St Andrews in Focus Issue 57 Mar Apr 2013

St Andrews in focus • shopping • eating • events • town/gown • people and more

March/April 2013 Issue 57, £2.00

www.standrewsinfocus.com

the award winning magazine for St Andrews

St Andrews in focus • shopping • eating • events • town/gown • people and more

From the Editor Bees are wonderful. More and more of their attributes are coming to light through remarkable experiments aimed at understanding them. A recent article in New Scientist revealed that bees have been shown they can count. They can recognize symbols, as well as find their way through mazes.

The famous waggle dance gives bees in the hive directions and distance to the best food sources. If, however, a worker bee has learned of some danger in the area indicated, he will bonk the bee on the head to stop the dance! It is known that bees have a well-developed sense of smell, which has suggested they might be trained to sniff out explosives, or find people trapped in disaster zones. The possibilities are mind-boggling. You gardeners, reaching for your chemical sprays, please remember that no bees = no bread! Our buzzing friends are absolutely essential to our own food supplies. They are under threat. Cherish them!

I am delighted to announce that this magazine is now printed on 100% recycled post-consumer-waste paper. So you see, your paper recycling efforts are not in vain!

Flora Selwyn

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The views expressed elsewhere in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor.

MARCH / APRIL 2013 EDITOR Flora Selwyn Tel: 01334 472375 Email: editor@standrewsinfocus.com

Contents SHOPS & SERVICES • • • • • • • •

KK Electrics Fred’s Emporium Food for thought Legal Humour Hannah Markham advises Toonspot Reviews by our Grizzly Gourmet Roving Reporter

TOWN & GOWN • • • • • •

New Arms for Old The Admirable Crichton The Lord Mayor’s Show A Mathematician’s Apology Internet lessons in logic Alistair Macleod asks…

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Community Council Lucia Braiding The Emek Medical Centre Fed up with publishers?

A Ditty for StAnza Celebrating St Andrews through film Ask the Curator Monuments

ORGANISATIONS

PRINTER Winter & Simpson (ken@wintersimpson.co.uk)

EVENTS

PUBLISHER (address for correspondence) Local Publishing (Fife) Ltd., PO Box 29210, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9YZ. Tel: 01334 472375 Email: editor@standrewsinfocus.com SUBSCRIPTIONS St Andrews in Focus is published 6 times a year.

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Please send cheques to: Local Publishing (Fife) Ltd., PO Box 29210, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9YZ. £25 overseas (post and packing included).

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REGISTERED IN SCOTLAND: 255564 THE PAPER USED IS 100% RECYCLED POST-CONSUMER WASTE

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FEATURES

DESIGNER University of St Andrews Print & Design (printanddesign@st-andrews.ac.uk)

DISTRIBUTER Elspeth’s of Guardbridge

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The Kinburn Bowling Green

Live from the Met “The Crucifixion” The Botany Exhibition Green Week The Big Sleep-Out Selected Events

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OUT & ABOUT • • • • • •

The Four Seasons Winter in the Scottish hills The West Sands “No?” Nature Notes Telling the time

NEXT ISSUE – May/Jun 2013 COPY DEADLINE: STRICTLY 28 MARCH

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

Cover picture: Young Swallows, an original photograph by Avi Warner

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SHOPS & SERVICES Flora Selwyn visited

KK Electrics Grandfather Foulkes started selling twin-tub appliance, a very irate young man came into washing machines and vacuum cleaners in the shop annoyed that his vacuum cleaner Kingskettle, hence the name, Kingskettle didn’t work. Stuart pointed out that the plug had Electrics, now KK Electrics, 158 South Street, been wired the wrong way; the red-faced young St Andrews. Stuart represents the third man then admitted he was actually studying generation of his family to own the business. electrical engineering at university. One time, Stuart’s father opened a second shop in even after Stuart had gone step by step over Dundee when the Overgate there was being the instructions for a new TV, there was a renovated, and while Stuart was still at college phone call for the fifth time that the TV screen in Kirkcaldy, his father asked him to help out was still black. When he arrived Stuart instantly in the shop. “It was,” says Stuart, “the longest saw the TV had not been switched on; why? few years I’ve ever known!” However, it showed because Stuart had not mentioned it explicitly the young man where his vocation lay; he left in his instructions! Philosophically Stuart college to work full time with his father. That concluded that it showed how much we take was 20 years ago, and he has never looked for granted, such as switching something on to back. Today, both Stuart’s use it, without first being told. The parents help him out in the moral? Customers, please check Stuart represents shop, which in addition has 7 that your appliance is plugged in the third generation team members. Stuart says he and switched on before reaching remembers earlier premises in for the phone! of his family to own the town here, especially number “We have fun with the business 141 South Street, “up the same customers,” smiles Stuart, lane that Mr Jurek Pütter was. “some come in with broken So, many a Saturday I would be running up belts and ask us if we have one like that. We the steps to Mr Jurek Pütter just to smell the say, ‘no we don’t, but we do have a whole printing. I would sit there for what seemed like one’! It’s about having a bit of banter with hours, and he was telling me stories about his customers.” A kindness done for nothing has prints. It was cosy, it was warm, and he told me often resulted in large tins of biscuits being stories”. handed in by grateful customers. “That’s the Stories! Customers sometimes complain part that I love.” that their new appliance isn’t working, ’please A deeply caring family man, Stuart also can you come right now!’ “The lads go out and loves being at home (in Crail) with his wife the first thing they see is that the appliance Michelle, his teenage son, and daughter, hasn’t been plugged in!” Years ago, when talking over the events of the day, cooking, people themselves had to fit a plug to a new teasing. Family holidays are always a great

joy. “We just have to have fun, and keep smiling, talking to people.”

What of the future? “Where we will be in 10 years’ time, I don’t know.” Ever the practical man, Stuart understands that a business must evolve if it is to succeed. How it will do that requires judgment, careful consideration, but not prescribed textbook applications. Gradually, Stuart has diversified into selling kitchens, as well as bathrooms, for which he employs expert fitters. He is proud to be a local, family business, taking quality and service to his customers very seriously. “My son wants to help out, but he has to go out there and do a business degree to begin with, and he also has to go and work in a bigger organisation to understand those things as well. Then he’ll come back after 5 or 6 years to run this [shop] as a business. He’ll do something different with it.” Stuart keeps in mind Einstein’s definition of insanity, ‘doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result’. With an open, enquiring mind Stuart will make sure his business remains viable in a difficult world. And Addison’s words from 1711 ring true for Stuart himself, “True happiness……is an enemy to pomp and noise.” This magazine has been privileged to meet with a truly happy man, free of any pomp and noise!

(Photo courtesy Stuart & Michelle Foulkes)

Winifred Jamieson introduces

Fred’s Emporium

– a new concept in lifestyle and wellbeing The ground floor at 164 South Street houses a gift shop with an eclectic mix of vintage-inspired gifts, including work by local and UK-based designers and makers. There is a mix of beautiful organic clothing by UK-based From Clothing, the ideal choice for Yoga, Pilates, and lifestyle wear. There are some beautiful organic soaps by Cellardyke- based Nixie Soap Co, also quirky gifts and up-cycled furniture by local artisit Wild is the Wind and Nicki Bradwell.

On the upper two floors there are two Pilates studios. There is a matwork studio suitable for Pilates and Yoga group classes. The top floor houses a Pilates Reformer studio, offering the option for clients to attend personal-training Pilates sessions.

The teaching team includes Fred, and highlyrespected local practitioners Shelagh Keegan and Caitlin Heavey. At present there are Pilates classes available weekdays during the daytime, evenings, and 1:1 sessions at times that suit both the client and instructor. The studio also offers Yoga classes for beginners, Yoga for back pain, and YogaBirth. The timetable is expanding: the best way to keep up to date with schedules and booking is either by popping into the shop, or online: www.freds-emporium.co.uk and on Facebook. All the classes at the Emporium are limited to about six people offering participants a more individualised approach.

Winifred Jamieson, known widely as Fred, originally trained as a contemporary dancer. She obtained a BA (Hons) Dance before studying

at the Laban Centre with Transitions Dance Company. She was a founder member of Dundee Rep Dance Company (now Scottish Dance Theatre) and was Artistic Director of Moving East Dance Company in Cambridgeshire for three years. Subsequent to that she worked for a number of years as a freelance choreographer and teacher before lecturing and taking up, until recently, the post of Curriculum Manager for Performing Arts at Edinburgh’s Telford College.

Fred was originally introduced to Pilates during her dance training at The Place. She then trained as an instructor 12 years ago with Michael King in Matwork and Reformer, whilst also becoming a Remedial and Sports Massage Therapist. She currently lectures in Anatomy and Physiology for Hanson Pilates and holds a Level 3 Teaching Pilates Matwork certificate from CYQ. She is a member of the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs). She also works as a freelance dance artist and dance education consultant.

Fred brings to her teaching a wealth of movement and teaching experience which she incorporates into her classes. She has a keen eye for assisting participants in finding their optimal alignment; her classes are fun and enjoyable. Pilates can help to improve your posture, give you a better understanding of core strength and contribute to your overall sense of wellbeing.

Pop into the Emporium to say ‘hi’ if you are down at the Westport end of South Street.

‘The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit.’ Joseph Pilates (Photo courtesy Fred Jamieson)

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SHOPS & SERVICES Jonnie Adamson

Food for thought With the longlasting aromas of the pasty tax scandal finally dispersing I started wondering what other anomalies infiltrate our daily lives when it comes to food and drink.

Stirring my coffee I remembered the rumours a number of years ago that in a famous case McVitties defended its right not to charge VAT on Jaffa Cakes, by producing a giant Jaffa Cake in court to demonstrate that it was not a chocolate biscuit (on which VAT is charged), but was in fact a cake. They won, and no VAT is included in the price of a Jaffa Cake. Furthermore, although I couldn’t possibly divulge how many chocolate biscuits are consumed in our office, it has been

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of wines may fall under this exemption. jokingly discussed that the reason chocolate Ports, other fortified wines, and occasional digestives are more expensive than choc-chip fine wines would not digestives is mostly down to count, but some highVAT. If a biscuit is covered in If a biscuit is covered in end claret, ready for chocolate then you pay VAT, if chocolate then you pay enjoyment in 25-40 years, the chocolate is the filling you VAT, if the chocolate is would! I prefer to take a don’t. short-term outlook, and the filling you don’t Those of you with a nose often any investment for a good investment may is first studied before being uncorked and also have tried buying and storing wine. enjoyed with a good chunk of cheese.

Although it requires expertise, patience, and suitable conditions, many have chosen to dabble. There could be a tax wheeze For further information on this, or as well. As long as you are not seen to be other matters, please consult: trading in wine, any gains made on selling bottles, or cases, could be completely free Henderson Black & Co. of capital gains tax. A ‘wasting asset’ is one 149 Market St, St Andrews where the predicable life is less than 50 Tel: 01334 472 255 years. There are exemptions from capital gains tax for wasting assets and the majority

ecommerce

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SHOPS & SERVICES David Adie offers some

Legal Humour Just to prove that Lawyers have a sense of humour, and for something a little more light hearted, I had better relate a true life story which occurred in St Andrews: – A golfer set up for a tee shot on the Old Course. He sliced wildly and the ball headed off in the direction of the trees.15 minutes later a policeman approached him and asked, “Is this your ball?” “Yes, I think it is,” came the reply. “Oh dear,” said the officer, “a cat ran out of the front door, a bus was driving by. The driver tried to miss the cat, but hit a tree. The bus exploded into flames and there were no survivors.” “Oh my god, that’s terrible!” said the golfer, “Is there anything I can do?” The Policeman replied, “Well you might try and keep your left arm a little straighter and start to swing with your hips.”

– That is a bit of a long story, but then Lawyers are people who can write a 10,000 word document and call it a brief.

– What is black and brown and looks good on a lawyer? A Doberman.

– What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start! If they drowned, you could always bury them 12 feet deep; because deep down lawyers are okay.

– Why is it that many lawyers have broken noses? From chasing parked ambulances, of course.

– If there was such a thing as a store where you could buy a brain, then this is what would happen. It would be £3 an ounce for an engineer’s brain; £4 an ounce for a Doctor’s brain; £100 an ounce for a lawyer’s brain. – Why, you may ask, is a lawyer’s brain so

much? Well, do you know how many lawyers you need to get an ounce of brain?

– If someone pleads their own case in Court, he has a fool for a client, but at least there are no problems with the fee splitting.

– What do you get when you cross the godfather with a Lawyer?

An offer you can’t understand.

– Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, an honest lawyer, and an old drunk are walking down South Street. They simultaneously spot a £50 note.

Who gets it?

The old drunk of course, the other three are mythologies.

– Finally, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the Highlands, two cars collide and a fair bit of damage is done, but neither of the drivers is hurt. No-one can work out who is to blame. One driver is a Doctor, the other a Lawyer. The Lawyer calls the Police on his mobile and says to the Doctor, “they will be here in 10 minutes”.

It is cold and damp and both men are a bit shaken, so the Lawyer offers the Doctor whisky from a hip flask. The Doctor accepts, and hands the flask back to the Lawyer, who puts it away.

“Aren’t you going to have a drink” the Doctor asks. “After the Police get here,” replies the Lawyer.

More serious stuff next time!

FOR OUT OF TOWN LEGAL ADVICE Wills / Inheritance Tax Planning / Executries / Powers of Attorney / Guardianship Conveyancing / Commercial Property / Business Law

We can consult locally

ADIE HUNTER Solicitors and Notaries 15 Newton Terrace Glasgow Telephone: 0141 248 3828 Fax: 0141 221 2384 email: enquiries@adiehunter.co.uk

THE St Andrews pet shop!

Stocking the widest range of pet foods, accessories.

Anything not stocked we can order.

78 South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9JT Tel: 01334 470 873

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SHOPS & SERVICES Hannah Markham, Principal Osteopath of St Andrews Osteopaths – Providers of effective treatment since 1998.

Are you about to pop another pill for a headache? Think again!

Headaches are something that can affect all of us. They can vary in cause and severity, but the most common way to relieve the pain is to take a painkiller.

However, it has been revealed that more than one million people in Britain may be suffering from constant, crippling headaches because they are taking too many painkillers! The pills people take to relieve headaches and migraines may be making things much worse, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

As many as one in 50 people suffer continual headaches because of “medication overuse”, NICE reports. The problem begins with taking the odd painkiller for tension headaches or migraines, which usually works.

But some people take the pills more and more often, until they are on tablets for more than half the days in a month. NICE says that if this goes on for more than three months the medication can end up causing the problem it is intended to cure.

Tension-type and neck related headaches are the most common form of headache. Some people find their headaches are caused by stress or the inability to relax, and therefore don’t realise how tense they are. Others suffer from headaches due to stiffness or restrictions in the neck. The stiffness and restriction can build up leading to tension in the muscles that run from the neck up to the back of the head resulting in a headache.

So what alternatives are there to continually popping pills?

One alternative is to come and see an osteopath at St Andrews Osteopaths, where we look to find the cause of tension or stiffness and seek to relieve it by helping the body achieve more mobility and flexibility. We also help you to identify some of the lifestyle factors, such as poor posture at a desk, or tiredness, which can contribute to, and lead to, tension-type or neckrelated headaches. Our aim is to help relieve any tension or stiffness that is contributing to your headaches. This may be achieved by using some massage to help ease the tense

muscles and some gentle joint articulation to help relieve any joint stiffness. We will also give advice on posture and prescribe any exercises necessary to help prevent the tension and stiffness from building up. For example we would recommend taking regular breaks from sitting at a computer desk for long periods of time, or prolonged driving, or encourage some regular gentle exercise such as yoga, pilates, swimming, or walking.

(It should be noted that any persistent or sudden severe headache should always be checked by a GP first).

Hannah Markham is the principal osteopath at St Andrews Osteopaths and Natural Health Clinic on South Street.

She has been in practice for 15 years and has vast experience in treating a broad spectrum of injuries in patients of all ages.

St Andrews Osteopaths, 136 South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9EQ. Tel: 01334 477 000 www.standrewsosteopaths.co.uk

The New Picture House Winner of the RAAM Independent Cinema of the Year Award for Excellence Enjoy a pre-show drink in our lounge or book an exclusive function or children’s party with a private screening

www.nphcinema.co.uk

117 North Street, St Andrews Tel: 013334 474902

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SHOPS & SERVICES: EATING OUT Grizzly Gourmet, had lunch in

The Grill House St Mary’s Place

I had a pastrami salad, which was surprisingly The Grill House tasty. The pastrami was not at all dried up as one is the third sometimes finds. My companion had a burger with of the trio of chips which was, well, a burger with chips. No restaurants complaints on that side. owned by the I consumed an Enchilada. On this occasion same people in St Andrews, comprising The Grill the Mexicans managed to wrap chicken in tortilla, House, The Glass House, and The Dolls House. cover it with a salsa, there must have been some There is also The River House in Stirling. guacamole in there somewhere, and some cheese, The Grill House was originally a Solicitors’ and there was a side portion of rice and refried office, but the décor is certainly nothing like a beans. I drew the line at the beans for reasons of Solicitors’ that I have ever been in! The walls were public safety. I remember Jeremy Clarkson accusing all very much primary colours and this reflects the Mexicans of being fat and flatulent and getting into largely Mexican menu. trouble. One way of avoiding trouble is – don’t eat Why is it that everything Mexicans eat is always the beans! really the same thing, re-hashed in a different A bottle of sparkling water added £3.25 to the format? There is always some sort of tortilla flour cost. Two cappuccinos were £2.15 each. No doubt, concoction, tomato salsa, guacamole, sour cream, that is where the profit is, but all in all, and refried beans. The Mexicans have £19.45 for lunch for two was great value an endless ingenuity in putting these 8/10, but 10/10 (plus tip). together with vegetables or beef or for sheer value The staff are friendly. If you don’t chicken, but the basic ingredients are the like Mexican, the menu is not entirely same. Presumably they think we all eat for money Mexican and there are supplements, meat and two veg and nothing else. even on the fixed menus.

I went for lunch with one of my bear I would recommend this for a quick lunch, but business colleagues. The lunch menu is fantastic also for an evening visit. The consistent quality value at £5.95. How they make a profit, I don’t know, between the various restaurants in this mini chain is but presumably it is from drinks and coffees. always a feature. No doubt it is ever popular with the My business bear friend had pakora to start with student fraternity, not just us bears. (not very Mexican), which was delicious, although 8/10, but 10/10 for sheer value for money. one piece had the rather disarming appearance of a deep fried mouse including tail (it was not).

Hugo also visited

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The Balaka

St Mary’s Place, St Andrews The Balaka is probably St Andrews’ first and I had a chicken jalfrezi. We shared fried rice and perhaps premier Indian restaurant. Technically, a nan bread. The nan bread was quite sweet, but I believe it is Bangladeshi. This is one of these was fluffy, light, and not at all greasy. The only down modern Indian Restaurants which has come a side was I did bite into a chilli at one point, which long way from the original Indian restaurant I went was very fiery, resulting in the consumption of about to when I was a student at the BIT (Bear Institute a gallon of water! of Technology – as opposed to The portions were certainly the Massachusetts Institute of ample. Tap water was offered The Balaka is Technology). In those days a curry without any problem and I had a probably St Andrews’ meant a tough, fatty lamb curry pint of Kingfisher. I always feel an first and perhaps with boiled rice, raspberry ripple ice Indian beer, even if it is brewed in premier Indian cream to follow, and milky coffee Basingstoke, goes down better with thereafter. There was flock wallpaper Indian food. Muffy had the house restaurant on the walls and what I presume white, which was fine. was bangra music through the speakers.

I always find sweets in Indian Restaurants Indian restaurants are much more subtle now. slightly disappointing. Usually I don’t even feel like There was not a single piece of flock wallpaper one after a curried dish. On this occasion I was in evidence at Balaka; indeed the décor was very tempted by a caramelised mango with ice cream. restful with muted lighting, deep red walls, and The mango was served in very thin slices and uplighters highlighting the white upper works and clearly had been covered in brown sugar or similar, ceiling. perhaps honey (much beloved of bears) and put I had a mixed starter comprising lamb and under the grill. The ice cream was then plonked in chicken tikka, and some vegetable pakora. There the middle: a light and delicious end to the meal. were also some tandoori chicken legs. This was Muffy had some plain ice cream. an ample portion served with a salad. Muffy chose The staff were friendly and attentive without vegetable samosas, which were light and tasty. being over-attentive or clawing. The total bill, As far as the main courses were concerned, excluding tip, was £55.40.

Muffy, as always, went for a chicken korma, which There is good competition in St Andrews for was mild, but also particularly fruity. I have noticed Indian Restaurants, but you can’t really beat the that that is a feature of Balaka’s dishes – a fruity Balaka! 8/10 (and suitable for the cubs). flavour flowing through them.

Panache at Elspeth’s of St Andrews

9 Church Street, St Andrews Tel: 01334 472494

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SHOPS & SERVICES

From our Roving Reporter 1. Suky Goodfellow introduced herself to our Reporter as follows: “I am a fine artist and illustrator from Cornwall.

I graduated in English from St Andrews in 2010. While studying, I started selling my work from Taste coffee shop.

St Andrews has been a great inspiration.

It has it all: the coast, river, woodland, majestic buildings, and plenty of new faces.

As Events Coordinator for the University of St Andrews Art Society, I once tried to share my love of sketching the Kinnessburn ducks. Unfortunately, the rest of the society didn’t share my enthusiasm for drawing moving targets and went to paint a bridge down river, though one girl stayed, but then gave up and started drawing her foot!

A sense of movement is something that, along with bright colours and whimsical characters, can be said to define my work.

Examples of my work can be found on my website: www.sukygoodfellow.com I can be contacted for commissions at sukygoodfellow@gmail.com” Reporter had a peek and was impressed!

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Reporter is delighted by the news that the independent producer of fine Scottish woollens and cashmere, Johnstons of Elgin, has been granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to the Prince of Wales, with effect from 1st January 2013. James Dracup, Group Managing Director, told his happy workforce, “We have worked for 5 years through the good offices of James Sugden OBE, the official Grantee, who, assisted by John Gillespie, has developed a number of very special tweeds for His Royal Highness.” Reporter says that all the staff at their St Andrews shop at 4 Pilmour Links, are thrilled to bits. Another positive bit of news for St Andrews!

– we’ll be launching our smartphone-based loyalty scheme allowing customers to earn points (Boots-style) on their purchases and keep tabs on what they’ve bought and how much they enjoyed it. One of the great things about this is not just that we can consistently reward our customers for choosing us, but it also allows us to gather information on what our customers are enjoying and what they aren’t, so we can constantly refine our offerings. We’re also not all about wine, we also stock a broad selection of international beers and spirits, and a very healthy whisky selection too, specialising in independent bottlers as well as smaller distilleries that you won’t find in supermarkets. You might find it useful to know that we have handpicked our range which we have selected based on the quality of the product, making sure you get the best wine for your money. Most of our wines are between £6 and £20, as this is where we think the most interesting and tasty wines are priced.” Irresistible, surely, thinks Reporter!

(Photo courtesy Suky Goodfellow) 2.

* * * *Svetlana * Redpath

of The Guid Cheese Shop, Burghers Close, Reporter says, is a St Andrews treasure! The only Scottish cheese shop to win an award in Britain’s Best Cheese Counter Competition, she has just been placed third. Receiving her award at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham, Svetlana graciously said, “Although the shop didn’t come out on top, I’ve lost to a very worthy competitor, Paxton and Whitfield of London, which has a rich 200-year history.” Nevertheless, to be in the top five in the country is an enormous achievement after trading here for such a short time. Reporter hasn’t forgotten that Svetlana trained with some of the top cheese makers and purveyors in the world in America, France, and Fife. In 2010 she was invited to be on the international panel of judges at the World Cheese Awards, and in 2011 she was a Supreme Cheese Judge.

Also to her credit is her first book (in Russian) called, Cheese: The Connoisseur’s Handbook. Reporter is sure all St Andrews joins him in warmly congratulating Svetlana on her outstanding achievement.

(Photo by Matthew Schwartz)

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(Photo courtesy Peter Wood)

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From left to right: James Dracup, Group Managing Director, James Sugden OBE, Director.

(Photo courtesy Johnstons) (St Andrews’ Shop photo by Flora Selwyn)

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4. Reporter sighs with relief whenever an empty shop becomes inhabited again, especially when it’s by a private firm.

Peter Wood has opened The St Andrews Wine Company at 16 Bell Street (01334 479 790). He told Reporter, “My staff and I are self-confessed wine geeks, our aim being to help our customers cultivate their interest in wine, regardless of their budget or knowledge. We’re trying to break down the usual barriers to getting into wine: we open a new bottle every day across the whole price spectrum that everyone is welcome to come and taste (no purchase necessary!); we’re hosting ticketed dinners with local restaurants to educate about food and wine pairings; in the very near future we’ll be having regular in-store events where there will be the opportunity to taste and learn about loads of wines and meet the people who make them. Most of what we do in this respect will be completely free, and we’ll be making great use of modern technologies to get our customers really involved in the roots of our business

5. Katie Smith of Bibi’s Bakery, 131 South Street, has opened her doors this year on a new-look tearoom, Reporter found. It not only sells its delicious, award-winning cakes and brownies to take away, but you can now sit in and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with your cake. Supplied by Braithwaites of Dundee, the coffee and tea are a perfect accompaniment to Bibi’s range of cupcakes, brownies, macaroons, tray bakes, large cakes, and scones. With a vintage tearoom feel, Bibi’s is a perfect place to sit, relax, and enjoy a sweet treat. Just looking at the offerings makes Reporter’s mouth water! Go on, indulge yourself!

(Photo courtesy Katie Smith)

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SHOPS & SERVICES

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some of Gail’s pieces is currently on display at the Hillcrest Gallery, Strathkinness. The exhibition has generated great interest and she has received several private commissions as a result. She has also been commissioned to create a commemorative plaque for the iconic Bunnahabhain whisky brand. Further examples of Gail’s work will be on show at the Botanic Garden Gatehouse Gallery, St Andrews as part of an exhibition that will run throughout the month of April. Gail can be contacted by email: gailduncanpyrography@gmail.com or by phone: 01382 580 565 mobile: 07950 930 895. Any commission, or purchase, says Reporter, is sure to give a lifetime’s pleasure.

to confirmations. He also sponsors student and other local clubs/societies, and is happy to help out others. Rascals is open daily from 11.00am “until the wee hours” (though the kitchen closes at 8.30pm) Jamie is happy to serve drinks, teas/ coffees, and cake on their own. He hosts occasional live music and during term time has Sunday quiz nights from 8.00pm. For reservations phone: 01334 478 479. A lively place, thinks Reporter.

Jamie, his brother, sister, & Duty Manager Paolo

Reporter loves meeting talented artists.

Gail Duncan “draws” on wood. She is in fact, an expert pyrographer. A graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Illustration and Printmaking, Gail nevertheless felt a need for the safety of steady employment. She gained a PGCE, and is still teaching part time in a primary school near Dundee. For her birthday, ten years ago, Gail’s far-seeing husband gave her a pyrography machine, which immediately released her pent-up desire to create. “That’s when my passion for art was rekindled.” The different width heated wires of the machine enable her to burn onto wood the most exquisite landscapes often with animals, and often inspired by poems which she also quotes on the wood as well.

“The wood is telling me what to do” says Gail, as she incorporates the distinctive markings and patterns within the grain, into her designs. Gail has recently been working collaboratively with St Andrews based wood craftsman Jim Brown, burning designs and illustrations onto beautifully crafted mirrors, furniture, plaques and decorative boxes, all produced from carefully selected Scottish hardwoods and in particular elm, oak, and beech. An exhibition of Jim’s work featuring

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Jim’s box decorated by Gail (Photo by Reporter) (Gail Duncan photo courtesy Jim Brown)

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7. Rascals Bar, 119 North Street (adjoining the New Picture House) Reporter learned, changed ownership in December 2011.

Co-owners Jamie Anderson and Colin Donaldson, “aim to deliver comfort food for our customers. We welcome local people, students, and tourists.” Jamie, who acts as General Manager, is proud to have his brother and sister as part of his team, making it a strongly family-run business. He told Reporter that the eatery has had positive reviews of their burgers, such as Poppa’s Revenge, “possibly the biggest in the UK!” There’s also the Pulled Pork-topped Burger, the spicy pork being barbecued slowly over 10 hours. Jamie says private parties are catered for, and he has overseen many events from birthdays

8. Reporter heard that, “one of Fife’s largest law firms has unveiled its new name and identity, reflecting its evolution and its growing national profile. Murray Donald, formerly Murray Donald Drummond Cook, has roots dating back over 200 years but, in the last five years, has carved a reputation as a firm which, while retaining its heart in Fife, stands proudly alongside its city counterparts. At a time when North East Fife is evolving and becoming increasingly cosmopolitan, the firm believes that its new identity illustrates its aspirations and its position on the national stage. As part of its rebranding exercise, which is now visible throughout its offices in St Andrews, Anstruther, and Cupar, the firm has also unveiled a new website. For more information, telephone: 01334 477 107, visit: www.murraydonald.co.uk or email: info@murraydonald.co.uk ”

*****

9

TOWN & GOWN James A G Smith, President of The Kate Kennedy Club

New Arms for Old

Student Union Arms

Lion from University Arms

Arms of King James VI & I

Several years ago and by a stroke of incredibly good luck for The Kate Kennedy Club, St Andrews resident Mark Dennis accidentally ended up in the wrong meeting. After realising his mistake, but before leaving, Mr Dennis told the Club officers, who were supposed to be there, that he would be happy to assist if they were ever interested in restoring it’s collection of heraldic shields. The shields, from the 1960s, are used in the annual Kate Kennedy Procession and bear the arms of several characters as well as the colleges of the University.

This time last year I met with Mr Dennis, who is the Ormond Pursuivant of Arms in the Court of the Lord Lyon, at the Abbottsford Coach House where the shields are stored. It is to be expected that a herald should be a stickler for detail, and it was quickly pointed out to me that the accuracy of what we were representing could be greatly improved. What we had was by no means bad, but this was an opportunity to do something special. The main point made was that the shape of each shield should be different and display more of the proper armorial imagery, such as the mitres of the bishops, or appropriate crowns and coronets. Rather than restore what we had, a complete new collection would be a better idea. It was at this stage that Mr Dennis made the generous offer to carry out the research and design of the collection

and to undertake most of the complex painting required.

Grants were received for the project from the Heraldry Society of Scotland and the St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry.

After templates had been drawn up for twentyfive shields, it was my turn to play my part in the bargain.

We selected a moistureresistant MDF board, and I got going with the jigsaw and sandpaper as the shields quite literally started to take shape. Miraculously no blood was spilled. After applying a primer and giving the backs of the shields a first coat of colour they were returned to Mr Dennis for the real transformation in September.

Club members are called into action to do the painting suitable for us novices, and the Club has greatly enjoyed getting involved in the project.

I am thrilled with the results so far and very much look forward to seeing them add an extra dimension to this year’s Procession on Saturday,13 April.

Although the time required for the painting of each shield is around fifteen hours, the project is on target.

Whilst Mr Dennis must have moments when he wonders why he ever got involved, what does shine through

is his enthusiasm for heraldry, the opportunity this project has presented to educate the Club, and to highlight this historic art form to the public. If you are in the Procession crowd I can guarantee the new collection will not need pointing out to you; I believe this project is a significant contribution in ensuring the longevity of this historical parade. On behalf of the Club I am most grateful to Mr Dennis for the enormous amount of work and effort he is putting in to see this finished.

Photo: Mark Dennis & James (images courtesy James Smith)

Edmund Haxby, the Marshall of the 2013 Kate Kennedy Procession reflects upon the life of one of the pageant’s most fascinating characters,

James Crichton of Eliock and Clunie

challenging French scholars and professors to try to stump him with It gives me enormous pleasure any question on a range of subjects. After a short stint in the army he to announce the upcoming Kate continued his quest for a challenge. He moved to Italy, where he travelled Kennedy Procession, which will between Genoa, Venice, and Padua taking on their finest scholars in take place on Saturday,13 April intellectual debate. Having been labelled a charlatan in Padua for failing 2013. This year we celebrate to attend a public disputation, Crichton sought to reaffirm his reputation the 87th year of this historic by a public contest in philosophy, theology, mathematics, and Latin verse. pageant, as we know it, and the He was victorious over Padua’s professors and thus became famous Kate Kennedy Club is excited to throughout Europe. bring the history of St Andrews While he was living in Mantua Crichton entered the service of the to life once again. Preparations are under way by members of the Club, Duke of Mantua, and was made tutor to the Duke’s son, Vincenzo townsfolk, and students alike, and I am confident that this year will be no Gonzaga. However, shortly, as the Duke seemed more interested by this exception to the long line of the fantastic procession. young prodigy than his own son, and thanks probably Leaving from St Salvator’s Quadrangle the Procession turns left down North Street in the direction of the ruined This year we celebrate to Crichton’s involvement with Vincenzo’s old mistress, the tutee soon grew jealous of his tutor. On the night of 3 Cathedral. However, were it to turn the other way it would the 87th year of this July 1582, leaving the house of this lover, Crichton was very quickly pass the home of one of the pageant’s most historic pageant set upon by a masked gang of drunken brawlers. He was fascinating characters. While most students today find reaching for his sword when he recognised their leader it stressful enough to graduate in their early twenties, as his tutee, Vincenzo. Tradition has it that Crichton dropped to one knee James Crichton – or The Admirable Crichton, as he is often known – was and presented his sword to Vincenzo, who promptly thrust it through his a mere ten years old on the day of his matriculation at St Andrews in tutor’s heart. Crichton was only 22 years old when he was killed.

1570. Educated by another character portrayed in the procession, George Although many of the stories surrounding The Admirable Crichton Buchanan, it was apparent from his earliest days that James was a are of questionable validity, his existence and talent are documented by prodigy not only in his academic studies, but also in fencing, riding, music, letters from his lifetime. Crichton stands for the abundance of young talent and oratory. When he graduated at the age of 14 he was not only fluent in within academia which St Andrews is home to, and hence holds a welltwelve languages, but speak them fluently in verse. deserved position within the Kate Kennedy Procession each year.

Upon receiving both his Batchelor’s and Master’s degrees, Crichton moved to Paris where he could continue his studies at the Collège de (Image courtesy Edmund Haxby) Navarre. Here he became well know for his audacious attitude, regularly

10

TOWN & GOWN Jamie Perriam

The Lord Mayor’s Show 2013 The University’s 600th anniversary celebrations assumed a novel carnival quality in November, as a party of roughly forty undergraduates travelled down to London to take part in the annual Lord Mayor’s Show.

The group included costumed figures from St Andrews’ past, usually seen only in the annual Kate Kennedy Procession, joining a colourful cast comprising some six thousand, from grandmothers on Segways by several of the University maces, enjoyed not to the Worshipful Company of Management only the attention of the hundreds of thousands Consultants, parading through the City of who turned out to fill the streets of the City, but London to the Royal Courts of Justice in at least a minute’s worth of airtime on BBC One. Westminster and back again, on a Saturday Personally, I think this last can be attributed to my afternoon blessedly devoid of rain. turn as founder Bishop Wardlaw: nary a toddler Ostensibly the purpose of the day was along the route was left unblessed by that holiest to commemorate the installation of Alderman of men!

Roger Gifford – himself the son of a St Andrews The Lord Mayor’s Show was a resounding Spanish professor – as the 685th Lord Mayor success from a St Andrews perspective, of London, in a display of pageantry dating presenting the University’s 600th anniversary back over eight centuries. The first inclusion of celebrations to an audience Scotland’s oldest and finest of millions. Much of this University in the parade was, The Lord Mayor’s Show success was due to however, a recognition of was a resounding success the hard work of the its own unique history and from a St Andrews Development Office, an opportunity for the red Kate Kennedy Club, gowns to celebrate their own perspective and, indeed, all who anniversary. took part in the parade and had to endure Led by the Chancellor’s Piper and including some fourteen hours each way on a rather a variety of student ambassadors, among them uncomfortable coach. Those who missed John your intrepid reporter wearing his hat as a Kate Cleese, Mary Queen of Scots, and St Andrew Kennedy Club member and trustee of the Kate himself striding down the road, never fear: they’ll Kennedy Trust – which loaned the costumes be back for our town’s own Procession this April. for the day – the walking party, accompanied

(Photos courtesy the KK Club)

George Phillips on

A Mathematician’s Apology

G H Hardy (1877–1947), who taught From all I have read about him, I know that Hardy was not only an and researched at both Oxford and unusually gifted mathematician, but also a widely-educated person. I Cambridge, was one of the world’s believe that he would have held his own in discussions with anyone leading mathematicians in the first half on any subject. When reading his Apology, one feels excited to know of the twentieth century. He wrote many what Hardy thinks of mathematics. It is often difficult to write about important papers on mathematics, mathematics without writing down equations, and these deter those who including those written jointly with J E do not like the subject. (Wasn’t Stephen Hawking warned that every Littlewood (1885–1977), with whom he mathematical equation included halves the sales of a book?) So Hardy had a lengthy collaboration, and those treads carefully. Yet he gives Euclid’s proof (from about 300 BC) that there written with the Indian genius Srinivasa is an infinite number of primes. It is amazing that such a major result can Ramanujan (1887–1920), who was be proved so simply. brought to Cambridge by Hardy in Since 1967, editions of A Mathematician’s Apology contain a 1914. He also wrote mathematics substantial Foreword of 50 pages, written by the novelist and scientist textbooks, the most famous being An Introduction to the Theory of C P Snow (1905–1990), followed by Hardy, occupying 93 pages. This Numbers, written jointly with Sir Edward Wright (1906– Foreword is mainly a biography of Hardy that includes 2005), Professor of Mathematics at the University of some very interesting remarks about his book. Snow Not only mathematicians, Aberdeen from 1935, Principal and Vice-Chancellor was introduced to Hardy because they were both but anyone interested there from 1962 to 1976. Hardy and Wright’s famous very interested in cricket. He first met Hardy in 1931 in any of the arts or book was first published in 1938 and has remained in and their friendship lasted until Hardy’s death. Both print ever since.

Snow and Hardy comment on Hardy’s two important sciences should read A When I was his student, Wright referred to Hardy collaborations, with J E Littlewood and with Srinivasa Mathematician’s Apology. many times. He proudly called himself a pupil of Hardy.

Ramanujan. Hardy tells how, when Ramanujan was Buy a copy now!

Likewise, I am proud to have been a pupil of Wright. ill, he went by taxi to visit him in hospital in Putney, Hardy’s last book, A Mathematician’s Apology, was London. Hardy remarked that 1729, the number of the first published in 1940. Hardy uses the word ‘apology’ to mean ‘defence’ taxi, seemed rather a dull number. Ramanujan is reported as replying, or ‘justification’, similar to the use of the Latin word apologia by John “No, Hardy! No, Hardy! It is a very interesting number. It is the smallest Henry Newman in his book Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Justification of One’s number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.” The Life). Not only mathematicians, but anyone interested in any of the arts or two ways of expressing 1729 as a sum of two cubes are: sciences should read A Mathematician’s Apology. Buy a copy now!

As a poor scholar I first read it in two visits to a bookshop in 1729 = 1728+1 = 123+13 and 1729 = 1000+729 = 103+93.

Aberdeen, and many years later I bought a copy. I must have lent it to someone, because I couldn’t find it recently. I immediately bought a Reference: G H Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology. First Edition 1940, replacement copy.

Reprinted with a Foreword by C P Snow 1967, Cambridge University Press.

11

TOWN & GOWN

Lessons in Logic via the Internet Money is not everything.

There’s Maste rcard & Visa.

If your father is a poor man, it is your fate but, r man, if your father-in-law is a poo it’s your stupidity.

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Practice makes perfect.....

But nobody’s perfect...... so why practice?

Alistair Macleod asks

Is the future worth a conversation? the issue being at times daunting, these practical individual solutions, The answer is obviously YES to that title question, so Transition University and the supportive environment together create an honest and positive of St Andrews is running a new series of popular and successful movement for the transition to a sustainable, low carbon future. ‘carbon conversations’ courses this spring. Voted as one of the top Upon completing the courses, participants can solutions to climate change, Carbon Conversations then train to become facilitators to deliver their own is an innovative, supportive, and pro-active way The courses are based effective and interesting groups in their own town of challenging climate change and examining the on the psychological or workplace. With at least 10% of participants benefits of low carbon living. understanding of the barriers training to become facilitators, the programme has The courses are based on the psychological promising continuation and success, encouraging understanding of the barriers to changing behaviour. to changing behaviour all to consider tackling climate change in this unique They’re delivered in small groups providing a nonand effective way. judgemental space where people can come together The courses are funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate to explore a common issue and look for ways to help individually. This Challenge Fund and are offered free to everyone living in St Andrews – helps bring the responsibility and enormity of the problem to a personal town and gown. This includes, course materials and refreshments at the and manageable level. It also uses a variety of activities, games, and sessions. With fifteen trained facilitators this year there are a variety of learning materials to ensure the correct information is given out so that days and times of sessions to suit all. Bookings are available from now, people are able to make clear, informed decisions. so please e-mail: transition@st-andrews.ac.uk or call 01334 464 000 to From its original success in Cambridge seven years ago, Carbon find out more, and book your place today.

Conversations has mushroomed in popularity and success, spreading across the UK to towns, community groups, universities, and businesses.

The fresh website also allows course facilitators to keep in touch, share stories, and access resources in this growing, sustainable community.

Carbon Conversations have been proven to help people halve their individual carbon footprint. Based over six two-hour sessions, they provide a supportive place to examine the difficulties and benefits of low carbon living by making connections with an individual’s values, identity, and lifestyle. Rather than focusing on controversial issues and blame, the focus is shifted to positivity and encouragement, allowing participants to feel safe, supported, and motivated to change. Participants are also encouraged to share feelings about the tasks, from hopes to anxieties, how changes affect people, their families, and their ambitions. Exploring all these matters provides a clearer picture on what is to be faced. Despite

12

FEATURES Kyffyn Roberts, chairman of the Community Council, invites you to the

Friends of Craigtoun’s Open Day The Summer of 2013 promises to be an exciting time at Craigtoun Park on the outskirts of St Andrews. The Friends of Craigtoun group is working in partnership with Fife Council and local businesses to restore some old favourites to the park and to introduce some new attractions.

There will be an Open Day at the Park on Friday, 29 March that will signal the start of the 2013 season. The newly-refurbished Craigtoun train will be running, boats and pedalos will return to the boating lake, the putting green will be open in addition to the crazy golf that will test the skills of the would-be golfers.

The café will be open: there will be additional stalls and entertainment in place for the day, adding to the atmosphere of the event that will hopefully be the start of better days to come for the Park. Craigtoun Park was a favourite destination for school trips and family days out in days gone by.

The Friends group is convinced that with the help of the local authority and local businesses together with the enthusiasm and support of volunteers Craigtoun Park can once again offer an experience to remember for the whole family.

Volunteer help is an essential part of The Friends’ business plan for the Park.

Starting from the 29 March the Park amenities will be open for business during the summer of 2013 at weekends, and throughout the school holidays.

From this . . .

The Friends group is actively seeking volunteers to help run the amenities.

Volunteers are needed to help with operating the train, supervising the boating, and to ensure the smooth running of other attractions. Help is also needed in the gift shop and the office.

If you can spare the time and you would like to be involved in this exciting project to rejuvenate a family favourite, please contact Kyffin Roberts, Chairman of The Friends of Craigtoun at kyffinroberts@hotmail.com or phone 01334 474 957.

Below shows what can be done with the help of local business. The Friends of Craigtoun very much appreciate the renovation work carried out on the Craigtoun train by Cairnsmill Caravan Park staff.

To this (restoration completed)

Lillias Forbes

Lucia, Braiding Blessed above angels – Nature’s latter child Plumped up in pillow-land yawns out of sleep, Lucia smiles as she confronts her task As Katya yields her darling, daunting locks Into the realms of unknown spells and toils, Under those fleeting fingers – Lucia braiding sister Katya’s coils.

Now nimble fingers tame each wayward tress And as they twine, her smiles, flirting with sunbeams, Gentle as wavelets on quiet waters Lap over Katya’s brave, assertive hands Already sullied by the dust of pavements, Lucia bends to her desired design – Intent on braiding sister Katya’s coils.

(Photo of Lucia, courtesy her mother)

13

FEATURES Deeply embedded in the Jewish psyche is the belief that all life is sacred: one life saved is one whole universe saved. Israeli medicine is a shining example of this fundamental precept, to the extent that even its enemies are freely treated by doctors without question. I publish the article below in the spirit of reconciliation, and the sincere hope that swords will one day soon be beaten into ploughshares everywhere bringing peace to the entire world (Editor).

Larry Rich, Director of Development & International Public Relations, affiliated to the

Emek Medical Centre in Israel He writes, “people have a choice: to focus on real-life positive examples of Jewish / Arab relationships and coexistence, OR they have the choice to focus on media-generated divisiveness, hate and violence.

People will perpetuate what they focus upon … either the positive or the negative (we create our own reality). That is the choice we all have and that is why I tell true stories, though I will not tell anybody what to think.”

In 1997, Larry was taken to Emek after suffering a heart attack. “When I woke up in the cardiac intensive care at Emek Medical Center, I saw Arab and Jewish physicians working together to save me. I had been in the country 25 years, but I still had stereotypes in my mind about Arabs. I never made the academic/professional connection,” he admits.

Within two years, having left his industrial job, he created an office to market the hospital to overseas donors. Over the past 13 years, he has written about and shared the many instances he and staffers witness at the facility – from a Jewish surgeon operating on a wounded Arab terrorist during the Intifada, to an Arab nurse assuring a wary mother that the Jewish hospital was indeed a safe place for her sick child.

He continues, “For years, I have considered Emek Medical Center with its human reality as a shining example of sanity

14

in a world going mad -- literally a beacon of light and hope for anybody who cares to focus on something sane.”

Emek Medical Center is situated in Afula, a Jezreel Valley municipality near Megiddo -- the fabled site of the future Armageddon, a geographically strategic area that has seen more battles during the last 4,000 years than any other place on earth.

The Center’s professional staff mirrors the national ratio; 20% overall is Arab, while 20% of the heads of medical departments are Arab Muslims, Christians, Druse, or Circassians.

Throughout the years, the medical staff has actively pursued international opportunities to share its expertise, as do many other Israeli hospitals.

In 2012 alone, the head of Emek’s intensive care unit travelled with two nurses, on behalf of the Foreign Ministry, to the Malaga Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, to open a new trauma room and train the local medical staff; the director of Emek’s Pediatric Gastro-enterology Clinic lectured at the European Society of Pediatric Gastro-enterology and Nutrition summer course in Madrid; and Prof Hava Tabenkin, Emek’s head of family medicine and chair of the National Council of Women’s Health, spearheaded a Family Medicine Fellowship programme with Providence, Rhode Island’s Miriam Hospital and Memorial Hospital.

Larry tells the story of Arrif and his 15 year-old son Mohammed, “They come from Gaza. They have been in Emek for 10 months as young Mohammed is being treated for severe facial cancer. Arrif speaks fluent Hebrew. I conducted a simultaneously translated Q&A session between him and British visitors on a tour of our School for Hospitalized Children …

Q. How do you feel here, among the Jews of Israel?

A. Perfectly normal and at ease. Grateful – so very grateful.

Q. What does your family back in Gaza say about Mohammed’s treatment here?

A. They are amazed and they send their sincere gratitude. They cannot believe what has and is being done for Mohammed and me.

Q. Do you know that missiles are again being fired from Gaza into Israeli cities?

A. Yes. I am ashamed. The politicians and extremists are not ‘the people.’ We only want to live a normal life alongside you.”

Last year, Larry was invited to address an audience at Trinity College, Ireland, arranged through the parents of Emek’s director of ophthalmology Dr Daniel Briscoe, an Irish Jew. The Israeli embassy in Dublin paid for his accommodation, the Dublin Jewish community covering his transportation costs.

“I created a lecture about Israel at eye level through the prism of a medical institution. I decided to present positive realities of human cooperation that take place daily and hourly here, not only in the hospital, but in the immediate region,” Larry explains. “I stayed away from terror, war, and everything negative in our part of the world. It was time for a positive message.”

The timing of the Irish lecture proved awkward, coming on the heels of Irish activists detained in Israel for their participation in a flotilla sailing to Gaza. Given the tensions surrounding this incident, college officials decided not to publicize the lecture. Still, more than 50 Christians and Jews, along with Israeli Ambassador Boaz Modai, turned out to hear Larry, who was later interviewed on Irish national radio station RTE.

FEATURES

Based on the positive reactions in Dublin, Larry was recruited by Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy, Noam Katz, to give several lectures in the United States in April 2012. “His office put together an itinerary for me to speak for four days in Washington, which I gladly accepted.

They intentionally arranged some challenging audiences because they were curious to see the impact of my talk.”

Larry was also invited by the Jewish Federation of Detroit to speak before a delegation of Arab leaders representing nearly

a million Arabs in this region, the highest concentration of Muslims in the United States.

“These people came up to me afterwards and said they had never heard such a message coming out of Israel. They wanted to hear more about this co-operation at ground level. They want me to speak in their communities.”

The ethnically mixed prep school, Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, hosted Larry, also the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, several groups in Connecticut, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

In Washington, he spoke to Georgetown University medical students and faculty, and a large organization of hospital owners. He found “intense curiosity” on the part of individuals and Jewish communities to hear his perspective.

“I started each of my lectures by saying, ‘Let’s get something clear from the start: I am not a politician or a general in the army. I am just a guy from the street come to open a small window for you to peek in and visit Israel from eye level,’ and then I started telling real-life stories of co-operation, education, and lifesaving on a professional, patient, and family level. Every person has the choice to focus on positive examples, or to focus on hate and

divisiveness, which is what you will perpetuate,” Larry stresses.

After his final lecture “someone asked if the stories I had told were the exception.

I said, ‘These stories are the norm. They go on in Israel all across the spectrum, every hour of every day, north to south.

What you hear and see via the media is the exception!’ I explained humbly that all of these stories are not the answer to the problem in the Middle East, but an example of human behavior at its best, of people making conscious decisions to live and work together. This is something people are hungry to hear, not about blame or excuses.

Bombs are louder than the handshakes and the hugs I am talking about. But if we pay attention to those handshakes and hugs, we have an opportunity to change the entire perspective of this conflict.”

(Photos courtesy Larry Rich)

Elizabeth Buchan-Hepburn asks,

Fed Up With Publishers?

After a string of rejections, I self-published my first book, “The Best and, very soon, on how to interpret your Soldier”, and sold a print run of 500 in six months. Rather than go to a dreams (www.sleep-sounds.co.uk). At less second, I put “The Best Soldier” on “Kindle”, as an e-book, but had to hire than £1, it is just the thing for this era of an expert to do it. It is selling well. austerity.

Kindle is what you take with you on train, bus, or plane: one easyE-books are the new face of reading. to-carry screen the size of a slim paperback to pack instead of twelve, Magazines will always be with us. The twenty, or a hundred-and-twenty books. It is a must for every holiday. immediacy of each edition, the looking Besides, e-books are much cheaper! It was so successful that when I forward to the next one, our involvement finished my second novel, “The Miles to Dundee”, I decided that I would will always make us buy. Novels are there have to learn how to put it on Kindle myself and found – on Kindle – a to waft us away into enchantment. But short book with instructions on how to format my book, then up-load it to they are bulky, expensive and, once read, Kindle. often become no more than fodder for the Church sale. E-books are none O.K. I needed a geek to actually understand all the things I had to do. of these things. They are your personal way to escape the present, to Luckily I have one at home. I met him at St Andrews as a student and, pass time, to educate yourself, but most of all to lose yourself in a story, with remarkable foresight, married him. Having put up with anywhere, any time, travelling, in the waiting room, lying in my crazy ideas for over fifty years, he showed true stoicism the sun on holiday, in bed at home. With a Kindle in your E-books are when told what he had to do. Didn’t even moan, much. purse or pocket you are never alone.

I made the coffee, the lunch and the tea to keep him I believe that publishers, like the ostlers of yesteryear, the new face of glued to the screen. I sat beside him and watched so that the go about their business, but don’t encourage their children reading next book will not only be written by me, it will be launched to follow them into the trade. Like it or hate it, we are on to Kindle by me (I hope). creatures who use a screen more and more, and until the Any of you who have a Kindle, be tempted by “The Miles to Dundee”. next clever gadget takes over the same job, we have Kindle or Kobo or It is written under my maiden name of Elizabeth Buchan-Hepburn to keep Ipad or whatever screen we use as part of our lives. it separate from my factual books on getting to sleep, stopping snoring

15

FEATURES “The StAnza Poetry Festival returns to St Andrews annually, in the month of March, and usually with lots of interesting guests. Annual visitors to any festival of this sort perhaps get a bit blasé with its little ways – probably something to guard against.

In some ways, StAnza tends to be too well organised and to try too hard, which may result in a slight tendency to pretentiousness. The author of the following poem from last year’s festival pokes a bit of fun at this aspect of what remains a very worthy event in the poetry calendar.”

Ossian McAra

A ditty fer StAnza 2012 March 2012 Time fer anither StAnza bonanza: Wir annual Scotch extravaganza Of poetry fit fer kings or queens Lik Jamie the Saxt or Catherine Braganza In taffeta, tulle an sheer-silk organza.

Speakin o whilk, this isnae the year When wir verra ain Poet Laureate’s here Wowing the punters in her smert Sabbath gear An hauf o us falling fer her, the wee dear.

This year she’s in Glasgow tae sing fer her tea, Scrievin something serious fer the Royal Jubilee – An no in some scratchy minor key.

There’s nowt fer the royals but sweet harmony.

In attendance this year is John McAteer Proletarian darling o wir ain poetosphere.

Sae young, guid-looking, who’s-it’s squeeze – A wondrous vision in his kilt an hairy knees.

Thon lucky lad noo has it made; His wee buke fae Faber’s the talk o the trade.

Did ye hear he’s soon aff on a US tour – An the laddie nocht but twinty-four.

I’ve read his verse in yon wee buke.

I kent fine weel it wad gar me puke.

A bit lik McGonagall, nabbit worse, But there ye gang – it shines oot his erse.

The literary knees-up’s aw verra well If the big-name circus rings yer bell.

But gie me ma gairden ahint the wa’ An I’ll sing wi the speugs, awa fae it a’.

16

Tom Rice

Celebrating St Andrews through film As part of its Cinema St Andrews project, the Department of Film Studies has organised a series of screenings that celebrate the town’s participation in all aspects of film, recalling the writers, stars and, in particular, audiences that have frequented the town. The screenings, playing throughout town from February to April 2013, revisit five significant moments in the town’s history.

The first event recalled the early days of ‘silent’ cinema, incorporating a screening of Buster Keaton’s classic 1924 comedy Sherlock Jr with live piano accompaniment from Jane Gardner. It also included footage of St Andrews from the period, the screening seeking to bring the exciting ‘live’ experience of watching early film back to modern audiences.

For the second screening we wanted to celebrate the many filmmakers who have, at various stages, lived in St Andrews. The chosen film, The Blue Lamp, was co-written by a lifelong resident and University graduate of St Andrews, Jan Read. While this Ealing film is not widely known now, it was the most attended film in the UK in 1950 and spawned the popular police drama, Dixon of Dock Green. In remembering Jan Read, who passed away recently, the event also introduces rare footage of St Leonards from 1937, which Read filmed during his University holidays.

While researching the project, we came across a series of programmes for the St Andrews Film Society, which are housed in Special Collections (and have recently been digitised at http://cinemastandrews.org.uk). Our chosen screening, The Misfits, features the last screen appearances of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe and played at the New Picture House on 12 December 1965 for the Society’s 202nd meeting. By this stage the Film Society, which began in partnership with Dundee in 1935, had 1025 members. The screening is introduced by Dr Elisabetta Girelli, a leading expert on Montgomery Clift, one of the film’s stars.

Our fourth screening, the 1947 historical melodrama The Brothers, recalls the many stars that have visited St Andrews over the last century. An early example of a ‘star’ visit saw Will Fyffe and Patricia Roc spend time at the Rusacks Hotel after filming The Brothers in the Hebrides. Fyffe had recently bought a share in the hotel and a few months later would meet his death after falling from one of its windows. He was, The Citizen reported, ‘overcome by an attack of the giddiness to which he had lately been subject.’

The season concludes with a special event that marks the centenary of St Andrews’ first purpose-built cinema, The Cinema House. In 1963, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, The Cinema House brought together historical footage of St Andrews with Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, a tale of terror and peril in a remote coastal town. A further fifty years on (and with The Cinema House now a block of flats), we will mark the town’s changing cinematic landscape by recreating this commemorative show.

For full details of the exact venues for the screenings or to learn more about the cinematic history of the town, visit http://cinemastandrews.org.uk or contact the Department of Film Studies.

FEATURES Elizabeth Bushnell wrote to the magazine to shed a little more light on the ‘house in North Street’ (issue 56, ‘Ask the Curator’), “I remember the house being built in the 1930s, because it was the subject of much speculation at the time. It stood out like a sore thumb among the neighbouring homes.

There seemed no attempt to blend it in with its surroundings. At a time when the events on the Continent were giving rise to much anxiety, there were rumours that the upper floor was specially built as a possible venue for signalling across the water: in other words a spy’s eyrie!

Cedric Thorpe Davie came to the University as successor to Frederic Sawyer, the University Organist and Master of Music, who lived at 17 Queen’s Terrace, our next door neighbours. I had not known that Douglas McArthur lived in North Street. I only remember his family living in Dempster Terrace (I went to tea with them).”

Welcome to Samantha Bannerman, the Preservation Trust’s new Museum Curator: “Growing up in Dundee, I’ve always felt a close connection to my ancestral history. The Bannerman’s lived in the same area of the City for over 100 years, so when I was walking down any given street I would be told stories of ancestors who worked and lived here and there. I would try to imagine what their lives had been like, and it was from there that my interest in history developed.”

With an MA Hons Degree in History followed by broad work experience in the field Samantha is a worthy successor at the Museum. Please feel free to

Ask the Curator Q. As a visitor to St Andrews I am mystified by the tolling of a Church Bell in the evening. The tolling seems to go on and on. Why does this happen and what does it signify?

A. This marks the eight o’clock curfew, when a bell in Holy Trinity Church (the Town Kirk) is rung 13 times. This happens every day of the year. The custom started in the mediaeval period and has continued in some towns ever since as a tradition.

The curfew was rung at sunset in the summer and at eight o’clock in the winter to warn householders to extinguish their lights and fires. It was introduced in England from the Continent by William the Conqueror (1027–1087). It was not a tyrannical decree, but a caution against leaving fires burning at a time when houses were built of wood with thatched roofs.

It is unknown when this custom started in St Andrews. One possibility is that it was introduced when Holy Trinity moved from the Cathedral grounds to the new site in South Street in 1411; however, there is no written historical record that we know of.

Michael Buchanan, who has just discovered that he is related to Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney (b.1543) one of 9 natural sons of King James V, muses on

Monuments

Scotland boasts many monuments, including The George Buchanan birthplace obelisk neolithic standing stones and monoliths (eg in was built in 1788, funded by subscriptions from Orkney, the Outer Hebrides) as well as a goodly an enthusiastic public (see: this magazine, number of home-grown obelisks built in the 18th issue 30, Sept/Oct 2008). It is 31metres and 19th centuries, which includes the Martyrs’ high and still the tallest in the UK. In 2008, Monument in St Andrews (1842). it was expensively restored (£10m) with There are many other monuments or iconic public and private funds. Buchanan is serially functional structures, such as war memorials, memorialized in central Scotland and has crosses, sundials, memorial clocks, statues, many associations with St Andrews, as he was fountains, ‘folly’ towers, bell towers, steeples, a student and later Principal at St Leonard’s cairns, windmills, signal towers, archways, College. In St Andrews he names a building, an whalebone arches, columns, lighthouses, academic chair, a street, and the tenor bell in St railway bridges, and the like. However, Salvator’s Chapel belfry. some of the best known are one-offs that The Martyrs’ Monument, dating from 1842, defy categorization; eg the National Wallace is built of sandstone, arguably a less than ideal Monument in Stirling, or the Scott Monument material for a site exposed to salt spray, blown in Edinburgh. Some were commissioned sand and driving rain. Money was recently by conscience-stricken landlords to relieve raised for its conservation and restoration work, unemployment in different economic times. which should by now be completed. Being Obelisks are located perhaps some 12 metres high, widely, viz. Killearn, Glasgow, this is a pygmy compared to Excepting graveBalmacara, Comrie, Corpach, the Killearn obelisk. In Oxford rnarkers, St Andrews Helensburgh, Wigtown, and the martyrs’ monument to St Andrews. They memorialize Bishops Cranmer, Latimer, sports only a small George Buchanan (1506-1582); and Hidley, dating from 1841 number of sculptures Horatio Nelson; Old Soldiers is roughly 23 metres high, in open spaces from the ’45 and Waterloo; modelled on an extant cross.

Henry Hall of the Comet, a Excepting grave-rnarkers, wartime engineer; covenanters; martyrs. This St Andrews sports only a small number of network could be usefully promoted as a tourist sculptures in open spaces, viz St Andrew in the trail.

Botanic Garden, Polish General Sikorsky’s bust In England, a 95-foot obelisk was recently in Kinburn, Hew Lorimer’s Celtic Beasties on built by an Anglo-Syrian businessman to the Buchanan Building, and his Madonna and celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. The world’s Child in All Saints courtyard. tallest obelisk is in Washington DC, USA. The Soon they will be joined by a larger-than-life Washington Monument is some169 metres tall. statue of Bishop Henry Wardlaw, Founder of It was cracked by an earthquake a year or two the University and builder of Holy Trinity Parish ago.

Church. He will be the 6th, resonant with the

Martyrs Monument (before restoration) (Photo by Flora Selwyn) 600th anniversary of the University. The 7th, of Hamish McHamish, the town cat with many lives, may follow soon after!

Who guards the obelisks and other monuments today? Policy concerns may relate to stewardship, maintenance, public liability insurance, and promotion, lest we forget the past when preoccupied with the now.

PS – Archbishop Sharp has a seriously massive tomb within Holy Trinity Church.

His entry to St Andrews involved an escort of 600 horse. His exit by murder is marked by a ‘pyramid’ at Magus Muir and an Opie painting in MUSA, on the Scores.

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ORGANISATIONS From Keith Goldsmith, President of

The Kinburn Bowling Green Kinburn Bowling and Putting Greens are nestled within the beautiful parkland at Double Dykes Road, an area which includes the St Andrews Museum and Café and the Tennis Club. The Club celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2002.

The bowling season starts in April and runs The Club also provides a ‘home from until late September. We provide a healthy mix home’ for keen bowlers on holiday, mainly of gentle exercise and friendly rivalry through during the Glasgow Fair fortnight when there the Club competitions and annual fixtures are regular daily sweeps and keenly contested against other clubs in the competitions. area. There are competition The Club would like to The bowling season sections for men, ladies, grow in membership. It offers a starts in April and runs seniors, and juniors with lots warm welcome to everyone to until late September of mixed “friendlies”. There are come along: if you are new to various formats for matches, the sport, bowls and shoes are which can comprise four players a side under available to all players age 9 upwards. Visitors command of a skip; also there are triples, pairs, and new members are encouraged to join in the or single hand play. Many clubs, including ours, weekly fun competition on Monday evenings run sponsored open competitions during the when you can try out the game, getting to know season and over the years many of Kinburn’s many friendly people. members have been winners in Scottish and The Clubhouse has an excellent facility Area Competitions. for a cup of tea and a biscuit and it does not

have any alcohol licence or use. The motto is “friendship” – working and playing together – the Club is built on the basis of fun and friendship among families, people of all ages and backgrounds.

Do come along, give it a try when we open for the new season in early April.

If you would like further information please contact the President, Keith Goldsmith: 01334 477 865.

(Photo by Peter Adamson)

The Guid Cheese Shop Burghers Close, 141 South Street, St Andrews Tel. 01334 477 355 www.guidcheeseshop.co.uk

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EVENTS

Live from the Met Our New Picture House is offering St Andreans a great chance to enjoy operas Live From the Met. Until now it has been necessary for opera lovers to travel, either to Perth or to Dundee for these marvelous performances. Please support David Morris and his team, because they have worked hard for this privilege. We need to prove that St Andrews is worthy, because to begin with the screenings will be in the second, smaller house at the cinema. A good-sized audience is required to move them to the main screen. This has been imposed on the cinema as a precondition. So roll up, roll up St Andreans, for these screenings are definitely not to be missed!

The programme March/April: 2 March PARSIFAL (Wagner) – New Production Gatti; Dalayman, Kaufmann, Mattei, Nikitin, Pape, Brattaberg.

François Girard (Production); Michael Levine (Set Designer); Thibault Vancraenenbroeck (Costume Designer); David Finn (Lighting Designer); Carolyn Choa (Choreographer); Peter Flaherty (Video Designer); Serge Lamothe (Dramaturg).

Start time: 5:00 PM (Approx. Runtime: 5:40).

16 March FRANCESCA DA RIMINI (Zandonai) Armiliato; Westbroek, Giordani, Brubaker, Delavan.

Start time: 4:00 PM (Approx. Runtime: 3:57).

27 April GIULIO CESARE (Handel) – New Production Bicket; Dessay, Coote, Bardon, Daniels, Dumaux, Ben Abdeslam, Moore.

David McVicar (Production); Robert Jones (Set Designer); Brigitte Reiffenstuel (Costume Designer); Paule Constable (Lighting Designer); Andrew George (Movement Director); Nick Sandys (Fight Director).

Start time: 5:00 PM (Approx. Runtime: 4:31).

Tickets: £20 (students / children £10) From the New Picture House box office, North Street or: online: www.nphcinema.co.uk

From Louise Roger

“The Crucifixion”

– A Meditation on the Sacred Passion Dunino Church will be the venue for a performance of an inspiring work by John Stainer on Sunday, 24 March 2013 at 4.30pm. Written in 1887, this well-loved work will feature tenor and bass soloists who are studying at the University of St Andrews, a 30 strong choir drawn from local singing groups, and Andrew McIntosh at the organ. ‘The Crucifixion’ is a Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer, and tells the story of the passion leading up to the crucifixion. It involves audience participation, with the singing of four hymns.

The man behind this Walter Blair performance is Walter Blair, (Photo courtesy Louise Roger) who lives in Dunino. His development courses for teachers in this inspiration is bringing together Stainer’s country and abroad. oratorio with local performers and all within Walter sees Dunino Church, with this lovely building. Walter has combined a its intimate and rural setting as the career as a performer with music education. ideal location for this He became a church organist performance. Hidden at the age of 13 in the Vale of behind the trees beside the Leven, moving to a Dumbarton The man behind Dunino Burn, the Church church at the age of 19. He been described as has been responsible for the this performance is has “small but sublime Gothic” music at St Andrew’s Kirk, Walter Blair, who

by Glen Pride. The site of a Helensburgh since 1964. much older church, it was Among the educational lives in Dunino substantially remodelled in appointments he has held are 1928, to include a natural Director of the specialist Music stone-work interior and School at Douglas Academy, timber roof, with fine stained–glass windows.

Milngavie; Director of the Junior Academy Improvements to the building did not cease RSAMD; and Associate Director of Music in 1928, however, as the Church recently RSAMD. His association with the RSAMD acquired the Allen Digital Computer Organ continues as a part-time accompanist. An from Martyrs when the latter closed in 2010. experienced adjudicator and examiner, It is hoped that a large number of people Walter has adjudicated for BBC Choir of the will experience this special performance, Year Competition and Audi Junior Musician apposite for Palm Sunday. Entry is by Competition. He was an examiner, trainer donation (minimum £6) paid at the door, and moderator for the Associated Board where a programme will also be available. for many years, and leads professional

CHITCHAT LANGUAGES CAFÉ Conversation meetings with a native speaker in St Andrews Practise in a relaxed atmosphere

Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish Dates, times and fees on

chitchatcafe.co.uk 013822 227171 info@chitchatcafe.co.uk

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EVENTS Laura Clydesdale is a Post Graduate student on the Museum & Galleries Studies course at St Andrews University

The Botany Exhibition

What does the word ‘botany’ mean to you? series of fun, educational workshops for children. One of the activities on Perhaps you get a mental picture of the lush offer for adults is a workshop led by Dundee-based artist Louise Kirby, greenery of a garden, just like the Botanic creating your own botanical-themed crafts.

Garden which we are lucky to have right here in A publication will provide more information on botanists highlighted in St Andrews. Or maybe it conjures up the world the exhibition and their adventures while ‘going botanising’, suggesting of scientific discovery – microscopes, Bunsen leads for further study. We hope that everyone will be able to take away burners, bubbling test tubes? Alternatively, does something from Botany: Cultivating Collections and enjoy themselves in it make you think of Victorian botanical images, so very delicate and the process. detailed in their realisation?

So how are the seven of us actually going about putting our exhibition Seven of us hope to show that botany is all of these things and more together? We are responsible for planning and organising every by curating a temporary exhibition entitled Botany: Cultivating Collections, aspect. This includes selecting the objects for display and arranging in collaboration with Fife Cultural Trust. their cleaning, by professionals where necessary. We have made use Botany: Cultivating Collections will look at how different people, of different sources of information, such as the Internet, local libraries, both today and in the past, have understood and practised botany. We archival resources, herbaria, and people. will explore fresh perspectives, making some unexpected connections.

Ann Gunn, Course Director of the Museum and Gallery Studies The exhibition is structured around four key themes – ‘Community, ‘Art’, programme, and Lesley Lettice, Exhibitions & Outreach Curator with ‘Science’, and ‘Collecting’. ‘Community’ will look at how botany brings Fife Cultural Trust, are helping us in our work. We are also working with people together promoting friendship as well as advancing knowledge. staff at St Andrews Botanic Garden, particularly Anne Lightwood, Heleen We will also consider the role of botanic gardens as invaluable Plaisier and Bob Mitchell. We have been raising funds for the exhibition ‘community hubs’, providing learning, enjoyment, and inspiration. In ‘Art’, through initiatives such as a successful ‘Botany Bake and Craft Sale’, we will explore ways in which the plant kingdom has inspired artists and which took place in November 2012. how botanical specimens have been portrayed in art.

Botany: Cultivating Collections will, we hope, We will also think about these specimens as works of have a long-term impact on us. It is our opportunity to The exhibition is structured art in themselves. The focus of ‘Science’ will include curate a museum exhibition, gaining hands-on skills around four key themes – instruments that have been used to study plant life in in areas of museum practice, including collections ‘Community, ‘Art’, ‘Science’, the past, as well as ways in which botany was taught research and interpretation, collections management at the University until the 20th century. Alongside this, and museum education. We have been able to and ‘Collecting’. the role of botany in the development of medicine enhance our personal qualities, such as teamwork, will be examined. ‘Collecting’ will highlight how plant specimens are communication skills, and critical thinking, which will stay with us in collected and what kinds of plants are of interest to collectors. You will everyday life. also encounter exciting stories of recent botanical expeditions all over the Before starting work on the exhibition each of us understood botany world. mainly in terms of science. We have now learned that botany is not ‘just’ We will be displaying objects from collections including those of the about plants, but is creative, cultural, and meaningful for different people University and St Andrews Botanic Garden, many of which have not been in different ways. It has been a privilege to be able to meet interesting exhibited before, or have not been on display in a long time. The Special people, visit new places, engage with intriguing objects. I am sure that my Collections Department of the University Library, the University’s Bell colleagues would also agree that we have had a lot of fun along the way!

Pettigrew Museum of Natural History, and The Royal Scottish Academy, I would like to thank everyone who has helped us in making Botany: Edinburgh, and others have kindly loaned us objects. These include, for Cultivating Collections a reality. I am really looking forward to the opening example, biological specimens, Fijian ethnographic items, and objects of the exhibition and I hope that we will see you there in the Kinburn relating to the Order of the Free Gardeners in Cupar and Dunfermline.

Gallery at St Andrews Museum from Saturday, 16 March to Sunday, 12 You will see photographs of ‘doing botany’ in China and Afghanistan, as May 2013. Admission is free, families are welcome and the exhibition will well as beautifully illustrated and decorated books. Works depicting how be accessible to people with physical disabilities. artists today and in the past have used, and continue to use, botany to inform their art will also be on display.

We hope that visitors will be inspired to make their own connections, The opening hours of St Andrews Museum are: April to September, seeing how botany is relevant to their lives today, in Fife and beyond.

10.00am – 5.00pm daily. For information about the future of There will also be an accompanying educational programme, which will St Andrews Botanic Garden: www.st-andrews-botanic.org/ support learning about botany in a fun and relaxed way. There will be a

THINKING OF SELLING?

Professionals St Andrews If you would like a free market valuation to determine the value of your home, please call Gerry Donlon today on 01334 659111 or 07544 540385 WE MAY HAVE A BUYER FOR YOU !

20

EVENTS Alistair Macleod urges us to

Get involved in our local Green Week – 10 to 16 March St Andrews Green Week is an annual local festival aimed at inspiring action in our community on sustainability issues. Fun and engaging events will be taking place across the Town and Gown run by groups, schools, university departments, and businesses.

Townspeople, students, visitors are encouraged to get involved.

The main intention of the week is to inspire personal actions. Many of the events will be focused on supporting St Andrews’ residents and businesses in adopting smarter, more sustainable habits, from changing the way you travel to simply changing the settings on your photocopier to print on both sides.

A diary of events will shortly be available from the Transition website, along with our Green Week challenge. The challenge will feature some simple sustainable living actions that, if undertaken by all our participants, will lead to a healthier, happier, and lower carbon future.

Events planned so far include: a community tree planting; green activities at the Botanic Garden; a Zero Waste trail; a “Cycletricity” energy generation challenge; “Cycle to Work Friday”; all culminating in the St Andrews Sustainability Fair on Saturday,16 March at Parliament Hall, South Street.

It’s an across-town event, which can be used to showcase your organisation’s sustainability initiative. Whatever you are doing, make sure you register your event on the Transition University St Andrews website and help to create a town-wide movement for local change.

To find out more about getting involved in St Andrews Green Week: http://transitionuniversityofstandrews.com or telephone: 01334 464 000. You can also find us on twitter @ TransitionUStA or like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StAndrewsGreenWeek

From Emma Watson

The Big SleepOut Bethany Christian Trust is delighted to announce that Holy Trinity Church, South Street will be hosting the Big SleepOut to raise funds for homeless and vulnerable people in Fife, on Friday, 22 March.

The charity is highlighting what ordinary people can do to make a big difference at a time when many people are worried about their welfare. Speaking about the event, Andrew Stothard, Bethany’s community fundraiser in Fife, said, “The concept behind the sponsored SleepOut is simple. You have the chance to sleep under the stars for one night. Participants always enjoy the shelter-building competition and seeing the cardboard mini-cities people make. Even better, you can sleep soundly knowing you are raising funds that go directly to helping homeless people in Fife.”

Bethany supports people in their homes in the Levenmouth area, as well as running two drop-ins that meet the urgent needs of homeless and vulnerable people in West and Central Fife. The charity has volunteer-led projects right across the Kingdom working to mentor and befriend formerly homeless people, assisting them as they reintegrate back into their community. The event is open to all ages, although those under 16 should be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Information on how to register and raise sponsorship is available at www.bethanychristiantrust.com, or you can contact Andrew by email: andrewstothard@bethanychristiantrust.com – or by phone: 07436 151 206.

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EVENTS

Selected Events Friday, 1 March – 6.30pm. The guid cheese Shop, Burghers Close, 141 South Street. New kid on the block: Eden Brewery Beer & Cheese Tasting. £20.

Contact: info@guidcheeseshop.co.uk 01334 477 355.

Thursday, 14 March – 7.00-8.30pm.

Public Library, Church Square, St Andrews. Anywhere’s Better than Here. A talk by Zoe Venditozzi, the author of this debut novel. Contact: 01334 659 378.

Saturday, 2 March – 9.00am-1.00pm Argyle Street car park.

Farmers Market.

– 5.00pm. New Picture House, North Street, St Andrews. Parsifal – Live from the Met. New production. Contact: www.nphcinema.co.uk 01334 474 902.

Friday, 15 to Sunday, 24 March – Fife Science Festival 2013. See press for details.

Sunday, 3 March – 7.30pm St Leonards Music School, The Pends, St Andrews.

The London Bridge Ensemble: Piano Quartet with additional violin & baritone.

Music by Bridge; Vaughan Williams; Schubert; Dvořák. The St Andrews Music Club. Tickets at the door, £11; concessions £10; students £3; children £2. Contact: www.saint-andrews.co.uk/smc Tuesday, 5 March – 7.30pm. Madras College, Kilrymont Road. The Great North in colour. A talk by Keith Jones for the St Andrews Railway & Transport Society. Non-members £1.50.

Wednesday, 6 to Sunday, 10 March – various times and venues. StAnza International Poetry Festival. Contact: info@stanzapoetry.org Wednesday, 6 March – 7.30pm. Town Hall, St Andrews. Chocolate, food of the Gods a talk by Douglas Watson for the Coeliac NE Fife Group. Contact: cmunro1962@hotmail.co.uk Thursday, 7 March – 8.00pm. School I, The Quad, North Street. The Roman Gask project a talk by Dr David Woolliscroft, University of Liverpool for the Archaeology Society.

Contact: classics@st-andrews.ac.uk Tel: 01334 462 600.

Saturday, 9 March – 2.15pm. Holy Trinity Church Hall, Queen’s Terrace, St Andrews. Church Guild Spring Tea. Traditional afternoon tea with gift & baking stalls. All welcome. Contact: Joan Archer, 01334 475 716.

Wednesday, 13 March – 7.30pm. Town Hall, St Andrews. Sea to summit a talk by Derek McGinn for the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club. Contact: 01334 657 188.

– 7.30pm Younger Hall, North Street.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Das Lied von der Erde. Contact: info@sco.org.uk

Friday, 15 March – 6.30pm. Episcopal Church Hall, Queen’s Gardens, St Andrews. Happy marriages: how to pair cheese and whisky.

The Guid Cheese Shop event.

Contact: info@guidcheeseshop.co.uk Tel: 01334 477 355.

Saturday, 16 March – 4.00pm. New Picture House, North Street, St Andrews.

Francesca da Rimini – Live from the Met. Contact: www.nphcinema.co.uk 01334 474 902.

Saturday,16 March to Sunday, 12 May – 10.30am to 4.00pm. St Andrews Museum, Kinburn Park, Double Dykes Road. Botany – Cultivating Collections.

An exhibition exploring the evolution of Botany here and elsewhere. Free.

Contact: 01334 659 380.

Sunday, 17 March – 2.00-3.00pm. Bell Pettigrew Museum, Bute Medical Buildings. Animal Madness – handle real-life creepy crawlies & learn more about the animals. Contact: museumenquiries@st-andrews.ac.uk Booking required.

Wednesday, 20 March – 5.30pm. Younger Hall, North Street. Early evening concert.

Contact: music@st-andrews.ac.uk Tel: 01334 462 226.

Saturday, 23 March – Boys Brigade Hall, Kinnessburn Road, St Andrews. Easter Coffee Morning – 12 noon to 5.00pm. Bell Pettigrew Museum, Bute Medical Building.

Open Afternoon. Free. Contact: museumenquiries@st-andrews.ac.uk Friday, 29 March – 10.00am. Craigtoun Park. Grand opening of the Park

by Provost Jim Leishman at 1.00pm. Attractions, bands, lots to see and do. Free entry. Contact: friendsofcraigtoun@gmail.com Saturday, 30 March to Monday, 1 April – Art Club Rooms, 14c Argyle Street.

Art Club Exhibition. Contact: info@standrewsartclub.co.uk

*****

Print & Design

We welcome commercial enquiries

Print & Design advert?

St Katharine’s West, 16 The Scores, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AX. T: (01334) 463020, E: printanddesign@st-andrews.ac.uk www.st-andrews.ac.uk/printanddesign

The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No: SC013532

22

Friday, 5 April – 6.30pm, St Andrews Church Hall, Queen’s Gardens.

We are the champions: World Cheese Award winners.

The Guid Cheese Shop, tickets £20.

Contact: 01334 477 355 info@guidcheeseshop.co.uk Saturday, 6 to Sunday, 14 April – On the Rocks Student Arts Festival.

Various venues. Please see: www.ontherocksfestival.com Saturday, 6 April – 9.00am-1.00pm. Argyle Street car park. Farmers Market.

– 11.45am. West Sands, St Andrews.

Run 4 it Running Festival.

Also, Pedal Powered Events.

Tickets from £14 entry. Contact:

info@pedalpowered.org.uk Wednesday, 10 April – 7.30pm.

Supper room, Town Hall. Scottish Ornithologists Club AGM & members’ night. Contact: 01334 657 188.

Saturday, 13 April – 2.00pm. The Old Quad, North Street. The start of the Annual KK Procession, heralding the coming of spring, celebrating the men and women of our history.

Contact: The President, jagsmith@hotmail.co.uk Tuesday, 16 April – 7.30pm. Madras College, Kilrymont Road. The Cupar cement train crash of 1988. A talk by Iain Smith for the St Andrews Railway & Transport Society. Non-members £1.50.

Thursday, 18 April – 8.00pm. School 1, The Quad, North Street. Gaelic monasteries in southern Pictland; new archaeological horizons.

A talk by Independent Researcher Dr Oliver O’Grady, for the University Archaeology Society. Contact: classics@st-andrews.ac.uk Friday, 19 April – 6.30pm. The Guid Cheese Shop, Burgher’s Close, 141 South Street. Battle of the giants: France v Italy. Italian & French wine & cheese combinations. Contact: info@theguidcheeseshop.co.uk Wednesday, 24 April – 7.30pm The Younger Hall, North Street. Britten 100:11 programme. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Contact: info@sco.org.uk Saturday, 27 April – 5.00pm. New Picture House, North Street, St Andrews.

Giulio Cesare – Live from the Met. Contact: www.nphcinema.co.uk 01334 474 902.

Sunday, 28 April – Younger Hall, North Street. St Andrews Chorus with the Heisenberg Ensemble.

Music by Mozart, Britten. Contact: 01334 462 226.

OUT & ABOUT Elizabeth Richmond

The Four Seasons (Inspired by childhood memories)

When lambs skip happily from the fold And cuckoos chat in borrowed nest, And cowslips paint the meadows gold And bluebells herald their own Mayfest; When stark trees awake from winter sleep And cheerful birds so sweetly sing, Then Nature stirs and salmon leap, And daffodils loudly trumpet: “SPRING”.

When sea pinks nod upon the shore, And cows doze lazily in the field, And swallows dip and swoop and soar And crops display their seasonal yield; When harebell blue and campion red Each proudly shows her pretty head, Then SUMMER’s here “Rejoice” I said.

When hedgerows drip with hips and haws And tinted leaves fall from the tree, And squirrels gather nuts ... and pause And contemplate their store with glee; When starlings swarm up in the sky And flutter off to warmer clime, Then harvesting doth mark the date It’s AUTUMN time.

When North winds blow and Jack Frost chills And Robin dons his scarlet vest, And snow sits cold on windowsills And icicles strive to manifest Their defiant grip upon the bough; When Holly wears her ruby beads And silver coats the shivering pine, I vow ... it’s WINTER now.

(Photos by Flora Selwyn)

John Cameron muses on

Winter in the Scottish hills Towards the end of his career, the BBC sent the legendary mountaineer deposited, or redeposited, by wind. These breakaway blocks of ice and Joe Brown and a camera crew out to the Himalayas to do a final series snow, varying in thickness from a few inches to ten feet, can be a hundred of filmed climbs. At high altitude they came across a party of Japanese yards wide and account for most mountain fatalities. climbers, and Brown, by then over 50, was introduced to them as the I was a winter sport journalist for many years and went on numerous leading English rock-climber of his generation. Lacking anyone to do a press trips at home and abroad with the late Alistair Scott, the Fettesian straight translation, the conversation had to go via the Sherpas, but the ski editor of the Sunday Times. The strict way in which Scott, the natural Japanese made suitably reverential noises before continuing on their way. leader of any party of ski writers, managed the group reduced the risk It was not until the film was translated in London that the BBC realised of the whole bunch of us getting caught in an avalanche. He and a local their awe was not at Brown’s fame, but at his age, because few Japanese guide would select routes noting the dangers above and below and the climbers survived to be so old. consequences of an unexpected slide; woe betide any Mountain sport has many hazards associated scribe who disobeyed! If in any doubt about a particular ‘There are old with weather, rock conditions, climbing mistakes, slope, he would allow only one skier to cross to a safe climbers and bold and equipment failures; perhaps the most feared area beyond the danger before he would allow another are avalanches. The largest of these can form a climbers, but there are to skier to start. This was in stark contrast to the gay ‘pyroclastic flow’ of powder snow overlying a dense abandon with which groups of skiers – or more often no old, bold climbers’ reckless boarders – travel across areas in clear danger base with speeds around 200 mph and a total mass in the thousands of tons. These monsters do not occur of avalanches. here, so there is a tendency for those based in the Alps to denigrate the St Andrews students have always climbed in the wintry Highlands.

Scottish mountains. However, these “pathetic little hills” can kill. Apart They need to appreciate the reason for its reputation as a training ground from anything else, our mountain weather is not alpine, but sub-arctic, for higher ranges. and storms can suddenly appear or fogs so thick you cannot see the tips Unstable weather makes it a unique challenge. We all need to recall of your skis. Our ferocious gales not only lead to lethal wind-chill, they the Japanese mantra, ‘There are old climbers and bold climbers, but there also create the Scottish slab avalanche formed from snow that has been are no old, bold climbers’.

CHRIS TULLOCH

PAINTER & DECORATOR 01334 479756 07841435477 FREE ESTIMATES

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OUT & ABOUT Gordon Moir, Director of Greenkeeping & Ranald Strachan, Fife Ranger

West Sands The West Sands is an outstanding, naturally iconic landscape, and a diverse coastal ecosystem. It is a challenge for all to ensure that this international destination continues to be well managed in a sustainable way for the benefit of its intrinsic beauty and for all current and future users. The accumulating pressures from these many different users will only increase. As a result the damage, though unintentional, that has, and will, occur will only increase too, with dire consequences for future generations as the dunes are eroded by some of the very people who enjoy using them. This challenge is not easily met, involving some necessary sacrifice and compromise, especially for access and use of the dunes.

The entire area is also confronted with another immediate, growing threat – that of rising sea level and climate change. The West Sands are highly vulnerable to flooding as well as coastal erosion, as the events on 31 March 2010 proved when a storm surge destroyed substantial parts then, as it degrades, it acts as a natural fertiliser for the sea lyme and of the dunes, along with many sea walls and structures along the Fife marram grasses, which in turn bind and stabilise the dunes further. Marine coast. These storm surges are widely predicted to grow in frequency litter is now removed by hand. and intensity; as demonstrated in recent years, sand dunes are the best, The installation of chestnut pale fencing has significantly protected most suitable coastal protection for this area. Their ability to absorb the against erosion, for the blown sand settles behind the fence starting to wave energy of such surges is well documented and locally witnessed; build up a new dune or fill a hole as this trapped sand is colonised by however, in order to provide this protection the dunes these indigenous grasses, either as they spread need to be in as good natural health as can be. The the dunes are eroded by naturally or are transplanted on the West Sands dunes at West Sands are in the process of being by the FCCT and the volunteers from other areas. some of the very people restored towards this beneficial condition.

You may have noticed the bands of intrepid folk Over the past couple of years, much good work out in all weathers running around with bags of who enjoy using them has gone on to help repair some of the damage from grass ‘grazing’ the sand dunes. These volunteers wind, wave, and human activity, particularly by the staff of Fife Coast and have transplanted hundreds of thousands of plants by hand to secure the Countryside Trust with the many volunteers who have supported them. ‘trapped’ sand. All of the transplanted grasses have been harvested along The seaweed has not been collected off the beach, mechanical the healthier sections of the dunes. This ensures they are ‘acclimatized’, cleaning has ceased for the past two summers, which has been beneficial suitably local for the best results. These much-appreciated volunteers as it traps the blowing sand, keeping it in place forming ‘embryo’ dunes; come from all walks of life and organisations, all with a common desire to assist in the process of restoring the dunes, enhancing the nature of the beach. Amazingly, the majority of these volunteers are from outwith St Andrews with no affiliation with the town!

The base of the dunes, the level of the beach, is monitored regularly on behalf of St Andrews Links Trust as a condition of their licence to remove a quantity of sand from the West Sands. There has been a reasonable build-up of sand over the past couple of years since the restoration work began. Of course, the situation can alter quickly and dramatically with one high tide coupled with strong winds coming from a particular direction, as was the case over a weekend in the middle of last December.

Fortunately the recent work helped minimise the damage that might have occurred over that weekend. Fences were knocked over, a significant amount of sand being lost from the front of the dune, exactly what was expected to occur during the restoration process; but the fencing can be repaired, the grass replanted, to help the sand build up again over time. Ironically, in the week preceding December’s storm surge the Links Trust had spent time repairing damage from the 2010 storm, under the terms of their sand-abstraction licence to fill up a number of “blow outs”. Again, while a lot of that sand was lost overnight, the work did prevent the sea breaking through the dunes and reaching the road that runs the length of West Sands.

Over the next year, work will continue to protect the West Sands, including more fencing to protect the dunes from erosion. While people enjoy walking or running along the dunes, the damage this can cause through erosion surely cannot be worth the cost of them being lost completely. We are all lucky enough to live, work, and play within this naturally outstanding landscape; as such we have a duty to preserve and enhance our unique coast for all to enjoy long into the future, and for generations to come. We greatly appreciate the inconvenience of fencing on the dunes: there is every will to remove it as soon as is practical.

However, this may not be for some time. We would urge all to support and assist in nurturing our dunes back to good health.

Similar work is happening around the coast of the UK. Readers may have seen a piece on The One Show recently where old Christmas trees were being used to stabilise dunes near Formby in Lancashire.

For more information, or to join in this positive action please contact Ranald Strachan, Fife Coast and Countryside Ranger on Ranald.Strachan@fifecountryside.co.uk

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(Photos courtesy Gordon Moir)

OUT & ABOUT Alistair Lawson of ScotWays asks

Just what don’t you understand about “No”?

The above admonition is much loved – and much used – by a certain camp where there is already a crowd established; likewise, it may be person with whom I have travelled a fair step of life’s road. As soon as I wrong to camp where there is no prospect of finding suitable toilet sites. saw the accompanying photograph, these oft-heard words flashed into my An underlying consideration is the fact that different members of the mind, displacing all else that was loitering there. public have different concepts of what going camping entails – as well In terms of Scotland’s much-lauded Land Reform Act of 2003, what as offers. To some, it is shouldering a well-packed rucksack and getting are we to make of the clash of wills implicit in the photograph? The “into” the hills, i.e. behind the immediate roadside range; to others, it is national press has recently carried coverage of the simply loading up the car with all the appurtenances camping situation at Loch Lomond and the efforts of city living and relocating to the countryside all The one word which by the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park the anti-social practices normally “enjoyed” in appears regularly to bring some measure of control to the free-forsoulless urban ghettos (rucksacks unnecessary, hills all which had previously pertained there, along the finer feelings unnecessary). throughout the Code is unnecessary, eastern shore of the loch in particular. While the ready Returning to our photograph, are we “responsible” availability of casual camping in such beautiful spots looking at evidence of a bolshy camper? or at would appear on the face of it to be a great boon for evidence of a land-owner making unreasonable the people of west central Scotland (a.k.a. Greater Glasgow), the very demands? or at evidence of a camper who is making a reasonable freedom and lack of structure which people should be enjoying has led to challenge to an unreasonable demand? The spot in question is halfwholesale abuse. The Park Rangers have had to contend with “camping” way along the south shore of Loch Earn; readers may wish to visit being a thinly-veiled disguise for all-weekend drinking parties, drug-taking the spot and decide for themselves. For further information see: parties, round-the-clock noise, midnight revelry, cutting down of trees for www.outdooraccess-scotland.com campfires, threatening behaviour to other visitors, to residents and to Park staff, the leaving of mountains of litter, bottles, cans, needles, discarded food, and copious quantities of randomly-deposited human excrement.

4 million years of evolution and this is as far as we have got; what an indictment. Who would be a Park Ranger, enjoying life in the open air and meeting all those happy countryside users (known in the trade as “slum campers”)?

So, what does the new Act and its distillation, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) have to say about “wild camping” (i.e. camping outwith organised sites)? It is, of course, not possible to set down in print precisely every type of spot that is either appropriate or inappropriate, but the Code does make clear the broad principles to be applied. The one word which appears regularly throughout the Code is “responsible”; both the countryside visitor and the countryside manager are enjoined to “act responsibly” and to “take responsibility” for their own actions. Taking on board broad principles is, arguably, more difficult than simply being given clear “Do’s” and “Don’ts”, and the countryside user really has to switch on and think before deciding where to set up camp. Very often, it’s a question of context: while the Act gives a right to camp wherever one has a right of access, it may be irresponsible to camp close to a dwelling or working site; equally, it may be wrong to (Photo courtesy Alistair Lawson)

St Andrews & District Community Safety Panel For more information about your local panel please contact PC Paul Buttercase, Community Safety Officer Tel. 01334 418745 EMail paul.buttercase@fife.pnn.police.uk

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OUT & ABOUT Tony Hardie’s

Nature Notes – January 2013 I have been privileged to be the author of your nature notes for the past three years and it is going to be difficult not to revisit old favourites. If I do so, I hope I may be forgiven.

John Anderson has enhanced these notes with his wonderful photographs and I must not let his illustration of the fieldfare in the last issue pass without mention – a stunning photograph. Incidentally the Dauphinhill cotoneaster, awash with berries this year, was stripped bare by yesterday morning, 23 January. My plant directory states that, “the berries normally last throughout the winter”! It has provided two or three days’ feeding for up to eight blackbirds, the occasional fieldfare, and a redwing. This latter enjoyed too – as if there were to be no tomorrow – searching under the dead and fallen leaves that lay in sheltered parts. The redwing is identified by the red feathers under the wing and the noticeable white stripes above and below the eye – the smallest and most dapper of our thrushes, and like the fieldfare they breed in Scandinavia.

And now I am going to revisit an old favourite – the Eden estuary. It is an easy walk from the Eden Golf Clubhouse for an octogenarian! A few steps beyond the sixth tee one’s arrival may be announced by the call of a curlew, or the piping of a nervous

redshank, both busy as they explore the foreshore. But on the waves beyond – it is close to high water – bob a vast raft of wigeon, with pintail and Brent geese amongst them. Beyond, their bright plumage reflecting the low sunlight, are the shelduck.

On the water these wildfowl are hardly disturbed by the occasional visitor as they paddle past, rather like a fleet of small dinghies in a light wind. Why is it that nature has blessed them with such lovely colours?

The drake pintail stands out (it is sunset at 3.30pm); chocolate, white, and yellow with a fine scalloped bill and a long pointed tail, never other than dressed in tails! Many of these ducks and geese will migrate to the north or the arctic to breed and indeed I find the less adventurous of the wigeon on the lochs of Sutherland in summer.

The conversational call of the Brent geese is like the clanking of a rusty old oak door being opened after a long time. If Alfred Hitchcock had recorded this it would have served him well for his ghostly thrillers!

All those wildfowl give the appearance of contentment, their plumage is immaculate.

Some will notice that I have not mentioned the grey geese that roost here; at this time of the afternoon they are still away feeding on the grassland of the farms to the south. Nor have I, so far, noted the myriad of dunlin turning miraculously from black to silver before they land. Soon they will be feeding behind the receding tide line. The estuary is home to all.

(Photo by kind permission of John Anderson (www.pbase.com/crail_birder))

Invite you to visit a hidden treasure in the heart of St Andrews OPEN DAILY ALL YEAR ROUND WINTER LECTURE PROGRAMME Tuesday 5th March at 7.30pm Tuesday 2nd April at 7.30pm Chemistry Dept, North Haugh Entry Free – All Welcome SPRING SALE IN THE GLASSHOUSE Saturday 16th March 10am – 12noon Gatehouse & Plant Sales Open Easter

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Podiatry/Chiropody: 01334 479003 Biomechanics/Orthotics: 01334 470111 Website: www.FootClinicUK.com

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OUT & ABOUT Another contribution from Arlen Pardoe

Hidden Gems in St Andrews (in plain view) – Focussing on features that are in plain sight but often overlooked.

The University has several sundials including:

Telling the time In days gone by it was not as straightforward as it is today to know the time.

Dawn and dusk changed as the year progressed. The solution, for some, was the sundial. St Andrews has its share of sundials, many associated with educational establishments, though how important they were from day to day is debateable as they do not work well when there is no sun!

Sundials can be mounted vertically on the walls of buildings, or on columns with the sundial facing South. They can also be mounted horizontally in an open space.

(Photos courtesy Arlen Pardoe) There are two sundials in the grounds of St Leonards School:

On the wall of University Hall

Perhaps the oldest sundial is that on the South wall of St Salvator’s Chapel, a ‘mass’ dial to indicate the times of services.

One of the most recent is that on a house off Market Street dated 2002.

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St Salvator’s Hall of Residence

St Mary’s dated 1664

The Oliphant sundial 1904

The Grant Memorial sundial 1756

The Humphries memorial sundial in the garden of the Preservation Trust is a modern addition.

This sundial dated 1735 in South Street is reported to have been moved from a house outwith St Andrews

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