St Andrews in Focus Issue 74 Jan Feb 2016 by Mike Collins

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

January/February 2016 Issue 74, £2.00

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

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

From the Editor

The influence of Epicurus is so embedded in our Western way of life I wonder why he is not overtly included in our school curricula. Living from 341-270 BC Epicurus prefigured the scientific method in that he insisted on direct observation and logical deduction as the basis of belief (tell that to those who insist on promulgating computer simulations). The school he founded in his own garden admitted citizens, women, and slaves as equals. Here he founded his philosophy, known as Epicureanism – that life should be happy, free from both pain and fear. Today’s notions of wellbeing and sustainability resonate, it seems to me, with Epicurean echoes, though time and mistranslations have, perhaps, tarnished Epicureanism with ideas of over-indulgence in the pursuit of happiness, especially among followers of Dionysus. I long for the return of simple happiness as the basis of life. Whichever way the future pans out, stay safe, be well, and above all, strive to be happy! Flora Selwyn (Pencil portrait by talented young Moldavian student Valeria Ducal)

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The views expressed elsewhere in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor. © St Andrews in Focus (2003) JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 EDITOR Flora Selwyn Tel: 01334 472375 Email: editor@standrewsinfocus.com DESIGNER University of St Andrews Print & Design (printanddesign@st-andrews.ac.uk) PRINTER Winter & Simpson (stephen@wintersimpson.co.uk) DISTRIBUTER Drop 2 Door (billy@drop2door.co.uk) PUBLISHER (address for correspondence) Local Publishing (Fife) Ltd., 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. Subscriptions for 6 issues are: £14 in the UK (post & packing included). Please send cheques to: Local Publishing (Fife) Ltd., PO Box 29210, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9YZ. £25 overseas (post and packing included). Please use PayPal account: editor@StAndrewsinFocus.com NOTE: please pay with a Personal Bank Account, as credit cards incur a 3.9% charge. REGISTERED IN SCOTLAND: 255564 THE PAPER USED IS 100% RECYCLED POST-CONSUMER WASTE

Contents FEATURES • Community Council • The Army at Leuchars • The Curator replies • Jimmy Shand’s MS collection • An entrepreneurial spirit • A cat psychologist • A lost limerick • Reviews: – Kale – Sikkim – Sparks from the Smiddy – The Meaning of the Library – The British Carrier Strike • Jurek Pütter’s Igloo

3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 12-13

TOWN & GOWN • • • •

Campus news Sustainable transport Proofreading services Pull-out music programme

14 15 16 17-20

ORGANISATIONS • The Community Trust • End Polio Now! • The Haggis Bus • Stayinstandrews • Scouting Success

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SHOPS & SERVICES • • • • •

The Grange Inn Mr Droogle A year of transition Timber Roving Reporter

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EVENTS • • •

StAnza The Golden Legend Selected Events

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OUT & ABOUT • • • •

Nature Notes Leven’s info boards Harbour Scene Hidden Gems

NEXT ISSUE – Mar/Apr 2016 COPY DEADLINE: STRICTLY 28 JANUARY

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

Cover: ‘Sunrise, East Sands’ by David Scott.

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FEATURES From Howard Greenwell, Chair

The Community Council At the St Andrews Day celebrations in November, the Royal Burgh of St Andrews signed a Twinning Agreement with the town of Loches in the Loire Valley. For almost 20 years there has been a very active St AndrewsLoches Alliance that has engaged in many exchanges between the towns, involving school children, university students, choirs, orchestras, sporting occasions, and other events. It has been a long courtship between the two towns, previous attempts to enter into a Twinning Agreement having been unsuccessful. However, following a visit by a delegation from Loches in the Autumn of 2014, the Provost of Fife, Jim Leishman, urged the Royal Burgh to reconsider our position with regard to twinning. At the April meeting this year of the Community Council, the members voted to enter into a Twinning Agreement with Loches. The past 6 months of preparation for the events, one in St Andrews last November, and the equivalent event in Loches next March, seem to have gone very smoothly. It was, therefore, a great pleasure to welcome approximately 35 visitors from Loches to the

November meeting, to witness the historic occasion. Marc Angenault, the Mayor of Loches, and I signed the agreement for our respective towns. Additionally, AnneSylvie Vassenaix-Paxton, the President of the Nouvelle Alliance Loches-St Andrews and John Matthews, the Chairman of our St Andrews-Loches Alliance also signed the historic agreement, as it will be the responsibility of these two groups of people to make the twinning relationship work. Jim Leishman, Provost of Fife, who was also in attendance, acted as witness to the signing of the Agreement. The signing ceremony, held at the town’s annual Civic Reception, was attended by about 120 people. In his remarks to the attendees, the Provost commented on the many friendships that have already been established between the two towns, and looked forward to many new friendships that will be formed for our young people in the future. Marc Angenault pointed out that there have been many associations between Loches and St Andrews over hundreds of years, not least through Mary Queen of Scots. He also looked forward to many more exchanges. The twinning of towns and cities is a concept that was started after the war to

enable communities to get to know people of different cultures to build friendships. Knowing people in another country makes it a lot easier to talk through problems and issues, making it a lot less likely that people will go to war over those issues. For those who have already travelled to our twinning partner it has been a great educational experience that has helped many people from St Andrews build an understanding of the culture and history of Loches. Everyone who has visited has commented on how welcoming the people of Loches have been. Loches is a very historic town in the Loire Valley with a population of about 10,000 people. It has a long history within France, and many beautiful buildings. I, personally, look forward to many more cultural and social exchanges between our two towns. I would like to call on all the citizens of St Andrews to recognize the association, and to participate in future exchanges and events. I am sure the experiences will be very rewarding. I am sure, too, that John Matthews, and future chairs of the St Andrews-Loches twinning will work hard to continue to develop the links between our two towns. I wish them every success in the years to come.

FEATURES Captain TJ Graham, Regimental Signals Officer kindly contributed this collected overview of

Units Based in Leuchars The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Formed in 1971, From the Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) and the 3rd Carabiniers, they are Scotland’s senior regiment and only regular cavalry regiment. Both regiments served with distinction, their Battle Honours of Waterloo, Balaklava (Royal Scots Greys) and Nunshigum (3rd Carabiniers) are still celebrated by the regiment today. During the Cold War the regiment was stationed in Germany ready to react to the Russian threat, the regiment deployed from there to the first Gulf war and returned with a reputation for professional excellence and resilience. During the 1990s the regiment served in Bosnia and also Kosovo. The regiment has recently served abroad in Iraq (2003, 2005-6, 2008) and Afghanistan (2008, 2011 and 2013-14). After many years based in Germany as an armoured unit equipped with Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks, they re-roled as Light Cavalry, now equipped with Jackal vehicles having moved to Leuchars Station in summer 2015, their new role allows them to be deployed easily and rapidly anywhere in the world, specialising in mounted Reconnaissance and manoeuvre operations. The regiment regularly deploys across the world; this year it has sent small teams to the Gulf, Sub Saharan Africa, and the USA. The Regimental Pipes and Drums are a leading world Pipe Band. Recently they led the regiment and the rest of the station through St Andrews on Remembrance Sunday. They have also played all over the world, and had a number one in the UK Charts in 1972 with ‘Amazing Grace’. 71 Engineer Regiment The Corps of Engineers was established in 1716, becoming the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1787. Uniquely within the Army, it is the individual soldiers, or ‘Sappers’, who carry the ‘Royal’ prefix, rather than the Corps itself. The Regiment specialises in constructing, maintaining, and upgrading the infrastructure required to support the Army, Navy, and RAF

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

on operations. The Regimental Headquarters and 2 Troop are based in Leuchars, with other locations across Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the last year the Regiment has deployed Reservists to Cyprus, the Falklands Islands, USA, and Afghanistan on exercises and operations. 2 Close Support Battalion, the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (2 CS Bn REME) 2 CS Bn REME’s foundations can be traced back to 5 Light Repair Section, on Salisbury plain during 1940. The unit became 2 Bn REME on 1st October 1993, and is one of seven regular REME Battalions that are in place to serve the Equipment Support needs of the British Army. 2 Close Support Battalion REME now consists of two Close Support Companies, 7 and 11 and a supporting Echelon with a unit strength of 265. The Battalion moved to Leuchars in Scotland during summer 2015 with the Battalion complete in Leuchars Station in September 2015. Having spent over 30 years there, the unit has been one of the longest serving units being stationed in Germany; they really made an excellent impression. 2 CS Bn REME was visited by the State Secretary, Herr Claus Schapper, on 18th October 1994. At the visit, the State Secretary said, “This British Unit has particularly stood out in building up social relationships with the population in the Fallingbostel area. The soldiers of the Battalion have managed to achieve, over all language barriers and the occasional differences in the way and attitude to life, a warm relationship with the German population.” 2 CS Bn REME is made up of a collection of engineering-trained soldiers covering trades such as Vehicle Mechanics, Metal smiths, and Armourers. The Battalion has seen operational experience in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Soldiers from the Bn are currently serving all around the world, providing equipment support to both military training and operations. 2 CS Bn REME is still settling into Leuchars Station, with all members enjoying the local

71 Engineer Regiment Scottish area and looking forward to a busy 2016, when on top of several large operational deployments, international exercises, and inbarracks work we look to further become a part of the local community through local sports teams and community events. The Battalion is looking forward to seeing what the next few years will hold for 2 CS Bn REME both in Scotland and the Adaptive Force. Already it is clear that due to the local area and wider Scottish surroundings, 2 CS Bn REME will become an even more popular posting for REME soldiers and their families. The REME’s Motto is Arte Et Mate – By Skill and fighting 110 Provost Company, Leuchars Detachment, Royal Military Police The Military Police have their origins as far back as the 13th Century, but the Corps was formally established in 1946. Their role is to police the force, providing support to the force, both at home and on operations. This includes investigations, crime prevention, community engagement, detainee handling, investigating historic allegations of crime, close protection, and serious and complex crime. The Company is currently responsible for Scotland and Germany. Leuchars Detachment is already in

FEATURES place establishing working relationships with police Scotland. The rest of the Company will follow on over the next four years. The RMP motto is Exemplo Ducemus; By Example, We Lead.

110 Provost Company Leuchars Airfield Leuchars Airfield consists of Air Traffic Control and a variety of supporting flights. The primary role is to maintain 24/7 operational support to the QRA aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth. In addition, ATC (and it’s supporting flights) provide Air Traffic services

to any aircraft operating within 40 miles of Leuchars. Air Traffic Control supports the Tutors from ESUAS along with Dundee Airport. Leuchars has the capability to host a variety of different military aircraft exercises; the latest being a Tucano detachment from RAF Lintonon-Ouse. No.612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron, Royal Air Force Reserve No.612 Squadron was originally formed at Dyce on 1st June 1937 as an Army Cooperation unit of the Auxiliary Air Force, equipped with Avro Tutors. It received the honour of re-numbering as No.612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 1999. The Squadron continues to go from strength to strength under the Future Reserves 2020, striving to grow to an establishment of 131 personnel. The Squadron’s current role is an ASU 15 with intensive care 2 bed facility that also has a Primary Healthcare module. East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron (ESUAS) ESUAS was formed on 1st September 2003, recruiting squadron members

from universities between Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The aim of ESUAS is to provide our students with an exciting and rewarding insight into what a career with the Royal Air Force could entail. The students are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities that include Adventure Training, Sports, Personal Development and Leadership Training, Weapons Handling, Charity and Engagement activities, and social events. Dundee and Central Scotland Air Training Corps The Air Cadet Organisation is an MoDsponsored youth organisation for males and females aged between 12 and 19, with a primary interest in aviation. Leuchars Station houses the Air Cadet Regional Headquarters, a Regional Activities Centre, South East Scotland Wing Headquarters and No.2345 (Leuchars) Squadron. Activities on the Station include evening and weekend training courses, or flying with the Air Experience Flight on the East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron. (Photos courtesy SCOTSDG-RSO)

Samantha Bannerman, Curator of the Preservation Trust’s Museum

Ask The Curator – The Torch Club

Q. My late Mother was a member during the 1950s of a local group in St Andrews called The Torch Club. Do you have any information about this club and the activities they were involved in?

Loudon’s Close

A. The Torch Club was a club for girls. It was active in St Andrews from around 1940 – 1970. The Club met at a property in Louden’s Close during the close’s restoration by the St Andrews Preservation Trust in the 1940s. In 1949, the building fronting South Street was also renovated, with the ground floor forming an extension to the Torch Club premises. The Torch Club consisted of two age groups, Seniors and Juniors. By 1949 they had around 20-30 girls attending their Senior group, and 18-20 girls attending the Juniors. The 1950s were very successful for the Club, with Miss Dorothy Robertson at the helm. As well as being involved in charitable causes, some of the girls worked towards their Duke of Edinburgh award. They took lessons in dress-making and cookery, while somehow managing to find the time to put on plays in Holy Trinity Church. At its peak, the Club was operating three classes a week. As well as attending classes, the girls were given the opportunity to attend the Highland Show in Edinburgh, the Club Conference at Aberfoyle, Falkland Palace, and The Cottage in Glen Prosen. They also travelled extensively, holidaying in Cornwall, Norway, and Austria. Back in St Andrews, the girls made Christmas gifts for the residents at Gibson House (at that time situated at 36 North Street), donated presents to the children at the James MacKenzie Clinic. They also raised funds from a jumble sale and a dance to host a party for children at St Michaels Home. By the mid-1960s membership was decreasing. The girls started to meet just once a week. Eventually, the Club was forced to close in 1970. You can find out more about the Torch Club and its members by consulting their minute books. These are held by Special Collections at the University of St Andrews. (Images courtesy the Preservation Trust Museum)

FEATURES From Sheena Wellington, Honorary Librarian, Wighton Heritage Centre, Dundee

The Jimmy Shand Connection

“Going once! Going twice!!” The auctioneer’s voice echoed down the phone. “We can go higher,” I shouted frantically, “please, please, we can top this bid!!” “Mrs Wellington,” came the patient tones of Bonham’s telephone bidder, “this is your bid!” “Sold!” and Hornpipe Tutor. It appears this copy was And the Friends of Wighton had bought, published in Edinburgh, but Honeyman Music for Dundee’s Wighton Heritage Centre, 23 Publishing first published it in Dundee in 1898 volumes of Sir Jimmy Shand’s personal while Honeyman himself lived in Newport-oncollection of old music books! It was a very Tay, so there’s a strong local connection. special moment! Of course, the Collection is Among the earliest of the books is precious because these were Jimmy Shand’s John Watlen’s 1793 Collection of the most books, one or two gifted to him, but most Admired Scots Songs. This has a beautifully purchased by the maestro himself. We all penned “James Young, His book 1796” on recall Jimmy as the brilliant player, composer, the frontispiece. One of the great joys of and musical innovator, who for many defined the whole collection is in the inscriptions Scottish dance music for a large part of the which previous owners have entered, some 20th century. amusing, some instructive, some very His discerning and eclectic taste, though, moving, but all offering a glimpse into the led him to buy books of both classical and lives of past owners and a bygone age. traditional musical interest with great historical We also have Watlen’s value. Our Gaelic song tutor Celebrated Circus Tunes, is double-Mod-Gold-medallist intriguingly bound with Wilma Kennedy; she and several other volumes her mother, the legendary His discerning and what we have Kenna Campbell, went into eclectic taste, though, including reason to suspect may be raptures when they found we a 1st edition of Niel Gow’s had acquired the rare Gesto led him to buy books A Collection of Strathspey Collection of Highland Music. of both classical and Reels c.1785, Bland’s Another rarity is Ancient Collection of Sonatas, a Orkney Melodies, published traditional musical motley selection of sheet by David Balfour in 1885. interest with great music and N Stewart’s There are just a few modern Circus Tunes vols 1-6. reprints of this book in historical value Circus tunes were libraries – so there must be apparently very popular in originals somewhere – but Dr the late 18th century! Karen McAulay, Librarian at Three little manuscript books, with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who will careful notation entered by young Angus be cataloguing the Collection has not been music students, and another containing the able to trace a single original edition in British neatly handwritten repertoire of the Southesk university libraries or WorldCat! This makes it Orchestral Band, are unique, a particular very special indeed. treasure. One beauty, alas in serious need of Interestingly, there’s a rare copy of repair, is bound in calf leather and inscribed Honeyman’s Collection: The Strathspey, Reel,

with the name Jess Grant in gold leaf. We have enthusiasts in Brechin searching for information about the original owners of these lovely little books. Because the volumes are mostly very old and have been in the possession of several owners they are in need of conservation work, some more than others, before they can go on public display to be made available for the use of musicians, singers, and scholars. Thanks to our recent online crowd-funder we will be able to have work begin very soon on some of the books most in need of conservation. As well as making applications to public funds, trusts and private benefactors, we are in the process of producing a limited edition CD with speciallyrecorded material. The Friends of Wighton firmly believe that music books are a resource to be used, not just looked at, so the conservation of each volume will be celebrated with a series of concerts, ceilidhs and workshops. These will not only be in the small, but beautifully-made Wighton Heritage Centre, but on the Frigate Unicorn and St Paul’s Cathedral. Because some of the books have strong associations with the wider area, we also hope to stage some concerts in Angus, Fife, and Perthshire. Some months after that momentous auction, where I was trying to bid against myself, we discovered that our last opponent had been a private collector. It is an added pleasure that we have not only kept the Sir Jimmy Shand Collection in Scotland, but that we have preserved it for the use and enjoyment of music lovers everywhere. If you would like to keep up-to date with our progress, you can find us on: www.friendsofwighton.com (Photos courtesy Sheena Wellington)

FEATURES Sarah McLaughlin chatted to Flora Selwyn.

An Entrepreneurial Spirit Starting a brand new business in St Andrews would daunt many, but not Sarah McLaughlin, with her go-do-it spirit! Born in Fauldhouse, West Lothian, a to look forward to. She volunteered for three months in a Ugandan small mining village roughly halfway orphanage “just to see what it was like.” The children appeared happy, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, yet they had absolutely nothing, no aspirations, little education, “it was Sarah achieved her Highers in 5th really, really a big eye opener.” year at school, then went straight From Uganda, Sarah went as a volunteer to a sustainable living to Napier University in Edinburgh at ‘village’ of tree houses in Kenya. From there she went to India, where 16 to study Business, “I was always the contrast between rich and poor was hard to take. Sitting on a impatient, always wanting to do beach, Sarah decided that the corporate life was no longer what she things.” wanted, that “the only thing I love is yoga.” Her initial doubts about her After university Sarah’s first job ability to make a career out of yoga were put aside. She determined was “with Scottish Widows Investments, in the HR department just as an to get teacher training in yoga, which meant going back to Thailand to administrator”. While there she was seen through her Masters in Human a course taught in English which lasted a month, covering all aspects, Resources (HR). Work for IBA, Standard Life, “all the big financial including first aid. companies” followed. Then came the Once trained Sarah came back to financial crisis, no more contracts in the Edinburgh determined to set up her offing. What was Sarah to do? “I decided, own business. By that time many Hot OK I’m going to go travelling! So I got a Yoga studios had been set up in the one-way ticket to Bangkok” – just like that! main towns of Scotland, though neither While exploring Thailand, Sarah Aberdeen nor St Andrews had such came across yoga. Intrigued, she joined a things. As a child Sarah often came with course run by an incredibly fit 70 year-old her family to St Andrews, so Sarah felt woman who could kick a doll strung up on this was the place to be. She eventually the ceiling way beyond Sarah’s capability! found accommodation in Slotline House, Sarah was told, “that the day she couldn’t where she altered previous office space kick that doll she would know she was to make an inviting studio, ready to open too old for this.” But Sarah had found her for business on 20th August last year. vocation! Reminiscing about her travels, Travelling was still on the menu, Sarah said, “The countries I’ve however. Australia became home for a backpacked round are – Thailand, Laos, couple of years. It was here that Sarah Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kuala discovered Hot Yoga, exercises carried Lumpur, Singapore, Australia, New out in studios heated to around 40°C. It Zealand, Uganda, Kenya, India” – quite became such an obsession that Sarah a list! In Vietnam she rode an ostrich at organized her entire social life around an ostrich farm. The creatures are fitted yoga, which she practised 1½ hours every with small saddles, quite tricky to stay day, “It keeps you fit, it keeps you trim, so on, especially as the birds run all over that was great.” the place rather than straight forward. A family bereavement brought Sarah Sarah said a little man runs behind in back to Scotland, and back to work in case you fall off! In Cambodia she came HR. By this time Hot Yoga had reached across a memorial to the victims of the Edinburgh and Glasgow. “You don’t have Khmer Rouge, which consists of a sort time in yoga to think of other things” a of glass tower full of skulls, the adult great way to switch off from daily worries ones at the bottom and the children’s on and focus on yourself, Sarah explains. the top. Once trained Sarah came back to Sarah’s father passing away shortly This young Scots Lass, barely in her after her mother, brought home to Sarah thirties, surely well merits the title of this Edinburgh determined to set up her how precious life is, and how short. She article! own business decided to travel again to see how people coped with poverty, with nothing much (Photos courtesy Sarah McLaughlin)

FEATURES Sheena McCall runs her own behaviour counselling service for cats.

Yes – a cat psychologist! Many people don’t realise how their cats have floor. This is a fairly common problem with cats trained them to do their bidding. There are that are not allowed outside. I really feel that often people who want their cat to be less cats need to be free to roam during daylight demanding, less possessive. The cat that is hours to do cat things, but come in overnight. ‘always hungry’, and the ‘lazy cat’ that wants This client was quite prepared to go with the the door opened to go out, but is quite capable advice, so let the cat out. Well, it didn’t show of letting itself back in through the cat flap. its face again for four days! This is where the idea that ‘cats have slaves’ So, on one of my first cases I very comes from. Things that you were quite nearly lost a £500 cat. I was mortified, but happy with in the beginning might grow out of still believed the cat was better off outside. proportion. The more you give in to a cat the Eventually it just sauntered in, and set to for more he will take advantage of you. The more a good meal. Phew… it had just been on a you open the door when he calls, the more he freedom binge, none the worse for its travels. will call. How is it he can also come in without After persuading the owners to let her out your assistance? ‘Cos he knows you are not again the following day she returned home there to do it for him! The same goes for food. every few hours in the knowledge that now she If you feed him every time he complains at would be able to go back out if she wished. the cupboard door, making you believe he is Oh, was I relieved! I hadn’t slept for days! I hungry, you feed him – right? It really is a case still hold that cats require to be let out, even of who is training whom? And because we love though it is always nerve wracking that first them we go gladly along with it! One needs time. to condition these behaviours out by ignoring Cats, like dogs, can be helped to them. It is not hard hearted, but you do not overcome the stresses and strains of living need to be at his beck and call at all times. within the human environment. Understanding There are many things that a cat the nature of the cat is to might teach us over time that in be able to help him. I chose the end we realise has become a the saying, “‘Every domestic Understanding bit of a problem. cat has its wild side” as my Things don’t necessarily go statement, for with the nature of the business swimmingly for the behaviour this knowledge we realize that cat is to be able it is we who must adapt our councillor either. Believe me they are not all ‘furry pussy environment to take into account to help him cats’! Usually at a consultation his natural tendencies. it is wise to ignore the cat to I studied feline behaviour home in on the owner, as this and cat/owner relationships gives one a better idea of a general feeling under Peter Neville, covering the reasons of the situation and interactions. In one of my behind, and the solving of, a wide range of cases I had been called to a cat in Dundee, a feline behavioural issues. A second year of beautiful pedigree house cat that was bored feline physiology and psychology with Robert indoors with nothing to do, so she found her Falconer-Taylor covered a deeper subject line own mischief. She just sat on all the lounge explaining how physical cause and effect work surfaces idly flicking ornaments etc. on to the so closely together. Also I studied maternal

A reader has been trying to find the original of this limerick. He remembers only the first two lines, adding his own ending just for fun. We would be delighted if any reader can supply the original, or would like to contribute an alternative last three lines (to be published here if wished).

Limerick There was a young barmaid called Rose Who got froth on the end of her nose Then a regular boozer Did his best to amuse her By wiping it off with his toes!

(Original image © the reader)

behaviour, socialization, and behaviour reconditioning, concluding with a research paper. I am now a Certified and Accredited Feline Behaviour Practitioner, and a Feline Associate Member of the CFBA (Canine and Feline Behaviour Association) and I also write for their professional journal. Eight years ago, I volunteered for the Cats Protection, becoming the centre’s Welfare Officer, responsible for all aspects of care in the 24-pen shelter and its 2 isolation units, including hygiene, diet regimes, health, and medicines. I also foster cats and kittens with ‘issues’, either medical or behavioural. Your pet, however, should always be seen first by a qualified vet, as many behaviour issues can have an underlying medical cause. My expertise is in behaviour, I’m not a vet. But oh yes, our lovely furry bundles are end-to-end mischief! (Photo courtesy Sheena McCall)

FEATURES: REVIEWS Beatrice Root reviews

Kale

by Christopher Trotter Published by Momentum, 2015. Available at Waterstones, Bonkers, and the Old Cheese Shop. Signed copies available direct from Christopher: https://christophertrotter.cartloom.com/shop/ @ £5.95. As mentioned in St Andrews in Focus issue 71, when I reviewed his lovely pair of vegetable books BEETROOT and COURGETTE, Christopher Trotter has just published his third in the series of these companion books, KALE. Like the other two it has around thirty recipes, each one accompanied by a superb photograph taken by Christopher’s photographer wife, Caroline. Kale really is the iconic Scottish vegetable, Christopher tells us, lending its name to an Edinburgh church bell, which chimed at noon calling the workers in for their “kail”, or midday meal. Even mothers in the tenements in Glasgow and Edinburgh used the term “Come in for your Kail”, when calling their children in for a meal. Even though kale may not have been in the meal, like as not it would have made the basis of a broth or stew.

More recently Kale has had a less good press, often fed to cattle, but nutritionists have at last cottoned on to its remarkable health qualities; they are urging us to make it a part of our diet. It is high in vitamins A, C, and K, the latter of which protects against cancers. It is high in fibre and has no fat. Christopher takes us briefly through the different varieties, noting the multiple names. Cavolo Nero anyone? That pricey stalwart of the delicatessen is nothing more than black kale! AKA Lacianto and dinosaur! The recipes use a wide variety of easily- available ingredients, including spices, fish, and game. I tried out the spiced kale with coconut milk and smoked hake, a lovely warming dish just right for the time of year. The recipes are also easy to follow, often with little tips and comments on where the dish or idea came from. There are even two recipes for sea kale which, although hard to source in the wild, can be obtained from Sandy Pattullo at his farm in Eassie from February for a couple of months. This little book has joined the other two on my shelf in the kitchen – my “go to” books for inspiration for vegetables!

Kate Godfrey reviews

Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom by Andrew Duff Published by Birlinn Ltd. 2015. Available at all good bookshops price £25. Perched high in the Himalayas between Nepal last British Resident in Tibet and a friend of and Bhutan, Sikkim is the second smallest of the Dalai Lama, also retired to St Andrews). India’s twenty-nine states, less a third of the Nevertheless after Indian Independence size of Wales. It is one of those places that Prime Minster Nehru, with hopes of a strong you could easily go through your life knowing relationship with China, agreed a ‘protectorate’ nothing about. But the story of this former status for both Sikkim along with Bhutan. Himalayan Kingdom, in Andrew Duff’s first After the new Chinese communist regime book, is electric. invaded Tibet in 1950 Sikkim became a The plot and characters could be straight geopolitical hotspot. The young Crown Prince out of a spy thriller: there are beautiful and his two beautiful sisters, Coocoola and princesses running errands for the CIA, Kula, soon became conduits for the CIA, a shadowy Scottish adventuress, wars running messages of support to the Dalai between China and India and endless political Lama’s family. After the Dalai Lama’s dramatic shenanigans – all against the backdrop of flight from Tibet in 1959, relations between a stunning Shangri-la. And best of all, it’s India and China deteriorated rapidly. a story with strong links to our own town of That same year Hope Cooke, a 19-yearSt Andrews. old debutante from New York, entered the Duff stumbled across the story while picture. Cooke was on a holiday in nearby retracing his grandfather’s footsteps into Darjeeling when she met and fell in love Sikkim in 1922. (First St with the Crown Prince, Andrews connection: Duff’s marrying him in 1963. grandparents retired to Duff is excellent on their St Andrews after 28 years the story of this former extraordinary wedding, in India, living in Hepburn attended by nine Himalayan Kingdom, Gardens until the 1980s.) ambassadors to India in Andrew Duff’s first During Duff’s journey to a (including the USA’s JK remote hilltop monastery, Galbraith), covered in book, is electric a Sikkimese monk gave Time Magazine, National him a book, suppressed in Geographic, and Paris India, which alleged that the Match. In the US Hope Kingdom had been annexed in 1975. Intrigued, Cooke was feted as the ‘Grace Kelly of Duff began to dig into the story and uncovered the East’; but in India and China rumours a tale of love and intrigue during the Cold war circulated that she was a CIA plant. in Asia. As the royal couple naively tried to Sikkim emerged from Britain’s hurried recreate the Kingdom in the late 1960s, withdrawal from India in 1947 with a degree opposition to their absolute rule (albeit benign) of independence. Under the Raj, Sikkim grew. Duff’s portrayal of the royal couple’s had been considered a ‘buffer state’ by tempestuous relationship is particularly the British, bordered to the north by Tibet. compelling. Here lies the third, and strongest, (Connection Two: Sir Hugh Richardson, the connection to St Andrews. Between 1959

and 1965 Martha Hamilton (who later became headmistress of St Leonards School, latterly as Martha Steedman) was headmistress of the leading Girls School in Sikkim and good friends with the royal couple. In 2010, Duff gained access to Steedman’s weekly letters home from Sikkim. (He also managed to get access to the letters of Steedman’s successor). The letters are sometimes brilliantly witty, but they also bear witness to a tempestuous period of history: China and India went to war in the Himalayas in 1962. Three years later China moved troops right onto the Sikkim border in support of Pakistan. By the 1970s India’s new Prime Minster, Indira Gandhi, was embarrassed by the Imperial overtones in Sikkim’s protectorate status. Under pressure at home, she used her newly-created external Intelligence services to foment trouble in Sikkim, supported by the leading opposition politician in Sikkim, the Kazi of Chakung, and his adventuress Scottish wife ‘The Kazini’. The circumstances for the 1975 annexation, when the beleaguered King was surrounded in his palace by Indian troops, brings to mind recent events in Crimea – complete with rigged referendum. This is a superb story of a tiny Kingdom caught up in the machinations of the Cold War. It is told with verve and skill with wonderfullyportrayed characters. That the book has so many connections to St Andrews makes it all the more fascinating.

FEATURES: REVIEWS George Wilson reviews

Sparks From The Smiddy by David Wilson Published by 5M Publishing, 2015. Available at J & G Innes and all good bookshops price £12.95.

It is a well-known fact that many a book is brought to the attention of a potential buyer by its cover; this book immediately calls for more than a passing interest. The opening chapter describes the dedication and determination of farrier and blacksmith David Wilson in his quest to compete against the best in the world, then his ultimate achievement of winning the accolade of World Champion at Calgary in 1985. While winning the World Championship probably sowed the seeds of a life story, David follows on by giving the background to the Wilson

era, when a forebear moved to the smiddy at Kilmany in 1813 and experienced turbulent times ahead. David is the 6th generation to be born at Kilmany. Thereafter he describes his own life through school, sport, starting work, serving his apprenticeship, furthering his competitive edge, his marriage and family, moving to Balmullo in 1962, competing in the horseshoeing competitions at the RHS at Ingliston for 50 years. Winning the World Championship opened many doors. David tells of the many years judging competitions and holding clinics all over the world. He acknowledges the great support from his wife and family over the years. The craft will be kept going through his son and grandsons. This book is an easy read, full of funny stories and happenings that most families will relate to. It is highly recommended.

David Allan, School of History, The University of St Andrews, reviews

The Meaning of the Library Edited by Alice Crawford Princeton University Press 2015. Available at all good bookshops, price £24.95. Readers of St Andrews in Focus should not depicting them as far-sighted benefactors, need telling that libraries are too important to pious promoters of public learning. According be only of concern to librarians. As places of to Andrew Pettegree, book collectors and the learning, repositories of knowledge, sources of creators of libraries in the sixteenth century, amusement, sites of recreation, statements of formerly accustomed to gathering together collective or individual pride, and safe havens holdings of carefully-transcribed manuscripts, of quietness and solitude—and many more initially struggled to adapt to the new challenge things besides—libraries have long been an posed by the revolutionary invention of printing essential feature of our culture, so familiar that with its easier reproduction of large numbers they can be readily taken for granted, their of copies of the same texts for circulation and value frequently not fully appreciated. In The sale. Not for the first or the last time, the preMeaning of the Library, a collection of essays existing idea of the library was being jolted out published by Princeton University Press, of its familiar tramline, never to be quite the expertly edited by Alice Crawford, research same again. librarian at St Andrews University Library, The library’s place in the imagination, the changing uses and significance of the however, is also worthy of deeper book collection in its innumerable historical consideration—appropriately, since so guises are reflected upon in ways that should many books which find their natural home in encourage us to think more carefully about libraries, once delivered into the world have what the library actually means to us. had their own moments of conception, when The volume’s their authors have been contributions, each inside a library. John originally delivered publicly Sutherland, for example, in St Andrews as King protection of material from considers the views James Library Lectures, of important Victorian loss and the provision come from a wide range of writers like Dickens scholars and standpoints. and Samuel Smiles on of access to readers From Edith Hall, for the place of the library remain the twin pillars example, there is a careful in society, in particular excavation of the origins highlighting some of of the library’s—and the of the Western library the peculiar moralising librarian’s—creed in ancient Greece and assumptions that the Rome, both as practical spread of organised reality and as high ideal: lending collections the first public library may even have been across Britain, many of them eventually in founded in 353 BC at Hericlea on the Black public ownership and free at the point of use, Sea coast by a ruler who had studied under tended reliably to raise for concerned authors. Plato at Athens, while the poet Ovid evidently Above all, was the ragingly fashionable, but thought it interesting and informative to write emotionally manipulative, novel merely an verses as though from the perspective of a amiable form of entertainment for the literate book which visits a number of the libraries public at large? Or was it a malign corrupting then in existence in contemporary Rome. In influence, leading astray those readers with Renaissance Europe, by contrast, Richard weaker constitutions and limited mental Gameson shows us that library sponsors discipline—which is to say, in the opinion of as different as Pope Sixtus IV and Niccolò many an austere observer in the eighteenth Nicoli were placed on elevated pedestals, and nineteenth centuries, women, children, immortalised in images or in poems of praise servants, and the working classes in general?

On answers to these questions the composition of many library collections came to depend, at least for a time. Marina Warner, too, offers a timely reminder that something not unlike a library features in the very earliest literary work to have come down to us, the existence of texts available for reading clearly pre-supposed as a normal feature of an organised society. The fragmentary Epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian story about a ruler-hero who is presumed by modern scholars to have reigned in the middle of the third millennium BC, actually includes the remarkable claim that the narrative will itself be inscribed on a stone for preservation and consultation by later readers. If not a library as such, then the unknown composer of the Epic knew like all later authors that texts, otherwise vulnerable and easily damaged or destroyed, do have the potential to speak continuously to successive generations, providing they are cared for and conserved. As another contributor, John H Billington, Librarian of Congress, appreciates only too well, this is still true in an age in which vast quantities of information and huge numbers of texts are available electronically; protection of material from loss and the provision of access to readers remain the twin pillars of the library’s—and the librarian’s—creed. Too easily under valued when present, badly missed when absent, often provoking peculiarly intense feelings when under threat of closure, the library as a cultural institution in our own world has a remarkably long pedigree. The Meaning of the Library in this regard provides a fascinating reminder of what we have gained, and also of what we could lose.

FEATURES: REVIEWS Lawrie Phillips reviews

The British Carrier Strike Fleet after 1945 by Commander David Hobbs Published by Seaforth, 2015 ISBN 978-1-84832-171-7. Available at all good bookshops price £35. The two biggest warships ever ordered for the Royal Navy are now being built at Rosyth. The aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales represent a remarkable renaissance in British naval aviation. A major new book on the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers since the end of the Second World War by Crail naval historian, Commander David Hobbs, makes a timely and welcome appearance. His story begins in 1945 in the Far East, where the British Pacific Fleet included 20 aircraft carriers, and was the most powerful fleet in Royal Navy history. (Its story has been splendidly related in David Hobbs’ earlier book, eponymously titled The British Pacific Fleet ). The nuclear age had been born over Nagasaki and Hiroshima that August while strategic pundits were prophesying the end of conventional forces. Post-war conflicts, however, demanded all the old skills and expertise. The Fleet Air Arm remained a potent force in the decades to come. British carriers were almost continuously employed in conflicts in Korea, Egypt, East Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East. The Royal Navy, which had invented the angled flight deck, steam catapults, deck-landing aids, remained a world-class player in naval aviation. Economic problems in the 1960s and early 1970s, however, forced successive governments to reduce public expenditure.

Among the casualties was naval aviation; many of the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers were prematurely paid off, others gradually run down. Much treasure, expertise, and blood had been invested in these ships, most having years of life left in them. A cataclysmic shock, which rocked the Royal Navy, came on 14 February 1966 with the Cabinet decision to cancel the CVA-01, the first of a new generation of fleet carriers which was to have been named HMS Queen Elizabeth. It was a stunning blow. Within days the Navy Minister, Christopher Mayhew, had resigned, followed quickly by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir David Luce. The political rationale was that Britain could not afford new aircraft carriers. Therefore, it was argued, it did not need them. All sad stuff and muddled thinking in Whitehall. David Hobbs’s book is not a lament for what might have been done, but rather an inspiring tribute to what was done. It records in detail the operational work of the Royal Navy’s carriers across half a century, and across the oceans. This was most vividly demonstrated in the South Atlantic in 1982. The operation was mounted far beyond shore-based air support. The carrier-borne aircraft from HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible, operating 8,000 miles from their home port, destroyed an enemy air force and covered an opposed amphibious

landing without allied involvement – an operation the Royal Navy had been told a decade earlier would never again be contemplated. Naval aviation had for many difficult years provided governments with political and military options far away from fixed land bases. It was reassuring to see this recognised in July 1998 when the Labour Government announced the intention to build two new aircraft carriers. These will have a much greater displacement than any previous British carrier; they will be the biggest ships ever built for the Royal Navy. A generation gap in naval fixed-wing flying has presented huge challenges to the Royal Navy, but these are being faced and will be met. Commander David Hobbs is a retired Fleet Air Arm fixed-wing and helicopter pilot with 2,300 hours in his log book, and 800 carrier landings to his record. He also held aviation appointments in Whitehall, which gives his book depth and balance. David Hobbs knows his subject intimately. His story will make compelling reading for those with a serious concern for our naval affairs.

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It had been a veritable white-out for two long days; a true blizzard blowing in hard cold, with temperatures down to forty below zero, and horizontally from off the cold, gun-metal-hued North Sea, a delicious Christmas and the twenty-seven types of snow, for he came holiday present from Siberia. Oh yes, without doubt he’d been out in it for those two from Lwow in East Central Poland, where the long days! With a friend he’d managed to fashion an igloo of sorts in the grounds of winter blows in from Siberia without a break. He the nearby ruined medieval Cathedral. They had laboured long and hard rolling giant had nothing to add, bar the challenge to make a snowballs between the old gravestones to obtain the necessary building blocks. Rolled window or two for the Igloo out of melted snow snow is by its very nature, compressed snow, virtually ice, therefore unduly heavy, poured into a rectangular mould. “You won’t be able to see through it, for that’s not the unwieldy and ultimately unsuitable for an igloo. Due to the weight of the hard-won point, but it’ll let some light in”, he said, “and, into the bargain, you’ll need one of my blocks they had failed to build upwards and, more importantly, inwards, above head primus stoves to melt the water. You’ll have many attempts; too thick, too thin; they’ll height. But they had laughed, sheltering there, plastered with caked-on snow inside break, they’ll snap, before you get it right. Also you’ll be grateful to Herr Lindqvist the their ice-walled roofless drum as the blizzard relentlessly raged and darkness fell, for it Swede for inventing the Primus stove, for you’ll be able to heat some beans to eat had been fun and they had learned much about basic building into the inside your Igloo. One last thing, take a long-handled broom.” Why? bargain. They did not regard it as a failure. “To push up the big circular piece which closes the hole in the roof.” There was an intermission on the third day of the Arctic And so it all came to pass. They used the broom to push the roofNeither he, nor the performance, for the wind eased slightly while miraculously, patches closing piece upwards on the Igloo’s dome. They had five attempts. twins, ever again of pale watery-blue sky fleetingly appeared. The twins visited. Taking Their hearts were in their mouths as the fifth piece, properly cut with advantage of the lull in the weather, they set off to explore the pristine a deep beveled edge, dropped successfully into place. It took twelve built a structure so snow on the empty uplands south of the town. Within a short space perfect as their Igloo attempts to make two windows, and yes, as his Old Man, who knew of time they reached the foot of Wester Balrymonth Hill on the path about snow and extreme cold had correctly predicted, they were ‘too leading to the coastal railway and the cottage where the Level thick; too thin; too brittle; too stuck to the mould and hard to remove; Crossing keeper lived. It was hard going in the deep snow. Reaching too soft; too lumpy’. But the last two windows were, if nothing else, the path’s apex they turned to the hill’s summit a third of a mile away. The snow was opaque, south facing and did let in a little light. And yes, they did give eternal thanks to deeper, each step reaching to their knees. Yet they fought forwards, increasingly Herr Lindqvist the Swede for inventing the highly portable and efficient Primus Stove aware that the long tail of the hill was one huge compacted drift. They reached the in the latter part of the 19th century, for they cooked their two tins of Heinz beans summit with its vast panoramic sweep of spectacular views. The depth of the snow and ate them out of mess tins, which the twins supplied. They rejoiced at their notdrift they determined at four feet. It was evenly layered, with no soft or powdery inconsiderable triumph. pockets, both light and strong enough to stand on. In short, this was the perfect snow To their surprise, their Igloo wasn’t trashed, although they knew it had been visited. for making an Igloo. The blizzard resumed, the drifting snow caressed the contours of the dome until it He recounted the recent failed igloo-building experience to the blond-haired blended into the shape of the crest of the hill standing at 115m. It was there, barely blue-eyed twins. Infused with enthusiasm they returned after lunch with shovels and visible to the naked eye from their classrooms overlooking the south side of town, spades. He brought his First World War German bayonet made by Alex Coppe of when they started the spring term in 1959. It survived, after a fashion, glacier hard and Solingen, which proved to be perfect for the cutting of the blocks out of the pristine shiny blue, until the end of February. Then by March shoots of grass were reclaiming snow. By the freezing cold nightfall of that day the walls of the igloo, canting ever their hilltop inheritance, and skinny, grazing cattle quenched their thirst with long rough inwards and upwards, and cut thinner with each level to reduce the weight, had tongues on the last remaining rinks of ice. Neither he, nor the twins, ever again built a reached head height. structure so perfect as their Igloo. Over the ubiquitous Scottish tea-time meal, he had recounted his adventures to his parents. His Old Man listened attentively, saying little, for he knew all about real winter Illustration and text, © Jurek Pütter

The Igloo

Jurek Pütter recalls the winter of 1958/59

TOWN & GOWN John Cameron

Another Campus Cultural Revolution order to justify the proscription. Indeed, fear of offending certain minorities In The Closing of the American Mind, Allan generates its own extremism with inquisitions examining views deemed Bloom claimed there had been a collapse of impermissible by self-designated “victim” groups. Cultural vigilantes truth and reason in US universities, where create “safe spaces”, as if students need protection from new ideas. Here “inquisitors of insult” appeared to have was me believing that being exposed to new ideas was the reason I went taken over. The alumni news from Pomona to university! College, my much-loved Californian alma Nowadays most US universities maintain policies that restrict mater, indicates a new, toxic version of constitutionally-protected speech and issue “trigger warnings” if courses political correctness has invaded the campus. In the name of ‘emotional have content that might “upset students”. A hyper-individualistic campus wellbeing’, students now demand protection from words and ideas they culture means that subjective emotion trumps all, and that those who feel do not like. They seek punishment for those who give even accidental offended may assert without contradiction that they have been harmed. offence. Thus feminists cannot protest the subjugation of Muslim women because Anglo-American campus culture has thus become one of vindictive they must defer to the right of Muslims to define any criticism of their protectiveness, in which staff must tread carefully lest they face charges religion as Islamophobia. of insensitivity, aggression, or worse. The Dean of one of Pomona’s Politically-correct pioneers sought to restrict hate speech aimed at daughter colleges, Claremont McKenna, had to resign after promising to marginalized groups. They challenged the literary, philosophical, and be “especially supportive to those who initially do not fit the CMC mould”! historical canon to widen its perspectives. Today it is Universities should be the crucible of free about “wellbeing” and an absurd fragility of collegiate expression and the interplay of ideas instead of the Universities should psyche which demands that campuses are ‘safe promoters of enforced conformism through the politics of grievance and resentment. In the UK, societies be the crucible of free spaces’ shielding students from troubling ideas. This is a terrible preparation for professional life, wanting to invite a particular speaker must assure expression and the where one just has to rub along with people one finds student leaders no undergraduate could possibly feel uncongenial and cope with their disagreeable, or threatened or unsafe by this invitation. For example, interplay of ideas even offensive, ideas. Stoicism and the great Eastern the ex-Muslim Maryam Namazie was proscribed by religions say we cannot achieve happiness by making the world conform Warwick Student Union, which said they had, “a duty of care to conduct a to our desires, but we can master our desires and habits of thought. risk assessment of any invited speaker”. That risk assessment concluded, Rather than developing ultra-thin skins, students will do better in the world “she is highly inflammatory, and could incite hatred on campus”. However, of work if they question their own emotional reactions and give other who would be inflamed, and who incited to do what, was never specified. people the benefit of the doubt. So are we to understand that students can be made subjectively Beyond the St Andrews bubble, life can be harsh, with no “safe uncomfortable to the point of feeling threatened by an Iranian secularist spaces” in career dogfights, and family life revolving around the endless and human rights activist just talking? grind of bills, mortgage, school fees. This appeal to the subjective means that the political authoritarian Get used to it! need only invoke the requisite feeling among a section of the masses in

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TOWN & GOWN Esmond Sage, Sustainable Transport Worker for Transition

Getting around

For many people, winter is a time to put away the bicycle. It is wheeled to the back of the shed, just behind the half-built shelves and the driedup buckets of paint, then left in the darkness, lonely, unridden, for a few months. When spring is sprung, we slowly summon the will to unearth our cobwebbed wheels for a spin, only to find that in all that time of neglect, the bicycle needs a clean-up, an oiling, maybe even new cables. We imagine that we’ll get it sorted at some later time, but every weekend falls away, while it comes to pass that the poor old bicycle is never ridden for an entire year. It doesn’t have to be this way! Winter is still a great time to cycle as a way of getting around. Our town’s small span of less than 2 miles makes it an ideal cycling town, also having great what can be done to help people travel green connections with East Neuk via the Grange Road, In February, we are planning for St Andrews. In February, we are planning or Leuchars, along the traffic-free St Andrewsa big led ride along the traffic- a big led ride along the traffic-free route Guardbridge cycle path. Lights will keep you seen St Andrews and Leuchars. It’s for after sunset, while the same coat and gloves you free route between St Andrews between everybody to come and have a fun ride along wear when walking will keep the cold at bay in and Leuchars one of St Andrews’ most valuable amenities what is one of Scotland’s driest towns. for active travel, which will become all the Of course, sometimes you need a bit more more useful with the planned road closure in Guardbridge. The fix-yourthan a bike. St Andrews is the proud home of ten electric E-Car Club own sessions will be continuing, so bring your bike into the light of day vehicles, with another station being set up in the east of the town. Your and get on the go! own car sits in the driveway doing nothing for most of its life, while eating up tax, fuel, and maintenance costs along the way. On the other hand, you can take out an e-car as and when you want, saving you money, Details of all forthcoming events will be posted on Transition’s helping keep the air clean. website: www.transitionsta.org or just search ‘Transition University Last year was a busy year for St Andrews and sustainable travel. of St Andrews’ on Facebook. We had bike rides and regular fix-your-own sessions to help people gain autonomy through their bikes getting onto the road. I’ve been running journey-mapping sessions with members of the public at (Images courtesy of Transition University) various locations, to understand what people’s journey needs are, and

TOWN & GOWN David Standen, of Proofread My Essay, claims that

Students go from 2:2 to 2:1 with proofreading something we know they understand. International students can receive a 2:1 instead of a 2:2 on their Climbing up a grade boundary could dissertation after academic proofreading, a new study has found. make the difference to whether they get The study by academic proofreading service Proofread My Essay, their dream job or not.” shows that 57 per cent of ESL (English as a Second Language) students Proofread My Essay’s proofreaders went up a degree classification after using their service. find many common mistakes in ESL The study, collated from the company’s 10,000-strong customer pool, students’ work that downgrade their found that an extra check helped international students earn from four to marks: misuse of articles, prepositions, and auxiliary 15 more points in their dissertation, the most important misunderstanding of homonyms or other assignment of their degree. The service specialises verbs, incorrect word choices after using a thesaurus, The students sampled improved from a lower second class (2:2) to an upper second class (2:1) in both native and ESL confused use of tenses, and a general lack of in numbering and referencing. after having their work proofread. What’s more, 4 per academic proofreading consistency Three-quarters of submissions Proofread My cent of international students climbed up two degree Essay receives come from international students. The classifications, from 2:2 to first class. service specialises in both native and ESL academic proofreading, and On average, students who submitted their dissertation to Proofread complies fully with university regulations. My Essay received 6.5 more points in their final marks, and the critical feedback and suggestions provided by their proofreaders can also help (Note: there is a charge for their services. Ed.) students earn a further four per cent. Kiran Chauhan, CEO and founder of Proofread My Essay, said: “We (Photo courtesy Proofread My Essay) know international students have great ideas and that they study hard. That’s why we exist: to help ESL students avoid being marked down for

St Andrews Concert Diary January–June 2016 www.st-andrews.ac.uk/music

PULL-OUT FEATURE The University of St Andrews Music Centre presents an extraordinary programme of live music throughout the year. Highlights during the first half of 2016 include performances by renowned Dutch pianist Ronald Brautigam and legendary Canadian organist John Grew, Byre Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s gripping The Turn of the Screw and a performance by St Salvator’s Chapel Choir, The Kellie Consort and the Fitzwilliam String Quartet of J.S. Bach’s great Mass in B minor. This in addition to weekly organ and chamber/instrumental lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays respectively and a host of masterclasses, talks and other inspiring events. To receive weekly email concert bulletins, or to receive the Music in St Andrews brochure by post, please fill in the form at the end of this pull-out or email cjb30@st-andrews.ac.uk TIME CONCERT

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