Morningside Mirror

the morningside mirror 07.2011 edition

Morningside Mirror was a magazine published by patients and staff at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital between the years of 1845 and 1974. This new edition of ‘The Mirror’ is part of Artlink’s contribution to examining the Royal Edinburgh’s 200 year-long history in the lead up to the hospital-wide Bicentenary commemoration in 2013.

If you would like to find out more about this and other related projects call Alex, Anne or Ciara at Artlink on ext. 46127.

Contributors to 07.2011 edition: Jeanette Bell, Anne Elliot, Nicolas Party & Ciara Phillips.

2 | The Morningside Mirror | 07.11

Dear Mirror Readers, Read on to find out more about all the activities planned for this year’s spectacular Summer Fete...

1

2

3

12.08.2011 4

The fete is growing in momentum year-by-year and all the Hospital community are coming together to make it a fantastic event for you, your family and friends. So come along and join in the fun on Friday 12th August – let’s make it a day to remember!

The Royal Edinburgh’s Summer Fete is part of a longstanding tradition of annual events at the Hospital. In days gone by the Royal Edinburgh used to have ‘Annual Games’. Here’s an excerpt from an old edition of the Morningside Mirror (Vol. XCVI, March-April 1941) where you can see just what kind of sporting events used to take place.

GET INVOLVED

If you have any last minute ideas to contribute to the fete, or if you want to nominate a talented individual to be profiled in the next edition of the Mirror contact Artlink on ext. 46127.

1 Medical students from the University of Edinburgh won the 2010 Veggie Animal Competition with their spectacular giraffe.

2 Beanbag-on-thehead race.

5

3 Keep and eye out for Eilidh and her ukelele.

4 Veggie penguin and chick.

5 Annual Sports at the Royal Edinburgh in 1941.

4 | The Morningside Mirror | 07.11 6

6 The Cyrenians will be selling potatoes and onions grown in the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens own plot.

7

9 Emcee – Tom Arnott.

10 Growing Spaces signs.

12

11 Hula hooping is fun and keeps you fit!

7 Eagle owl.

8 The Patients’ Library book sale. Pick up a bargain summer read.

8

9

Things to look forward to at this year’s

summer fete...

This year at the Summer Fete there are lots of activities for you to take part in. There will be music and entertainment, stalls and raffles, games and races. Many things including East Links Family Park petting zoo, hula hooping and the Royal Edinburgh’s own ‘118 guy’ (known in his free time as Anthony Schrag) will be back by popular demand!

At Artlink we’re working enthusiastically with Ettrick Ward, Orchard Clinic and the YPU to make banners and signs, screenprinted bags and t-shirts and a tailor made game of minigolf all for the day of the fete.

EGG + SPOON

We’ve heard rumours that the Hive will be inviting you to ‘Chuck-a-Duck’, and if you fancy your luck at ‘Beat the Goalie’, Geoff Hunter – goalie extraordinaire – will be back in goals again this year.

10

11

16

13

12 Anthony Schrag will be inviting you all to take part in the egg & spoon, dressing-up relay and beanbag-onthe-head races again this year.

13 Mike Brown manning North Wing’s coconut shy.

Here are some great pictures of last year’s fete taken by Anne Elliot to get you in the spirit for another super day. Let’s hope the weather will be just as accommodating.

14 Egg & spoon races.

14

15

17

18

15 The Growing Competition is back on – tastiest tomatoes and tallest sunflowers will be judged on the day.

Here are last year’s judges Jenny Simpson and Ruth Barr.

16 Craiglea’s stall.

17 Line dancers.

18 Prize winners.

6 | The Morningside Mirror | 07.11 19 Norrie proudly playing for Scotland!

THE ROYAL EDINBURGH’S GOT TALENT

20 Norrie Sloan.

21 David Cummings.

22 Emma Lewis.

23 Some of Emma’s origami creations.

This year at the Royal Edinburgh we’re celebrating your talents.

For this issue of the Mirror we’ve interviewed David Cummings, Emma Lewis and Norrie Sloan. Read on to find out more about the people you thought you knew.

22

GET IN TOUCH

Can you think of a talented individual at the Royal Edinburgh who you would like to nominate to be featured in the next issue of the Mirror? Contact Artlink on ext. 46127 or email ciara@artlinkedinburgh.co.uk

Emma Lewis, tell us what you do here at the Royal Ed. I’m the Hospital’s Operations Support Manager – I manage the majority of the REAS administrative services and I also coordinate projects in the hospital such as trying to get broadband internet into all the wards for patient use (people might be interested to hear that!).

21

David has been a talented golfer since he was a young child.

He first became interested in the sport when he was six years old and he began to play when he was eight. He bought a single second-hand club, an old ‘clieke’, and first played at Bruntsfield Links and then at Duddingston Golf Club where he was a junior member.

“When I was eight, my Dad took me to Muirfield and I asked Jack Nicklaus for his autograph. He said ‘no’ because he was too busy, but Gary Player gave me his autograph instead.”

In the years following his early introduction to golf, David played at school and won lots of championships saying that he used to bring other golfers almost to tears, “I always used to win and it just sickened other players to the core.”

19 20

Do you recognize number 17? It’s Norrie Sloan, the Royal Edinburgh’s Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor in Woodwork. Norrie has worked at the Hospital for 26 years and for most of that time his workshop has been located on the lower ground level of the Andrew Duncan Clinic.

When he’s not at work, Norrie’s main pastime is sport, “It always has been and still is.” He plays golf at Glencorse Golf Club in Penicuik and plays badminton at the East Lothian Badminton Club “That takes up most of my time,” he states.

His passion for sport started when he was at school.

“I played everything – football, athletics, rugby, basketball and I was always on the first team.”

Greatest sporting achievement? When I was 16 I played on the Scottish National Basketball team. We travelled throughout England, Wales and Ireland and playing for Scotland was a highlight.

Worst sporting moment?

I took up tennis at school.

I bought a wooden racket as it was the only one I could afford, and decided to enter the school championship. In the first round I was up against the school’s reigning champion who was three years older than me. Needless to say I got beaten 6-0, 6-0. I can still remember his name – James Dougall – I’ll never forget it.

Sporting hero? That would be Jimmy Conners. I liked his attitude.

When David was seventeen he moved away from his home town of Edinburgh to Woking in Surrey to play golf professionally.

He did very well in professional championships, winning the Surrey Assistants’ Championship in 1975 and the East of Scotland Alliance at Mortonhall golf course in 1977. The most famous golfer he has ever played with was Sandy Lyle...

“I played with him in a qualifying round for the 1975 British Open at Carnoustie. Lyle made it through but I didn’t despite my best efforts!”

When asked if he has a favourite golfer, David cites Rory McIlroy, the 21 year old from Northern Ireland who has just won the U.S. Open. “He’s incredible and he started at the same age as me.” There have been two important people for David in his training as a golfer — the first was John Thorne, his boss at Woking Golf Club, “He was a task master but he was fair. He was always on to me but in the end I liked him.”— and especially the golfer Patrick Tallack, “He did everything, he was a professional at Weybridge, he taught the blind how to golf and he taught all over the world.”

As a parting comment David reflects upon the recent passing of the superstar golfer Seve Ballesteros, “If more golfers could be like him, it would be a better game.”

A little birdie told us that you’re a dab hand at origami... Yes, that’s true and I’m also an avid games player. I’ve been playing since I was about 10 years old.

My first games console was a SEGA Megadrive and I had a favourite game called Busby – Busby was a cat who travelled different levels collecting balls of wool – ha!

23

What’s your favourite game now? Without a doubt my favourite game is Red Dead Redemption – imagine Grand Theft Auto but Wild West Style.

It’s a multi-player game so I play it with people from all over the world. I don’t think there will ever really be a game that will top it – it’s SO good!

Tell us a bit about your origami. A lot of my friends are into card-making but I don’t like it because it’s too messy – glue and glitter are a bad combination – so I got into origami. A friend dragged me to Hobby Craft at Fort Kinnaird one Saturday afternoon and I found an encyclopedia of origami there. I’ve been doing it ever since and now I’m part of the Scottish Origami Society.

We get together for ‘mini-meets’ with other ‘folders’ to learn new techniques and for advice sessions.

My origami has led me to some interesting places. The Japanese Consul General found out about the Society and then invited us over to his residence for lunch. That was incredible – we had the most amazing Japanese meal prepared by one of the best Japanese chefs in all of the UK! It sounds like you’ve got lots of interests Yes, I guess you could call me a ‘Jack-of-allTrades’. I’m a hands on, getstuck-in kind of person and I like to get the job done (as long as it doesn’t involve making a mess!).

Emma and four friends have an online gaming review website called The Unofficial Video Games Show, check it out on www.tuvgs.co.uk.

8 | The Morningside Mirror | 07.11

Newspaper Club is a service that helps people and communities make their own newspapers. www.newspaperclub.co.uk