1984
1985
1987
1988
1987
1984
1984
1987
1987
1988
1988
1984
1985
1984
1987
1984
1985
1986
1984
1987
1987
1985
1987
Marc Wilkinson explodes o ff the blocks
FENWICK’S
and
PUNCH AND JUDY
SCHOOL OUTFITTERS
OFFICIAL OUTFITTERS TO STRATHALLAN SCHOOL
QUALITY CLOTHES
SPORT AND LEISURE WEAR
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I a n d 46 GEORGE STREET, PERTH
Telephone: (0738) 37843 and (0738) 23063
56
p h i
s g l
JOINERS AND CONTRACTORS
PRIORY PLACE
CRAIGIE
PERTH PH10DT
TELEPHONE: PERTH 24673
ESTIMATES GIVEN FOR ALL CLASSES OF JOINER WORK
The Strip-Room Locker puts the shot at Not-Strathallan-Sports-Day.
57
NOT-STRATHALLAN-SPORTS-DAY
It started with rain but this d idn 't stop
the keen (???!) athletes em erging from
their houses. T h ere was a variety of
com petitors, including hippies, a sprite, a
strip roo m loc k er, an u n forge tta b le
A m erican fo otballer ( H e a th e r an d C o .)
and the am azing m u m m ies (we w on't go
into any m ore details concerning the
Daddy!).
T he first tiring event was the team
tunnel race betw een T ui's and E dd ie's
team s. D uring this race m any ‘ghosts'
lost their sheets, but tunnelled to the end
nevertheless. This c o nju red up slight
problem s for the shorter-legged people
an d often resulted in painful experiences!
T he three-legged long ju m p race fol­
lowed. It was a ttem p ted by four pairs of
co-ordinated enthusiasts. T he tum ble up
to the en d of the pit was spectacular and
during the first ro un d, o ne couple (Claire
C orrie and Clodagh M eiklejohn) even
m anage d a nose dive! T h ey followed this
with two excellent ju m p s, to win with 2m
75. Well d o n e, you two!
T h e spectators travelled over to the
M allard pen to witness the next event
which was ‘M otivating the Mallard'.
Each c o m p etito r got used to the Mallard
quickly and show ed g reat ability in
motivating it. T h e bird soared in som e
very high and long flights but did not
reach fu rth er than 9m 35, m otivated by
the Strip R oom L ocker (which hid Brian
D awes). T h ere was an a d d ed bonus in
this event: although Ky had proved he
should stick to the shot (he w asn't on e for
light feathers) he ro ared o r shrieked or
w h atev er, amazingly filling the whole
anxious stadium. Well do ne Brian and
Ky.
T h e e xhausted com petitors th en m ade
their way to the high ju m p ; not to go
over, but under. T he ‘L im b o ’ b ar began
at lm and m ade its descent 75, 70, 65,
31cm was the final limit — everyone
agreed that it was impossible to go
fu rth er including the winners A n drew
Park and T any a L an nen. T h ere were
m any refusals by all pairs and it was a
very close com petition.
‘Piercing the Pages', won by Nigel
H ow es, was hilarious. Each co m p etito r
got very n ear the pages but the H e ad of
School (K eith A rnott)_and Nige were the
only ones to succeed. T h ere was a throw
off, in which Nige with his accuracy
nearly hit the pages again, so was
declared the winner.
O th e r events were also er . . .
attem p ted! Next was the um brella race.
R otating aro un d the umbrella looked
hard enough but that w asn't all; 25
metres was to be run afterwards. David
G ritten flew off the track and others in
their turn stum bled across the finish line.
T h e rolling race was a g reat shock, to
everyone! Chris L aw rence lived up to his
costum e. E m m a W , Jo n a th a n B. Chris
a n d A n d re w rolled up the track and over
the high ju m p pole to finish in agonising
style.
T h en cries of pain cam e from each
te am as a c o m p etito r tram pled them
d ow n in tu rn . S o u n d s like to r tu re ,
d o esn 't it? T h a t's why it's called ‘Mangle
y our M ate s.'
T h e last event was the relay which was
run backw ards with the yellow pages over
two laps. A fter ‘Piercing the Pages' even
th e directories were nice and holey! It
was neck and neck tow ards the last 200m
but T u i's tea m caught the lead at the
bend. Z o e was running with great sta­
m i n a , b a c k w a rd s , b ut b u m p e d into
A n d rew D ow w ho finished the race. Well
d o n e both te am s. A fter an n o u n ce m e n ts
ev ery on e w ent to pick up what was left of
the mum mies! M r B arnes and the o th er
masters w ho held the sports day gave us a
lot o f fun. I think ev ery on e agrees that
'N o t-S trath alla n-S po rts-D a y' should be!
T any a Lannen
Rachel Taylor
Hippies (Sonja and Julie) leap over the pil in sixties style.
ATHLETICS
C onsidering that m atches started even
earlier this year th an in previous ones and
th e fact th a t several o f last year's
m e m b ers suffered injuries th ro u gho ut
this season, the tea m on the whole
p erform ed well. But there is no d ou bt
that we would have been much stronger if
D ave M cKay had not dislocated his knee
by tripping ov er a basketball, if Roger
Bond had not fallen o ff his m oto rb ike,
and if Pungi Senior had w oken up!
T h e first match was against E dinburgh
A ca d e m y at hom e. It was not as close as
last year but there w ere som e good
ind iv id ual p e r f o r m a n c e s from Nigel
H owes. Ky Kay and A rch the C aptain!
Fettes was next, again at h o m e, against
w hom we scored o u r first victory with
good p erform ances from C a m e ro n Cook
in both the 100m and 200m. We kept ou r
large hom e su pp ort excited until the last
relay — we won it com fortably and then
won the match (the team not suffering
noticeably in the C ap tain 's absence). For
o u r third match in the circuit we went
with hiking boots to run on the 300m
sh e e p - p a d d o c k at G le n a lm o n d . T h e
w ea th e r had a close parallel with o u r
tea m 's p e rfo rm an ce — Awful! This was
o u r worst day by a long way.
We were lucky this y ear in th at we did
Nige Howes finishes smiling.
Vicki McMahon celebrates her feat.
not have to m ake the long and " u n s e t­
tling" jo u rn ey to R annoch. O nce again
we kept o u r large hom e crowd excited
until the final relay — this time the
C aptain was present and the relay team
won and also won the match. This was
becoming a bit of a habit. It was o ur
second (and final) win. W e finished off
going to Merchiston an d, the less said
ab ou t th at the better! B ut there were still
good efforts from S. B rooks in the 100m
and A. Park in the 800m.
With inter-school matches over, efforts
were con cen tra ted on Scottish Schools.
O n e o f the most m em orab le events was
when the captain put his foot o u t o f his
lane and consequently his team out of the
final in the Relay Cham pionships. Sorry
guys!
T h e following S aturday saw the indivi­
dual even ts at the Scottish Schools
Cham pionships. T h ere w ere good perfo r­
m ances from Ky Kay in the Discus (6th
and threw a personal best), G len Jo n e s in
the High Ju m p (coming close to breaking
the school record) and M ark Wilkinson
coming 7th in the 100m. B ut the day
belonged to R o ger B o nd w ho o vercam e
his earlier injuries to com e a well earned
third in the 1500m and collected a bronze
— congratulations.
F o r th e last co u p le o f w eek s it
a p p e a re d that M r R aine th ou gh t we
should be fit for the holidays, so instead
of softball we did long distance runs.
H o w ev e r fun was to be had in the
C h ario ts of Fire (sunbathing) on St
A n d re w s b each , and “ N ot-StrathallanS c h o o l - S p o r t s - D a y ” . In t h e l a t t e r
A. Park and T. L en n o n am az ed everyone
in their c o m b o pe rform a nce and cos­
tum es were as imaginative as ever, with
Brian D aw es cunningly disguised as a
strip-room locker.
My th ank s to M r B arn es for his help,
and organisation, to M r R aine for his
en jo yab le (!?!), fitness runs and to Mr
Pengelley for his amusing tales of his
latest injuries. A lso th ank s to Mrs Broadfoot and Miss E n g land for all th eir help
and last, but not least, th ank s to all the
su p p o rters and the T hird F o rm e rs who
had to set everything up for each match!
M arc Wilkinson
Graham Ross staggers in.
C olours were aw arded to the following:
Full Colours
A. M. D. Wilkinson
N. D. H ow es
A . H. D ow
C. D. McLay
K. A rn o tt
Half Colours
A. Park
K. Kay
T. L aw rence
J. P. G re e n
A. Cowie
STEPHEN GARDINER
JO INER & BUILDING CONTRACTOR
(N.H.B.C. Reg.)
33-35 F eu s, A uchterarder
Tel. 62595
EXTENSIONS — RENOVATIONS — ATTIC CONVERSIONS
FITTED KITCHENS — NEW BUNGALOWS — JOBBING WORK
TIMBER FRAME KITS
ESTIMATES FREE
59
CRICKET
O n p a p e r this was never going to be a
vintage season and in deed it was not.
With only two wins, including a good one
against E din bu rg h A c ad em y , and defeats
against L o retto , G len alm o n d an d Fettes,
all from positions from which we should
have won, the season was disappointing.
A n in experienced side d e p e n d e d very
heavily on the few o ld er players. Richard
E aso n and R o b e rt M offat each played a
few good innings but n ever p erform ed
with the consistency required. Rinnes
B rown could never rep eat the perfo r­
m ances of last y ear an d, dogged first by
the exam iners and then by injury, d eve­
loped a form of bow lers’ ‘yips’. A n drew
Logan did im prove his overall p erfo r­
mance behind the stum ps and m ade some
valuable c o n trib u tio n s with the bat.
H o w eve r, the sad fact was that the old
colours were disappointing. E n c o u ra g ­
ingly som e of the younger ones came on
well. H ans M cK enzie-W ilson, with 42
wickets from ov er 300 overs resp on ded
superbly to the challenge and was well
su pp orted by Keith Salters. Both deserve
congratulations on their selection for the
final under-16 trial. G a re th T h o rb u rn ,
disappointing with the ball, b atted su p­
erbly for 90 against M C C . M ark V ance,
Robin Jo hn ston , Hamish B lanche and
S tuart W alk e r played innings o f value at
times. The fielding which was dreadful at
the start of the season becam e almost
acceptable by the e nd but was n ever good
with the h o no urab le exceptions of M of­
fat, Salters and Vance.
Frankly a much to u g h er attitude was
n eeded and although the captain c o m ­
p eted hard himself, he was not able (and
n o r were we) to stim ulate a sufficiently
competitive approach. T o o often ‘bad
luck' was blam ed when lack of applica­
tion was at fault. T h e re were games
which could a nd should have been saved
o r won.
T h e Second XI had an excellent
season. A lthough pleasing, this was not
surprising. In som e ways, barring o ne or
two players, we had two Second XIs and
players w ho were tried but did not
succeed in the First XI were good Second
XI perform ers. This should no t, how ­
e ver, d etract from a truly excellent
p erform ance. Led with e n o rm o u s e n th u ­
siasm by D uncan Spinner, the team rolled
off a series o f victories. A lthough there
were excellent individual contributions
— such as Ja m es W inchester’s century
against G len alm on d and bowling pe rfo r­
mances from G a re th C o o k e and Jam es
Van B eusekom — the secret lay in an
excellent team spirit an d som e su perb
fielding. T he whole te am and M r Ford
deserve congratulation.
M r C o u rt's T hird XI, with a recruit­
m ent policy w orthy of the Press G an g ,
p ro d u c e d so m e d e v a sta tin g victories
whilst exchanging kit with schools I
d idn 't even know they played.
SOCCER
BOYS’ TENNIS
T h e boys’ tennis team , potentially ou r
strongest for many seasons, suffered an
early blow when a knee injury forced
David Mackay to miss the whole season.
Despite this the first and second pairs
won most of their sets, enabling the team
to win seven o f th eir eleven fixtures.
Results:
v R ann och (H )
Won 6-3
v L o re tto (H )
Lost 3-6
v E d inburgh A cad em y (H )
Won 5-2
v M orrison's A c ad em y (A )
Won 7-2
v Fettes (H )
Lost 2-5
v G o rd o n sto u n (H )
W on 4-1
v G len alm o n d (A )
Lost 4-5
v Merchiston Castle (A )
Won 2-1
v S tew art’s Melville (H )
Lost 0-3
v M o rrison ’s A c adem y (A )
W on 6-3
v M asters (H )
Won 5-4
T h e annual hexagonal fixture with
F ettes and G o rd o n sto u n , involving both
boys’ and girls' matches, was played in
glorious w e a th e r and featured some
quality tennis. A strong Fettes team
finally e m erg ed victorious with Strath-
allan second, reversing last year's result.
Strathallan seem ed poised to reach the
Midland Schools C ham pionships final
this year when leading G le nalm o nd in
the semi-final by 4 sets to 3, but the
steadier and m ore ex perienced G le n a l­
m ond pairs held on to win the final two
sets.
O n the dom estic front Freeland won
th e in ter-h o use com petition and the
singles ch am p ion s at senior, ju n io r and
Riley levels were respectively G ra n t
A n d e rso n . Alan K eddie and Jo n ath an
Wallace. T h e school courts, regarded as
luxurious facilities with nine available
when built six years ago, were hard
pressed to cope with the d e m a n d placed
upon them this year.
T h e school team was chosen from:
Bruce Tilley (captain). R ob ert Moir, Riki
Sang, G avin W eb ster. Jo hn K eddie.
Neal D ods and Kristien R obertson. Full
colours w ere won by Bruce Tilley,
R ob ert Moir and Riki Sang.
D .J.R .
60
T h e Senior Colts did well in spite of
losing players to the First XI. T hey are a
talented g rou p with p erh aps just a touch
of unnecessary arrogance. D efeat by a
w eak E dinburgh A cad em y side was just
the shock they n eeded and they finished
the season in style. C o n gratulations must
go to Hugh Lochore for a series of high
scores and to the bowlers in general. A
n u m b e r o f players from this side will be
com peting for First XI places next year.
T h e Ju n io r Colts played som e good
cricket but in bits and pieces. The
captaincy, as usual at th at level, could be
erratic and panic could set in. N e v e rth e ­
less the overall results were far from bad
and quite a lot o f potential is th ere.
It was pleasing also th at B and C XIs
could be p rod u ced at Ju nio r level. Much
credit for this must go to the staff
involved. It is a considerable achieve­
m ent to p ro du ce such enthusiasm from
those with less a p p a re n t natural talent.
My th ank s go to all staff involved,
particularly to Mr D u Boulay who had to
share the frustrations; to Craig Y oung
and the kitchen staff for all their efforts,
particularly at festival tim e; to Ed
M cD o na ld and his ground staff for
continuing the process of steady im pro ve­
m en t, and finally to R o b e rt Moffat for
returning various articles of my kit.
R .W .P.
S u m m e r soccer saw a spell o f w eath er
which I would associate m ore with,
surfing, and indeed the s h o r ts which
ap p e a re d on many occasions would not
have sh am ed the W est Coast (o f the
US A !). I was surprised by the high
stand ard o f the sq u ad , the m ore so
because the boys have little opportun ity
to play organised football games. U n fo r­
tunately for th em , they had a referee who
had to learn the rules as he went along —
but they were usually quite to lerant of
this. T h ere was a match against a team of
O ld Strathallians, but the result has gone
astray. Likewise, a series of H ouse
Matches too k place at the en d of the
S u m m er T e rm , and while I believe that
they w ere c o m p le te d , a fact which
reflects well on the motivation of the
players since they organised the event,
the results were rem oved from the Soccer
n oticeboard before I could see them!
A .S.-J.
(R u th v e n won! E d.)
SQUASH
SQUASH REPORT
CAPTAIN’S REPORT — BOYS
W hat a cruel gam e this can be when
injury plagues you, and unfortunately at
the beginning o f the season we had o ur
fair share. Most of o u r matches to begin
with were connected with D u n d e e and
District Squash League. A p art from
having many injuries, we had to travel
away six times and lost on five o f them .
H ow ever, things looked up in '89, and
o ut of the eight matches played in the
second half of the season we won seven.
A p a rt from the injuries, the boys were
initially slow to pick up that on their
weekly excursions they were co ming up
against seasoned and experienced play­
ers. T he odd half-hour practice wasn't
really serving them well when it cam e to
match nights. H o w ever, in fairness to
them , they greatly im proved and I was
pleased by th eir second half perfo r­
mance.
T h e senior boys let them selves down
badly in their school matches, and painful
lessons were learnt. W hat should have
been 4-1 to us in matches en ded up being
3-2 against, and for the first time in 3
years we lost the B en nett Salver.
T h e senior girls b rok e even with three
losses and th ree wins. T hey also visited
new venues at Perth Fitness C en tre and
the Ice Rink, and went o v er to Laurel
Bank in Glasgow. O n e o r two of them
definitely need to be m ore positive in
their attitude tow ards matches and the
co m m itm ent involved. H ow ever, should
the majority o f them stick tog eth er as a
team , keep playing and get a little bit
m ore experience, they could be a useful
unit.
T h e U16 Boys again fared well, playing
and winning all four o f their matches.
O n e or two of them broke into the senior
ranks o ver the course of the season and
did reasonably well.
Next season, providing these people
keep playing, could be an exciting one.
T h e season certainly proved several
things a b o u t this game. Firstly, it's a
gam e you need to be fit for. Y ou need to
be physically and mentally alert and your
attitude needs to be right, before you
actually step on court. Secondly, you
benefit greatly from experience on court
and the only way you can gain this is by
playing on a regular basis. Thirdly,
consistency: consistency of your own
play, of th at o f o th ers involved in the
tea m , and o f the team itself.
O v e r the first half of the season these
criteria were sadly missing and we lost all
but one game in the D u n d e e and District
league. In the second half the reverse was
tru e , and we won all but on e. The
reasons for this were th at we were fitter;
we were playing m ore; we had a more
regular squad to pick from and we
realised that the criteria I m entioned in
the first p aragraph were o f param o u n t
im portance. It was good to end on a
“ high” and hopefully we may well have
gained prom otion.
It would be very sad to see us taken out
of the squash leagues, but 1 know Mr
Keir is having increasing pressure put on
him from outside clubs in the league
complaining ab ou t the walls and floors of
o u r courts. W ithdraw al would be a great
disapp oin tm en t to all involved, so we
hope som ething will be do n e before it is
too late.
T h e school m atches left a lot to be
desired, particularly the B enn ett T ro ph y
again st G le n a lm o n d . H aving b eate n
them 5-0 at hom e we lost 3-2 away.
Really the less said ab o ut it the b etter.
T h e U16s were again looking very
promising. This is g oo d as they will be
m aking up the m ajority of next year's
t e a m , since G a re th is the only one
staying on from this year.
It has been a very enjoyable season,
w hat with G ra n t's ever-funny off-thecuff jo kes and G a re th 's gastronom ic
feats as well as Sim on's inspiring knack of
winning points and Iain's enthusiasm in
the early days.
We owe a very big th ank s to P.K. for
the a m o u n t o f time and effort he puts in
each w eek and also to M r Giles for
standing in when needed.
A .G .C . Gower
Boys’ captain: A drian G o w er.
G irls’ captain: Gillian A d dison.
C olours a w ard ed to: A drian G o w er.
G a re th T h o rb u rn . G ra n t A n de rson .
P.K.
SCHOOL MATCHES 1988/89
Senior Bovs
17th Nov 88 v G le n a lm o n d h o m e, won
5-0.
22nd Jan 89 v F ettes aw ay, lost 4-1.
29th Jan 89 v R annoch away, won 4-1.
19th Feb 89 v E dinburgh Sports Club
aw ay, lost 3-2.
26th Feb 89 v G le n a lm o n d , B enn ett
T rop hy , aw ay. Lost 3-2.
Played 5, W on 2. Lost 3.
W a y f a r e r s an d G o r d o n s t o u n /E lg i n
were cancelled.
Dundee
and
District Squash
1988/89
League
27th Sept 88 v A ngu s H otel III away, lost
3-2.
4th O c t 88 v D u n d e e University away,
postp o ned .
11th O ct 88 v F o rf a r'3 away, cancelled.
17th O c t 88 v M o ntrose 2 aw ay, lost 4-1.
31st O ct 88 v Bells away, lost 4-1.
1st N ov 88 v G le n a lm o n d (C up ) away,
lost 5-0.
8th Nov 88 v P a n m u re aw ay, lost 3-2.
15th Nov 88 v O lym pia V aw ay, won 5-0.
29th Nov 88 v M o ntrose 2 (C u p) away,
lost 4-1.
10th Jan 89 v A n gu s H otel III h o m e, won
5-0.
24th Jan 89 v D u n d e e University away,
w on 3-2.
30th Jan 89 v D u n d e e University hom e,
w on 3-2.
7th Feb 89 v M on tro se 2 h om e, won 3-2.
14th Feb 89 v Bells h o m e, lost 4-1.
21st Feb 89 v P an m u re 3 h o m e, won 3-2.
28th F eb 89 v O lym pia 5 h o m e , won 4-1.
14th M ar 89 v Bridgend 2 h o m e, won 4-1.
Played 15, W on 8, Lost 7.
C APTAIN’S REPORT — GIRLS
This season we played six matches and
for the first time ever b ro ke even by
winning three of th em . The te am varied
at each match due to the fact that the
matches were played in the evenings and
on Sunday aftern oo ns when many of the
senior girls had to work. I’d like to thank
the m ore ju n io r m em b ers o f the team ,
S onya, Julie and Sheila, for their e n th u ­
siasm and willingness to play ,so m e tim e s
at very short notice (my own posting of
inform ation could have been better!). I
think, though, they may well have been
en co urag ed by the prospect o f stopping
off for a carry-out meal on the way back!
L aura Marshall and Jo Clark also made
guest ap pea ra nce s and J o ’s ‘R ussian’
strength helped h er win a few points.
W e were unlucky to be draw n against
R uth ven in the interhouse squash but the
te am played well despite the jeering and
barracking that always accom panies this
event!
Finally, thanks to P.K. for his patience
and coaching.
Gillian Addison
INTERHOUSE SQUASH
Senior Girls
Quarter­
final
Semi-final
Final
R uthven
Freeland
j
)
R u th yen
j
Woodlands J
Ru(hven
Nicol
Simpson
|
J
Leburn
Simpson
Lebum
j
J
C on gratulations to R uthven for their 5-0
win.
61
17th Nov 88 v Fettes h o m e, won 4-2.
22nd Jan 89 v Fettes aw ay, won 3-2.
30th Jan 89 v Fitness C en tre aw ay, lost.
15th F eb 89 v Ice Rink aw ay, lost.
19th F eb 89 v E din b u rg h Sports Club
aw ay, lost 5-0.
20th Feb 89 v Laurel Bank aw ay, won
6- 0 .
Played 6, W o n 3, Lost 3.
STRATHSKI
W h at a season! T h e lack of snow has
certainly been a great d isapp oin tm en t to
the hordes o f Strathallan skiers. The
pre-H alf T erm ski days n ever had a
chance to go ah ead and S unday ski-ing
was reduced to the absolute m inim um of
o ne expedition — all a result of the
un seasonable and unw elcom e heatheriness of the slopes.
H ow ever, the Strathallan presence was
m aintained by the racing squad. The
team o f R obin B atchelor, Ja m e s B anks,
R o b ert H utchison and P eter A llen, upon
successfully co m peting in the Scottish
Schools Artificial Slope C ham p ion sh ips
at Hillend ven tu red down to Wales with
som e trepidation for the British event at
L landudno. Despite the lack o f R o bert
M o ir’s considerable p resence, stricken by
illness, the te am m an aged an acceptable,
if not startling, 11th place.
T h e only snow race that allowed the
team to give som e idea of what-m ighthave-been was the Perthshire Schools
Race: a surfeit o f h e a th e r leading to the
cancellation of Scottish, British and
M inors schools races. T he boys achieved
a creditable win in the O p en category
with Robin B atchelor placed 1st; R ob ert
Moir (now recovered from what had
p roved to be glandular fever) 3rd; Jam es
Banks 5th and R o b ert H utchison, so m e­
w hat delayed by the loss o f a ski, 18th.
O blivious to the h e a th e r and peat,
while lured by the tem ptatio ns of mini­
bus, packed lunches and C hinese ta k e ­
aways, the racing squad m anaged several
mid-w eek aftern oo n trips in an effort to
k eep in trim for races th at all met the
same fate: cancellation.
O f necessity, th erefo re, the Strathallan
com petitive influence was spread far and
wide: Robin B atchelor trained with the
Scottish Ski T eam in A ustria and France;
R o b ert H utchison and A m a n d a R o b e r t­
son travelled u n d er the D olphin em blem
to A ustria and France whilst Jam es
B anks left his mark upon the K a n d ah ar
Ski C lub in Switzerland and A ustria with
an 8th place in the Downhill.
It rem ains for me to congratulate
R o b e rt Hutchison on making the final
pool from which the Scottish T ea m will
be selected in the autum n.
Meanwhile I'm off to college in C o lo r­
ad o w here I'm hoping th at the academ ic
work w o n ’t interfere too much with the
ski-ing.
Robin Batchelor
%
Robert Hutchison on his way to the Scottish Team? (Photo courtesy o f D avid Sturrock.)
62
GOLF
W e had a n o th e r very good season but
the team co uld n't quite match last year's
u nb eaten record — though they came
very close to doing so. We lost just one
m atch, against Kinross U .S ., in the
league, and ironically it was the o ne time
during the term when we w ere at full
strength! A s a result of this d efeat,
M orriso n’s A c ade m y won o u r section of
the league, pipping us by on e point, and
went on to win the final against Perth
G ra m m a r School.
Bruce G u y was unavailable for most o f
the m atches because of e xam s and
J o n ath a n Fram e missed several for the
sam e reason . Iain Steel and G ra n t
A n derso n formed the nucleus of the team
and both played well. Iain was the more
consistent, but G ra n t was as always a
tough m atc h-p lay c o m p e tito r. David
Reid gained valuable experience in the
matches he played and should be a force
to be reckoned with next year. Neil
C aptain: B. J. Guy.
Secretary: A. Marshall.
T eam : B. J. G u y, I. A . Steel, G. S
A n d erso n , J. S. F ram e, D. I. Reid, H
Sinclair, (A . Marshall, J. G arvie, C. A
Smith, M. Q uin n).
Sinclair is shaping up quite well but as yet
is ra th er inconsistent. T he eight-a-side
m atch against the Blairgowrie G .C .
Jun iors was quite an occasion for o ur
inexperienced side and on e which they
will re m e m b e r with a great deal of
pleasure I'm sure. T he match was played
over R o se m o u n t. an unexpected treat,
and Mr Low. w ho organised the a rra n g e ­
m ents superbly, pro vided a nice touch by
calling the nam es o f the players on to the
tee a la the O p e n C hampionship!
Iain Steel was ru nn er-up in the Perth
and Kinross Schools Individual C o m p e ti­
tion at Crieff — he had the same score
(76) as the w inner but had a po o re r
second nine. O n the strength o f this he
was selected to play for the District in the
C oca Cola C h am p io nship at Nairn in
Jun e and fared pretty well on an u nfa­
miliar links course. Iain has been a great
asset to the golf team during his time here
and we wish him the best of luck on the
Match Results:
League:
v Criefff H .S.
v G len alm o n d
v M o rrison ’s A cad em y
v Kinross H .S .
63
W on
W on
Halved
Lost
3-1
3-1
2-2
1-3
Malaysian Circuit next year.
R uth ven won th e H ouse C om petition
at A u c h te ra r d e r in convincing style, yet
again, and so c on tin ued their rem ark able
run o f success. It will be m ore op en next
y ear I fancy so p e rh a p s a change is on the
cards? G ra n t A n d e rso n retained the
S troke-Play C u p an d in predictable fash­
ion — o u t in 41 and back in 34 to edge
ou t Bruce G uy by on e shot!
Sadly we say farewell to B ruce, Iain
and G r a n t, all of whom have contributed
eno rm ou sly to the success o f the team
ov er the last two years. K eep up the good
work in the future and re m e m b e r to join
the O ld Boys' G o lf Section — contact
H am ish M a c F a r la n e , 9 C raigelvan
G ro v e , C o n d o rra t, C u m b e rn a u ld , G las­
gow G 76 4 K U (0236 738 281). H e will be
delighted to h ear from you and any o th er
recent leavers as well.
H .C.A .
v A u c h te ra r d e r H .S.
Friendlies:
v M erchiston
2V4-1V4
v Blairgowrie Jun io rs
4 l/>-3‘/<
W on 4-0
Won
Won
SAILING
This year's season began with the ritual
of the lifting of boats. It seem ed we
e n ded up lifting every single Bosun.
T o p p e r, Sailboard, and E nterprise in
Britain, yet it is always surprising to see
how few craft th ere actually are at the
end of the day.
O f course after the first m a jo r trau m a
(of lifting boats) th ere cam e a n o th e r
surprise: no changing rooms! (old ones
were being replaced). N e ver b oth ered by
such m inor worries, o u r intrepid sailors
m anage d to survive by finding many new
and interesting places to change. E nough
o f th at, now to the sailing! This year
proved to be very enjoyable as apart
from matches against L o re tto and Dollar
there was the Brown T rop hy a n d , of
course,, the H ouse races — m ore about
them later!
H o w e ver, the highlights o f this season
cam e from the w indsurfers w ho seem ed
always to be paddling as th ere was “ too
little w ind" or in the cafe because (you
guessed it) “ th e r e ’s too much w ind".
Kirk Clark managed to do som e truly
amazing w ipe-outs at high speed, som e
o th er nameless person tried to sink
“ P o p ey e” (and alm ost succeeded) and if
that w asn't en ou gh . Evain tried w ind­
surfing with H . C . 's help and fell in!
M eanwhile the real sailors (i.e. those
who d on 't do it on a plank) were getting
down to the serious sailing: Susan Brown
and Pauline m ade a lot of noise while
d e s tru c ti o n - t e s ti n g T o p p e r s : a n o t h e r
nameless person capsized and Jimm y hit
windsurfer Billy on the w rong tack,
aside. I am sure M r Clayton and Mr
G o o d y had m ore than a few anxious
m om en ts ashore watching the chaos on
the loch. Never mind, at the end o f the
term all agreed they had enjoyed their
time.
O u r m atches against L oretto e n d ed up
in a severe thrashing as we lost both at
hom e and aw ay and the match against
Dollar had to be ab an d o n e d due to the
fact th at everybody capsized — yours
truly even before the start! T he Brown
trophy proved to be very exciting, with
Pauline M cC rack en , in a T o p p e r. Susan
and Peter Brown in Lasers and myself
and my b ro th e r in " W h a t's O n " . T he
w eather was totally unpredictable, e v e n ­
tually settling to a n ear gale with the
result that Pauline, Susan and Peter
limped in (after a very hard day's sailing)
well down the fleet, whilst my b ro th er
an d 1 were placed sixth overall. T he last
and p rob ab ly m ost fiercely-contested
c o m petition was the inter-H ouse races.
T h e first races e n d e d up in Jam es
Davidson pow ering into a first for Sim p­
son and Katie H aines a second for
W oodlands. T h e rest o f the houses
e n c o u n te re d a w atery end in the heavy
conditions! T h e second races were held in
m o re favourable conditions with myself
coming first for Simpson and Nicol
second. H o w ever, afterw ards there fol­
lowed such an incredible storm of p ro ­
tests and c o u n te r protests that M r G oody
had a lot of work to do sorting out who
did w hat an d w ho was correct. The end
result was that W o o d lan d s cam e second
overall with Simpson first. I hope next
year we can have a good clean test of skill
as op p o se d to verbal and literary abuse,
as this adds a lot o f unnecessary work and
pu ts a d a m p e r on the e n jo y m en t of the
event.
Before 1 go I must extend than ks to Mr
C lay to n. Mr G o o d y . M r R o u n d and last
but not least M r C o o m b e s who put an
e xceptional a m o u n t of time and effort
into everything from painting boats to
tran sp orting them . W itho ut all this effort
there would be no sailing club.
H .A .C . Davidson
Left: The sailing team
—
on dry land!
CANOEING
In spite o f on e of the driest sum m ers
th a t I have e v e r k n o w n , from the
canoeing point of view, we m anage d to
m ake the most of the local rivers and this
term saw the greatest n u m b e r o f c a n o e ­
ing groups yet.
T h e coaching schem e within Scotland
continues to offer a w ell-balanced, struc­
t u r e d p r o g r a m m e t h r o u g h w h ic h
canoeists can progress, and we again this
year had som e 30 paddlers gaining the
one-star aw ard, 15 the tw o-star and 3
reaching the three-star aw ard level.
C on gratulations must go to J. S he­
ph erd and L. MacK enzie who qualified
as T rain ee Instructors and to Mr Wallace
w ho has now qualified as an Instructor.
T h ro u g h o u t the A u tu m n an d W inter
m onths we have been enjoying the thrills
and spills of Riley canoeing in the
swim ming pool and this S u m m er, we
too k the sam e gro up ou t on the river.
T h eir enthusiasm and rapidly developing
level o f skill is quite ou tstan din g and I
can only hope that it continues at this
rate.
P .J.E.
64
FISHING
This year's fishing repo rt b reak s with
tradition, in th at, following the example
set by C ro ck fo rd . the protection afforded
by anonym ity has gone — the reason
being th at the ever-increasing n u m b er of
fisherm en engaged in this activity has
severely limited the availability of those
who could write abo ut each separate
outing.
T h e pupils have been extremely g ra te­
ful to the H e ad G ro u n d sm a n and his
staff who fought valiantly ov er the winter
to repair the various leaks in the P ond's
north wall. T h eir efforts were successful
in th at when the S u m m e r T e rm 's drought
arrived, th ere was a sufficient head of
w ater to sup po rt the fish which arrived
shortly after Easter.
A f t e r v a r i o u s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s by
pupils, it had been resolved th at a small
n u m b er of brown trou t would form the
basis of this year's stocking p rog ram m e.
H ow ever, due to a misunderstanding,
when the fish arrived, we discovered that
it was a rep eat o rd e r o f rainbow trout.
This year the fish were not fed, but left to
fend for themselves. C on seq uen tly, when
the Pond was eventually o p en e d for
fishing, the fish were anything but “ hook
shy” . A radical re-think followed and the
m ajority of pupils th en fished with
b a rb le ss ho o k s, th o u g h , sham efu lly,
som e rainbow “ lures" w ere employed
when it was th ou gh t tha t no one was
watching. H o w e ver, a policy o f selfdisciplined “ policing” instituted by the
pupils them selves was im mediately intro­
duced, and a p p e a re d , for the most p art,
to work.
T w o or three o f the previous year's
stock had, in fact survived the d e ­
oxygenation by the algae growth and
although they were occasionally seen
rising to a hatch o f natural fly — I’m
reliably inform ed th at they may have
survived for a third season.
O v e r the A u tu m n and Spring T erm s
M r Alistair Dickson and M r Richard
Philp came to School offering instruction
on “ F ly -F ish in g " and “ F ly-Tying"
respectively. Alistair’s fund o f fishing
stories are by now legendary thro ug ho ut
the School and R ichard's quiet patience
instilled confidence and dexterity with
tying-silk and vice, hook and seal's fur
w here previously there had been flies
designed to terrorise fish rath er than
entice them . Both instructors are re tu rn ­
ing to School next A cadem ic Y e a r and
quite a n u m b er of pupils have included
on e o r both as their qualifying "Skills"
for “ T he D u k e of E d inburgh A w ards
S ch em e".
A n d so, to the S um m er te rm 's outings.
T h an k s to the kindness and tolerance of
M r M urray Smith. Factor o f Dupplin
E state, a new scheme of perm it fishing on
the River E arn was im p lem ented . This
enabled a group o f fisherm en, 6 in
n u m b e r, to fish the river on the basis o f a
“ Strathallan School Collective P erm it” .
Many to ok advantage of this generous
offer, particularly after G am es on T u e s ­
days and T h ursdays (often foregoing the
gastronom ic pleasures of the School
Dining Hall) as well as in the evenings
and on S aturday a fternoons. O n a n u m ­
be r of occasions the sight of very respect­
able sea trout as far up as Forteviot
Bridge ad ded ex citem ent to their e n d e a ­
vours (although they had to be rem inded
that the perm its issued were only for
brown tro ut). M em bers o f the salmon
syndicate often en cou rag ed the pupils
with friendly advice and tips and fu rth er
served to advance relationships betw een
the School and those w ho live in the area.
So, to the “ O u tin g s" them selves — in
the y ear of the drought! The River
D ev on , on a sweltering hot day brought
u nexpected ex citem ent totally u n co n ­
nected with fishing. Iain Davidson m a n ­
aged to d isapp ear into a bog only 3 feet
across, but very, very deep. Having
becom e well and truly “ S tuck ” , the
Seniors who sprang to his rescue got hold
of his arm s and just as the bog was
beginning to release him — they let go!
Nicholas Buckley fishing u n der the trees
a few yards dow n stream from my trees,
was much am used to see me spending
much time climbing said overhanging
trees retrieving my flies, with m o n o to n ­
ous regularity. A buzzard was seen.
Many try it o ut but only the d e te r ­
mined dedicated few m ak e it to the top:
this applies to many sporting disciplines
but in shooting intense co ncentration on
every shot is essential for the high scores
ne cessary n o w a d a y s in co m p e titio n s
against o th e r schools, in individual kn ock ­
outs and in the local Perthshire league
matches.
O u r previous season successes, due
chiefly to In tern a tio n a l sh ot, David
B row n were not re p e a te d this year
mainly because we were in a higher
division in the Perthshire L eague and
com petition was th at much k een er. H o w ­
ev er the five stalw arts of the shooting
team tu rn ed up every Friday th ro ug ho ut
the tw o “ w inter” term s to shoot match
cards an d on o th e r nights to assist with
and encourage y ounger m em b e rs of the
hovering above a rab b it, but the worst
p art o f the day was during the return trip
w hen we saw the stretch of river we
should have been fishing!
L o c h O rlic h ( o r its a lte r n a t iv e s :
“ H o rlic k "/“ M uesli" and o th e r fibrous
derivatives) a p p e a re d to be a po pu lar
v en u e, Alistair D ickson and M r G reg
Ross jo ined the anglers as “ supervisors” .
Simon Peters, having fished the margins
o f the loch before everyone else was out
o f the bus, th en spent the rest of the
a fterno on s h ooking and playing fish and
showing how it should be done.
H o w ev e r, without a d o u b t, the jewel in
the crown was the match against the
A ngling Section of the Strathallian Club,
on e Friday evening on Loch Leven.
T h a n k s to the g enero us hospitality of the
H e a d m a s te r, w ho acted as host, som e 8
b oats carrying pupils (from the V lth
Form to Riley) and fo rm e r pupils m et up
with fish, lost som e, n etted o thers and
cast ov er countless rising fish, and th en at
the en d o f the evening m et in the
B oath ou se for convivial drinks, com m is­
eratio ns and an exceptionally welcome
supper. W h en it is realised how far some
of the Strathallians had travelled to be
there for that match (from L o nd on ,
B irm ingham and their city offices) it was
a great tribute to their enthusiasm and
c o m m itm en t to their relationship with
present pupils.
T h e re was a result. O n e o f the parties
d id win, but w h e th e r it was the School or
the “ Strathallian C lu b ” , no one seem ed
to c a r e v e ry m u c h ! T h e r e w as a
"w eig h -in ” much to the am u sem en t of
the regular Loch Leven fishers w ho were
e njoying the atm o sp h e re of th at evening!
T h e match would no t have h ap pen ed
w ithout the help of Ross Peters, the
H e a d m a s t e r an d A listair Biggart —
w hom we than k.
I know th at m any of this y e a r’s Leavers
said that if the Strathallian Club is
realistically rep resen ted by its “ Angling
C lu b ” m e m b e rs, th en they intend to play
as full a part as possible.
T .G .L .
SHOOTING
65
school.
W e see a n o th e r captain o f shooting,
T ob y Christie moving on to university
an d his place at the helm will be ta k e n by
A lec Lochore.
T e a m m em bers: 88-89: T. Christie, A.
L o c h o re , H. L o c h o re , C. B arr, D.
Taylor.
A .J .H .W .
THE HOLD UP — WITH A DIFFERENCE!
T h e p e rf o r m a n c e , O kla h o m a , had
been spectacular; the actors, although
am a teu rs, gave w estern life a new aspect
o f rom ance; the scenery b reath e d and
was accentuated by the bridles, leather
saddles and wide brim m ed hats strewn
across the set. Shots rang ou t and in the
audience the crow d m oved as o n e , as
fear, passion an d courage radiated from
the stage an d p e n e tr a te d their thoughts.
Tim e becam e u n im p o rta n t but slowly and
surely the minutes passed and soon the
last bow was taken a nd we filtered out
o n to th e well lit street.
It may have been midnight but a large
city is a child that n ever stops: it may rest
bu t it always tosses an d turns and cars can
always be heard.
O u r party, consisting of seven, m ade
a r r a n g e m e n t s to m e e t at a n e a rb y
re s tau ran t, “ C ristal,” w here we decided
we would have a relaxing meal. Cristal
had been my favourite “ pizzari” for over
fo ur years and although it was acceptable
to be casual, the place b reath ed elegance
an d the atm osp here was rich as expensive
ge m s s p a r k le d on b eau tiful w o m en
enjo ying a delicious m eal with their
han d so m e escorts o r family.
W e w ere seated and polite small talk
began. T h e party was a mixed group: two
young, h an d so m e m en c on nected with
F a th e r ’s w o rk, irresponsible but fun; M r
an d M rs P u tm a n , A nglo-B razilians who
enjoyed a good m eal an d ‘c h a t’ although
M r P u tm a n su rro u n d e d himself with an
air of g ra n d e u r and he w atched the two
young m en with an o p e n view of co nd es­
cension an d m utterings of “ Y o un g Pups
now adays, I ’ll n ever k n o w .”
My family co m p le te d th e picture,
m o th e r an d fath er enjo ying a night out
and I had been dragged along and was
enjoying myself: in their opinion.
T h e m eal was delightful an d as usual
we were well tre a te d and quickly served.
M r P utm an c o nte nte d himself and his
“ single” gin and “ p le n ty ” tonic, as he
instructed the waiter. M o th e r an d Mrs
P u tm an talked frivolously: ab ou t fashion;
latest gossip; o u r scandalous new neigh­
bours and last but not least, their new
bridge m e m b er. It all seem ed so u nneces­
sary and pointless in my eyes and I held
back from contributing. T h e m en ( n e e d ­
less to say) discussed the stocks, shares
and business. W e paid the bill and sat
finishing o u r coffees.
W e were rising to leave w hen six clear
shots rang ou t in the res ta u ran t and
im m ediately I felt draw n back to the
th eatre and once again I was living in the
w estern era.
C o m m o tio n intensified in the re stau r­
ant and I sn app ed back to reality; feelings
ran high. T o a sharp b ark from s o m eo n e,
s o m ew h ere in the ro o m , we d ro p p e d to
th e floor and sought cover behind chairs
and u n d e rn e a th tables. B ro ken glass
covered th e floor ijnd as I sat in awe I
could feel cold, sticky b eer trickle down
my back through a crack in the table. I
looked aro u n d and the glam orous w om en
I had seen earlier rem in d ed me m ore of
b edragged tr am ps. T hey were crouched
u n d e r nearby tables and , as I watched
th e m , realization o f what was happening
daw ned on me and I felt a sh arp , deep
sense o f fear invade my body: I was
involved in an arm ed rob bery and hold
up.
W om e n peele d off their heavy chains,
jewels an d rings, and quickly stuffed
them inside shoes, down their shirts o r in
their “ hu sb an d s’ ” pockets. I absentm in d e d ly fin gered my earrin g s and
looked aro u n d at this g ro up b en eath the
table. W e had been brought to g eth e r by
fear: no m ore irrele vant talk; no gossip;
to hell with business and who cares ab o ut
“ Y oung P u p s" as long as we live.
M o th e r and I held a hurried co nv ersa­
tion in hushed tones in which she told me
to rem ain calm, sit still and k e e p quiet. I
felt calm , unexpectedly calm , and for
what seem ed eternity I sat w ondering
w hat would becom e o f the hold up. We
were all unsure of w hat to do , waiting for
the men to com e and hold us at gun
point, threa ten us and rip from us all o u r
precious possessions.
T h e co m m otio n eased and as I heard
footsteps ap p ro ach the room I closed my
eyes and u ttered a quick p ray er — “ Why
me G o d ? ”
I was being tap p ed on the shoulder,
“ H E L P ” — the word poised in my veins.
Just as I reached the verge o f d e sp e ra ­
tion, I h eard people scramble to their feet
and I o p e n e d my eyes — I stared right
into F a th e r ’s eyes and je rk e d back in
fright. N o-one knew w hat had actually
h a p p e n e d so we cautiously retu rn e d to
o u r seats a nd soon the head waiter
assured us that we w ere safe.
O u r young w aiter retu rn ed , a rath er
g reen colour I may add . and quickly took
o rd ers for strong drinks. M r Putm an
o rd e r e d a “ d o u b le " gin — and I sat and
let the em o tio n s soak through. My knees
k no cked and my teeth cha ttered but I
ignored them and listened intently to
w hat had hap p e n e d .
. . . A couple had been enjoying a
pleasant drink in the dimly-lit bar, when
a ra th e r intoxicated and burly m an had
en te re d the conversation in ra th e r a loud
way. H e had accused the w om an of
tw o-tim ing him, and the lady’s esco rt’s
rage had increased to the point where
curses m ean t nothing at all and because
'Waiter'. Jon Minihane.
guns in Brazil had grown c om m on for
security m easu res, it was of no co n seq u ­
ence when the accusing m e m b e r o f the
party pulled a gun. It was th en th at the
shots rang o ut and because the m an 's
shooting was u n d e r the influence of
alcohol, he shot a ro un d o f bullets
although th e w aiter co u ld n ’t tell us how
injured the m an actually was. T he man
had been harshly s e p arate d and carted
o n to the street w h ere, to o u r knowledge,
they c o n tinu ed the “ tiff" until the police
arrived an d prom ptly arrested them .
W e soon left the resta ura nt and m o th er
an d Mrs P u tm an now had som e real
“ ju icy " gossip th ey could discuss. I was
still strangely quiet and soon after getting
h om e my panic becam e n ightm ares and
my body rebelled by vomiting. It had
b een a truly frightening experience . . .
Suzy Walls
F o rm IV
66
THE SOLDIERS’ SIGHT
Leaving the playing fields behind, we
drove out of the grounds. A ch ap te r in
my life was closing, while o n e anew
began to open.
I re m e m b e re d playing on those fields;
crying, laughing; I r e m e m b e r e d the
friends and the fights. I clasped my rifle
and w atched from the back o f the truck
as the familiar sights slid by.
It suddenly d aw ned on me th at I might
never, ev er return. T h e sweet soft smells
of su m m er were suddenly stronger; for
the first time in my life, I realised I could
smell such sweet scents. T he smell of the
grass, fresh cut, of the shining soft cricket
greens, cam e to me bringing m em ories of
matches lost and won. I could smell the
leather of the cricket balls and see the
shining white brilliance o f the cricket
gear, even though the gro un dsm an was
raising the sh utters closed o ve r the
homely green and white pavilion and the
field was empty.
For the first time I really did notice the
lush greenness o f the grass and the neat
natural hedges with here and there a
startling blossom. T he majestic oaks
filtered the sun through their leaves on to
the road and my u p tu rn e d face. G re a t,
beautiful trees stooped ov er the babbling
river. T h e rh o d o d e n d ro n s teem ed with
na tu ral vitality, with great swinging
blossoms. T h e river shim m ered and
sparkled in the aftern oo n su m m er sun
and birds skim m ed across its surface.
The road bent slightly and I could see
the house, its grounds resplendent. The
house was still magnificent. T he fou n­
tains were dry and the shutters were shut
over the great windows. T he pillars stood
a lo n e a n d g lo rio u s; yet th e h o u se
rem ained g reat and impressive in its
em ptiness. I re m e m b e re d how it was: the
fountains flowing; the flag flying; the
grounds full o f boys and p arents. The
youth of E ngland were there in their
sp lendour: the fathers in their uniform s
o r suits; m o thers in fine dresses; the boys
in blazers, straw boaters and flannels,
lifting tr u n ks arou nd in their droves
before farewell kisses and som bre h a n d ­
shakes. But now it stood em pty and
lonely in its isolation. T he blue su m m er
skies c o m p lem en te d its fine architecture
and splendid grounds. W e cam e to the
g reen gates and we paused as they
clanged closed and were locked shut,
sealing a part of o u r lives, perhaps,
forever.
As we passed th ro ug h the countryside,
I w atched the rippling fields of w heat,
shining in the su m m e r sun. Birds wheeled
in the sky and som e young lads were
helping their fathers to harvest the hay.
W e passed on th rou gh villages and
ham lets, em pty save th ose too young or
to o old. I saw a girl on a horse as we
drove and she smiled an d waved as we
passed. I r e m e m b e r e d the races I had
been to with my fath er and the g y m k h a­
nas and polo. I w atched h e r until I could
no longer see the shape of the horse; for
tha t m o m e n t I was in love with her,
because she stood for all I knew. A s we
crested a slight hill in the deepening
dusk, I leaned back and bid this beautiful
land farewell, a n d , p erh ap s, th ere were
tears in my eyes.
Jon M inihare
Form V
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67
CCF COMMANDER’S REPORT
This has been a qu iete r year th an last
with regard to p arad es and inspections.
H ow e ver the contingent has been active
in many different ways. Perhaps ‘Y e ar of
the H elico p ter’ would be an apt title. It is
ho ped th at the light blue might m anage
to produce a S A R helicopter next y ear to
give us the full range and th en all the
services will have been represented.
W ing C o m m a n d e r P. B a rk e r said
farewell to us and has gone to ‘paradeg ro u n d s’ new in Nairn; it was fitting that
J C E saw fit to grant him the H on o ra ry
R an k of Wing C o m m a n d e r on retiral and
we wish him well with his new venture at
th e B le n h e im H o u s e H o te l. N airn.
L ieten ant D. R o u n d d eparts at the en d of
the su m m er term and he will be sadly
missed by the signals section that he
m anaged to establish in his short stay
here. T o date we are unable to replace
him and the Signals section has been
disbanded.
W e w elcome this y ear the following
new officers: M r A. Streatfield-James
w ho joins th e A rm y section as i/c
A rm o u r y and C C F shooting and M r S.
M. Cullen w ho joins the R A F section
with a view to relieving M r A. W ands
who is transferring to the A rm y Section.
W e also w elcome M r I. E ad es as o ur
sto rem an.
With regard to prop erty, the store has
been reorganised and the Pipes and
D ru m s now have a m ore centralised base
in the old C orps Palace. This is being
d ecorated and revam ped as I write in the
traditional ‘B a rro n ’ style and m anner.
F or those w ho pay attention to minute
detail, the old Magazine close to Riley
has been rem oved. T h e old Pipes and
D ru m s kit store is being converted to a
A rm y /R M kit room with lockable lockers
an d this should, we h o p e, m ake it easier
for cadets to k eep track of their kit.
A s regards the fu ture, we are liaising
with T A V R A on the relocation o f the
range and o u te r buildings but this may be
a long term plan as public funds are still
ra th e r limited.
My impression of the year is that more
things have been a ttem p ted by more
cadets than ever before and that senior
cadets have becom e m ore involved in the
running of their individual sections. It is
worth noting th at we are up to strength
now on Officer co m p lem en t even though
o u r cadet strength is below com plem ent.
N C O 's — its up to you to take a more
active p art at all levels!
C o ng ratulatio ns go to LCpl M. Clay­
ton on obtaining an above average mark
at the U K C F leadership course.
T h e A rm y Section did well with a
scratch team in the H C T C and seem ed to
have a highly successful c am p at Cultybraggan.
H CTC Team 19X9.
68
T h e new date o f H C T C (O ct.) should
be in o ur favour, so C aptain C ou rt
informs m e, and the odds are shortening
for o u r chances in H C T C 1990.
T h e Naval Section have acquired a new
T o p p e r and a great deal o f w ater-based
activity has been going on at Lochore
an d, to a lesser ex tent, on the Tay at
Perth w here we have a good liaison with
the SCC unit, T.S. Fairmaid. I look
forward to seeing how the RN section
tackles the new syllabus which would
seem to give us greater flexibility in o u r
training.
T h e Royals are in Skye as I write,
exercising with real live RM troops which
should be a rewarding experience for the
m em be rs of the tro o p that can attend.
Next year sees the R A F section back to
strength and hopefully with a greater
emphasis on flying and gliding, num bers
here can be stabilised.
N ext year we are to experience ou r
first ‘R eview ’ u n d er the new system with
co ntinuous assessm ent by o ur reporting
officers. I look forward to this with
interest to find out if the o utco m e is the
s am e, only with considerably m ore p aper
work!
Finally, on behalf of all C adets, I wish
to thank all the officers of the contingent
without w hom very little o f the training
could be achieved.
C. N. W.
ARMY
T h e section survived the worst time of
year: the end o f the su m m e r term is full
o f sunshine and exam inations: a period
when norm al routine is most dis rupted
and when the senior school seem to feel
that their own private interests, in the
form of work o r recreation , take priority.
C .C .F . seem s to occupy a place, so m e­
where to w ards the bottom o f a n u m b e r of
boys' lists and I suppose tha t is almost
inevitable when it is a com pulsory part of
the curriculum. T h e con seq u ence of it all
is that myself and o th e r officers and
N . C .O .s m ake ourselves u n po p u lar as we
scour the school for those w ho have gone
A .W .O . L . on a W edn esd ay aftern oo n. I
am sure there is a part in everybody — in
som e cases the parts are considerably
larger than in o th ers — th at derives a
grim satisfaction from feeling th at some
have ‘bitten the bullet' to serve and that
others have been m ade to do things that
they cannot perceive to be in their own
interests o r for their own pleasure. I
suppose th at that might have som ething
to do with education but I can't say it is
enjoyable and it certainly does m ake
running a section m ore difficult.
D espite, o r p erh ap s because of. the
difficulties it has been a year in which I
find myself increasingly grateful to those
w ho really d o put them selves out to make
things h ap pen for others. Chiefly I have
in mind Lt. Paul Vallot who works
ceaselessly and M r Ian E ades who has
shouldered the P rom etean task o f ru n ­
ning the stores, both for ourselves and for
o th e r sections w ho use o u r e q u ip m en t,
with much good h u m o u r and patience.
A d a m Streatfield-James has ta ken on the
a rm o ury and runs it with an efficiency
that leaves me envious. Me has been
helped by CpI. T h o rb u rn who has do ne a
very th orou gh jo b that not many would
even notice. Most pleasing of all was the
way th at m em b ers of the VI. facing
H ighers' and ‘A Levels', selflessly gave
o f their time when it was quite legitimate
for them to excuse themselves the C .C .F .
co m m itm ent in their final year. Sergeants
Christie and G reg ory spent a good deal
o f tim e tra in in g b o th re cruits and
H .C .T .C . m em bers and Sergeant Tilley
did a g reat deal in leading the team that
£1300
Scholarship.
won the Exercise S u m m e r Stroll c o m p e ti­
tion organised by 51 Para.
It was largely because o f the efforts of
such N . C .O .'s — a nd to the up-andco m in g b atc h of L /C pls, CpIs and
S ergea nts — th at we had such an
excellent a tte n d a n c e at an slickly-run
S u m m e r C a m p at Cultybraggen. In the
blazing w e a th e r every C ad et had a
marvellous time and to add to o u r success
in S u m m e r Stroll we won the S u m m e r
C a m p A ssault C o u rse C om petition
against tw enty or so o th e r platoons. It
was good to see cadets like Sgts Davidson
and M. N ugaw ela, CpIs E. Smith. J.
M inihane and M. M artin, working so
well to give o t h e r Ju n io r C adets such a
ha p p y , h ard-w orking and m em orable
C am p .
Not all we to uch ed turned to gold,
how ever, an d we cam e a disappointing
8th in the H .C .T .C . at Barry B udden.
T h ere is always next year — as I keep
telling myself. A n d next year's ‘S um m er
T im e Blues' too.
C .N .C .
How the Army can help further your
offsprings education. And their careers.
T h e A rm y 's S c h o la r s h ip s no w c a r r y a ta x -fre e g r a n t o f
£750 a year.
T h e y 'r e g iv e n to h e lp b o y s a n d g irls o f th e h ig h e s t
q u a lity b o th a c a d e m ic a lly a n d in c h a r a c te r to get th e ir A
le v els ( H ig h e r G r a d e s in S c o tla n d ) a n d q u a lify fo r a R e g u la r
C o m m issio n .
T h e y w o rk lik e th is. P r o v id e d y o u r so n o r d a u g h te r
e x p e c ts to o b ta in th e n e c e ssa ry G C S E 's o f h ig h g ra d e s , th e y
can a p p ly fo r a s c h o la rs h ip o f u p to £1,500. E a c h te rm , w e w ill
c o n trib u te , w ith o u t e x c e p tio n , £250 to w a rd s th e cost o f
k e e p in g th e m at sc h o o l fo r A lev e l s tu d ie s.
O n c e A lev e ls h a v e b e e n a c h ie v e d , y o u r so n o r
d a u g h te r a re th e n g iv e n a n a u to m a tic p la c e at S a n d h u r s t
( th e first ste p to a c a r e e r as a R e g u la r C o m m is s io n e d O fficer).
O r, if th e y c an g e t a p la c e o n a d e g r e e c o u rs e th e y can
c o m p e te fo r a n A r m y U n d e r g r a d u a te A w ard.
S e le c tio n fo r a S c h o la rs h ip is by c o m p e titio n . B oys
b o r n b e tw e e n J a n u a r y 1st a n d J u ly 1st 1973 a n d g irls o v e r 16
a n d u n d e r 17 o n J u ly 1st 1989 a re e lig ib le to apply.
A p p lic a tio n s m u st b e in by J u n e 1st 1989. In te rv ie w s
w ill b e h e ld in O c to b e r 1989. W rite fo r d e ta ils to : C o lo n e l
(R e td ) R . T. T. G u id o n . R&T.S. A rm v I le a d q u a r te r s
S c o tla n d , E d in b u rg h E l l l 2Y X . T el: 031 336 1761 E xt 2190,
a n d tell h im y o u r o ffs p rin g s d a te o f b ir th a n d n a m e o f school.
69
ROYAL NAVY
This year the Royal Navy section has
gone from strength to strength. A n
excellent team o f Senior C ad ets set the
pace with Coxswains J. Van B eu jk o m , R.
D. Smith and D. Heal proving first class.
T h e emphasis nationwide is on practical
leadership and initiative training often
gained at Naval establishm ents by the
large n u m b e r of cadets selected for
camps an d courses.
All cadets thoroughly en joy the exp eri­
ence of training at a Naval establishm ent
b ut occasionally considerable inconveni­
ence is caused when a few boys find an
excuse to w ithdraw , usually at the last
m o m en t. W e are most grateful to those
cadets w ho too k up vacant spaces. It is
w orth pointing o u t at this stage that no
cadet is able u n d e r recent regulations to
be p ro m o te d unless he has com pleted
recognised training.
Seven ju n io r cadets a tte n d e d the Royal
Navy A cq u ain t C a m p on b oard H MS
K ent at P o rtsm o uth w here Lt. Cdr.
M a c L e o d was course officer. T h re e
c a d e t s g a i n e d b a d g e s o n th e A i r
A cq uain tan ce course at H M S H e ro n ,
R . N . A .S Y eovilton an d L.S. Jason Sim
gained his p o w er b oat certificate at H M S
Raleigh, Plym outh.
T h e most prestigious R N C a m p is held
at Britannia Royal Naval College, D a rt­
m o uth w here this year D avid H eal,
J a m e s L aing, R o g e r Jsamieson, Ben
W illia m s o n a n d R o g e r B o n d w e re
aw arded places. It is no coincidence th at
cadets who are a p po inte d leaders of the
RN Section will have had their leadership
potential assessed by D a rtm o u th . Once
again the Strathallan C a d e ts proved up to
the challenge.
This has been a busy su m m e r for the
officers. O nce again Lt. Clayton was
sailing in structor on the H M S Kent
su m m er cam p an d Lt. Cdr. M a cL eod was
river officer at D a rtm o u th . Sub. Lt. Ross
atte n d e d the A dv an ce d Officers’ course
at H M S Nelson and the Officers’ p o w er
boat course at H M S Raleigh.
D uring the session the RN Section has
had a full and varied training pro g ram m e
and many distinguished visitors.
In O c to b e r on field day the senior
cadets had an excellent visit to the Clyde
S u b m a r in e B a se at H M S N e p tu n e ,
Faslane, A. B. C ad ets had sea training on
b o ard H M S H elm sdale at D u n d e e and
O .S . C a d e ts visited H M Naval Base at
Rosyth.
O u r first visitor was C o m m a n d e r N.
Cocks R N , the Naval m e m b e r o f the
J o i n t C a d e t E x e c u tiv e . C o m m a n d e r
Cocks has b een writing the new RN
Syllabus. T he senior cadets o f the B oat
Section are involved in a pilot scheme
co-ordinated by Sub. Lt. Ross u n d e r the
leadership of P O Skinner, w ho has
p rep a re d the schem e o f work and the
exercises. T h e B oat Section has w orked
well with P O s Swan an d G ow ers. In two
years the g ro up has becom e a success.
This y ear the stan d ard o f cadet has
b een high, though u nfortunate ly there
rem ained som e individuals for whom
responsibility m ean t little. A t times it
becam e a p p a re n t that an irresponsible
individual was m o re dan g ero u s to the
g ro u p th an the h azardous exercise. PO
d ’A th particularly distinguished himself in
the public eye during the three peaks race.
LS D e m p sey showed great courage (and
deafness) u n d e r fire and P O Williamson
show ed reliability and leadership.
T h e role o f the Navy lecture was given
by C ap tain J. A . G. E vans R N , the
Senior Schools Liaison Officer. Lt. Cdr.
A. Bayliss R N . the Staff O fficer o f Tay
Division R N R . gave an interesting talk
on his diving experience. This was Lt.
C d r Bayliss's last visit to Strathallan. He
has been of invaluable help with training
an d we wish him well in his new
ap p o in tm e n t. C o m m a n d e r D. Rigby RN.
T h e S u p erin te n d en t of the RN Aircraft
W o rk sho ps gave a fascinating account of
the many facets o f helicopter repair.
It is rare for cadets to gain flying
experience at school but this y ear we had
two helicopters. Thirty cadets w ere lucky
to fly in a Sea King M ark IV , the pilot,
Lt. Cdr. Slowe R N , also gave o ne of the
most interesting talks o f recent years.
Some weeks later Lt. Cdr. I. A. D. Low
R N took twelve cadets up in a Lynx
H elicop ter of H M S E din bu rgh . A n ex­
captain of School and fo rm er Coxswain
o f the Royal Navy section. Lt. Cdr. Low
arran ged for a grou p of cadets to visit
H M S E din b u rg h be rth ed at D u n d e e . The
cadets learnt ab o u t the working o f the
ship from the anch ors to the guided
missile systems. H M S E din b u rg h is a
type 42 D e stro yer upon whicn r i . R .H .
Prince A n d re w is currently serving. At
full speed the ship is capable of arou nd
thirty-five knots with a fuel consum ption
o f five feet p e r gallon (so said a keen
cadet).
Lt. C layton an d four cadets atten d ed
the A ir D ay at H M S O sp rey Portland.
This proved a sad experience as their visit
was m a rred by the air crash in which two
pilots w ere killed.
D uring the su m m e r term full use was
m ade o f boating facilities. L ochore M e a ­
dows proved a po p u la r v en ue for both
sailing and sail-boarding. O n c e again we
are grateful to Lt. C layton an d C P O
R i c h a r d s f o r t h e i r e x p e r t is e . C P O
R ichards kindly m ad e two Lasers avail­
able and on the grapevine there is good
new s o f a n o th e r Bosun dinghy to be
a d d e d to o u r fleet next year. The
C hev erton m o to r boat is in good o rd er
and has been used regularly. Sub. Lt.
G o o d y ’s training has p ro v e d useful
during su m m e r camps at H M S Raleigh
and B .R .N .C . D a rtm o u th . We are also
70
grateful to C o m m a n d e r W alk er for m a k ­
ing Port E dg ar facilities available to Sub.
Lt. Ross and his group.
W e work closely with Perth Sea C ad ets
and thank Sub. Lt. D. S aunders and Sub.
Lt. G. R ob ertso n for their assistance
with training. Lt. Cdr. M acL eo d has
recently been a p po inte d to Perth Sea
C ad et C om m ittee. W e hope to continue
co-operation in training next year.
T.S. Fair Maid has provided facilities
for the Boat Section exercise and also
berthing for the C h ev erton . It is largely
d ue to Sub. Lt. S au nd ers h ard work th at
the m o to r b oat is in such pristine con di­
tion. Next term we look forward to giving
P e rt h S ea C a d e t s a n o t h e r tr a in in g
w eekend at Strathallan.
T h e su m m e r term en ded on a sad note,
Captain T. A. C. Keay V . R . D . . R .N .R .
died suddenly after a long illness. C a p ­
tain Keay was for many years c o m m a n d ­
ing officer of Tay Division R N R and a
very good friend in so m any ways to
Strathallan School. Lt. Cdr. M acL eod
re presen ted th e R N Section at his fun­
eral.
A successful year owes a lot to many
people. T o C P O Salisbury w ho has done
much to sm arten up the section, to
C o m m a n d e r Dickinson and Lt. Cdr.
Jo h n s to n , o u r P L O Lt. Cdr. M cC row , all
o f H M S C a m p e rd o w n o u r p aren t e sta b ­
lishment, grateful thanks.
O n the last p a rad e of the term a
p resentatio n o f a painting was m ade to
C aptain J. A . G . E v an s RN on his
retirem en t. W e re m e m b e r with pleasure
the various cadets he has directed to
successful careers in the Royal Navy and
Royal Marines.
Lastly, my th an k s to Sub. Lt. Morris
for several useful visits, C P O Richards
for boundless en thusiasm , a splendid
te am o f officers and senior cadets with
special m ention o f Coxswains D avid Heal
an d R o g er Jam ieson who w orked so hard
last term .
T .J.M .
Senior Prom otions: Senior Coxswain —
D. H eal. Divisional Coxswains — R.
Jam ieso n, B. Williamson.
£
m
f/
I
vV
W-
% tf
W W
V
V
4*
•
m
t
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•
rfV
".‘^;.'- Sva E K ^ 1t e' ;. . • ,
Your Quality Ironmonger
Suppliers of Architectural Ironmongery
since 1856
GARVIE & SYME ITD
-Jhe BuildeM OnonmonqenP.O. Box 15, Arran Road,
Perth PH1 3DU. Tel. 0 7 3 8 -2 0 5 8 1
We are pleased to be associated with Strathallan School, in the
supply of builders’ and architectural ironmongery and doors and windows.
71
CCF SHOOTING
In the Spring term a group of boys
w ere e n te re d for the ‘C o u n try Life'
com petition. I believe th at this was the
first time th at Strathallan had en tered a
team for this im p ortant national event,
an d it was to be expected tha t we would
not do particularly well at the first
attem p t. Ind eed, we had to co nten d with
shortages o f am m un itio n and with e q u ip ­
m ent on the range which had not been
used for many years before training could
start at all. Luckily there were already a
n u m b e r of boys w ho had been taught to
shoot by M r W and s, and we were able to
m ake considerable progress in the short
time available. T he result was definitely
good: the com petition is very de m anding:
those schools w ho finished above us are
ones which have many years o f ex peri­
ence and p e rm a n e n t rifle team s. Perhaps
next year we shall m anage a b e tte r place.
I would like to thank all the boys who
too k p art in the practices and in the
match itself.
Results: Strathallan: 54th (ex. 79)
Score: 674 (ex 10(H)).
By way of com parison , the winning
score was 967 (E p so m College). Fettes
were 43rd with 760; E dinburgh A cad em y
were 35th with 809; G len alm o n d were
15th with 877.
A .S.-J.
RAF
Small nu m bers have again restricted
activities this year. H ow ever the N C O 's
have conducted two successful overnight
exercises and o th e r activities ranged from
the usual flying to single day gliding
experience, N C O courses in leadership, 2
flying scholarships, annual cam p recogni­
tion com petitions, shooting courses and
R A F station visits. Next year prom ises to
be a lot busier with 32 new en tra nts in
form IV and I wish Mr Cullen well in his
(m etaphorically) single handed m an ag e­
m ent of them .
A .J.H .W .
ROYAL MARINES
72
VALETE: P. A. PARKER
P ete r B ark er came to Strathallan in
S ep tem b e r 1959 to teach C hem istry, and
he was soon a pp oin ted H ead o f D e p a r t­
m ent — a post he held, u n d e r varying
titles, until he retired from teaching in
D e c e m b e r 1988 to change careers and
becom e a hotelier. He was an interesting
and successful tea c h er, described by one
o f the p resent Form V as " a n excellent
teach er, w ho I m iss." — praise indeed.
P eter had considerable influence on the
updating an d planning o f C hemistry
syllabuses as the C hief E x a m in er for the
University of L on do n School E x am in a­
tions Board. He was alm ost certainly the
only M aster e ver at Strathallan to have a
book published by Mills and B oon,
although the rom ance was mainly th at of
the broad bean!
P eter did his apprenticeship as a H ouse
T u to r and in taking G a m e s, and he even
played rugby against the 1st X V in a
fam ous Staff side; he served as “ m ajo r
d o m o " for Speech Day prizes as long as
anyone can recall, but outside the class­
room he will be b etter re m e m b e re d for
his long service in the C C F . first in the
R A F section, then as its O C . and finally
as the O C C C F for nearly ten years,
during which time he introduced the
M otor Cycle and Royal M arine Sections.
His tall figure in a long and copious R A F
greatcoat was so familiar aro un d the
73
School for alm ost 30 years th at it becam e
p art of the School folklore.
P eter was a strong and forceful p e rs o n ­
ality with decided views and a wagging
forefinger, and he was on e o f those
Schoolm asters th at live in the m em ory o f’
every school child. H e was a kind and
g enerous host — “ C h eers. P e te r ," was a
cry heard m ore than once! — and a
considerate teacher deeply interested in
the welfare and future success o f those he
taught. I am sure that his friends and
fo rm er pupils at Strathallan will get a
warm w elcome at The Blenheim H ouse
H otel, Nairn.
T .C .G .F .
VALETE
Freeland
uv i
Christie, T. S. C am e 19871; L V I; H e a d of
H o u se; R ugby 2nd X V ; Shooting;
Survival; Sgt in A rm y . B la ckh ills
H o u se, b y E lgin, M orayshire IV 3 0
3 0 U.
D a w es, B. M. C a m e 1985'; IV ; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 2nd X V ; Football;
S w im m in g ; A rm y ; R . A . F . A .T .S .
P .O . B o x 26803, M ariana, B ahrain.
D ew ar, A . C. C a m e 19841; III; Rugby
5th X V ; L.S. in Navy. 2 5 H alyb u rto n
Place, C upar, F ife K Y I 55D 2.
Dickinson, A . J. C. C a m e 19841; III;
R ugby 4th X V ; Basketball; Skiing;
Scripture U nio n. W e st E n d , Largoward, b y L e v e n , F ife K Y 9 1H T.
G r a h a m , L. C. C am e 19811; I; P h o to g ra­
phy; Survival; P .O . in Navy. Tangiershandon H o u se, D ry m e n , Stirlingshire
G 63 OEA.
H ow e s, N. D. C am e 1984*; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 1st X V (C ap tain );
Athletics; Basketball; Squash; Survi-
Leburn
UVI
C lark, D. A. C am e 1984'; III; CpI. in
R . A . F . ; ‘F o r d ’ S ponsorship to U n iv e r­
sity. B o n n y to n C o tta g e , 3 5 M ain
S tre e t, K ilconquhar, F ife K Y 9 I L G .
C o o k e , G . D. L. C a m e 19871; L VI;
H o u se Prefect, R ug b y 5th X V ; Cricket
2nd X I; R .A . F . Iv y C ottage, C roftinloan School, P itloch ry, P erthshire.
D in sm o re, K. C. C a m e 19841; III; School
Prefect; H e a d o f H o u se ; R ugby 2nd
X V ; Cross C ou n try ; 3rd Form Scholar­
ship; ‘O ’ Level Prize; H e u sto n M edal
fo r all-round M erit; C hoir; D ra m a ;
D eb ating ; Sgt. in Pipe B and. 39 T horn
R o a d , B ea rsd en , G lasgow G61 4BS.
D o d s, N. A . C a m e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 1st X V ; B asketball;
Swimming; Tennis; Sgt. in A rm y ; Cpl.
in M arines. 188 L a u d erd a le G a rd en s,
H yn d la n d , G lasgow G 12 9 U A .
Ewing, J. R. K. C am e 1987*; L V I; H ou se
Prefect; R ugby 3rd X V ; C ricket 3rd
X I; Cross C o u n try ; Lance Cpl. in
A rm y . 15 R e d h a llb a n k R o a d , E d in -
val; C orp o ral in A rm y , c/o M rs A . R .
B a rty, 8 O ch lo ch y Park, D u n b la n e,
P erthshire F K I6 ODU.
Lasota, A . S. C am e 19871; L V I; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 5th X V ; Athletics;
Technology Prize; M otorbikes. 145
B o lto n R o a d , R a d cliffe, M a n ch ester
M 26 OQN.
M cB ride, J. N. C am e 19821; I; R ugby 6th
X V (C ap tain ); Athletics; A cadem ic
Scholarship; Pipe B and; R . A .F . 5
T ayside C ottages, A b e r fe ld y , P erth ­
shire P H 15 2A W.
P ark , A . M. C a m e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 2nd X V ; Cricket U14
‘B ’ X I; A thletics; C ross C o u n try ;
A rm y. 6 S o u th D rive, P itreavie C astle,
D u n fe rm lin e , F ife K Y 1 1 5 0 F .
Philip, S. R. M. C a m e 19851; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 2nd X V ; H o ckey 1st
XI; Cricket 2nd X I; In d o o r H ockey;
Golf; C hoir; L ance C o rp oral in A rm y.
12 H allow hill, St. A n d re w s, F ife K Y 1 6
8SF.
R o b b , G . T. C am e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; V ice-H ead of H ou se; Fishing;
R .A .F . R o se d a le H o u se, B rockagh,
C astlegar, Co. G alw ay, E ire.
Van B eu sek o m , J. C. M. C a m e 19831; II;
H o use Prefect; R ugby Scottish Schools
X V ; P re sid e n t’s X V ; 1st X V ; 1st V II;
C ricket 1st X I; B asketball; Football;
D. o f E . B ronze A w ard ; C hoir; Food
C o m m itte e ; Senior Coxsw ain in Navy.
L o m o n d H ills H o te l, F reuchie, Fife
K Y 7 7EY.
W alk e r, P. J. M. C a m e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 6th X V ; Cricket 1st XI;
Fishing C a p ta in ; O rc h e s tra ; Music
Scholarship; String Prize; Senior A rt
Prize. 32 In verleith Terrace, E d in ­
burgh E H 3 5 N U .
V
W eb ste r, G . M. C a m e 19851; III; Rugby
1st X V ; A thletics; T en n is; Ju n io r
T en nis Singles T ro p h y 1986; A rm y;
Signals; SBS. Falls o f Lora H o tel,
C on nel, b y O b a n , A rg y ll P A 3 7 1A B .
burgh.
G lim m , C. N. A. C a m e 19841; III;
H ouse Prefect; R ugby 6th X V ; Cricket
3rd X I; P oetry C lub; C hoir; D ra m a ;
Sgt. in Pipe B and. Jesm o n d , P itke a th ly
W ells R o a d , B rid g e o f E a rn , P erth­
shire P H 2 9 H A .
G r e e n , J. P. C a m e 19821; I; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 4th X V ; Athletics;
Cross C ou ntry; H e a d L ibrarian; C hoir;
2nd O rche stra; Sgt. in R .A .F . 122 K iln
R o a d , B e n fle e t, E sse x S S 7 1TE .
Hill, A. J. C a m e 19821; I; Rugby 3rd X V ;
Football; Sgt. in Pipe B and. 15 S cone
G ardens, E d in b u rg h E H 8 7D Q.
M cD o n ald , F. A . C am e 19831; I; B a sk e t­
ball; C hoir; L.S. in Navy. 18 F erry
R o a d , M o n ifie th , D u n d e e D D 5 4 N T .
R iddo ch, D. A . C a m e 19831; I; H ouse
Prefect; 5th X V for R ugby; D ra m a ;
P ho tog rap hy ; D. of E . B ronze A w ard ;
Sgt. in R . A .F . 4 L e v e n G ardens,
B a rrh ea d , G lasgow G 78 1B L.
T h om so n -M o rriso n , A. S. C am e 19871;
L V I; R ugby 6th X V ; D. o f E .; Social
Services; D ra m a ; R . A . F . 16 H illview
R o a d , C ults, A b e r d e e n A B 1 9H B.
Tilley. B. A. M. C am e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; School Prefect; Rugby 2nd
X V ; H o ck ey 1st X I; Basketball; T e n ­
nis; Sgt. in A rm y , c/o B . D . M . Tillev,
O .M .A . D e p t. P .D O .. P .O . B o x 81.
M uscat, O m an.
W h itm e e . M. J. C. C am e 19871; LVI;
H o u se Prefect; R ugby 1st X V ; Hockey
2nd X I; C ricket 2nd X I; Sgt. in R .A .F .
D ry n o w F a rm h o u se, b y B a n d ea th ,
Stirlingshire.
D o w , A . H. C am e 19841; III; H e ad of
H ou se; R ugby 4th X V ; Athletics;
William T attersal A rt Prize; L.S. in
N av y . K e lv in h e a d F a rm , K ilsy th ,
G lasgow G 65 OQH.
G rego ry , C. A. C am e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 4th X V ; Brass G ro u p ;
Sgt. in A rm y. 5 B eech C rescent,
B raco, P erthshire F K 15 9 R G .
L aw rence, C. J. C am e 1982*; I; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 1st X V ; H ockey 4th
XI; A thletics; Cross C ou ntry; M otor-
bikes; Sgt. in Navy. Flat 22, 8 M a n ­
sfield R o a d , T he P eak, H o n g K ong.
Marshall, A. M. C am e 1987'; L V I;
H o u se Prefect; A cadem ic Scholarship;
H istory Prize; Poetry; D eb ating . 62
S p yla w B a n k R o a d , E d in b u rg h E H 1 3
05B.
Smith, R. J. C am e 19842; II; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 4th X V ; Sailing; Cross
C ou ntry ; Coxswain in Navy. T illym aud ,
Farm , U dny, E llo n , A b e r d e e n A B 4
ORX.
LVI
M ustafa, Z . C a m e 19881; L VI; A rmy.
P .O . B o x 6402, Jed d a h 21442, Saudi
A ra b ia .
V
M a c B e y , M. W . C a m e 19853; III;
H o ck ey 4th X I; C ricket 3rd X I; Lance
C o rp o ra l in Signals. W oodacre, K inloch, b y B lairgow rie.
Nicol
UVI
A rn o tt , K. C am e 19841; III; School
Prefect; C ap tain of School; R ugby 4th
X V (C aptain ); H o ckey 3rd X I; A th le ­
tics; Swimming; Brass G r o u p ; Jazz
B a n d ; W in d B a n d ; M o to rb ik e s .
“G len ca rrick ”, N e th e r a u c h e n d r a n e ,
A llo w a y , A y r K A 7 K E E .
B row n , R . G . C am e 19841; III; H o use
Prefect; R ugby 2nd X V (C aptain);
H o ck ey 1st X I; Cricket 1st X I; A rm y.
R u in achat F arm , A b e rlo u r.
LVI
C lark, I. A. C am e 19831; I; Rugby U15
X V; D ra m a ; Lance C o rp o ral in A rm y.
181 L a u r e n c e k i r k H ig h S t r e e t ,
L a u ren cek irk, A n g u s.
G ibbs, J. C am e 1988'; LVI. P .O . B o x
6753, Incline Village, N eva d a , 89450,
U SA.
Ruthven
UVI
A n derson , G . A. C am e 19871; LVI;
H ouse Prefect; R ugby 4th XV; H ockey
3rd XI; Cricket 3rd .XI; Golf; Squash;
R . A . F . L o r e n s v ik s v a g e n , N o . 12,
T aby 18368, S to c k h o lm , S w ed en .
Batchelor, R. J. H. C am e 19841; III;
H ouse Prefect; C aptain o f Skiing. L a w
o f Craigo, Craigo, M o n tro se D D 1 0
9LD .
G ow ers, A. G. C. C am e 19842; II;
H ouse Prefect; H ockey 3rd XI; S u m ­
m e r Hockey; Athletics; Basketball;
S q u ash ; H o u se C o lo u rs; C h air;
D ram a. 2416 S u n b u ry Place. D ean
Village, E dinburgh E H 4 3 B Y .
G uy, B. J. C a m e 19831; II; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 1st X V ; Golf; F o o t­
ball; Swimming; A rm y . 5 S ta n e ly
D rive, Paisley P A 2 6H E .
Jones, R. A. C am e 19821; I; H ouse
Prefect; School Prefect; R ugby 2nd
XV; H ockey 1st X I; S u m m er H ockey
(C aptain); School M aths Prize; Scot­
tish Schools D ru m m in g C ham pio n;
Staff Sgt. in Pipe Band, c/o M r a n d M rs
A . S. G rant. Bracadale, T w e e d C res­
c en t, G alashiels, S e lkirksh ire TD 1
3EE.
MacKay, D. A. C a m e 19871; LVI; H ead
of H o use; R ugby 1st X V ; Athletics;
V
K en n e d y , D. G . C a m e 19851; II; Rugby
6th X V ; Sailing; Pipe B and ; D. of E.
Silver A w a rd . 9 C a ldw ell R o a d , West
K ilbride K A 2 3 9LF.
M a c L e n n a n , A . F. C a m e 19851; III;
R ugby 3rd X V ; L.S. in Navy. 18
B e lm o n t A v e n u e , A y r , A y rsh ire K A 7
2JN .
B a s k e tb a l l; C ro ss C o u n tr y ; C ro ss
C o u n try C u p ; M id d le V ic to r
L u d o ru m ; Navy. 58 S o u th B each,
T roon. A y rsh ire K A 1 0 6E G .
Millar, J. C am e 19821; I; H ou se Prefect;
R ugby 1st X V ; Athletics; W arran t
O fficer in R oyal M a rin e s; U n d e r
Officer of C .C .F . L a u rel B a n k N u rse ­
ries, O verto w n , W ishaw , Stra th clyd e
M L 2 ORT.
P ark er, E. A. R. C a m e 1985s; III; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 1st X V ; Athletics;
Cross C o un try ; Loch R an n och Half
M arath o n U20 1st Prize; D ebating;
Marines. 25 B ea u m o n t R o a d , C a m ­
bridge CB1 4PU.
P ate, S. M. C a m e 19821; I; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 5th X V ; H ockey 3rd
X I; D ance B and; CpI. in Pipe Band.
R e e d ie F arm , K irriem u ir, T ayside
D D 8 5LX.
Peters, S. R. S. C am e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby U15 ‘C ’ X V ; Squash;
B asketball; Curling; H alf M arath on
T e a m ; Fishing (C ap tain ); 2nd place
Scottish Y o un g Scientist C om petition ;
Piping Cups; Pipe M ajo r in Pipe Band.
B rae o f A u c h e n d ra n e , A y r K A 7 4T D .
Piper, G. W. C am e 19831; II; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 1st XV; H ockey 2nd
X I; S u m m er H ockey; Football; A rmy.
K .P .M .G ., P .O . B o x 5944. M anam a.
B ahrain.
S pinner, D. C. C a m e 19821; I; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 4th X V ; H o c k e y 1st
X V ; Cricket 2nd XI (C apta in); Sixth
F o r m S c h o l a r s h i p ; P o e t r y C lu b ;
D ebatin g ; C h oir; P .O . in S.B.S. 7
L ettoch Place, Pitlochry.
Steel, I. A. C am e 1981'; I; R ugby U15
‘C ’ X V ; H o c k e y 1st X I; Cricket U14
‘B ’ X I; In d o o r H ock ey; G olf; C hoir;
L.S. in Navy. 19 L a d esid e, N e w m iln s,
A y rsh ire K A 1 6 9 B E .
Swan, G . C. C am e 19821; I; R ugby 2nd
X V ; A thletics; 1st F o rm Scholarship;
P .O . in S.B.S. 10 C leved en D rive,
H illhead, G lasgow G 12 OSE.
Wilkinson, A . M. D. C am e 19831; II;
H o u se Prefect; R ugby 1st X V ; Hockey
3rd X I; C ricket 3rd X I; Athletics;
Basketball; F ootball; C hoir; P .O . in
N avy . L o c h b a n k , C a stle D o u g la s,
K irkcu d b rig h tsh ire D G 7 1TH .
V
B a m b e r, I. C. C a m e 19861; III; R ugby
6th X V ; B asketball; H C T C ; A rm y; D.
of E. B ronze A w a rd ; Sewing; Pottery;
C . D . T . ; C a n o e i n g . “ F e o r liy ”, 24
H o lly R o a d , B ro u g h ty F erry, D u n d e e
D D 5 2LZ.
Simpson
UVI
Cornish, R. M. C am e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 2nd X V ; Sgt. in Arm y.
“O ld A c re s," O ver Peover, N r. K nutsfo rd , Cheshire.
D alrym ple, F. D. C am e 1984'; III;
H ouse Prefect; School Prefect; Rugby
1st X V ; H ockey 1st X I; S um m er
H ockey; In d o o r H ockey; Cricket 1st
XI; Tennis; C hoir; P .O . in Navy.
W hitehills, A uchterarder, Perthshire.
E aso n, R. G . C am e 19841; Prefect;
C ricket 1st XI; Rugby 5th XV; Navy.
49 Sherw o o d Crescent, G lasgow.
Fyfe, F. M. C a m e 19811; I; House
Prefect; Rugby 4th X V ; Hockey 1st
XI; S u m m er H ockey; Ind oo r H ockey;
E c o n o m ic s Prize; D r a m a ; Sgt. In
R .A .F . 42 O a kfield Drive, RashgiU,
D um fries.
Jo hn ston , C. C. A. C a m e 19841; III;
H ouse Prefect; Rugby 5th XV; A th le ­
tics; R .A .F . C ad et; Survival. Brincliffe, D huhill D rive West, H elensburgh,
Strathclyde.
Logan, A. C. C am e 19841; III; Rugby
2nd XV; Cricket 1st XV; Basketball;
Tennis; R .A .F . C ad et. K ingask Farm,
St. A n d rew s, Fife.
L ogan, M. R. C a m e 1983'; III; H ouse
Prefect; H ea d of H ou se; Rugby 1st
X V ; Hockey 3rd X I; T ennis; Skiing;
Y .F .C .; Marines. K ingask Farm, St.
A n d rew s, Fife.
McLay, C. T. D. C am e 19841; III, House
Prefect; Sgt. in M arines. Pitcarlie
H ouse, N ew burgh, Fife K Y I 4 6 EU.
Moffat, R. B. C am e 19841; III; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 1st X V ; Hockey 1st XI;
Cricket 1st XI; A rm y. 55 H igh Street,
E lie; Fife.
N iven. D. C a m e 19821; I; H ouse Prefect;
R u g b y 5th X V ; C urling ; Y . F . C .;
A rm y. D en m a rkfield H ouse, R edgorton, Perthshire.
N iven, M. W. C am e 19821; I; H ouse
Prefect; R ugby 6th XV; H ockey 4th
XI; Cricket 2nd XI; Curling; Fishing;
D.
of E .; C hoir; A rm y. D en m a rkfield
H ouse, R edgorton, Perthshire.
P aterso n, D. P. C am e 1983'; II; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby U15 ‘C ’ X V ; Athletics;
M usic S cho larship ; Wilfred H o are
R eading Prize; R o bert B arr Mem orial
75
P riz e ; C h o i r ; O r c h e s t r a ; D r a m a ;
Poetry Club; Scripture U nio n; L.S. in
N avy. S o u th R o w a n tree, G atelaw bridge, Thornhill, D um friesshire, D G 3
5E A.
T e th e r , R. M. C am e 19821; I; H ouse
Prefect; Rugby 3rd X V ; Athletics;
Swimming C ap tain; D ebating; P h o to ­
graphy; D. of E .; Marines, d o M. L.
Tether, 52 B radm ore W ay, B o o km a n s
Park, H atfield, Herts.
V
Cowie, A. R. C am e 19841; I; R ugby 2nd
X V ; C rick et U 14 ‘B' X I; In do or
H ockey; Athletics; M arines; Y .F .C . 3
C row nshillock Place, N ew tonhill, K in ­
cardine, A B 3 2R F.
Mudie, R. A. C am e 19862; II; Rugby 3rd
X V ; H ockey 4th XI; Cricket 3rd XI;
Pipe Band. “ G reat E xp ecta tio n s,” Filsham R oad, W est St. L eonards, H ast­
ings, East Sussex.
P reach er, P. A . C am e 19861; III; Rugby
5th XV; H ockey 4th XI; D ebating;
Y .F . C .; A rm y. 2 7 P arkhill A ven u e,
D yce, A berdeen, A B 2 OFP.
Woodlands
B am ford. S. C. C am e 1987; LVI; H ouse
Prefect; H ockey lst/2nd XI; Tennis;
Squash; Swimming. 35 N ew fo rg e Lim e,
B elfast B T 9 5 N W . N. Ireland.
Beale, N. J. C am e 1984; III; H ouse
Prefect; Hockey U I 5 and 2nd XI;
Athletics; B asketball; III Form Scho­
larship; 2nd O rchestra. Craiglowttn
School, E dinburgh R oad, Perth PH 2
8 PS.
B eath. A. L. C a m e 1982; I; H ouse
Prefect; H ockey U15 and 1st XI;
C ho ir. B alm ossie, Ledaig, C onnel.
O ban, A rgyll, P A 3 7 IQ P.
B urton . L. Y. C am e 1982; I; School
Prefect; Swimming: Social Services.
C ho ir. Jazz B and. O rchestra. The
G arh, D rum , Fossow av, Kinross-shire.
K Y I 3 7UN.
D u n b a r. F. E. G . C am e 1985; 111: H ouse
Prefect; Hockey U I5 "B" and 3rd XI;
Athletics; Skiing; D u ke of E d inburgh;
Social Services. Bttllobitrn, I Main
Street, A bernetliy, Perthshire.
Fraser. J. M. C a m e 1982; I; H ouse
Prefect; Athletics; Social Services.
Bonlutrtl H ouse, bv Scone, Perth. PH2
7PQ.
G o r d o n . S. L. R. C a m e 1983: III: H ouse
Prefect; Captain o f H ockey; Hockey
U15 and 1st XI; M idlands and Scottish
Schoolgirls U I8 Hockey; Athletics;
Cross C ou ntry; Tennis; Netball; III
Form Prize. B on A cco rd . 35 Bttrdieliottse R oad. Btirdielioitse, E dinburgh.
G ritte n . Vl. J. C am e 1983; III; H ouse
Prefect; R ou nd ers; William Tattersley
Prize for A rt; C hoir: Social Services.
17 M ansion C ourt R oad, M ansion,
Ram sgate, Kent. C T I3 5 A X .
Haines. K. A. C am e 1987; LVI; H ouse
Prefect; Sailing; Basketball; B ad m in ­
ton; VI Form Scholarship; Physics and
C hemistry Prizes; O rch estra; Choir;
Madrigals. A ustin Villa, M ain Street.
R e s to n , E y e m o u th , B e r w ic k sh ire ,
T D I4 5J P.
H arrison. A. A. C am e 1986; III; Cricket;
C anoeing; Swimming; C hoir; D ram a;
Social Services; D uk e o f Edinburgh.
Traltenna. A rdgav, Sutherland, IV24
3BW .
H a rro d . F. C am e 1986: V; H ouse P re­
fect: Hockey 2nd XI: Choir: D ram a;
Piano; O rchestra. G lassel H ouse, by
B anchory, Kincardineshire.
Irvin. S. H. E. C am e 1987; LVI; House
P refect; N etb all; C ho ir; D ram a;
Music. C aim asericht L odge, Bridge o f
G aur, R annoch, Pitlochry, Perthshire.
M ackenzie. L. C a m e 1984; III: H ouse
Prefect; Swim ming; B ad m in to n ; A th ­
letics; C an o ein g In structor; III Form
Scholarship; F ren ch. English. Reading
Prizes; III and IV Form Prizes; O
L evel P rize; C h o ir: M a d rig als;
O rc h e stra ; D ram a ; G o ld D u ke of
E d in b u rg h : D e b a tin g C o m m ittee;
School M agazine. B ohally, Sirathtum m el, Perthshire.
M artin. C. E. C a m e 1987; LVI; House
Prefect; C ap tain of Athletics: Hockey
3rd XI: C aptain of B asketball; Skiing;
D ram a. A rdnttgrask M ains, M uir o f
O rd, Ross-shire, Scotland. IV 6 7TW .
Maxwell. N. J. C am e 1982; I; House
P re fe c t; H o c k e y 2nd XI; T enn is;
S q u a s h ; G e o g r a p h y a n d B iology
Prizes. 2 G o rd o n Street, Barnhill,
D undee, D D 5 2 R A .
M cA uley. N. A. C a m e 1984; III; House
Prefect: H ockey 1st XI; Tennis; A th le­
tics. The Ivies, 41 Station R oad, Craigaw ad, Co. D ow n, N. Ireland, B I I 8
OB P.
M clver. C. S. C a m e 1984; III; H ouse
P re f e c t; H o c k e y 1st X I; T e n n is ;
Squash: D ra m a : Music; 2nd O rchestra;
Bronze D u k e of E dinburgh. W oodlea
H ouse, M oniaive, Thornhill, D u m ­
friesshire, D G 3 4E N .
N iven. II. J. C a m e 1982: I; H ouse
Prefect: H ockey U I5 and 2nd XI;
A thletics; Basketball; C hoir. A corn
L odge. W liilsom e Hill. D uns. B erw ick­
shire, T D I I 3N E.
LEAVER’S COMMENTS
What they enjoyed
T h e L eburn Scandal Book
G o rd o n 's revenge
Long boat
Pink wafers
S u m m e r solstice
T h e ssssss
B B Q with Proc up Scout's hill
T h e H e a d 's suede shoe collection
R o b e r t’s high moral standards
M r V allo t’s clothes
Being Sunday chapel scout
Medical attention
O ld Simpson / Freeland study block
M r S n edd on 's m aths classes
What they will miss least
M aster's witty co m m ents
T h e w orkm en
W hate ver the school does to laundry
Minibuses
B R ’s 6.45 morning rises
Yobism
T h e H e a d m a s t e r’s b eer
T h e initial after-effects o f a pyramid
S p in n er’s poem s
T ren d y masters w earing trendy badges
Square sheets
Being responsible
Fire alarms
T h e d ubious system of meritocracy
76
O r r . M. T. C a m e 1982; I: H ouse Prefect;
H ockey U I5 and 1st XI; Midlands and
In d e p e n d a n t Schools Hockey; A th le ­
tics; Basketball: Cricket; R ounders;
N etball: C hoir: D ra m a. I I Carlton
H ouse, I W estern Parade. Soutlisea,
H ants, P 0 5 3 E D .
P aterso n. J. L. P. C a m e 1984: III: H ouse
Prefect: H ockey U 15 B' and 3rd XI;
T ennis: Basketball; R ou n d ers; Social
Services; C hoir; D ra m a . The O rchard.
Dalgttise, Perthshire. P H 8 OJX.
Reynolds. K. A. C am e 1984: III; House
Prefect; H ockey U I5 and 1st XI;
A thletics; R o u n d e rs; Social Services.
C argilfield, 3 7 West B arnton A venue.
E d inburgh. E H 4 6 HN.
R o b erts o n . A. J. C a m e 1982: 1: School
Prefect; H ockey 1st XI; Tennis: Swim­
m i n g ; S k i i n g . P itg a r lie Fa r m,
L a u ren cekirk. K incardineshire, A B 3
IRB.
Salters. K. J. C a m e 1985; IV: School
Prefect; H ead o f W o o dlan ds; Hockey
U15 A and 2nd XI: Tennis: Squash;
Scanlan C u p for Merit: D ra m a. " Fort
L o d g e ," 9 Fort R oad. H elen's Bay, Co.
D ow n. N. Ireland.
T ait. A. T. C a m e 1987: III: H ockey 3rd
XI: A erobics; C h oir; D ra m a ; Music.
P .S .R .C .. P .O . B ox 10088, M adinat A I
Jubail, A l Sinaiyith. 31961, K ingdom o f
Sa u d i A rabia.
Mrs M. CALDER
Mrs C ald er. the H o u se k e e p e r, retired
during the year after a very long con nec­
tion with Strathallan. She first cam e to
look after Miss May Riley when she was
living in the West L odge, and tells
horrific tales o f the freezing cold in the
house! Mrs C a ld e r left the School service
for som e years to bring up her own
family, but when they were old enough
she retu rn ed to look after the H e a d m a s­
ter's H ouse and the Main Building.
Eventually her province spread to the
Boys' and latterly Girls' H ouses too.
Many o f the Resident M asters who have
lived in the Main Building over the years
— and she saw many — are particularly
grateful to her for looking after them and
their room s with good h u m o u r and tact.
She was frequently responsible for the
floral d ecorations at functions and in the
H ea d m aster's House.
With Mrs C a ld e r's d e p a rt u re , the
School has lost the last direct link with
the Riley family. We than k her for her
long and loyal service and we wish her
every happiness in her retirem ent.
T .C .G .F .
Did you k n o w th e African elep h an t
(T h ey ’re the o n ly anim al on earth that can t
is th e on ly anim al in th e w orld w ith four
get o ff th e ground.)
knees? T hat it m akes a pillow for itself
Now, this could h e useful. Never
before it g o es to sleep? O r that it's hard to
find yourself stran d ed an d thirsty in the
insult o n e b ecau se it’s so thick skinned?
Sahara if you haven’t bro u g h t along an clc-
(O n c an d a h alf in ch es thick to he precise.)
ph an t. It can use its tru n k to sniff o ut w ater
T h e African elep h an t is very proud o f
from 3 piilcs aw ay
its skin actually, m assaging it. p o w d erin g it
C lever th in g an elep h an t s trunk, it
So what has the African elephant got
to do with opening a bank account?
w ith d u st, and b ath in g as often as possible.
can pick up pins, pull up trees, even uncork
(Is this w h y it's so w rinkly?)
bo ttles o f w ine. (A nd you th o u g h t your
labrador w as clever.)
M aybe th e bath w a te r it uses isn't hot
A nyw ay #w h a t has all this got to do
en o u g h , becau se th e African elep h an t also
g ets a lot o f colds. (So if you ever see on e
w ith banking? Well this m ulti-talented
w ith an ele p h a n t size tissue, d uck. Its
pachyderm also has a p h en o m en al memory.
sneeze is so pow erful it’s been likened
And that's th e p oint. W hen th e tim e com es
to an ex p lo d in g boiler.)
for you to o p e n a bank acco u n t w e d like
you to be a bit o f an African elep h an t and
Here's a tip. never bet on an elep h an t
to w in gold in a high jum p com petition.
rem em ber this nam e C lydesdale Bank.
Ca Clydesdale Bank
10 Sl \ in i r n i P I . . .
(.1 .’H I T rl: 041 >«N '0 ' 0 .
JAYEM Office Equipment
Refurbished Equipment
always available
with Guarantee
T yp e w riters , Photocopiers, F acsim ile,
Office furniture and all S tationery
SALE
RENTAL
LEASE
QUALITY
VALUE
SERVICE
T A Y S ID F -F IF E
-P E R T H S H IR E
(W n tte n d e ta ils o n re q u e s t)
f> P anm ure S treet. Dundee
SALES & SERVICE OF M O ST MAKES
COPIERS, TYPEWRITERS, FAX, ETC.
DUNDEE (0382) 27600,27543 & 25003
77
STRATHALLIAN CLUB
President of the Old Strathallian Club
D o n a ld C lark, a well respected and
p o p u la r Argyllshire h o te lier, was at
Strathallan from 1958-63 an d played in
bo th the R ugby X V an d th e H o ck ey XI.
Soon after leaving school D o n a ld ’s
fath er died an d he was th ru st at an early
stage into the responsibilities o f running
th e family hotel businesses. D esp ite the
heavy d e m a n d s o f the hotel trad e, he
becam e involved in the m any sides of
rural Argyllshire life. H e served fo r a
long n u m b e r o f years on the Town
Council o f the Royal Burgh of Inveraray
an d laterly on the Argyll C o u n ty Council.
D o n a ld is a leading cast m e m b e r and
C h airm an o f th e Inveraray D ram a
G ro u p , C h airm a n of the Shinty Club and
V ice-C hairm an o f th e Steering C o m m it­
tee o f th e new Inv eraray G o lf Club. H e
has b e e n an enthusiastic Skip o f the
Curling Club for th e last 20 years a n d has
played twice in the E ngland/S cotland
Provinces fixture. H e is currently Vice78
President of T h e Argyll an d B ute Curling
Province. A keen rugby player, he played
for m any years for W est of Scotland.
D o n ald has tw o sons; D o n ald w ho left
Strathallan in 1988 and is following a
c a reer in fish farming, a nd C hris to p h e r,
w ho has begun his last year in th e U p p e r
V lth .
T h e Strathallian C lub has benefited
from the stewardship of this kind, g e n e r­
ous and w arm -hea rted man.
STRATHALLIAN GOLF CLUB
REPORT
Grafton Morrish 1988
T h e Bruntsfield ev en t p rov ed to be
historic for the Strathallians in tha t after
10 years of failure to qualify, 1988 was
the year th at the old boys succeeded, and
by finishing 3rd ou t of nine schools, were
packing their bags for a visit to the finals
at H u n sta n to n , N o rth Norfolk.
O u r first rou nd tie was against T he
Leys, at B rancaster, Royal W est N o r ­
folk. O n a day th at had the wind speed
averaging o ver 35 knots, the te am lost 2-1
despite the en co u ra g e m e n t given by
retired H e a d m a s te r D u n ca n McCallum.
O u r d rea m of winning will have to wait a
little longer. T h e te am was K en G ra n t
and Jam ie M offat, R ichard Williamson
and A n d re w M cln ro y , Stuart Lowden
and Hamish M acF arlane.
Queen Elizabeth 1988
Results in previous years have not
been good, th e O ld Boys have struggled
to reach the 2nd ro u n d o n th e S unday for
some years past. This y ear we were
victorious in o u r first m atch against the
winners in 1987, Daniel Stewarts/Melville
F.P. O u r next ro u n d victims w ere Old
Rugbeians, giving us a place in the
qu arter finals against Glasgow A c a d e m i­
cals. T he m atch all hinged on o u r first
pair who had to go past the 19th in o rd e r
to settle the result. U n fo rtu n ately the
match e n d e d at th e 23rd hole in the
im peding d ark ness a nd constant rain,
with a victory for the Academicals. It is
hoped th a t 1989 will see us go at least one
round further.
Annual Outing — Prestwick Old 1988
Twelve sturdy souls m a d e the trip for
o u r an nu al v en ue to sam ple the delights
o f th e course an d also the fare o f the long
table. T h e m orn ing ro u n d o ffered c o m ­
petition for th e Scratch and H an d icap
T ro ph ies. K en G r a n t had his usual
im m acu late ro u n d to retain the Scratch
whilst H am ish M acF arlane also held off
the field to retain the H an d ic ap T ro ph y.
A fte r the custo m ary lunch including
plenty o f P o rt/K u m m e l, th e aftern oo n
stableford p rov ed to be a very close event
with K en G ra n t picking up his second
prize of the day — his first with this
particular trophy.
Scottish W ayfarers 1989
Elie
O n c e again c o m b atan ts w ere assisted
by th e p resence of a School M as te r (Colin
A d d iso n ), and a School Boy (G ra n t
A n d e rs o n ), on th e Sunday. T he eightm an te a m had their custom ary run of
results, only m anaging to win tw o o ut o f
o u r five m atches played. It is sincerely
h o p ed that now all male school leavers
are life m e m b e rs o f th e W ayfarers, o th e r
O ld Boys might m a k e m o re of an effort
to be available for this event in o r d e r to
reduce y ou r Se cre tary’s ’p h o n e bill at this
time o f the year.
Over 5 0 ’s Muirfield 1989
O u r team this y ear tho roughly en joy ed
playing at M uirfield, but w e re unable to
be inspired sufficiently to give any o f the
o th e r Schools the ‘privilege’ o f lifting the
w o o d e n spoon.
Match V. Kclvinside Academicals 1989
O n S u nd ay, 7th M ay, the O ld Boys
played tw o ro u n d s o f fourballs at G las­
gow G ailes against Kelvinside. A fte r
going in for lunch level, th e Strathallians
gained m ore substance from the Port and
K um m e l th an o u r o p p o n e n ts , an d ran out
co m f o rta b le w inn ers by 5'/2 to 2 l/2.
Efforts are being m a d e to m a k e this an
an nu al event as all th o se w ho partici­
p a te d th orou gh ly en jo y e d themselves.
Glasgow G olf Club Salver 1988
T h e O ld Boys w ere invited to e n te r up
to tw o sides for the inaugural Glasgow
C lub Salver event being played over
Killerm ont. K en G r a n t and Jam ie M of­
fat. having e n te r e d in dep en de ntly for the
S e p te m b e r d a te , p ro d u c e d a creditable
score in the S tableford F oursom es. H o w ­
ev er, a very late en try from A llan C oo k
a n d H am ish M acF arlane — in fact only
tw o days before th e ev en t — tu r n e d out
to be th e winning p artn ersh ip with a
score o f 40 points, th e re b y putting the
S T R A T H A L L I A N na m e at the to p ol
th e Salver.
If a ny on e is in terested in joining the
G o lf Section p lease contact:
H A M ISH M A C F A R L A N E
9 C R A IG E L V A N G R O V E
CONDORRAT
CUMBERNAULD
GLASGOW
G67 4 R U
T E L : C U M B E R N A U L D 738281
T h e A n n u a l Subscription is £5.00.
NEWS OF OLD STRATHALLIANS
A L L I N G H A M M. J. de G . (83) re p r e ­
sented the M idlands for R ugby in the
District cham pionship.
A R T H U R J. C. (75) is an a ccountant
with R avenscroft Shipping Ltd. in
London.
A Y A N T U G A B. O . (85) Bola has been
in Paris and N igeria an d she started her
M .B .A . course in A m erica in J a n u a rv
89.
A Y A N T U G A O . (83) Femi is co m p le t­
ing his medical research an d is writing
up his thesis at O riel College. O xford.
B E A T II D. (57) is w orking in H o ng
Kong.
B E C K M A N .1. N. (83) has begun his
P h.D . at A b e rd e e n University.
B E C K M A N R. A. (86) c ele b rate d his
21st at the Inn on the Park at which a
l a r g e c o n t i n g e n t o f y o u n g O ld
Strathallians was present.
B E E C H L. J. (83) is living in Sutton in
Surrey.
B I G G A R T A. J. (82) cap ta in ed T he
Strathallian Club v T he School in the
annual fishing m atch , held this y ear on
Loch Leven. A s he is the youngest
m e m b e r of the C lu b he is hop ing for
som e new recruits!
B I G G A R T D. D. C. (68) is with T he
A b b ey Life A ssu ran ce and cam e to
School to add ress m em b ers o f th e V lth
Form on " T h e r e 's N o Such T hin g As
A F ree L u n c h ". His co-lectu rer was R.
G. M cN aught (68) an d th ey gave a
joint presentation.
B L A N C H E R. B. (50) is retiring from
H o n g K o n g to K i n g s t o n - u p o n T ham es.
B R O U G H J. A. (56) w orks for Kraft/
K eeler in Santa A n a . C alifornia, and
79
he sends his greetin gs
Strathallian friends.
to
all
his
B R U N T O N A. T. (66) he a n d his wife
Patricia live in T ru ro w h ere he p rac­
tises medicine.
B U L L A R D M. J. A. (84) c on gra tula ­
tions to him o n passing o ut from
S andhurst, an d being com m issioned in
the R .E . M . E .
B U L L A R D P. W. (83) was a m e m b e r o f
the L on do n Scottish R ugby T o u r to
South A m erica. O d d messages from
P edro
in R io a p p e a r e d on Fax
machines!
C A R R I C K - B U C I I A N A N A. (85) is
settling down to work at G lasgow
University after a th ree y ear spell of
farm ing, 'e njoying L o n d o n ' an d visit­
ing Africa.
C A R R I C K - B U C H A N A N S. (87) was
shot at by Palestinians (w ho missed!)
while on a Kibbutz in Israel. Now he is
being sponsored by the Scots G u ard s
to read Law at Reading.
C O R B E T T G . S. B. (83) was Ma'n of the
Match in an Internation al 7s to u r n a ­
ment in Spain.
C O Y L E S. (83) after grad uating as
B ach elo r o f M edicine an d B achelor o f
Surgery at N ottin gh am University she
to ok a post as Surgical H o u se Officer
at Q u e e n 's Medical C e n tre . N otting­
ham. She w rote a learned thesis on the
M icrobiological E valuation of Fosfomvcin. so w rite quickly for y our
copy!
C U M M I N G J. G . (84) (B aines to his
friends!) g ra d u a te d in Business A d m i­
nistration from the University of B rus­
sels and is now w orking as Sales
Executive for the US with Isabel
M artin inc. living in Beverly Hills.
Visitors would be w elcome.
D A N G I B A U J. S. (62) is managing
d irector o f U nwin G rain in H alstead .
Essex. He lives in C olchester.
D A R V E L L , R. (?) is in his w ords a
“ very old S trathallian". H e is living in
St. J o h n ’s W o o d , L o n d o n , an d is keen
to renew his contacts with the school.
D A V I D S O N , D. W.
Law at E d in b u rg h
b een working in a
prior to joining a
burgh.
(1984) got a LLi in
University. H e has
pu b in C a p e C o d,
law firm in E d in ­
D A W S O N M. I. M. (64) visited the
School with his wife Jane and daug hter
Emily on 14th Ju ne. They will give a
big w elcome to friends and Strathallians visiting Jo han nesb urg .
D IN N E N G. S. (69) w orks in the G ro u p
H ead Office o f the H ong Kong and
Shanghai Bank. A ny Strathallian resi­
dent in H ong Kong and wanting a
Strathallian get-tog eth er should co n ­
tact him.
F A I R W E A T I I E R C. D. (84) is living in
Broughty Ferry.
F E R G U S O N A. W. (78) after izainiim
his B .A . and L .L .M . at Fitzwilliam
College. C am bridg e, he b ecam e a
C .A . and is now with A D T G r o u p pic
in B erkeley S quare. I iis wife T a m a r a is
a sister o f Evan G r a n t's wife.
F E R G U S O N E. A. (74) is working as a
vet n ear L ondon. His wife Caroline
puts up with four cats, a Mexican
red-kneed tarantula and a snake. If
you like the idea of m eeting them he
would welcome you to his h om e in
Lake H ouse R oad , W anstead.
F L E M IN G A. J. (64) after
successful L on do n D in ner
reviving the L o ndon Branch.
interested in joining should
him at 18 Windmill Drive,
h ead , Surrey.
a very
Alan is
A n y one
contact
L eather-
G E D D E S S. W. (87) is majoring in
E conom ics at the University of M a n ­
itoba and is th oroughly enjoying life in
W in nipeg . H e w ould love to see
Strathallians, especially ex-Nicolites.
G I L C H R I S T G . A. J. (85) has been
working in the hotel industry in Mex­
ico, and C ap e C o d and wrote from
H o u sto n , Texas in Ja n u a ry 89.
G R A N T E. M. (78) lives in H asbo rn e.
B irm ingham and would like to see
M idlands Strathallians.
G R A Y J. M. (51) is Executive D irector
o f the H o n g Kong an d Shanghai
Banking C o rp o ra tio n an d he kindly
hosted a lunch for C o sm o Fairbairn in
H o ng Kong in N o v e m b e r 1988.
G R A Y R. H. (81) and I. D. (81) (nee
Mason). T hey have m oved to Newing­
ton in E din bu rgh . Martin w orks for
Spider Systems C o m p u t e r N etw ork
and Irene is with S tand ard Life A ssu r­
ance. T hey both sing in a choir and
have been h eard at T h e Glasgow
G a rd e n Festival and at E dinburgh
Festival.
H A Y A. J. (75) is an Assistant M anager
at Lloyd's B an k. C h e a m . and surprise,
surprise plays hockey for the United
B anks H ockey Association.
H A Y C. R. (72) farm s n e a r A rb ro a th and
has four children. He enjoys his golf,
but without any reduction in handicap,
we are told!
H A Y D. T. (77) w orks for E dinburgh
Fund M anag ers with a lot of business
in Jap an . He m arried Susan in A u ck ­
land. New Z e a la n d , and we think he
may be living there. He has achieved
49 caps for Scotland in Hockey.
H E N K E C. A. (81) has g radu ate d from
C on cordia University and has entered
the US Navy. He is a very keen
y achtsm an, after learning to sail at
Strathallan.
H E R B E R T R. C. (73) is D e p u ty C hief
Pharm acist of the States B oard of
H ealth in G u e rn se y and would like to
h e a r o f o th e r Strathallians in the
C h an n e l Islands.
H U M E , D. G . L. (1978) m arried Patricia
W alker on 29th J u n e , 1989.
H U N T E R P. D. (74) is still teaching at
H arrow .
H U T C H E S O N M. M. (82) has been
aw ard ed a D iplom a in Software Engi­
neering at the D u n d e e Institute of
Technology.
IS M A IL R. (87) she stayed with Fiona
Liddell (87) in New Z e alan d for five
m o nth s during h e r year out.
JA M E S M. (88) has been doing his
agricultural practical on a farm in
H ereford shire before going to the
West of Scotland College.
JA P P W. C. (40) is living in Muthill.
Perthshire.
K E O W N A. R. A. (67) is the National
Project M an ag er for Y a m a h a in South
M elb ou rn e, Australia.
L I D D E L L F. G . (87) is at University in
New Z ealand . She is reading for a
degree in C o m m erce.
80
L IN D S A Y J. W. (76) is completing a
degree course at Magee College, The
University of U lster, and is living in
Wales.
L IN N J. W. (61) is still a financial
consultant living in H o n g K ong and he
an d his wife w ere in go o d form when
they m et C osm o and A n n ab el Fair­
bairn there.
L O W D. R. D. (71) is living in F ra s e r­
burgh.
L O W D. K. R. (68) is living in Sw eden,
but we cannot tell you w here, as it is
too difficult for b ro th e r Iain to spell!
L O W I. A. D. (74) has been serving on
H MS E d inburgh. In the S u m m er Term
he visited the School in his Lynx
helicopter and gave chosen C adets
exciting flights rou nd the School.
M A C D O N A L D G. A. (85) gained a 2i
in his History and Philosophy B.A .
d eg ree at Y ork University.
M a c E W A N M. W. (68) is a Dental
Surgeon in A b erd een .
M a cK A Y E. P. (65) is a p a rtn e r and
notary public with D e a c o n ’s in H ong
Kong. He and his wife Liz have two
children.
M A C K E N Z I E A. G. D. (74) rep re ­
sented the N orth for Rugby in the
District Cham pionship.
M A C K I E S. J. (86) she has g rad u a ted
L .L .B . a nd has got engaged to Willie
A. W att (83) — an all-Strathallian
match!
M a c L E O D T. C. (81) is serving with the
E din b urgh A irp ort Police, so no sm ug­
gling there please!
M A C P H E R S O N W. T. (57) is a M a r k e t­
ing C o nsultant with M acpartners In ter­
natio n al & C o in K ingston-uponT ham es.
M A D D E N G . R. (82) has been aw arded
a H .N .D . in E ngineering at D un dee
Institute of Technology.
M A R N O C H I. A. (57) is working in the
Sultanate o f O m an .
M c E L F R I S H Mr. (24) called in at the
School last su m m er. H e has retired to
the West C o ast of Scotland after living
in M alaya fo r o ver 40 years. H e spent
two years at Bridge o f A llan b efore
moving with Strathallan to Forgandenny.
M c G R E G O R J. S. M. (55) is living in
D u rb an and is a keen m e m b e r of the
Scottish Schools Association. If you
are in South Africa, look him up in the
p h o n e book u n d er S cott-M cG regor
and you will get a good welcome.
M acK IE (1985) runs M r D 's nightclub in
Shawlands and a wine b a r in K ilm ar­
nock.
M c K E N Z I E - W A L K E R , A . (1986) has
her plans laid well ah ead , and she is to
be m arried to J. P. D o n o v a n on the
16th J u n e , 1990. She is living in
C lapham . Friends can put th e d ate of
h er wedding in th eir diaries now!
M c L E A N I. R. (71) still w orks for A B M
an d his wife M a u ree n recently had a
d au g h ter, K arina.
M cK E E P. J. (82) retu rn e d to Cam bridge
to do a P .G .C .E . " K e n n e th B aker
Special Initiative C o u rs e " , to turn him
into a maths teacher. A t 25 he feels old
to be with u nd e rg ra d u ates again!!
M c N A U G H T R. G. (68) he is living in
Y etts of M u c k h art an d is working for
A b b e y Life A ssurance. His p re s e n ta ­
tion to the V lth F o rm with D avid
Biggart (68) was a g reat success.
M IL N E C. P. (75) visited the School in
su m m e r 88. He works for R esources
Conservation inc in G reenw ich . C o n ­
necticut.
M O N T G O M E R I E C. S. (75) re p r e ­
sented Scotland in the World C u p for
Golf.
M O W A T C. M. (82) she is a well
q u a li fi e d d o c t o r — B . A . , M . B . ,
B.C hir.! She has been working in
hospitals in High W yc om b e and R e a d ­
ing. C ongratu latio ns on h e r m arriage
to D r Ja m es Nicholson on 15th July,
M U IR K. H. (8(1) if you want a scuba
diving instructor, go to Keith in Airlie
Beach, Q u e e n sla n d , where he will
welcome Strathallians.
M U R C H I E S. W. (80) is working as a
Field E n gin eer with S ch um berger inc
in Japan .
M U IR . A . A . (1979) has been sailing
yachts professionally for five years all
ov er the world. W h e n at h o m e he lives
in A bo yn e.
M U IR D. S. (1978) has his own In sur­
ance B ro k e rs in the D erb y area.
N A Y L O R L. (81) she is practising
medicine an d was last seen (by o u r
spies) in the South Island o f New
Z ealan d.
N IV E N P. D. (80) rod e his 100th
N ational H u n t w in ner an d finished 9th
in the jockeys cham pionship. C o n g ra ­
tulations! (M essers C o u rt, du Boulay
et al. an d their ba nk m anagers are
most grateful to you!).
P A R K E R J. H. R. (72) cap tained C a rl­
ton to the East of Scotland Cricket
C h am pio nsh ip and represen ted East in
the District Cham pionship.
P O TTS W. M. (78) is working in the
Treasury D e p a rtm e n t for an A m erican
film co m pany Speakson L eak m an (we
find Alastair H a y ’s writing quite diffi­
cult to read!) and he plays social rugby
with the L on do n Scottish.
P R A D I P A S E N P. (64) D r P radhak is
married and living in B ang ko k, co n ­
ducting the Thai N ational O rchestra.
He also has a gro up in the Hilton
H otel. C o sm o and A n n a b e l Fairbairn
m et him in Bangkok in N o vem b er. He
is quite unchanged and sent his regards
to everyone.
R A N K I N J. C. S. (60) has m oved from
H o ng Kong to M elb o u rn e, Austalia.
R A N K I N R. J. (61) is still with Dawson
International in H on g Kong.
R E Y N O L D S P. M. G . (64) is a doctor
w orking and living in A y r.H e very
much en jo y ed the L o nd on dinner.
R H O D E S L. M. (82) was m arrie d to
E u a n D ru m m o n d in May 1989 and
they are living in A b e rd e e n .
R H O D E S S. M. (86) has been taking a
de gree in Tourism at B ou rn e m o u th .
This course includes industrial place­
m ents and she was lucky en o ug h to act
as a M ark etin g Assistant to Chay
Blyth. She was also part of an all-girls
crew in the C utty Sark Tall Ships race
from C o p en h a g e n to Helsinki and of
the Sail T raining Association on the Sir
W inston Churchill.
R O B E R T S O N G . S. R. (86) thanks,
G r a e m e , for helping us out again in
the su m m e r term.
S H A R P E A. R. (66) he is still with
T h e a tre C o-op. " T h e Last of The
L airds" by Allan Sharpe from the
novel by Joh n G alt was p ro du ced at
the N eth e rb o w , E d inburgh in June
after a H ighland T o ur. T he Scotsman
review described it as a “ theatrical
m iracle" a nd concluded: “ This play is
a rich an d div erting e x p e rie n c e " .
C o ng ratu latio n s, Allan.
S H E P H E R D A. O . (82) is working as an
architect for Powell-Tuck, C o n n o r and
O refelt in L on d on and is going to Peru
on a travelling bursary gained from the
Royal Society of A rts. C o n g ratu la ­
tions. A ng us, on gaining 1st class
H o n o u rs in Interior Design at the
Glasgow School o f A rt an d for win­
ning the N ew bery M edal for 1988.
T h e following items a re all available
from M a tro n , at School. Just write.
All prices include postage:
Club ties with multiple crests .... £5
All-wool O ld Strathallian Scarves
..........................................................£15
Sweat-shirts with the School crest
.............................................................£12
Please slate size, X L , L , M.
Blazer pockets can b e e m b r o id ­
ere d in gold metallic th r e a d and
colour. Please send pocket. O n e o r
two are available on black m aterial
now.
S M I T H G . R. S. (71) is G e n e ra l
M a n a g e r o f Sims T rad in g C o. Ltd, a
farm gro up in H o n g Kong.
S M IT H K. M. (1984) she has g rad ua ted
from Stirling a nd holds a B.Sc. with
h onours in Psychology.
S N O D G R A S S , W. A. (1936) is still
living in B u rlin g to n , O n ta rio . H e
visited the school in S e p te m b e r, 1989
during a trip to Scotland.
S T E W A R T J. (87) m arried Allison
W augh on the 21st A pril 1989 and is
w orking for the Royal Bank of Scot­
land, living in E rskine.
S T R A T T O N , N. T. (1985) has g rad ua ted
B .A . with h o n o u rs in Film a nd M edia
Studies at Stirling.
S T R E U L E E. (87) co m leted her fo u n d a ­
tion course at C u m b ria College of A rt
and Design and is studying for a B .A .
in G rap hics at T re n t College.
T E T H E R B. S. (86) congratulations to
Bruce on being aw arded 1st class
H o n o u rs in his G eo g ra p h y degree at
N ewcastle University.
U P R I C H A R D , D. E. (84) has b een at
St. A n d rew s University a n d lives in
D u n b lan e. H e is starved of news of
Strathallians!
W A L K E R G . M. (83) is a H otel M a n ­
ag em en t trainee in the Savoy G ro u p in
L o n d o n , after experience in the Roxburghe H otel and Prestonfield H ouse
H otel in E dinburgh.
W A T T G. (75) ru m o u r tells us he works
fo r H ighland Leasing n ear T roo n.
W IL K IN S O N A. W. (64) is an architect
working in H o n g Kong.
Y E L L O W L E E S M. J. (78) has captained
E d inb urgh Civil Service at H ockey and
re presen ted Scotland. H ow m any caps
now, Mike?
101101101101101101101
CHANGE OF
ADDRESS
Please send all changes of address promptly to the
Headmaster’s Secretary, Strathallan School.
If you have news of yourself or other Strathallians for the
next issue of the Strathallian, please send it to The Editor at
Strathallan.
81
OBITUARIES
B O O T H , A . M. (1978) on the 6th
O c to b e r, 1987 aged 27.
B U C H A N A N , J. E. (71933) on the 30th
J an u ary , 1989. H e was a C h a rte re d
A cco un tan t. A fter training in this
co un try, he w o rk e d in C alcutta, C o l­
o m b o a nd K arachi, th en he practised
in N o rth ern Ireland, w here he retired.
F R A S E R , R. R. (25) of Kirkcaldy in
D e c e m b e r, 1988. H e was in the 1st XI
an d X V at school a nd jo ined the family
building firm , a family with long
connections with Strathallan.
H A W K S F O R D , H. (1987) on 18th
F eb ru a ry , 1989 aged 15. Hilary was a
po p u lar girl for h e r th re e years at
S trathallan a nd she co ntrib uted e n o rm ­
ously, particularly in Music and Sport.
A lth o u g h she m oved with her father to
Kinross High School, she kept many
friends here. O u r d eep est sympathy
goes to G uy and M o rn a, an d her
sisters Nicola and Isla.
H E N D E R S O N , C. N. C. (1987) as a
result o f a m o to r accident on 12th
M arch , 1989. A large contingent of
friends and colleagues a tte n d e d his
funeral.
J E F F R E Y , W. R. H. (1943) o f O b a n in
D e c e m b e r, 1986.
P A T O N , J. (1957) of Meikle O b n e y ,
B ankfoot in A pril, 1989. A n ap p re cia­
tion a pp ears elsewhere in the m a g a ­
zine.
R E I D , W.' H. (1928) of Milngavie on the
11th N ov em b e r, 1987. H e was born in
H o ng Kong and becam e C ap tain of
C ricket. His son, M r R. H u n te r R eid,
tells us that the XI in 1928 bowled out
H illhead for 0 — surely an u nm atched
record! U nfo rtun ately , this match is
n ot reco rd ed in the Strathallian M ag a­
zine o f the year. M yth or m odesty?
R O D G E R , J. M. (1926) o f G ray sh ott,
H ants, on the 12th N o v e m b er, 1986.
O u r apologies th at this notice was not
in the last issue o f T h e Strathallian.
m em be rs o f the Strathallian Fishing
C lub , and had ta ke n part in the happy
a n d successful m atc h ag a in s t the
School in the S u m m e r T erm . Jack was
becom ing a very well-known lawyer,
an d the e n o rm o u s tu rn -o ut at his
funeral in A y r show ed the d eep respect
an d love in which he was held. H e was
never h ap pier than when walking in
the hills or fishing. O u r d eep est sym­
pathy goes to his m oth e r, Mrs M a r­
garet T u rn e r, and to his b ro th e r and
sister Robin and H elen, to all o f whom
he was such a support.
W A L L A C E , W. J. (1936) of L ongmuir,
St A n d rew s in O c to b e r, 1988.
R O W A N , J. B. (1926) on the 28th May,
1989, aged 80, the eldest of the Rowan
brothers.
W IL S O N . W. D. (1965) in D ecem b er,
1988. Willie g ra d u a te d at E d inbu rg h in
Law and E c onom ics a nd after a spell in
T o r o n to , re tu rn e d to his native Kil­
m a r n o c k , w h e re he e sta b lish e d a
flourishing law practice in spite of
being sh ad ow ed by serious illness.
T U R N E R , J. S. (1971). In S ep tem b er we
h eard the tragic new s tha t Jack had
b een dro w n e d in a fishing accident on
the Tay. He was o n e o f the stalwart
W O O D . I. R. (1936) on the 4th O cto b er,
1987. A great sportsm an o f his day he
was a m e m b e r o f the well-known
W o o d family o f Perth.
Jim is survived by his wife, N o re e n ,
an d tw o children — K a th a rin e , w ho has
ju s t c o m p l e te d h e r L aw D e g re e at
E d in b u rg h and Jam es (S trath allan
1979-1985) who, after Agricultural C ol­
lege like his fath er, is now playing a
significant p a rt in run nin g th e family
farm.
O u r d ee p e st sy m p athy goes to th e m all
an d we sh are n ot only the grief o f their
sad loss, b u t also th e pride a n d joy of
having know n Jim an d having b een able
to cou nt him as o u r friend and colleague.
JAMES PATON
J a m e s P a to n , P r e s id e n t o f th e
Strathallian C lub in 1983/84, a well
know n and widely respected Perthshire
farm er, died on 21st A pril, 1989, at the
age of 48, after a sh ort, sh arp battle with
cancer.
His early and untim ely d e a th left all
w ho knew him , from so m a n y walks of
life, with an extrao rd in a ry sense o f loss,
bo rn e ou t by the overflowing C h u rch at
his funeral service.
Jim was at S trathallan from 1951-57
an d after Agricultural College in E d in ­
burgh he jo in ed his fa th e r (w ho left
Strathallan in 1921) o n th e farm at Meikle
O bney.
H e im m ediately b eca m e very involved
with Y o u n g F a rm e rs ’ C lubs, an interest
which c ulm inated in his a p p o in tm e n t as
N a tio n a l C h a i r m a n fo r S c o tla n d in
1969/1970.
A natu ral choice as the first C hairm an
o f his local C o m m u n ity Council, he was
also an E ld e r o f his C h urch an d a
m e m b e r o f Perth Presbytery. D espite his
heavy c o m m itm e n ts in runn in g the farm
an d giving o f his tim e in co m m unity
service, he lived life to the full a nd still
fo un d time to golf at Blairgowrie a nd curl
with the Delvine C lub on a reg ular basis.
A w arm , gen ero u s and kindly m a n , yet
strict and firm w hen th e n e ed aro se, his
steady eye, strong h an d an d cheerful
ch arac ter left th ose w ho k new him in no
d o u b t th a t they w ere dealing with an
exceptional man.
82
J.W.D.
FORMER MEMBERS OF STAFF
Strathallians w ho were at School in
their times will be sorry to h ear o f the
de aths o f the following fo rm er m em bers
of staff.
J. A. B IN N IA N . Tony taught here in the
50s and subsequently at E astb o u rn e
College.
M I C H A E L H A IN E S . He was a very
well-known ch aracter in the School
and a forceful H istory teacher. H ouse
T u to r, games m aster and O C C C F .
Many will re m e m b e r his C am ps at
K aim es and his g reat interest in the
Band.
R. G. H A L L . G eo ff taught Classics and
was H ou se T u to r in Nicol. He went to
M o n m o u th School when he left S trath ­
allan. While he was there he was much
connected with R obin Birley in the
excavations at Carpow .
JIM M Y T H O M S O N , w h o taught Brass
instrum ents for many years, and whose
kind smile and gentlem anly personality
were a feature of the C o m m o n R oom .
Miss J. M c I N T Y R E w ho was a long-
serving m e m b e r of the Sewing R o om
Staff in the Senior School and in Riley.
E R I C S M IT H . Eric died on the 8th
D e c e m b e r, 1988 after a short retire­
m ent in Forgan den ny . H e was the
Jan ito r for well ov er 30 years, and for
most o f this time he lived in the
‘th re e p e n n y ’ house, now the Sports
Shop. It is doubtful if a Strathallian
ev er saw him with his cap off. His job
changed ov er the years from dealing
with boilers and carrying coal up to all
the Resident Staff’s individual room s,
to looking after and driving the School
minibuses. But all the time he cared for
the buildings and Study Blocks and saw
w hat mischief the Boys were up to! His
well-known figure with his pipe firmly
clenched b etw een his te e th , and fol­
lowed by a little dog, first R o v e r and
then two in succession called Pip, will
be re m e m b e r e d by gen eratio ns of
Strathallians. His long and loyal ser­
vice to the School and to th ree H e a d ­
masters was ou tstan din g, and though
he was n ot always the easiest o f m en to
deal with, he will be re m e m b e r e d by
th ose w ho knew him best with grati­
tu de an d affection.
O u r d eep est sy m pathy also goes to Joh n
Lindsay, w ho tau gh t string instrum ents
for many years, on the d eath of his
wife. M r and Mrs Lindsay have both
been g reat su p p o rters o f Strathallan
for a long time an d Mrs Lindsay was
on e of the kindest and most charm ing
ladies on e could m eet.
Friends O f The School
We w ere also sorry to hear of the de aths
o f Mrs M. T attersall and of her friend and
co m pan io n. Miss C athy T h o m so n in the
sam e week of A ug ust, 1989. T h e School
bought Coven T rees from D r and Mrs
Tattersall, and their nam es will always be
linked with the School because of T attersall’s field and the William T attersall A rt
Prize.
PLACE-MATS
T h ere are a few sets o f Melamine place-m ats left: 6 different black drawings of the school on a white b ackground.
Price £18 p er set from M atron.
The Lawn
—
Strathallan School
83
Duncan Logan and Scoll Gibb have a Iasi laugh as "The Strathallan'' dips towards the school
84
Conveniently located for Strathallan School, these
two Stakis Hotels offer a truly scholarly choice for meals
or accommodation during open days or half term visits.
Dunkeld House Hotel, a superb example
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has its own tw o mile stretch of private salmon
fishing. Leisure facilities include tennis court,
croquet, pitch and putt and jogging tracks.
The City Mills Hotel retains its olde worlde
charm and original waterwheels and is
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Offering two superb restaurants, including a
Stakis Steakhouse, it is perfect for school
treats.
For special terms for parents or visitors, phone the Hotel o f your choice and mention this advertisement.
A
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HOUSE HOTEL
Dunkeld, Perthshire PH8 OHX.
Telephone: 03502 771.
A
STAKIS CITY
MILLS HOTEL
West M ill Street, Perthshire PHI 5QP.
Telephone: 0 7 3 8 28281.
Printed by SU N P R IN T, 36 T ay Street, Perth and 40 Craigs, Stirling.