St Andrews in Focus Issue 76 May Jun 2016

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

May/June 2016 Issue 76, £2.00

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

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

From the Editor

Trying to please all the people all the time is a very tricky business. Some would say it’s impossible; with the proliferation of interest groups in St Andrews I’m tempted to agree. What is it with people that they can’t come together to manage a common cause, but that they have an association for this, a group for that, and a society for the other, each claiming that they exist to work for the benefit of the town. I fear, however, that if they did all unite under one umbrella they would then quarrel with each other, human nature being what it is. Whoever solves this human conundrum would rule the world (but would it be any better?) All the same, in the recent past there used to be such a thing as polite debate, leading to compromise, whereas today the disgruntled resort to slanging matches: ‘O tempora, O mores’! Is there even such a thing as a fresh approach? Bring back polite debate for starters. Then put your trust in Lady Luck.

Flora Selwyn

******** The views expressed elsewhere in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor. © St Andrews in Focus (2003) MAY / JUNE 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.

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Contents FEATURES • Community Council • Publishing positively • 46 South Street • Gulls • Limerick revisited • Reflecting on elections • Antarctica • Ask the curator • Reviews: – Cinemas of Paris

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SHOPS & SERVICES • • • •

Fossil Kauri wood Followed her dream Hugo D’Bere’s review Roving Reporter

10 11 13 14

TOWN & GOWN • • • •

Progressing to the stage Graduands of 2016 reflect Lorna Weir’s travels The missing Martyr

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EVENTS • • •

The Crail Festival Shakespeare’s greatest hits Selected Events

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ORGANISATIONS • • • • •

Volunteers for Kellie Castle Red Cross Mobility Aids Craigtoun Park update Kinburn collaboration Home Start NE Fife

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OUT & ABOUT • Advice for gardeners • Out on the high seas • Nature Notes • Closes • Milestones • Hidden Gems

NEXT ISSUE – Jul/Aug 2016 COPY DEADLINE: STRICTLY 28 MAY

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

Cover: the Reaper in St Andrews harbour, original photo by Ian Sturrock.

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FEATURES From Howard Greenwell, Chair

The Community Council As we move toward the summer, the departure of the students for another academic year, and the influx of many visitors to replace them, it is worth looking back at some of the events of the last year, also to look forward to a good, if somewhat quieter summer ahead.

Over the last few months, the twinning between St Andrews and Loches has been completed, with both the English and French versions of the Twinning Agreements signed in their respective towns. We hope to have both versions of the Agreement framed and hung in the Town Hall in the near future. It is very heart-warming to see the members of both the St Andrews Loches Alliance and the Nouvelle Alliance Loches St Andrews working closely together to develop the links and exchanges between the two towns. Already a number of new ideas are being discussed. It was a privilege to represent the Community Council and the Royal Burgh of St Andrews at the signing ceremony in Loches at Easter time. I personally am looking forward to many more exchanges for all the citizens of St Andrews.

On other matters, Planning and the review of Planning Applications has always been a major part of the work of the Community Council. The legal process surrounding the building of the new Madras College at Pipeland has finally ended. With the success of the St Andrews Environmental Protection Agency Ltd. (STEPAL) in their appeal against the process of Fife Council proposing to build the new Madras College in the St Andrews Greenbelt, we will have to start again with the new school planning procedure. At the time of writing this article, we are all waiting to find out what the next proposal from Fife Council will be.

Finally on planning, our current Convener, Penny Uprichard, has stood down; we thank her for all her efforts in trying to defend the historic character of St Andrews from developers’ bulldozers over many years, on both the Community Council and especially in the Planning committee.

Leuchars Station £10

With the Planning committee evolving again, it promises to be a busy time for both the remaining members, and I suspect the whole Community Council.

But looking forward, the summer also means the return of the popular Bandstand Concerts in July and August. With our new funding stream from the Community Trust, these concerts are now secured for the immediate future. It is always good to spend a couple of hours by our Victorian Bandstand enjoying the entertainment provided by one of the many visiting brass bands. Almost every Sunday from 2.00pm to 4.00pm, weather permitting, we will have a concert that you can enjoy. Full details will be published on the Community Council Website at www.standrewscc.net We have also talked about refurbishment of the Bandstand as one of our projects for the near future, and although we have not made much progress, I hope that later this year some repair of the metal-work, installation of an electrical power-point, a microphone and speaker system, as well as a coat of paint, will make the Bandstand a much more visually appealing part of the Scores landscape.

Finally, it would not be the summer without mentioning both the work of the Friends of Craigtoun and that of the St Andrews in Bloom volunteers. As ever, we owe a great deal of thanks to these volunteers for providing an engaging park to take family and friends to, and brightening up the streets of St Andrews for everyone. The Community Council wishes both groups every success in terms of the number of visitors, and the awards that we might achieve for our floral displays.

As ever on the Community Council, we always seem to have a few spare positions available. While the number of Community Councillors is approaching our total of 23, there are always one or two spaces available. So if you believe you can help raise issues and implement some projects for the town, we would be very happy to see some new faces at the Burgh Chambers on the first Monday of each month.

Dundee City Centre £25

Looking for a venue to hold your meeting/coffee morning/class?

Edinburgh Airport £70 We welcome commercial enquiries

Hope Park & Martyrs Church Halls might just be what you are looking for.

Print & Design

St Katharine’s West, 16 The Scores St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AX

T: (01334) 463020 E: printanddesign@st-andrews.ac.uk The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No: SC013532

Contact Elaine Dowie 01334 478144 or admin@hpmchurch.org.uk (SC014934)

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FEATURES Nikki Simpson, Business Manager at PPA Scotland, says the magazine publishing industry has seen huge changes – and the opportunities are infinite

Publishing Positivity

I recently attended the Digital Innovators not just their bank balance. One of the great Summit (DIS), a magazine publishing speakers talked about his wedding magazine conference in Berlin, with the industry’s digital business and how they’d taken this online to applications at its heart. I use the word ‘heart’ create hitched.co.uk – a one-stop-shop for relatively loosely, in that what seemed to be everything you’d ever need to get married, lacking was any particular passion, creativity, or together with to-do lists, budget planners, sense of community from the speakers, and the mood boards, you name it. But he started his ones that did, really stood out. presentation by saying that there were 130 The DIS is a high-level conference aimed steps to planning a wedding, which had every at CEOs of major corporations and publishing married person in the room thinking about their companies, so it’s understandable that money – own wedding. What’s more nostalgic than that?! and digital of course – should be the main focus If every talk I heard, or conversation, I of the talks. And, don’t get me wrong, there was had around digital was a positive one – an a lot of inspiration, and key ‘take-aways’ for any emotionally positive one – you can bet that business. publishers would be moving from their legacy However, the speakers at the DIS didn’t models faster than you can say “dial-up”. reflect the industry I know and love in Scotland.

And the opportunities are huge and As the sole employee of the trade association numerous. The biggest and most obvious for magazine publishers – PPA Scotland – I is global expansion. Becoming increasingly come into contact with a huge variety of that popular with business to business publishers passion, creativity, and community mentioned – The Drum, based in Glasgow, for example, above. This comes not only from smaller, local now have offices in New York, London, and are publishers such as St Andrews In Focus, but planning a Singapore opening later this year – across business to business, consumer and as well as a ‘local on a global scale’ consumer contract publishing; across major corporates, market. This involves either crowdsourcing SMEs and one-man-bands; content (Time Out ), setting and with companies working up shop internationally (The Many of these successful across data, consultancy, Drum ), licensing content Scottish companies started subscriptions, advertising, across territories (Woman’s out as a designer and an and newsstand models.

Weekly Malaysia, editor working from a kitchen published monthly!), Many of these successful Scottish or simply distributing companies started out as a designer and an globally, of which there are plenty of good editor working from a kitchen. And perhaps, Scottish examples, being that ‘Scottish-ness’ is, as these days are often in living memory, the delightfully, the height of fashion internationally. publishers have kept in touch with their original Next, social media with its close friend, reason for publishing. Maybe this makes them video. An interesting statistic is that 80% of all more passionate – it’s their baby. content consumed online will be video by 2018.

Maybe this also makes them reluctant to With smartphones making this accessible – if change though. A phrase I heard over and not beautiful – to anyone, this can easily be over again at the DIS was ‘legacy publishers’, embraced by any publisher. Another stat – often followed up with ‘forget any nostalgia’. social media sends more people to publishers For people working in those legacy publishing than anything else, with Facebook driving 38% models, this will be familiar and sometimes of traffic. And it’s free! No – advertising isn’t difficult to hear. The word ‘nostalgia’ in itself free, nor is the time to work on it, but as digital generally evokes very positive feelings, usually tools go, it’s an incredible way to connect with associated with Christmas in the late 1940s, à your audience, it’s measurable and incredibly la ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, so being told to forget intuitive to use. doesn’t tend to generate a warm fuzzy feeling.

Another is data. Companies buy data, you To me, the speakers were going about it the can use it to segment your audience, you can wrong way. To generate enthusiasm for an idea use it to target your readers or work with your you need to get people’s emotions involved, advertisers – the list goes on; I’m sure there

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will be a hundred different ways next year that people will think to use it that don’t exist at the moment. Start looking at data now and you’ll be embracing an opportunity that will feel smart – and normal – in five years’ time.

A trend on the rise that uses digital tools wisely, although doesn’t rely on them, is events, or ‘experiential’ as they’re often now called. Publishers are increasingly running events as extensions to their magazine brands, connecting with their audience, increasing brand loyalty, and making money in the process. I run a lot of events at PPA Scotland, including our annual magazine festival Magfest – jammed full of passion and creativity of course – and the Scottish Magazine Awards.

These events are an absolute joy and a privilege to run. They bring Scottish publishers together, they inspire, and they move away from the online world to get people to speak to each other face-to-face, something which I think is a natural reaction for people since the rise of communicating online.

So what’s the difference between Scottish publishing and international, European, or even Berlin-based publishing? Is it that they’re more money driven? Sometimes. Is it that the speakers at the DIS were so high level they’d lost sight of why they’d started? Possibly. Or is it just that I know the publishers in Scotland and they’re more willing to open up to me than they would be on a stage to 600 people. Very likely. But the passion, creativity, and optimism of publishers in Scotland is impossible to ignore – legacy model or not – and that’s something I continue to encourage and thrive on. nikki.simpson@ppascotland.co.uk www.magfest.co.uk www.ppascotland.co.uk (Image courtesy PPA)

FEATURES The late Ronald Cant wrote this history of

No. 46 South Street, St Andrews (reproduced by kind permission of June Baxter)

I. c.1150: 2. 15th and 16th centuries: The site was probably one of a sequence of By this time St Andrews had become a ‘burgh tenements’ laid out along the new ‘street fully organised municipality, identification of of the burgesses’ (or merchants) added to the properties becoming very much easier. Even Burgh of St Andrews as part of its ‘secondary so, there are relatively few certain references development’. to No. 46. In 1436 it may have belonged The original burgh had probably been to William Kinnaird, and in 1514 to William founded by the Bishop in the 1130s. It consisted Waugh. at first of no more than Castle Street and In c.1567, when a comprehensive list the parts of North Street adjacent to their was made of all the altar dues and other intersection. The new street ran – perhaps on endowments of the parish church (Holy the line of an earlier trackway – westwards from Trinity) it belonged to Mr Thomas Balfour. He the junction of South Castle may have been a son Street and Abbey Street of Andrew Balfour of Principal Hadow was as far west as West Burn Mountquhanie and may, Lane. North Street was also indeed, have inherited responsible for an probably extended westwards the property from him, extensive reconstruction including a ‘great part about the same time, as far west as Union Street with a of the actual structure, of the building, more or narrow lane between it and probably dating from less in its present form what came to be known as the late fifteenth or early South Street. sixteenth century. A The tenements on the south side of South heraldic panel with the Balfour arms and initials Street here (probably used as a market place A B may still be seen on the street frontage, until the formation of the present market place though perhaps not in its original position. in the next westwards expansion of the burgh) Thomas Balfour was a Master of Arts of were unusually large, being sometimes as the University (St Leonard’s College) 1547. He much as 50 feet wide instead of the more usual was a bailie of the burgh, fairly active in public 30 feet, and extending, as the Memorandum life of the time. He was dead by 1592. of c.1150 states, ‘from the street to the Prior’s lade’.

3. 18th and 19th centuries: The first three tenements westwards In the early 1700s the property was acquired from Abbey Street (in recent terminology

by James Hadow, Principal of St Mary’s ‘MacArthur’s, ‘The Great Eastern’ and ‘South College 1707-1747, previously Professor of Court’) were probably those granted on their Divinity. Although he had an official residence formation to Mainard the Fleming, first Provost in the College he also had this family house of the Burgh (though not in any sense head of further down the street. Principal Hadow was an independent municipal corporation). In this responsible for an extensive reconstruction of sequence No. 44 would be the fourth tenement the building, more or less in its present form, and No. 46 the fifth, but ownership of these and but retaining parts of the vaulted ground floor the others to the west cannot be identified until and front wall. As re-designed, the frontage considerably later. was given a symmetrical classical form with

The Doocot at the end of the garden (Photo courtesy June Baxter) a fine pillared entrance having the Principal’s arms displayed in a cartouche in the pediment.

The elaborate staircase and handsome panelled rooms of the interior are of this same period. On the garden frontage a terrace was formed over the old vaults and a spacious symmetrical garden laid out, incorporating also the garden of the adjoining ‘waste tenement’ to the west (No.48) with a high ‘lectern type’ dovecote as its central feature dividing the ‘pleasure-garden’ from the more utilitarian section to the south.

There is a fine portrait of Principal Hadow in St Mary’s College Hall, presented by his descendant Sir Raymond Hadow of Coates, as also of his son George Hadow, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages 1748-80.

It is understood that the ownership of the property is known from this time by the title deeds. About 1870 the owner of No. 46, having acquired the site of the former house on the adjoining ‘waste tenement’ (No. 48), made an addition to the main house having on its middle floor a large dining room and drawing room in the manner of the period. It was at this same time that the street frontage was given its corbelled parapet and mullioned windows.

NB: The garden of the house, a historical ‘lang rigg’, will be open to the public on the last Sunday in June as part of the Preservation Trust’s annual Hidden Gardens scheme. Please see the local press for details nearer the time.

Hidden Gardens visitors (Photo courtesy Marysia Denyer)

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FEATURES Mike Brady

gulls gulls thanked the sea that day or if they have one, a god – let’s call him Neptune for lack of a better name or a better perspective on deity gender issues – for the cornucopia of corpses spread on the sands: every form of death, an all-you-can-eat buffet of mussels, of worms, of brittle stars just minding their own business before the gull god(dess) decided to get involved, timing winter storm with full-moon tide for maximum effect in contravention of all conventions of fair play or a sense of do unto others or the notion of karma as if gods need to please gulls or maybe it was just to shut them up to stop the inane squawking because the beach really is still: a light wind, hardly a wave, just a faint whiff of something gone off in the fridge.

On 9 January this year, my partner Karen, and I took an early morning walk on the West Sands; we saw the most amazing display of natural carnage. After attending a few readings at StAnza this week, I was inspired to revisit that cold January morning. A photo is attached, but it was difficult to capture the scale of debris that was left behind when the tide receded.

Inspired by the limerick in issue 74, Geom. Severino Poletto emailed this suggestion from Italy.

There was a young barmaid called Rose Who got froth on the end of her nose, When a chap stood beneath, Drew his sword from its sheath, Saying, “Don’t move. Just pose.”

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(Photo courtesy Karen St Amant)

FEATURES John Cameron

Reflecting on Elections the Constitution”. Her time as First Lady, as In 1914 James Bryce, the famous British commentator, ended his iconic Secretary of State, then her two presidential book The American Commonwealth with the question, “Why are great campaigns have all been marred by a constant men not chosen as presidents?” He noted that since the demise of stream of duplicity, scandal, and financial the Revolutionary heroes not one had reached the White House, save maleficence.

General Grant, whose name would be remembered had he not been She was a uniquely incompetent Secretary president. of State. Her use of a personal email server to Since 1914 there have only been two: General Eisenhower, and the conduct foreign affairs was a breach of national security, which the FBI is international industrialist Herbert Hoover, whose presidency was ruined still investigating. Even if she wins, she will suffer in comparison to such by the sudden onset of the Great Depression. Barack Obama arrived formidable “glass-ceiling” breakers as Golda Meir, at the White House with the Peace Prize and risible Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel. expectations only to sink without trace, while the two We must hope the winner Yet what can one say of her opponent Donald people vying to replace him are beyond parody. fulfils Napoléon’s requirement Trump, golf-course owner, casino mogul, with his The French faced an unedifying choice in 2002 for high command – to be widely-reported links to the Russian mafia and between Jacques Chirac, the corrupt former mayor lucky rather than good the Gambino crime family? The Paris Hilton of the of Paris, and the fascist Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of business world (famous for being rich and famous), the National Front. he continues to insist, against all evidence to the contrary, that he is the Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the great Archbishop of Paris, sent very savviest of multibillionaires. out a message to his flock as the French presidential election drew near, In fact he is the flip side of Obama’s leftist posturing. Those offended “Hold your nose and vote for Chirac”. Born into a Jewish family, Cardinal

by Trump’s tawdry celebrity ignore the President’s role as the leading US Lustiger had little time for Chirac, “the Chameleon Bonaparte”, but the “reality star” of the last decade. Obama said he would unify Americans notion of a neo-Nazi as the leader of France was intolerable. on racial issues, but did the opposite, becoming one of the most divisive America is about to endure an unambiguously repellent election if presidents in modern US history; Trump is the predictable reaction. it comes down to a straight fight for the White House between Hillary We must hope the winner fulfils Napoléon’s requirement for high Clinton and Donald Trump later this year. Clinton’s performance as command – to be lucky rather than good – because quality is not on offer a young attorney in the Watergate saga set the tone for her career and he/she is going to need a lot of luck! when she was fired for “unethical behaviour” and “conspiring to violate

J Michael Buchanan

Anniversaries for Antarctica The year 2016 is a milestone year for many All told, I have been to most of the places that Antarctic Anniversaries, 100, 60, and 25 years on. are visitable without resorting to skis, sledging, or The Heroic Age of exploration started, perhaps serious trekking. My interest has been more than arguably, with the Dundee whalers and William S ‘continent bagging’ or ‘wilderness and wildlife’ Bruce in 1892-93, as the Arctic whaling grounds experiences. My maternal Salvesen forebears were seriously depleted. Their lead ship, Balaena, were leading players in Antarctic whaling from was one of four. They found few right whales, 1907-65. They must accept some responsibility the only type matched to their simple hunting for what you can or can’t often see when in the techniques.

Southern Ocean today.

Celebrations of this era climax this year in In the last 5 years, groundbreaking and Westminster Abbey on Friday, 20 May. Having lost world-class efforts have been made to eliminate his ship, Endurance, to the ice reindeer and inadvertentlyof the Weddell Sea, Sir Ernest introduced rats from all of My maternal Salvesen Shackleton’s subsequent 800South Georgia. This work, forebears were leading mile voyage with five others in costing millions of pounds, players in Antarctic whaling the open boat, James Caird, has been promoted by the to South Georgia will be feted small Dundee-based South from 1907-65 again. ‘The ice cold heaven’, Georgia Heritage Trust. in the genre of historical fiction, translated from They are also running and developing the South German (Mirco Bonne, 2013) was inspired by Georgia Museum in Grytviken. Some years ago, this intended British Imperial Trans-Antarctic I met, in a St Andrews antiques fair, a former Expedition (BITAE, 1914-16). manager of the Leith Harbour Whaling Station.

Some 60 years ago, over several seasons, He sold me several artefacts made for him in Duncan Carse mapped the Island of South South Georgia that have now found their way Georgia (1951-57). The Commonwealth south again to the Museum, whose staff have Transantarctic Expedition (TAE) also played out often been recruited from St Andrews University.

(Fuchs and Hillary 1955-58).

Captain Cook saw South Georgia in 1775.

By chance I came across the March 1959 He thought he had set eyes on Terra Australis back number of the Geographical Journal in the Incognita. Rounding the island he realised his Drury Lane OXFAM. It includes a 17-page report error, named a feature ‘Cape Disappointment’, from Duncan Carse and a 3-page review of ‘The and claimed it for his King. On seeing Crossing of Antarctica’, Sir Vivian Fuchs’ hastily Amundsen’s spare tent at the South Pole, published official story of his expedition. He also Captain Robert Scott swore, “Great God! This wrote ‘Antarctic Adventure’ (1959) for younger is an awful place!” Ashore on a South Georgia readers, as many schools had backed his efforts. beach, I made eye contact with a 5-tonne bull About 25 years ago, Expedition Cruises to elephant seal by St Andrews Bay. I will never Antarctica took off, as the collapsing USSR made forget this unequal encounter! available several polar research vessels with Antarctica, a world of extremes, evokes space for upwards of 60 passengers. Between extremes of emotion. This dimension of polar 1990 and 2000 I have been privileged to venture travel has not changed much in the last 100 south four times: in 1990, 1993,1996, and 2000. years.

Shackleton’s grave (Photo courtesy Michael Buchanan)

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FEATURES Samantha Bannerman, Curator of the Preservation Trust’s Museum

83-87 South Street Q. I recently visited a local dental practitioner at 85 South Street and, on applying to be taken on as a patient today, I was told that the premises used to be a tea room. Does the trust have any record of such a place? I was brought up in the town in the 1940s onwards, but can’t remember a tearoom there.

A. A museum volunteer is able to shed some light on this as, at one time, her family operated a business from this site: A MacKenzie & Son, Ironmongers, bought 83/85 South Street and leased Number 87 in around 1962. Before that time the three properties were owned by a family called O’Connor. Number 83 was known as The Central Café, which could be classed as a tearoom, restaurant, and ice cream parlour. In the old garden behind the café there was a huge catering kitchen with large banks of cookers, etc. It was all white tiles when MacKenzie’s took ownership.

Number 85 is the upstairs flat which, when O’Connor’s owned the property, had three large rooms on the first floor converted into one rather nice function room that could be hired for weddings, dances, or children’s parties.

It connected internally to the Café.

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Number 87 was much smaller, connected to the kitchen via swing serving doors at the back. The back was a Horsa Hut! So Number 83 remained as a shop becoming the Ironmongers. Number 85 was restored to three rooms on the first floor, with three further attic rooms,

which became the family home – this is now the dentists. Number 87 was MacKenzie’s the Tobacconist for about ten years before Tad Kucharski opened The Red Gown Café in it.

(Photo courtesy Preservation Trust Museum)

FEATURES: REVIEWS Sarah Smyth reviews

Cinemas of Paris Edited by Jean-Michel Frodon and Dina Iordanova St Andrews: St Andrews Film Studies, 2016 ‘To celebrate cinema theatres in Paris is to celebrate film culture itself’ (xxi).

In no other city in the world does cinema play quite the integral role in the city’s culture as it does in Paris. Cinemas of Paris gives a rich and unique insight into the exceptional role that cinema theatres play as part of the fabric of Parisian life. Adopting the respective roles of cognisant insider and privileged outsider, editors Jean-Michel Frodon and Dina Iordanova, combine a vast array of perspectives from a range of film and city specialists to vividly bring this thriving and unique aspect of Parisian culture to life.

Frodon and Iordanova use an original approach to presenting Parisian cinematic culture. Part social history, part analysis, part inside story, the structure of the book reflects the dynamic and multi-layered cultural phenomenon that it presents. The first section of the book eloquently offers Frodon and Iordanova’s very different, but complementary, first-hand experiences of, and interest in, Parisian cinema culture from the perspective of the native and visiting cinephile. This section of the book culminates in a lively transcribed exchange between the two editors that perfectly conveys their cinephilic world.

Following on from this, Cinemas of Paris explores and presents how some of the less obvious contextual and practical factors such as film festivals, cultural institutions, commercial film chains, help to shape and contribute to Paris’ unique cinema culture. Chapters on aspects of Parisian cinema culture such as those concerning film listing publications Pariscope and L’Officiel des spectacles, or the website AlloCiné, not only illustrate the breadth of cinematic offerings across the city, but also how the traditions, with the accompanying practices of these publications, galvanise and unify the city’s cinephile culture. As filmmaker, Gus Vant Sant describes in the book his first impression in 1975 of Paris’ cinema culture, that it was bound to the film listings rather than the films; “it was the list itself that was quite fantastic and new for me. It was something that I had never witnessed before” (129). Personal insights such as these are interpolated throughout Cinemas of Paris presenting the reader with a series of engaging impressions that provide an intimate insight into the Parisian cinema-going experience.

The final part of the book is concerned with the individual histories of over thirty of Paris’ existing cinemas. These short, but

comprehensive, accounts include little- and wellknown histories, inside stories.

They introduce some of the people that shape this distinctive and renowned culture. Interestingly, the range of cinemas presented is not confined to arthouse cinemas, but covers those deemed by the editors as significant in relation to the city’s dynamic cinema history and illustrate the diversity of the landscape.

The book that results is as entertaining as it is insightful. In many ways Iordanova and Frodon’s collection can be considered to be a series of illuminating snapshots or moments in history. Each concise individual section is tantalizing in its brevity giving the reader a momentary insight into the fascinating cinematic histories contained in each of these buildings, also whetting the appetite just enough to make you want to actually experience the cinemas of Paris for yourself.

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SHOPS & SERVICES Jim Brown extols

Ancient Kauri In Kincaple analogous with the disappearance of our own Kincaple-based woodworker, I have recently Scots pine that blanketed much of northern taken custody of seven magnificent slabs of Scotland before ‘vanishing’ around 5,000 ancient Kauri bog wood, cut from logs which years ago, almost have been carbon dated certainly due to climatic at between 35,000 and change. Exposed 50,000 years old.

I’m thrilled to have such stumps of ‘fossilised’ The wood, indigenous Scots pine can still to New Zealand, is the ancient, scarce, and be seen in areas of oldest workable wood in beautiful material in Rannoch moor. the world, having been Up to 40ft in girth preserved in near-ideal the workshop and am and 180ft high, the conditions below the particularly pleased that no extraction of Kauri logs ground in an oxygen-free peat bog. The longhuman hand was involved from the ground is both time consuming and lived Kauri trees (now a in felling the trees technically difficult, protected species) grew requiring expert use of for over 1,200 years heavy machinery. Each before being buried in log is brought to the surface, carefully milled bogs under the surface of the North Island by with regard to yield and grain. The ground is an unexplained act of nature. The chemicallythen ‘made good’ and returned to the original balanced environment under the bog has kept lie of the land. It is not known how much Kauri the timber in perfect condition. is buried beneath the ground.

The act of nature which led to the The Kauri slabs at my workshop were failure of the Kauri forest in New Zealand cut from a trunk unearthed at Awanui near is not perfectly understood, but is certainly

Dining table Kaitaia on the North Island. They were purchased at source and imported by Scot Willie Scambler, who commissioned me to make 4 bespoke seats from one slab. Despite being in the ground for so long I have planed some of the wood and can confirm that it has retained its beautiful grain qualities, rich colour, with a unique shimmering glow due to the crystallised resins and lignin deep within the wood.

I’m thrilled to have such ancient, scarce, and beautiful material in the workshop and am particularly pleased that no human hand was involved in felling the trees. I’m also very excited about the Kauri commissions which will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

If you would like to discuss a possible Kauri commission – sold with carbon dating certification – please get in touch through my website: www.woodcraftbyjimbrown.co.uk (Photos courtesy Jim Brown)

Jim’s client in New Zealand with the excavated trunk

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Jim with the slab at his workshop

SHOPS & SERVICES Sharon Scott

Followed Her Dream to throw on my ‘abaya’ and meet I am a Nutritional Therapist registered with The British Association for other women on the compound for Applied Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy (BANT), and founder of Bespoke days out on the bus to the souqs Nutri Therapy based in St Andrews. and malls of Riyadh, the rest of the Always interested in health and wellbeing, having tried many diets spare time on my hands finally gave over the years, I have completely changed my mindset, now believing me the opportunity to start studying in a much more balanced approach to health and wellbeing, with selftowards my passion. I completed a acceptance at the forefront – I don’t believe in ‘dieting’. nutrition course from The Institute I was the girl in the library reading the nutrition books when I should of Optimum Nutrition, which I loved. have been studying for my school exams. I managed to get a few passes It gave me the foundations and the under my belt and, with good intentions, started to work in an office job thirst to further my studies, to learn for the bank. With a drive to do well in whatever I do, I managed to land a more and more about how nutrition good position in a great company as a Trainee Management Accountant, and wellbeing can help us all. finding myself studying for an ACCA accountancy qualification. With my We moved back to the UK. Not long after having our son, I began my passions lying elsewhere, I was a fish out of water, never really feeling I Nutritional Therapy Diploma at CNM. My husband’s work then resulted belonged. I was working late into the night studying towards something I in another move for us, this time to Dubai. I had to give up the course, had no interest in, and was exhausted trying to fit into a role as somebody but luckily for me, I found an alternative based in London. This meant I was not.

I needed to travel back and forth to the UK for clinic and study time at Whilst living this lifestyle, I was working hard, perhaps partying even weekends, when my husband and visiting family members watched harder. It was really beginning to take its toll on my health and wellbeing; Matthew. It was hard work, but I made it and qualified with distinction in I knew I had to get out. I made an appointment to see a nutritional October 2013. therapist, who inspired me to make small changes. My life from then We moved to St Andrews more than 2 years onwards was on a different path. I knew then ago, where I have met so many amazing and that this was what I wanted to do, to also support supportive people. Working a few part-time people and show them the importance of good We moved to St Andrews more jobs to help me get to where I am now, I have nutrition, how it can positively impact on overall building up a client base over the last health. I had no idea how I was going to get than 2 years ago, where I have been year. The local running team, STAART, gave there, but I knew that I would. I was willing to do met so many amazing and me the opportunity to offer my support in their whatever it took to follow my dream.

‘Biggest Loser Challenge’. They are an amazing Not long before I took the plunge to change, supportive people group of motivated individuals with over 80 I had completed an office survey that gave a members joining the challenge. Using a body colour for your personality. I just remember composition analyser, I met each of them to take feeling a little embarrassed when my boss said measurements and offer some general healthy eating guidelines based it was ok to have a ‘different’ personality type in the team, as the test on BANT’s scientifically proven approach. Collectively they achieved an concluded my most unlikely career choice was Accountancy!! I remember overall fat loss of over 30 stone in an 8-week period alone. feeling quite different from my other corporate career-driven colleagues in I offer one-to-one consultations and packages with food intolerance the office, so I knew it was time for a change. testing, vitamin D tests, hair mineral analysis, and various other tests. I My boyfriend at the time was working abroad in Saudi Arabia. We work from our Mount Melville Office, St Andrews, and also practice from arranged a holiday in Dubai for a week in the sun. He proposed to me Croftwell House every second Thursday. on the same day after saving a little girl from drowning at the waterpark; I am Co-Chair of the BANT Scotland Committee; we have been how could I say ‘no’!! He maintains to this day that it wasn’t a set-up. We working on our first event, planned for 14 May in Edinburgh entitled ‘Food married in the August of that year. I left my 9 to 5 job in September and Matters’. moved to Saudi Arabia, where I learned about different cultures with their If I can advise one thing, it is to do something you love, for it won’t feel approaches to food and nutrition. like work. If I can do it, anyone can!!

We lived on a compound completely surrounded by barbed wire.

(Photo courtesy Sharon Scott) By now, I was expecting our first child. With not much to do other than

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SHOPS & SERVICES

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SHOPS & SERVICES Hugo D’Bere your Grizzly Gourmet, visited

Tony Macaroni This Restaurant is the latest entrant into the Italian Restaurant ‘competition’, which appears to be going on in St Andrews.

One Saturday night Muffy and I were looking for something fairly light and quick to eat. We were unable to get into Little Italy, our first choice. We decided to go to Tony Macaroni in Bell Street. This was, of course, originally Bella Italia and it appears to be quite a large chain of restaurants with branches in Glasgow, Dunfermline, East Kilbride, Largs, Livingston, Motherwell, etc. In fact, the website lists a total of 12 branches.

As a chain the offerings are fairly standard. The décor is fairly bland, a bit odd, but the staff are certainly very friendly and helpful. The restaurant is obviously majoring on Italian dishes, mainly pizza and pasta.

Muffy and I both had a baked Aubergine with a tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese with a little garlic bread. This was a healthysized portion, quite filling in itself. It was perhaps a little over-heavy on the cheese.

I had Lasagne, which was perfectly acceptable; again perhaps a little heavy on the cheese.

Muffy had a pizza, with mushroom and peppers. Her criticism was that it was rather dry round the edges, but quite wet in the middle. It was a huge portion she was unable to finish.

The meal was washed down with a small, i.e 175 ml glass of Pinot Grigio and I had a 250ml glass of Italian Merlot, both perfectly acceptable.

As there was no room for dessert, I simply had a quick expresso, which was complimentary in fact. It was good Kimbo coffee. The rule with Italian coffee is that if you can chew it, it is good! Tap water was also available.

The desserts were fairly standard, not that exciting – sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownies, gelato, fresh fruit salad, lemon sorbet, pizza dolce, cheesecake, and tiramisu.

Having said that, what else can you expect?

The menu is certainly extensive and there are various side dishes, each at £2.95.

Our starters came in about £5.95 each, the pizza about £8.95 and the pasta at £8.95.

The whole bill, including tip, was about £50. That seems to be about the standard cost for such fare in an Italian Restaurant.

Undoubtedly this will be popular with the students, although on the Saturday night we were there, it was very quiet. There is more seating upstairs. One note about the music; it was a bit loud, certainly not Italian style music. If you want “o sole mio” playing gently in the background, this is not the place to go.

The wine list is Italian, as one would expect, with 13 reds and 9 whites. Peroni is on draft.

It is most certainly suitable for the cubs and I would award it 7/10.

If you want comparisons, I would say: not as good as Little Italy, but better than Zizzi’s, or Prezzo, and on a par with Pizza Express.

But then, that’s only a subjective judgement of a small bear!

(Photo by Flora Selwyn)

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SHOPS & SERVICES

From your Roving Reporter 1. Derek Lamont of Home Innovations Fife Ltd, contacted Reporter to tell him about their new and extended range of hardware, quality hand and power tools, and Ironmongery, at his showroom in Bassaguard Business Park, St Andrews. Derek explains his business as a “one stop local shop” for trade, DIY, and retail customers alike. There’s a huge variety of goods on offer from ironmongery, composite doors, PVC-u windows & doors, kitchens, appliances, flooring & Crown paints. The prices are competitive while the quality speaks for itself, with budget ranges through to high-end manufacturers available.

Reporter suggests paying a visit in order to appreciate the product range, friendly knowledgeable staff, free hot drinks & free parking!

The showroom is open 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 8.00am to 1.00pm Saturday. See also the website: www.homeinnovationsfife.net Email: info@homeinnovationsfife.net Or phone: 01334 753 003.

2.

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CrossFit trainer, covering a variety of high-intensity interval training, which can include weight lifting, calisthenics, gymnastics etc.

Sam and Olivia got married here last year, so a longheld ambition to move to St Andrews has finally come true! Further information is at: www.ffsa.co.uk email: info@ffsa.co.uk Sam Rowlands (Photo by Flora Selwyn)

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4. Reporter is scratching his head wondering about cause and effect!

In the last issue he was celebrating the long trading history of Jamie the Florist in South Street; the next minute he was discovering that Jamie was flitting. Actually, it is not a sad story, for you will find Jamie, doing exactly what he’s always loved doing, but now headhunted by The Balgove Larder Farm Shop, Strathtyrum Farm, Guardbridge Road (01334 898 145). It’s not far from the town centre. Loyal customers, and everyone, please take note!

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Fraser Cunningham invited Reporter to visit his Nibbles ‘n’ Giggles at 95 Tom Morris Drive, St Andrews (Phone: 07803 207 892).

What was once a somewhat unruly pub has been transformed into an airy, welcoming café, with a “separate creative play area where children can let their imagination run away with them”. Fraser is an enthusiastic entrepreneur dedicated to making local people happy.

Sit in or take away, quality coffees, teas, hot chocolate, soups, scones, baking, and ‘specials’ are available 7 days a week, Monday to Saturday 9.00am to 5.00pm, Sundays 10.00am to 5.00pm. The play area with a Wendy House and wooden toys is available any time during opening hours, and no-one is obliged to buy anything! Reporter was curious about the name: Fraser said he and his wife Rachael came to it while driving to work one day. ‘Nibbles’ refers to the food, naturally, while ‘Giggles’ suggests a relaxing fun time. The premises are available for meetings, or children’s parties. Any suggestions are welcome. It’s a true family business with Mum helping out; Motherin-law in the kitchen; Rachael looking after the business side; brother Drew the photographer providing the literature. Well worth a detour, says Reporter with feeling!

(Photo courtesy Drew Cunningham)

5. Five years ago Beno and Caroline came from 15 years in Aberdeen to open their restaurant Little Italy at 2 Logies Lane, St Andrews, (01334 472 595). Now they have expanded into next door, adding more tables, also a bar comfortably seating six people.

Local workmen have succeeded in a seamless transformation.

The décor is delightfully quirky; a huge photo of Beno’s father surrounded by cousins graces one wall, while a Vespa scooter sits on another. There are photos and wine bottles everywhere, as well as a portrait of Beno in which he is surrounded by Italian iconography. Beno learned his trade the traditional way, starting at age 19 in Edinburgh washing dishes. “He is”, says Caroline, “very focused, very forward looking. He loves his work and loves people.” The happy atmosphere in the restaurant is testimony to that, remarks Reporter. The authentic Italian menu is wide ranging, subtly changing over the year. There is a very comprehensive wine list, which will shortly include Prosecco cocktails. The four chefs in the kitchen – among them Leon, Caroline and Beno’s elder son, alongside his father, while younger son Darrius is at Elmwood studying hospitality – are supported by well-trained student waiters.

Opening hours are 7 days a week from 12.30 to 11.00pm (10.30pm in winter). Reporter advises reserving a table well ahead. Little Italy has been nominated for the Scottish Business Awards 2016, a measure of its well-earned popularity.

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3. For those looking to get fit Reporter suggests a visit to Functional Fitness St Andrews (FFSA), 56a Largo Road, St Andrews (07545 168 032). Situated in what used to be the auction rooms, this new gym has space for every kind of workout, every kind of equipment.

Sam Rowlands, with partners Jonny Crowe and Graham McCann, offer personalised programmes, as well as five classes per day, from 6.30am to 8.30pm. Sam stresses the importance of each participant being comfortable with what he/she is doing. There is no competitive edge. In fact, Sam thinks of the gym as having “a good sense of community”, a family atmosphere in which everyone is equal, noone is self-conscious or feels intimidated. Sam is also a certificated

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(Photo courtesy Caroline)

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SHOPS & SERVICES 6.

over many years and in so many areas, for the citizens of St Andrews. He has played a pivotal role in the town’s life during his period as a local councillor, continuing undaunted throughout his retirement, to this present day. This recognition of his dedication to our Royal Burgh is richly deserved.” Warm congratulations are due. Details of Bill’s life can be found in this magazine, issue 31 Nov/Dec 2008.

(Photo courtesy Marysia Denyer)

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Reporter’s taste buds were tickled by news of a very innovative business, The Cone of Golf Truck, started by two good friends, former Caddie Manager at St Andrews Links, Robert Thorpe, and former Starter at St Andrews Links, Malcolm Wowk. Having worked in the leisure and tourism world for more than twenty years, the pair decided to marry their love of golf with their love of ice cream!

The result is a handsome Truck selling Jannetta’s ice cream, “a variety of sweets and treats to tantilise your taste buds”, along with a range of hot and cold drinks – just listen out for The Chariots of Fire theme song chimes! The Truck can be hired for any event, adding lustre and fun. Reporter thinks this wonderful idea will be extremely popular. Contact by email: info@theconeofgolf.com or visit the website: www.theconeofgolf.com (Photo courtesy Cone of Golf)

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7. Hotel du Vin’s Sales & Events Manager, Dianna Bruce is enthusiastic about the Hotel’s own ‘secret garden’: “With the longer days and brighter nights now the norm for the next few months, we get excited about the great outdoors. Wanting to spend time in the garden, pottering with plants and flowers, enjoying nice walks and of course enjoying the summer sun over a glass of wine. Tucked away behind The Scores, there is something magical that seeing is believing. Here we have added retro lighting, wicker furniture, also increased the decking area, to offer the perfect haven for all. What makes it fantastic is the garden can be accessed through the Hotel or from the car park off North Street. So, perfect for everyone, as it is all on one level. Whether it is a morning coffee with the girls, a business meeting with a difference, or just the opportunity to enjoy a warm spring evening with Pinot and our famous Al Fresco menu, there’s always a reason to get out and enjoy the outside. Our secret garden is open all day every day; pop in for something nice and chilled this summer.” Contact, 01334 845 313. Email: Dianna.Bruce@hotelduvin.com

9. Caroline and Alex Nite, owners of The Old Cheese Shop in Burghers Close, South Street, (01334 477 355), have transformed their premises in the two years of successful trading which they are celebrating. Reporter is amazed at the spaciousness they have created. Not only that, but they now serve artisan food all day, 7 days a week. Caroline told Reporter that, “Encouraged by the positive reception of our Garden Café, located in the picturesque courtyard in front of the shop, we decided to open an indoor café and wine bar. With this, we’ve made it possible for customers to enjoy our offerings all year round, no matter the weather. The Old Cheese Shop Café and Wine Bar menu ranges from traditional Scottish homemade fudge and clootie dumpling, to paninis and crêpes, both sweet and savoury, as well as daily specials, and French onion soup which is already everyone’s favourite. When the sun is out, the Garden Café is an ideal place in which to enjoy a coffee, or a glass of wine, with one of our cheese platters, but on a rainy or windy day customers can enjoy the intimate setting of the new café and wine bar inside a unique historical building. The menu is available online at: www.oldcheeseshop.co.uk You can even gift a voucher for a Sparkling Afternoon Tea for 2.” Reporter enjoyed a crêpe with artisan cheese, and Boy! Was it good!

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10. And to finish on a high: Ronnie Grant reports that the 2016 Fife Business Awards took place in front of 300 guests from the Fife business community in Glenrothes on Friday, 18 March. Hosted by broadcasting personality Kaye Adams, the ceremony was a fantastic celebration of Fife’s diverse and successful business community.

St Andrews had more than its fair share of success, with 3 winning businesses from the town: • •

(Photo courtesy Hotel du Vin)

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8. Reporter was delighted to learn that on Tuesday, 22 March, our indefatigable Bill Sangster was awarded a Highly Commended Certificate, in the Scottish Civic Trust ‘Civic Champion’ Awards 2016, in Glasgow. Nominated by the St Andrews Preservation Trust, Trustee Marysia Denyer commends Bill for having “worked tirelessly

•

Winner of The Excellence in Food & Drink Award sponsored by Clydesdale Bank, was Jannetta’s Gelateria Ltd – taking the title from two other local companies.

Winner of A Workforce for the Future Award, sponsored by Fife Chamber of Commerce, was RB Grant Ltd, Electrical Contractors – for their dedication to apprenticeships and working closely with local schools and colleges.

Winner of The Most Enterprising Start-up Company Award, sponsored by Business Gateway Fife, was Xelect Ltd, the University of St Andrews spin-out company, which uses genetics to boost the size of salmon in fish farms – recognised for their achievements so far.

Judging panels, drawn from the local Fife business community itself, received presentations from each shortlisted business before the winners were decided.

15

TOWN & GOWN Caroline Taylor is an alumna of the University of St Andrews, with an MA (Hons) in French, Italian, and Spanish. Later this year, she begins an MMus in Vocal Studies and Opera at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, as a scholarship student under Louise Winter. During her time in St Andrews, Caroline appeared in principal roles with the University’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society and Byre Opera. She also held choral scholarships with St Andrews Chorus and Holy Trinity Church Choir and was the University’s Cedric Thorpe Davie Vocal Scholar. This year, Caroline has taken up study with Australian tenor Anthony Roden, whilst continuing to perform in Scotland and the south of England. Here, Caroline tells us what else she’s been up to since graduating – and what the future holds for an aspiring operatic soprano.

From St Andrews to the stage!

How time flies. It seems only yesterday I moved into Andrew Melville Hall rewarding experience; I explored some fascinating works while planning and took my first classes in the Buchanan Building! Now, nine months my programme. Later this month, I will join British Youth Opera for their after graduating from St Andrews, I can’t wait to begin the next leg of my Opera Workshops, performing arias by Puccini and Britten, while working academic journey – this time pursuing my studies as a singer. on scenes from Mozart’s Così fan tutte as Fiordiligi. Also, in mid-April, Although I have always loved singing, it wasn’t until my third year I joined the Kellie Consort for their performances of Bach’s Mass in B of university that I realized it was the only career imaginable to me. minor, taking place in St Andrews and Edinburgh. It’s certainly a lifestyle I During my Erasmus placement at Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, I was could get used to! able to study singing with soprano Anna Maria Panzarella – tuition that However, I am perhaps most excited about starting my post-graduate was generously funded by a Stevenson Scholarship from the University degree at the Royal Northern College of Music this autumn. I will be of Glasgow. Anna Maria’s focus was on operatic repertoire, also studying under British mezzo-soprano Louise Winter on their MMus French mélodie, giving me huge insight into course, which encompasses both vocal composers such as Mozart, Meyerbeer, Ravel. studies and operatic training. The RNCM Paris was a greatly inspiring city in which stages three full-scale operatic productions Although I have always loved to live; with the Palais Garnier just around a year providing numerous opportunities the corner, I was able to attend the opera take part in opera scenes and song singing, it wasn’t until my third year to regularly, taking full advantage of under-26 competitions; what better way to put my of university that I realized it was prices for cultural events. languages degree to good use!

Studying at St Andrews played a crucial I’m sure my two years in Manchester will the only career imaginable to me role in encouraging me to apply for music fly by, so I’m already planning for the future. colleges. I am grateful to the University and Following the completion of my MMus, I my former singing teachers Jonathan May would love to progress to an opera school or and Clare Shearer for their support. I can’t think of any other institution studio to receive intensive training for the international platform. Becoming where students are able to perform in music and theatre ensembles of a professional opera singer is a lengthy and challenging process, such high calibre alongside their degrees! This combination of arts and requiring complete dedication. ‘No man is an island’, and I continue to be academia can produce very exciting results; for one of my final-year grateful for the support of colleagues, friends, and family on this musical French modules, I was able to contribute to a new English translation of journey. I couldn’t be happier to have taken my first steps towards the Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, which was then used for performance by the stage!

University’s own opera company, Byre Opera.

I am always delighted to return to the East Neuk. This summer I look forward to joining Byre Opera again, in the role of Governess Join Caroline for a recital of works by Puccini, G&S, Barber, in their production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. This completes R. Strauss, Mozart and more on Thursday, 26 May 2016, from the company’s sequence of Britten’s chamber operas and will see 7.30pm in Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Accompanied by performances taking place in venues across Scotland, as well as at Jakub Gutkowski, the performance will be introduced by the home in the beautiful Byre Theatre. Byre Opera achieves a great level University’s Director of Music, Michael Downes. It will feature of professionalism in their productions, this year’s cast having already special guests Rebecca Anderson (mezzo-soprano) and Peter benefited from coaching with Britain’s leading singers, including Brian Sutton (baritone). Tickets can be bought on the door, or in Bannatyne-Scott and John Graham-Hall. advance, by calling 07506 168 382; £10, £8 concessions, free for Whilst getting to know the Governess, I’ve been keeping busy with under-16s. Funds raised will go to support Caroline’s studies at a few other things! In January, I performed as Yum-Yum in The Mikado, the RNCM. Keep up-to-date with Caroline’s musical journey at: with Southampton Operatic Society. It was a great pleasure to sing in www.carolinetaylorsoprano.com my home town, getting to know the musical community of Southampton once more. In March, I was thrilled to be awarded second prize in my first English song and poetry competition, the Courtney Kenny Award.

(Photo courtesy Alia Thomas Photography) Performing a recital based on both speaking and singing was a very

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18

TOWN & GOWN Five Graduands offer their

Reflections from the Class of 2016 1. Shreya Kakkar – who organised this report Management (from Wokingham, Berkshire) In many ways St Andrews is like my hometown. That, at least, was the conclusion I had reached by the time I sent off my application to the University. Unfortunately, I have always considered my hometown to be quite, well, dull, and I was therefore fully expecting to find St Andrews, a town half the size, twice as dull (if that’s even possible). But, as it turns out, what concerned me most about living here ended up being exactly what made my time here so enjoyable. I have found that St Andrews’ relatively small size means that almost everything I need is within walking distance (or within taxi distance if I’m ever feeling really lazy). Like my hometown, St Andrews has a mix of local and chain shops, as well as more restaurants, cafés, and pubs than any reasonable person could ever hope to visit (although I have been trying); but it also has beaches, museums, a castle, an aquarium, a pier, a botanical garden, and a cathedral – I think there might even be a golf course? – which, as far as I know, my hometown entirely lacks (though I don’t really get out much so perhaps I’m wrong). However, as nice as it is to have all of these attractions so close, it would not mean nearly as much if I did not also have so many friends close too. I feel very fortunate to have spent the better part of the last four years near to so many people I like, and I’m sure that no longer being able to regularly meet with them in a pub, or at the beach, is what I shall miss most about ‘The Bubble’.

After asking several of my fellow to-be graduates how they found their time in St Andrews, I was happy to discover that although we come from different parts of the world, study different courses, and have different aspirations, we have all found something in this three-street town for us.

2. Seamus Crumley Medicine (from Strathaven, Lanarkshire) Coming from a tiny town, I was pretty anxious about moving away from home to come to St Andrews – nearly everyone I knew from school continued to live with their parents and attended university locally – but I never regretted my decision to come here. It’s an amazing place, a town on the east coast of Scotland that manages to contain so much of the world, and there is a sense of community here that you would never be able to experience in the anonymity of a city. I’ve made amazing friends here, and while it may be difficult to keep up with all of them after graduation, I hope to keep in touch with all of them. It feels weird to leave such a massive part of my life behind.

Come September, when I’m preparing to start at another university, I’ll already be missing St Andrews.

3. Vasanthi Gunasekaran International Relations (from Singapore) Coming from a place like Singapore, I definitely found St Andrews quite disconnected from the rest of the world.

It took me a while before I started appreciating it for what it was. It has in many ways limited my options in terms of travelling and in gaining a holistic student experience because it is extremely comfortable. However, it had other great things to offer, like a strong student community and a peaceful environment.

Besides, the diversity of the people here, in some ways, has made up for what it lacks. Looking back now, I think I wouldn’t have had it any other way, because this is an experience I will never be able to get anywhere else. It is a love-hate relationship.

4. Lindsay Hamel Management and International Relations (from Syracuse, New York) Hailing from Syracuse, NY, but having lived in Manhattan and London, my drive back into St Andrews is always a complacent one. As I withdraw from the excitement of city life however, I drive into the possibilities offered by a small town: lasting friendships and a tightknit community that comes only from a place with three streets. In New York and London your next enticing adventure is always around the corner; in St Andrews what’s around the corner is probably a half-eaten box of Dervish. But it’s this common bond, that we are all here united by the same purpose – to aim for success and help each other along the way – that expanded my perspective.

Rector Catherine Stihler put it best when she concluded in her installation speech that, “Friends Make St Andrews”. If it weren’t for the shared stumbles amid the cobblestones, I don’t know if the late nights at the library would be as tolerable, or the catch-ups over coffee as energetic.

Where at other universities there is

competition, St Andrews’ small-town spirit consistently provides friendship. In big cities you find elbows out, in St Andrews you find a helping hand.

5. Maggie Sadler Comparative Literature and English (from Howell, Michigan) When I first thought to move to Scotland, nothing motivated me so much as a desire for adventure. Growing up in a secluded community in Michigan, I had spent most of my childhood reading books about far-off places and feats of daring. So St Andrews — with its antiquated ruins, ample stretch of coastline, and the bravery needed to move thousands of miles away from home — seemed as good a place as any to begin my own story. However, as I look back over my four years here, St Andrews as a town has come to mean much more to me than merely somewhere to go.

The whiskey-hued sunsets flowing gently over the hills, the snowdrops blanketing Lade Braes, the whisper of the North Sea under a crisp full moon: simple, everyday occurrences in this town have left me utterly enchanted. I think this is why I have fallen in love with the town of St Andrews: its simplicity and charm are its magic.

(Photo courtesy Shreya Kakkar)

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TOWN & GOWN Lorna Weir

‘From St Andrews to South America’ – Inspiring objects from MUSA’s One World exhibition

For me there is no greater thrill than hopping on a plane, flying off to apart and culturally very different, the people of these different places some exciting location to immerse myself in a new and foreign culture all have the same experiences, but respond to them in different ways. for sometimes months on end. Travelling is my greatest passion in life; I I think it was also an excuse for the curators to showcase some of the have been so lucky to have visited many places around Asia, Oceania, really interesting artefacts that we have here, that don’t get shown too Europe, both North and South America. This is possibly the reason why often! Common themes that you can see running through the exhibits my other great passion in life is museums. I love learning about not only are, for example, money, religious artefacts, weapons, wildlife, natural my local history, but also about the past in national and products, also examples of how people across the international contexts. Museums are a brilliant place to do world spend their social time. just that. They also showcase some fascinatingly weird Most exciting was that this exhibition contained a and wonderful objects from different cultures, so overall variety of objects from South America, predominantly For me there is no a fantastic place for me to be able to indulge both of my Peru, objects that I actually recognised from my greater thrill than biggest passions in life. recent travels. For example there is a ceramic Pucara I have just completed my Masters at the University hopping on a plane, Bull that is placed on the roofs of homes, often with of St Andrews in Museum and Galleries Studies. During a religious cross, for good luck, fertility of crops and flying off to some my studies I was fortunate enough to be taken on by the livestock, and to bring prosperity. There is also a Tumi, Museum of the University of St Andrews (MUSA) as a which is used in Inca ceremonies to worship the sun. exciting location Visitor Services Facilitator. It has been such a joy to learn These festivals took place at the end of the potato about the history of the University whilst actually studying and maize harvests thanking the sun for the abundant there. Now that I have graduated, MUSA have thankfully crops of that season, or to ask for better crops next kept me on as I search for that, sometimes elusive, ‘first’ full-time job. season. Probably the most recognisable of all these objects is the I thought that I would make good use of this time before entering the shawl, or Lliclla, and the Tupu pins. The design on the shawl varies workplace properly, therefore I took myself off to South America and depending on the region, ethnic group, tribe, or period of time that the North America for 5 weeks. This was an amazing experience, taking wearer belonged to; the more elaborate design on the top of the Tupu in the Galapagos Islands, the West Coast of the USA, with my new pin, the higher the position or social standing of the woman. The shawl favourite country . . . Peru. is extremely colourful, something which definitely embodies the culture You can imagine my excitement then when, shortly after my return of South America. to MUSA from this trip, their new exhibition ‘One World: Exploring There is evidence that human life on South America dates back to Cultures Across Continents’ opened. This exhibition showcases objects around 9000 BC. There were many indigenous groups living in South from the University’s own collection that have come from the different America, the Incas being the largest at the time when the continent was continents around the world. It aims to show that, though physically far colonised by, most predominantly, the Spanish and Portuguese. This history, and the combination of these two cultures, is probably one of the reasons why I find South America most fascinating, and in some places, such as Peru, you can literally see the cultures merging, almost fighting to keep their presence seen. For example, in cities such as Cusco there are Spanish colonial buildings built on top of existing, still clearly visible, Inca foundations. The communities built by the Incas, such as Machu Picchu, are truly awe-inspiring; the sheer intelligence they had about how the world works is fascinating. They had an amazing understanding of such things as earthquakes, how to withstand them, which is why places like Machu Picchu are still so intact today. This is something that the Spanish should have taken into consideration, as their contributions to the landscape of the cities are forever being damaged. No matter how much influence the Spanish had, nor how many changes they tried to impart, people in Peru are still fiercely proud of their Incan heritage. It is the contrast between, but also the blending of these two cultures which makes Peru, indeed South America, such a unique and compelling place.

Even though the exhibition has been up for a couple of months now I still thoroughly enjoy walking through it, gazing upon the variety of unique and intriguing objects on display. As well as those objects from Peru, you can also see a homemade butter churn from Morocco, a Narwhal tusk from Antarctica, a Gurkha knife from Nepal, a piece of Dutch delftware, a Spitzharfe from Germany, a fish hook made from turtle shell, bone and pearl from Polynesia, and much, much more. The range of events accompanying the exhibition also present excellent opportunities to learn about new cultures from all over the world, to prompt memories of past trips abroad, maybe to inspire future ones . . . at least for me!

The exhibition runs until the 30th October 2016. It has an excellent schedule of events to accompany it, both for children and adults.

Highlights include a Maori warrior skills day for children (11 June), a bushcraft workshop for adults (26 June) and a talk by St Andrews anthropologist Sabine Hyland who has been conducting research among some of the most remote communities in the Andes (16 June). You can visit: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/museum or pick up a MUSA ‘What’s On’ guide for full details.

Lorna Weir by Machu Picchu

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(Photo courtesy Lorna Weir)

TOWN & GOWN Paul Vyšný, retired member of staff of St Andrews University with a special interest in the history of Central and Eastern Europe.

Remembering a Missing Martyr

Two recent acts of historical remembrance in St Andrews have given Lollard views, based on the teaching of the 14th-century English rise to a long-overdue further commemoration. The restoration of the religious reformer John Wycliffe, were in circulation amongst some Martyrs’ Monument in the spring of 2013 drew fresh attention to the four of its members. Certainly, academics at St Andrews were required to men put to death in the town during the Protestant swear an oath of loyalty to the Church in 1417, Reformation. Also, during the summer of 2013, a suggesting a degree of underlying tension. There statue of Bishop Henry Wardlaw, the founder of is also the possibility of a personal motive for Who was Pavel Kravař?

St Andrews University, was unveiled within the Pavel Kravař coming to Scotland. His period of grounds of St Mary’s College. These diversely study in Paris coincided with the presence of a His name suggests he commemorated lives may seem unconnected, number of Scots, one of whom, John Crannoch, came from the village of but they are linked by the figure of Pavel Kravař subsequently became Bishop of Brechin, within – better known in Scotland as Paul Craw – an easy reach of St Andrews.

Kravaře, near Opava, in emissary of the Hussites in Bohemia, who, like Whatever the reason for Pavel Kravař’s southern Silesia, today part journey to St Andrews, the chronicler Walter those commemorated on the Martyrs’ Monument, was burned to death in St Andrews on account Bower, entertained no doubts concerning its of the Czech Republic of his reformist beliefs. The person responsible purpose. He recorded that Pavel Kravař was for initiating his persecution was Bishop Henry sent by the reformers in Prague, who were Wardlaw. “very influential in their wicked ways”, in order Pavel Kravař is sometimes referred to as the “missing martyr” “to corrupt the Kingdom of the Scots”. Walter Bower added that the of St Andrews, in the sense that there has been no memorial to him emissary came with letters of recommendation from the Hussites “as an in the town – but the historical record itself is also very incomplete. outstanding practitioner in the art of medicine”, suggesting that Pavel The most authoritative account of his death is given by the Abbot of Kravař journeyed to St Andrews in some official capacity on behalf of Inchcolm, Walter Bower, in the fifteenth-century Scotichronicon, where the reformist leadership in Prague, using his skills as a physician to gain it is recorded that, on 23 July 1433, Paulus Crawar (in the Latin original) entry to the local community. was accused at St Andrews and, If Pavel Kravař did indeed being found an obstinate heretic, travel to St Andrews in order to “was convicted, condemned, put find friends and sympathisers, he to the fire and burned to ashes”. was destined to be disappointed, A subsequent source located the because the Church and University burning in the “centre of the market authorities were at that time square”, probably therefore in the staunch upholders of Catholic vicinity of the Mercat Cross, the site orthodoxy. Sometime after his of which is marked today by a cross arrival in St Andrews, the visitor of red cobbles in Market Street. A was arrested on the orders of further detail was added later by the Bishop Henry Wardlaw and, religious reformer, John Knox, who following interrogation, probably claimed that a brass ball was placed by the formidable Laurence of in the victim’s mouth to prevent him Lindores, Scotland’s fearsome addressing the assembled crowd. official inquisitor, was tried and Who was Pavel Kravař? His sentenced to death for refusing name suggests he came from the to renounce his views. During his village of Kravaře, near Opava, interrogation and trial, Pavel Kravař in southern Silesia, today part of evidently offered a spirited defence the Czech Republic. The date of of his beliefs. Walter Bower, who his birth can only be estimated as was certainly no friend of the being around 1390. He attended Hussite emissary, nevertheless universities in France, first at paid him a handsome compliment Montpellier – where he studied by noting that he was “fluent medicine – and later in Paris, and skilled in divinity and biblical graduating as Master of Arts in 1415. argument”, though he added Although, evidently, possessing that the accused “displayed his sufficient means to travel, Pavel stupidity by stubbornly maintaining” Kravař was not a person of great his reformist views. wealth, since the records of the The 600th anniversary, in University of Paris indicate that his 2015, of the burning at the stake fees were waived on the grounds for heresy of Jan Hus, whose of poverty. In 1416, he returned to death inspired the reform Hussite Central Europe taking up a position movement that was responsible at the University of Prague, where he for Pavel Kravař’s ill-fated journey probably adopted the cause of social to Scotland, renewed interest in and religious reform inspired by the the events of 1433 in St Andrews.

Czech religious reformer Jan Hus. Thanks to the generosity of the However, Pavel Kravař appears not to have played a prominent part in Czech community in the United Kingdom and to the assistance of the the Hussite leadership and, in the early 1420s, he left Prague to enter St Andrews Preservation Trust, a memorial plaque has been installed the service of the Polish King, Władysław Jagiełło, as a physician and close to the former location of the Mercat Cross in Market Street. The where he remained until shortly before making the journey to Scotland. plaque design incorporates the shape of a chalice, symbolic of the The precise reason for Pavel Kravař’s journey to St Andrews is Hussite belief of communion under both kinds (bread and wine) being unclear. But, following a decisive Hussite victory over an expeditionary received by the laity. It is also fitting that this ancient link between army sent into Bohemia by the Catholic Church authorities in 1431, Scotland and Bohemia is marked by an inscription, not only in English, the stage was set for the Council of Basel, at which reconciliation but also in Czech, the language of the Hussites, which replaced Latin was to be sought between the warring religious parties. The Hussites in their religious observances, and in defence of whose beliefs Pavel might, therefore, have sent Pavel Kravař to Scotland in search of allies Kravař paid the ultimate price. for the Council. Perhaps they were hoping to find support in the then (Photo courtesy Paul Vyšný) recently-founded University in St Andrews, believing that reformist

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EVENTS Ronald Sandford is enthusiastic about the

Crail Festival 2016 From all accounts Crail Festival 2015 was an unqualified success. Once again, this year’s objective is to match the very high standards set over so many years. The Festival Committee is quietly confident that this year’s programme – Wednesday, 20 July to Saturday, 30 July – will have very broad appeal. The everpopular Art Exhibition, Street Market, quiz Night, and Festival Ceilidh will feature prominently.

Already people are wondering whether last year’s amazing total of 4,216 putting rounds will be beaten? The putting green will be open Saturday, 25 June to Sunday, 28 August. Come and help us beat last year’s record for putting rounds.

Mischa MacPherson

A wonderful programme of music will be at the heart of this Festival. It will include: the amazing Jimi Shandrix Experience Ceilidh Band, which will certainly enliven the Festival Ceilidh on the first night; Opera Bohemia Pagliacci; the incomparable Richard Digance will be conducting a Song Writing Workshop, in addition to his keenly anticipated performance; the inimitable Les Barker will be entertaining us with his zany poems and parodies of wellknown songs; Gaelic folk from the Mischa Macpherson Trio, winners of the 2014 BBC Young Folk Award; Matthew McAllister, a “local” classical guitarist rapidly gaining worldwide recognition; the legendary Jimmie McGregor, who will be performing his acclaimed ‘Gathering of Songs, Stories and Famous Folk’; the hugely popular, irrepressible Christine Bovill who will capture her audience with her poignant interpretation of songs about Paris; and Buddy Holly and the Cricketers, our headline act, who will bring the Festival to a rousing, rocking close.

Children’s Activities are always accorded a very high priority and this year have been further enhanced with the inclusion of; Afternoon at the Movies The Good Dinosaur; Balance Bikes; ZooLab; Great Crail Bake Off; Fused Glass Kids’ Class; a Krafty Kids’ Workshop.

The engaging, lively Illyria company will be performing Midsummer Night’s Dream. Clive

Illyria Russell, the prominent Scottish actor, will be introducing Desert Island Poems, with musical accompaniment by the hugely-talented harpist Rachel Newton, at an afternoon tea event on 27 July; and Kirkcaldy’s “own” Val McDermid, a crime writer with a world-wide reputation, will be talking about her work with Russel D McLean (crime writer, critic, and general miscreant – “his words, not mine!”). .......and there is much more!

Follow the build up to the Festival on www.crailfestival.com, Facebook.com/Crail Festival and Crail Festival on Pinterest.

Tickets will be on sale from the Byre Theatre Box Office starting 30 May 2016.

(Photos courtesy Crail Festival)

Chinese & Cantonese Restaurant Sit in or takeaway Opening Times: Monday and Wednesday – Saturday 12.00pm – 2.30pm & 4.30pm – 11.00pm Sunday 4.30pm – late Tuesday – Closed 11-13 Crails Lane St Andrews, Fife Tel: 01334 467822

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EVENTS Alan Tricker introduces

Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits Members of St Andrews Play Club are ‘brushing-up’ their Shakespeare. Kenny Lindsay decided that the Play Club, being the longest established drama group in the area, should celebrate the 400th anniversary of the death of the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon. He has devised a humorous revue of the work of William Shakespeare, which features extracts from some of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, as well as songs and sketches with a Shakespearean theme, drawn from a variety of sources. All the plays get a mention, but for the lesser known it may be just the title! The revue is being performed in St Andrews’ smallest theatre – upstairs at the Preservation Trust Museum in North Street. Many of the actors have taken part there in performances by Red Wine

Productions, notably, It’ll be Alright on the Night, which was performed in 2014 to coincide with an exhibition on the history of the Byre Theatre.

After three nights at the museum the revue will be touring to rural Perthshire. All performances in St Andrews are to support both the Museum and the Friends of the Byre.

So come along and enjoy Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and more, in this irreverent, but ultimately respectful show. It is on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 18-20 May at 7.30pm. Advance booking is recommended as the auditorium is tiny!

Tickets (£10) are available from the Museum on North Street (01334 477629) or by email: curator@standrewspreservationtrust.org (Photo of the cast, courtesy Alan Tricker)

Selected Events Sunday, 1 May – 2.00pm. New Picture House, North Street.

Lucia Di Lammermoor. Live from the Royal Opera House.

Contact: 01334 474 902.

Wednesday, 4 May – 5.15pm. School III St Salvator’s Quad, North Street. Inaugural Lecture by Professor Jane Stabler, School of English.

Tursday, 5 May – 7.30pm. St Salvator’s chapel, North Street.

The Artisans St Andrews Music Club on a musical journey through Medieval Europe.

Saturday, 7 May – 9.00am-1.00pm. Argyle Street car park.

Farmers’ Market.

Saturday, 7 to Monday, 9 May – 10.00am-6.00pm daily.

Open Studios North Fife. Artists all over North Fife (one in St Andrews) open their doors to the public. Detailed leaflets available in shops and at Waterstones, also website: www.openstudiosfife.co.uk Monday, 9 May – 5.15pm. Physics & Astronomy Building, North Haugh. The Templeton Prize Lecture by Templeton Prize Laureate Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Contact: eric.r.priest@gmail.com Saturday, 14 May – 11.0am-4.00pm. St Andrews Museum, Kinburn Park. It’s a Crewel World, join Louise Foster from the Wemyss School of Needlework for a beginner’s workshop to Crewelwork Embroidery – materials provided, booking required.

Until Sunday, 15 May – At the Gateway Galleries, North Haugh. Skyward, a Study in Flight. An exhibition curated by Postgraduate student Kit Martin, bringing together art and the science of flight. Special events are planned around this exhibition. For information please see: www.skyward2016.org Wednesday, 18 May – 7.15pm. New Picture House, North Street.

Frankenstein. The Royal Ballet. Contact: 01334 474 902.

Friday, 20 May to Sunday, 28 August – Scottish Fisheries Museum, ANSTRUTHER. The Forth at War. Exploring the role of the Royal Navy in World War 1. Contact: 01333 310 628, linda@scotfishmuseum.org Thursday, 26 May – 7.30pm St Andrews Episcopal Church, Queen’s Terrace. Recital by Caroline Taylor, soprano, accompanied on the piano by Jakub Gutkowski. Special guests, Rebecca Anderson, mezzo-soprano, and Peter Sutton, baritone. Music by Puccini, Barber, R Strauss, Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan and others. Michael Downes, the University’s Director of Music will introduce the concert. Tickets, £10, concessions £8, under-16s Free. At the door, or in advance, contact: 07506 168 382. Funds to support Caroline’s musical journey: www.carolinetaylorsoprano.com

*****

Thursday, 2 June – 12.45pm. All Saints Church Hall, North Castle Street, St Andrews. Simon Chadwick, medieval harp recital.

Admission free. Contact: simon@simonchadwick.net Saturday, 4 June – 9.00am-1.00pm. Argyle Street car park.

Farmers’ Market.

Sunday, 5 June – 11.30am-1.00pm. West Sands. Chariots 2016 kids race & 5km beach run. In aid of Worldwide Cancer Research.

Tuesday, 7 June – 7.30pm. Chemistry Building, North Haugh.

Botanical expedition to North Vietnam. A talk by Richard Baines for the Friends of the Botanic Garden.

Wednesday, 8 June – 7.00pm. New Picture House, North Street.

Hamlet. The Royal Shakespeare Company. Contact: 01334 474 902.

Friday, 10 to Sunday, 12 June – Crail Food Festival 2016. This is the 6th annual festival promoting Fife’s food and drink. Contact: 0871 220 0260 www.crailfoodfest.co.uk – 7.30pm. The Scores Hotel, The Scores. Hidden Italian Gems and Charcuterie. Sample 13 Italian wines along with mouth-watering charcuterie. Contact: reception@scoreshotel.co.uk

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ORGANISATIONS From Julie Holder, Senior Property Assistant

Kellie Castle & Garden is currently recruiting new volunteers for the 2016 season Volunteers provide valuable skills, experience, and time that help us protect Scottish heritage and make it available for the general public. We are looking for a variety of voluntary roles including: guides, retail & admission assistants, tearoom assistants, gardeners, events volunteers, and conservation volunteers. We are open from 25th March until 31st October and have a variety of hours that can suit your availability.

Benefits include: Volunteer card after 40 hours volunteering to access other properties and receive a discount in our shops; learning new skills; meeting new people; informative talks; end of season outings; plus the opportunity to join an established and enthusiastic team of like-minded volunteers!

So if you can spare a few hours a week please get in touch!

Contact Julie Holder, Senior Assistant: jholder@nts.org.uk Kellie Castle & Garden, Pittenweem, Fife, KY10 2RF. Tel: 01333 720 271 www.nts.org.uk (Photo courtesy Kellie Castle)

Christina Samuel, Lead Volunteer

Red Cross Mobility Aids, St Andrews Wheelchair loan is the primary function of the possible. It can sometimes be just for a day out, Mobility Aids Service in St Andrews. The dayor to attend a family function. to-day service is run by volunteers. Like any All loans are made on a short-term basis, other charitable organisation we are always the length of time agreed with the client. looking for more people to join our team. We There is no set charge for the service, but we are fortunate to have the use of purpose-built appreciate a donation on return of the item. premises in the Community Hospital, where we Referrals are frequently made by Health have been since the opening in 2009.

Care professionals, but many people ring up or Currently there are 3 come along and self refer. open sessions per week, The contact number Monday and Wednesday, is 078 1109 7368. The Wheelchair loan is the primary 10.00 to 11.30am, and telephone will only be Friday, 1.30 to 3.00pm answered during open function of the Mobility Aids A range of wheelchairs times, but a message Service in St Andrews is available and we try can be left and someone to match each client to will make contact at the equipment suited to their first available opportunity. individual needs and ability – be it following Items can also be pre-booked, or if it is urgent an injury, postoperative, or to make a holiday you can just drop in. There is also a nationwide

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Red Cross web site that can be used. All applications are then sent to the appropriate venue by postcode.

As previously mentioned, we welcome enquiries from persons (male and female) who would like to volunteer.

Enquires can be made to the depot on the above number, or to the Services Manager, Deborah Finlayson: 01592 770 459. Prior to commitment, an informal visit to see the premises and discuss the procedure and processes can be helpful. This can be arranged by email: ca.samuel@virgin.net

ORGANISATIONS From Bill Sangster, Public Relations

A Craigtoun Country Park Catch Up As a new season in the Park approaches, we The Italian Garden, dating back to 1902, are really excited about what we are about to is in the process of having all that loose and offer our visitors. broken stonework repaired and replaced.

The Café in the Park has been getting Some key features of heritage merit have ready over the winter months so that the been lost, damaged, or are currently in a poor Friends’ new project – state of repair due to taking over the running vandalism, neglect, We are ready to give you an of the Café – is up and and lack of investment. excellent and happy time at ready for the thousands Fife Council gardeners Craigtoun Country Park, are you? will be replanting the of visitors we are expecting this year. flower beds to give The Dutch Village is under investigation that extra colour to complement this area. for building repairs. It is being made safe and Funding of £10,000 has been secured for the ready for use once more, but this will be a Italian Garden from the St Andrews Pilgrim lengthy process, because of the neglect over Foundation. The Friends have also contributed many years. £6,000 from funding generated in the Park towards this project.

The Italian Garden is a lovely spot within the park; seating is also being restored for the public to enjoy this wonderful quiet corner.

On Saturday, 12 March between noon & 4.00pm volunteers were made welcome to work in the Park over this year’s opening and running of the facilities.

Training days for staff were held in the Café in the Park on Saturday, 19 & 20 March.

Italian Garden

Boating Pond Fife Council Gardeners have been very busy over the winter period; although the weather was not ideal, they have done a fantastic job. You can see the difference from one year to another within the Park area!

Our Picnic Hut is all ready for your bookings; it would be a good idea to get your booking in as early as possible. We are ready to give you an excellent and happy time at Craigtoun Country Park, are you?

For information and booking call: 01334 472 013 or check our website: www.friendsofcraigtoun.org.uk Also: FaceBook – Friends of Craigtoun Park PS: Easter Sunday saw 3,500 visitors: This was a really great day and all the staff and volunteers were very pleased to see so many happy smiling faces in the Park once more.

(Photos courtesy Bill Sangster)

From Bill Sutherland, Treasurer of Kinburn Bowling Club, reports:

All Still Working Together At Kinburn Park Last year, the three separate elements making up the Park got together the right boxes. This helps when applying for grants etc. It is also in to publicise the Park, encouraging more folk to come and enjoy it. We discussion with Bowls Scotland to use its services to attract youngsters found it hard to believe the number of folk living in the town who did not and their parents into playing bowls and taking up membership. know that the Park existed. The Tennis Club, The Museum, run by Fife Cultural the Bowling Club, the Putting Club, the Museum Trust, has free admission. It has a lively and Café thought that their collaboration was a series of temporary exhibitions with regular success, repeating it again this year. programmes of talks, concerts, and children’s Last year we got the signage for the Park workshops. An example is the current improved, we produced a flyer distributed with exhibition, Sewing Independence, Revealing this publication, and we introduced sandwich the Wemyss School of Needlework. It finishes boards in the Park making it clear what was on on Saturday, 14 May. Looking ahead, from the offer. All of this worked well and we welcomed beginning of June to the end of August, the more customers as a result. This year, we are Museum will host an Art Nouveau Exhibition updating the flyer and distributing it widely. of the Glasgow Boys (Rennie McIntosh etc.)

The Tennis Club attracts lots of youngsters This prestigious event is likely to attract a lot and adults. It has a very enthusiastic Coach in of custom. The Café serves home baking and Marjory Finlay. The Bowling and Putting Club light meals, with Free Wifi. had their Opening Day on Saturday, 16 April. On The photograph shows a recent the following Monday they started the popular development at the Bowling and Putting Chicken and Egg Night. This is open to all our Clubs. Members decided to start cutting the members, as well as friends, who are interested green themselves, so have purchased a John Len and Andrew in getting to grips with the sport of bowls. It Deere Mower especially. Len Cerajewski and (Photo courtesy Bill Sutherland) is laid back and great fun. The overall winner Andrew Batchelor are seen taking delivery on the night wins the chicken; the eggs go to and instruction on the mower’s operation. the person who has had the least success (we They will become instructors for the rest of We found it hard to believe the don’t have losers!) It takes place every Monday the members. At peak times, the green needs number of folk living in the town who evening, starting at 6.00 pm. Anyone interested to be cut three times a week. Previously, did not know that the Park existed should come and give it a try, as the Club is very a professional firm cut and maintained the keen to attract new members; this is a good way green; they will continue to do the “technical to start. stuff” for its maintenance. The mower was expensive, but in the longer The Club has just received accreditation from Active Fife Sports term it will be a big saving.

Development, which proves that in terms of governance it ticks all The Park now has its own Facebook Page and is well worth a look.

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ORGANISATIONS Catherine Wallace, with the Home Start Team

Home-Start East Fife Home-Start East Fife’s office can be found at 158 South Street, St Andrews, where we provide unique support for families by recruiting and training volunteers to offer support and friendship for parents at home with young children under five. From Auchtermuchty to Anstruther, Tayport, to Lundin Links, volunteers visit families at home each week, offering support to parents facing many diverse circumstances such as isolation, illness, bereavement, multiple births, disability, or who are just finding parenting a struggle.

We are a small staff team, just four of us: Joanne Roddam, Manager; Catherine Wallace, Co-ordinator; Aileen Pruden, Family Support Group Co-ordinator; Michelle Bazeley-Gray, Administrative Assistant. Although we are a small staff team, we are supported by a larger team of volunteers. Volunteers provide practical and emotional support to help build parents’ confidence and ability to cope, assisting in preventing family breakdown or crisis. Home-Start East Fife covers the North East of Fife, supporting families with young children for over 25 years. Fully-trained volunteers visit families on a weekly basis for 2-3 hours. Volunteers come from all walks of life, just like the families we Home-Start East Fife celebrates the work of their support. volunteers at Eden Mill Distillery and Brewery We become aware that families are in need of Home-Start support through a process we call ‘referral’, meaning that fellow professionals We hope that volunteering with Home-Start East Fife is a rewarding complete a form outlining a family’s support needs. Typically, families experience; we value the volunteer’s role with us very much. We ask are referred to Home-Start East Fife by Health Visitors, Doctors, Social that volunteers have parenting experience and we then enhance these Workers, Community Psychiatric Nurses, once they have the family’s skills on a 40-hour preparation course, covering agreement to the referral being made. At the point topics such as why Home-Start support is of referral we learn what issues they feel the family needed, how it can help, and the expectations of faces. Families can also refer themselves by simply phoning, popping into the office, or even by text, In addition to home visiting being a volunteer, as well as confidentiality and child protection. These sessions are held weekly or email. Some of the reasons that families are support we also offer in our meeting room on South Street over eight referred to Home-Start East Fife include: feeling weeks. Although we cover difficult subjects they isolated in the community, either physical isolation Family Support Groups are presented in a sensitive manner. We do have due to living in a rural area, or social isolation due to fun, lots of discussion, and lots of chocolate! few connections in the local area; coping with poor The best people to talk about volunteering emotional wellbeing, perhaps post-natal depression, are current volunteers. Following is some feedback we have received in or anxiety; a desire to be more involved in a child’s, or children’s recent years through our annual volunteer review: learning and development; and also low parental self-esteem.

Linking a volunteer with a family – we refer to it as ‘matching’ – is • “I love being a volunteer and making a difference to families’ lives.” an important way of offering support to families who have been referred.

• “Being involved with the Mums and seeing the children develop is The right “matching” is key to the success of the support offered; so rewarding.” families are inviting someone into their home, so it is vital that they get • “The kids give me a fantastic welcome when I arrive.” along with them, also the volunteer needs to get along with the family in • “I feel very much part of the family I visit and have a ‘surrogate’ order to keep up their motivation and enthusiasm. A match with a homegrandchild who is always smiley.” visiting volunteer, or attendance at a Family Support Group, can help a family make connections in their local community.

Volunteers can form relationships with families lasting long after HomeThis can then help to reduce isolation for a family, meaning that a Start support has ended. The feedback from parents who have had the parent is more able to function by becoming more effective, raising selfsupport is equally positive. At the beginning parents can be reluctant esteem and benefitting their own and their child’s wellbeing. Research to have a ‘stranger’ come into their home; after a, sometimes lengthy, has shown that the functioning of the family has a greater impact on period of support parents are often then reluctant to not have the children than the structure of the family. volunteer visit any more!

In addition to home visiting support we also offer Family Support Groups. The purpose of the Family Support Groups is bringing together parents and children who may be feeling isolated or lacking With continued recruitment of volunteers, Home-Start East Fife in confidence and who may like the opportunity to meet other families. will continue to offer much needed support to vulnerable families Children have the opportunity to play with their peers, forming in North East Fife hopefully for the next 25 years. If you would like friendships, while parents are also encouraged to play with their more information about the work of Home-Start East Fife please children. Our Family Support Group Co-ordinator organises activities visit our website www.home-start-eastfife.org.uk , pop into our which encourage parents and children to work together. One of the core office on South Street, or call us on 01334 477 548. elements of the Family Support Groups is Bookbug, which involves action songs and rhymes, and enjoying a story. Children from a very young age enjoy participating in Bookbug sessions, Mums and Dads (Photo courtesy Home-Start East Fife) being encouraged to as well!

Total

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OUT & ABOUT Heather Lang

Gardening Advice The better weather has defiantly arrived and with it, the first rush of injuries related to working in the garden. It is estimated that around 300,000 accidents happen every year in the garden with up 87,000 from gardening itself.

Here are a few tips to stay safe this season: Plan ahead Don’t leave everything to the last minute, then try to do it all at once. Remember that gardening is like every other activity; our bodies become out of practice over the winter. Don’t expect to be able to do as much in an hour in the spring as you can in the autumn.

Start slowly and build up Muscles change after 24 hours so whilst you may feel perfectly fine at the time, it is very common not to feel the effects until the next day. Repetitive tasks are especially easy to underestimate: think of each repetition as a ‘unit of force’ and be respectful to the combined effort needed. For example, one dig with a spade may use 12lb of force, which may not seem like much, but repeat the task 50 times and the total force is quarter of a ton.

When lifting, think about how to limit muscular effort Warm up the muscles with lighter tasks rather than getting stuck straight in to the heavy work.

Think about how your body is going to perform each task. If the spade or rake is uncomfortable to use, it will be taking more from your body than if it is the correct size and weight. Blunt garden shears, secateurs, and scythes use far more muscle power than sharp ones, therefore keep your equipment in good condition to limit strain on the body.

Tidy up It might sound like common sense, but it’s incredible how many people end up injured because of clutter. Tidy up! Paving and other surfaces for walking on should be clear and have good grip to avoid trip hazards, such as loose paving slabs, hosepipes left unravelled, or uneven surfaces. Try to organise sheds and garages so the things you need are easy to access and you have a clear working area. The more clutter lying around on floors and benches, the greater the risk of tripping, slipping, straining.

Don’t ignore the ‘niggles’ Niggling aches and pains are the body’s way of saying something is wrong. By the time it is registering as discomfort, it will most likely have been a while in the making. Please don’t ignore them, then be surprised when it suddenly flares up. Treating a ‘niggle’ is far easier than treating the full-blown injury.

Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water Headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, increased arthritic pain, sickness, fatigue, brain fog, unsteadiness, constipation, are all symptoms that can occur if the body is not getting sufficient water. Take a bottle of water with you; drink little and often throughout the day. By the time you actually feel thirsty, it is like the oil-warning light coming on in the car to show your levels are getting dangerously low.

It is generally recommended that you drink 2 litres of water each day to replenish fluids. Don’t assume that it is only on hot sunny days that you need to stay hydrated. Should we have such days this summer, wear a hat.

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

We can consult locally

Address your balance How comfortable are you standing looking up or standing straight with your eyes closed?

Trips and falls can knock confidence.

They are a major cause of injuries in the over 60s. Balance rarely disappears overnight, but instead is a creeping result of habit and posture. Most people dismiss poor posture and deportment, however the long term effects are extra strain on the musculoskeletal system and lack of balance. If you feel unsteady standing straight or walking when looking ahead, you are at greater risk of falling, so get help to address the issue.

Help the body wind down Stretching little and often helps the muscles by increasing the blood flow, working out any areas of tension and eliminating toxins that have built up. It is important that stretches and exercises are appropriate and comfortable for the individual. If you are unsure what is suitable, it’s best to get guidance from the osteopath.

Heather Lang is a registered osteopath and ergonomic consultant.

For further information, she can be contacted at St Andrews Osteopaths, www.standrewsosteopaths.co.uk Tel: 01334 477 000 Mob: 07501 113 480

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OUT & ABOUT Roy and Valerie Chapman

Out on the high seas Polynesian islands, several transits of the For 13 of the past 14 winters, my wife and I Panama Canal alongside gigantic container have escaped the worst of the rigours of the ships (which dwarfed the cruise ship), the Scottish winter by going on a cruise, always Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, with some sun thrown in. The exception was the Komodo dragons in Indonesia, Ground 2015 when we could not find an itinerary we Zero in New York, the Kennedy Space Centre, wanted, opting instead for a later cruise down the Falklands, sailing in and out of Sydney the east coast of North America – from Nova harbour accompanied Scotia to Miami. Staying by fire boats, both the at home during the winter Chilean and Alaskan of 2015 persuaded us to fjords. But the list is re-establish the previous the ship is a floating pattern. We therefore hotel enabling you to visit endless.

Why cruise? “Ugh! returned this March from Not for me: getting a round cruise from any number of places tossed about in one of Southampton to Buenos without the necessity to those ghastly 4,000 plus Aires, via the carnival in Rio liners, I’d be bored out de Janeiro. pack and unpack of my mind.” It would Until 2015, we joined be dishonest to say one or two legs of world that we did not share cruises – always with these sentiments when, somewhat reluctantly, the Fred Olsen line – on the Black Watch for we allowed ourselves to be persuaded to the first 6 cruises, then on the Balmoral. Our try it. The fact that we have completed our cruises, along with various side excursions, fourteenth cruise must show that we were won have included two crossings of the South over.

Pacific with visits to some idyllic South Fortunately, not all cruise ships are of the 4,000 plus passenger variety – some of them with separate ‘no go’ areas and dining according to class. The largest of the Fred Olsen fleet can accommodate up to 1,300 passengers with a tariff according to deck and size of cabin. Once you step outside your cabin, everything is egalitarian. To all intents and purposes, the ship is a floating hotel enabling you to visit any number of places without the necessity to pack and unpack.

Boredom? In preparation for each port of call, there is an illustrated preview of the history, geography, and sights, as well as of the various excursions on offer.

There are always three or four guest speakers, including ex-politicians, journalists, historians, or entertainers.

Kennedy Space Centre

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Sugar Loaf There’s Bridge, whist, art, craft, ballroom and line dancing, quoits, table tennis, quizzes, as well as a well-equipped gym, swimming pool, and jacuzzi. For the more highbrow, there are classical concerts by professional soloists and singers. Evening entertainment is provided by a resident (song and dance) company, supplemented by regularly changing singers, comedians, magicians. The quality is uneven, but the best are very good. In fact there is so much going on that a social secretary to get one to the right event at the right time would be a distinct asset!

As for eating…! As well as the three main meals, there are coffee and pastries at 6.00am, coffee and biscuits at 11.00am, afternoon tea at 3.00pm and a supper club at 11.00pm for those who wish. Some make a gesture to calories by pounding the deck – 4 circuits to the mile – using the gym, swimming, or one of the many classes in yoga, Pilates, keep fit.

For our part, we reckon that an hour-and-ahalf ballroom dancing per day and even some classes does the business!

The cruise market is huge and diverse: from the smaller river boats to the juggernaut liners, from warm weather to cold weather, from cultural to plain relaxation. The itineraries of many cruise lines overlap, but each has its own niche and character. We have never regretted our original choice. We have visited many places we would not otherwise have visited and made many friends. Might a cruise be the answer for that “different” holiday you have always yearned for?

(Photos courtesy Roy Chapman)

OUT & ABOUT Tim Hardie’s

Nature Notes The start of the salmon fishing season on the two or three years living river Tay is always met with great tradition and quietly in or near its birth optimism about the coming season. It is an place, dropped down opportunity to sample all things Scottish; the stream, then headed pouring of a bottle of our own Amber Nectar for the North Atlantic into the river itself at Kenmore merely confirms where it could find the the connection between salmon fishing and food supply necessary to grow fit and strong whisky! There is a slight problem here as it was enough to make the journey back home to fairly normal in the old days for the traditional spawn.

Scottish ghillie seemingly to get confused One of the reasons these large fish are about mixing water with whisky. In some cases so scarce is that in order to get to the size they were drunk by lunchtime, and no use at their genetics demand, they need to spend at all to the angler! I witnessed this myself with least four winters feeding and living in a very my Father on Speyside in the late seventies, dangerous environment deep down in the sea strangely famous for its distilleries. off Greenland. The whole journey, there and This year must back, is presumably have been met with fraught with danger. The The start of the salmon great trepidation as majority of these large fishing season on the river the floods of New salmon tend to return to Year left the Tay with Tay is always met with great their home rivers in the bank-high water levels. spring or early winter. tradition and optimism Thankfully all calmed It is thought that these down and although a early-arriving fish are lot of farmland is still flooded the river itself has travelling further up the river than their laterdropped to a good level for salmon fishing. This arriving brothers and sisters, and are probably was confirmed a couple of weeks ago when a heading for Loch Tay and beyond. Certainly in lucky angler was fortunate enough to land a the case of our fish this could be true as the Tay 36lbs Spring salmon. This is a truly spectacular is the longest river in Great Britain. fish. Though traditionally the Tay is well I find it fascinating that this wonderful silver known for its large Spring salmon they have torpedo-shaped fish swept in on an incoming become increasingly scarce in the last thirty tide past the Bell Rock lighthouse, scenting years. the water of his home river, swept under the This heroic fish, having been born road bridge and famous 19th Century rail somewhere in the Tay catchment area, spent bridge, past Balmerino and Newburgh, entering

Tim’s ‘painted model of a spring salmon’ brackish water around Abernethy, and as the tidal river narrowed, cruised through the famous old city of Perth, where he met fresh water and knew he was home. Although salmon are known to return to the wrong river, it is unlikely that this one was anything other than a true Highland Perthshire fellow returning home after an amazing adventure.

The lucky fisherman carefully returned this fabulous fish to its homely river. I presume and pray it will find its way back to where it was born in the autumn of this year to spawn and carry on a very ancient lineage, which likely goes back thousands of years.

Interestingly there are several English salmon rivers that are equally famous for large Spring salmon, amongst them the Hampshire Avon, the river Severn, and the river Wye. They had a name for these fabulous fish; it was portmanteaux. Presumably this comes from the shape and weight of the fish resembling a leather trunk! Again these fish ran the rivers in the spring and there was a certain Miss Doreen Davey in 1923, who, on playing a 56lbs salmon on the River Wye, had to have a bonfire started in order to see what she was up against in trying to subdue a very substantial portmanteau, which of course she did!

From Alistair Lawson of ScotWays

Now, Pay Close Attention!

Residents of St Andrews will be well aware of our local wynds, closes, and pends. They are doubtless equally aware of the more common synonyms, such as alley(way), entry, passage, and vennel. These are the easy ones, but who is familiar with the following: chare, ennoy, gillet, ginnel, goat, jennell, jigger, jitty, ope, snickelway, snicket, twitchell and twittern? The compiler of my Chambers Dictionary hardly seems to know any of these. As usual, our editor will not be running a prize quiz, but readers may award themselves marks out of thirteen and award prizes if merited.

Along the A91 in Cupar, Fife Council has recently been in touch with residents to garner opinions about their local closes. Property-owners

Clash Close

Bell’s Close

have been asked whether they are “comfortable” with having the public pass so close to their homes and businesses, while the public have been asked what they like about the closes and also what’s wrong with them.

From this data, decisions will be made as to the most needy closes and as to the most urgently-needed work, which in turn will enable money to be allocated to those selected for action. The project enjoys financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, also from Historic Environment Scotland, the latter channelled through Cupar’s CARS budget (Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme) It is hoped that the project will inspire the community to lead the thinking on some elements – for example on labelling all the closes properly, both in a consistent and attractive way. The Community Council is naturally enthusiastic, but other community groups, such as Cupar in Bloom, have also expressed interest in adding colour to the closes by helping properties brighten up shady places with flowers.

The closes have lots of history; their very narrowness serves to condense and focus all those past events, such that one can sense ghosts and happenings from the past while wandering along them. While some closes only lead to a back court, many run right through to the next street, so qualify as public rights of way duly recorded in the ScotWays National Catalogue of Rights of Way. Occasionally, past development has blocked off a close, e.g. the Burn Close, which is a shame, as the ability to “nip through” to the shops is a great benefit both to shoppers and to the businesses along the Bonnygate and the Crossgate.

Fife Council is seeking to get the whole community of Cupar to connect with their closes, thus reducing occasional misuse of them by encouraging greater numbers to use them fearlessly, regularly, indeed cheerfully!

This column regularly encourages readers to get out and get active; the message this time is to take the bus along to Cupar to explore all those fascinating closes. By visiting them now, then again later, you will be able to make a “before and after” comparison.

(Photos of Cupar closes courtesy Alistair Lawson)

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OUT & ABOUT Julian Crowe uncovers

The Milestones of Fife

(Photos courtesy Julian Crowe) My photos, along with accounts of the various walks I have taken, can be seen on the Web at: www.wildflowersplanted.co.uk/milestones Editor’s note: in issue 75 Alistair Lawson makes a plea for locating and conserving milestones

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Take the milestone at the west end They are easy to miss as you speed past, of Crail, listed in the Gazetteer as being but they deserve a second glance. The without its cap. When I walked that way in milestones of Fife, the oldest dating from August 2013 there was a cap, but part of 1824, are still categorised as road signs, the information was wrong. When I was in and are maintained by the Council. Some Crail the other day I noticed that the cap are further protected by Listed Building had been removed. There are several other status. To discover where they are, and to caps giving incorrect information, most of read something of their history, look out for them on stones which the 2005 Gazetteer The Milestones of Fife by Alex Darwood list as having lost their cap. It’s as though and Paula Martin, published in 2005. someone decided it was better to have an This excellent book draws on earlier work incorrect cap than none at all. undertaken in the 1960s by Walter Stephen, Some of the stones are hard to spot, and in the 1970s by various conservationist particularly in summer when the grass is groups, as well as Owen Silver’s The Roads long and the weeds of Fife (1987). luxuriant. Some I’ve Walter Stephen missed altogether. identified eight types of milestone. One type has They are easy to miss The Ordnance Survey Landranger maps mark the information cut into the as you speed past, the location of the stone, while two consist surviving milestones, and entirely of cast iron, but but they deserve a the Gazetteer gives the most are of stone with an second glance grid references, but I’m iron plate or cap giving not a good map-reader. the place-names and It was only on my third distances. In the oldest attempt that I finally type there’s a rubble located the capless stone on Balgarvie plinth with a plate on the front; others have Road outside Cupar. a dressed stone with a cap. There are also The milestones make a good excuse a number of magnificent wayside markers, for a walk. For the walker the view develops placed at junctions, listing the farms and slowly; you see things you’re bound to settlements in either direction. miss from the car or the bus: drains, run-off The iron caps and plates were all channels and ditches; birds and flowers, removed at the outbreak of the war in 1939, particularly the last surviving specimens along with other direction markers, including holding out in the autumn chill; post-boxes bus-stops. Their restoration after the war was and stone walls; farm signs, pipeline due to the conscientiousness of the County markers, posters protesting about windRoads Surveyor at the time, Tom McCallum. turbines; and litter, always litter. I reckon fag Five years ago I decided to walk the ends and cigarette packets are still the most roads of Fife taking photographs of the common form of roadside jetsam, followed milestones, and of the countryside round closely by plastic bottles. about. So far I’ve visited just over half of the Of course there’s the traffic. You have to 173 listed in the Gazetteer in The Milestones keep your eyes and ears open. The verge of Fife. At the outset I couldn’t say why I was makes difficult going; the ground is uneven, doing it. Having recently retired from a job with drainage channels and brambles to in which we were constantly challenged to negotiate. Most drivers move out to leave justify everything in terms of aims, outcomes, a wide space, unless something is coming and metaphorical ‘milestones’, it was nice in the opposite direction, and most give a to do something purposeless. In the course wave to thank you for getting out of their of my walks, however, I have thought of way. When lorries or buses approach you various reasons. One is to look closely at flatten yourself against the hedge. Now and what are certainly lovely objects. They serve then a driver shouts abuse, or hoots to give a simple function, to tell passers-by where you a fright. The main danger comes when the road leads, how far they have gone and the verge narrows to nothing, which seems still have to go. When they were put up, as to happen on the sharpest bends. part of a great road-modernisation process Nevertheless, I intend to finish my task in the first half of the nineteenth century, that on foot, going at the speed the milestones was enough. Nowadays our requirements were made for. There were galloping riders, are complex and fluctuating; our modern or coaches travelling at ten miles an hour road signs are therefore more informative, or so, particularly on the Great Road from less permanent, also much more fussy and the Forth to the Tay, but most road users confusing. Perhaps the milestones were too in 1824 were pedestrians, or carts moving permanent: the older stones still referred to at walking pace. Milestones told the slower the ferry at Pettycur even after Burntisland, movers of another age where they were with its improved harbour, had become the on a mental map of their locality, and on main ferry port on the north side of the Forth. a mental clock of which each stride was a Another reason is to record what’s there. tick. As they tramped on, there ahead of Although Alex Darwood and Paula Martin them, standing proud on the verge or half surveyed the field comprehensively for their hidden by grasses and weeds, was the Gazetteer, things are always changing, and familiar white shape, assuring them they need to be checked. I have found several were one mile closer to journey’s end. changes since their survey, while even since I began things have not remained constant.

OUT & ABOUT Arlen Pardoe

Hidden Gems in St Andrews (in plain view)

Focussing on features that are in plain sight, but often overlooked Initials Letters are inscribed on some of the buildings in St Andrews. These either represent the name of the architect, the person who had that property built, or the name of someone associated with that building or place.

A small selection is illustrated here.

John Milne (1822-1904) was the architect for many buildings in St Andrews. Some of them bear his monogram, which spells out his name:

22 Murray Park

23 Murray Park

76 Market Street

Scores Hotel

The architects for Hope Park Church Hall and Bowcliffe were John Peddie & Charles Kinnear and their initials appear on the buildings.

The building that houses the Bell Pettigrew museum has the initials of James Bell Pettigrew and Elsie Bell Pettigrew, who paid for the property.

Martyrs George Wishart and Patrick Hamilton both have their initials marking the places where they were burnt at the stake.

93 Market Street

Rathelpie Villa (now Rathmore) in Kennedy Gardens was built in 1863 for Andrew Aikman.

12 Queen’s Gardens The Whey Pat was rebuilt in 1902 for its owner William Davidson.

In 1903 baker Thomas Marr had a property built in City Road, next to the West Port.

Major William Rusack

opened the

Rusacks Hotel

in 1892.

(Photos courtesy Arlen Pardoe)

John Millar was a boot and shoe maker at 99 South Street.

James Gibson was the owner of the sawmill in Balfour Place, which was built in 1851.

Gibson Place was named after him.

A house was built in Queen’s Terrace in 1901 for G W Burnett.

Hendersons building in Market Street was built for J Cook & Son.

The Red Brick House in Queen’s Terrace was built for Mary Leighton in 1897.

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