Growing Up

[WC1]

Emdee wrote:
Would I be correct in thinking that Mr Purcell was Hector' McNeill's father in law?

Go to the top of the class! Mr Purcell was a writer of Gaelic songs too. I remember Marion Morris (McGougan as was) singing his famous song 'Leaving Lismore' at a Grammar School assembly when he died. I can't remember the Gaelic for 'Leaving Lismore'.

[£3.73]

I'll hazard a guess ... "agus,agus,agus, Leaving Lismore" ....

but a quick google suggests it might be "Fagail Lios Mòr"

[ionnsaigh]

Can you work out what the subject was?

I would be inclined to think, somewhere along the lines of modern studies, geography or history.

The street was busy today, a black maria came and lifted all the men from the illegal bookies, situated in the close next to The Auld Hoose Bar, the polis even managed tae lift wee Tam the bookies runner. The men about twenty of them, would be taken up to Barlinnie, and spend a couple of hours waiting for the bookie to arrive and pay the fine. Some of the boys where playing fitbaw in the street - dodging the traffic one of them kicked the ball into the back of the midden motor. Wullie the scaffie went to retrieve the ball - only to be decapitated by the machine. See the things a see, fae this windae.

[dunc99]

P1 and P2 must have moved to Millknowe at some point, because by the time I started at the 'Big Grammar' the 'Wee Grammar' was housing the Maths department.

I think I can pinpoint roughly when that happened. I was two years behind WC1. When I went to the Wee Grammar in 1956 there was only Primary 1 there. It was Miss MacConnachie's class, in the first room at the right hand end of the building. Primary 2 (Miss McBrayne's class) had moved to the Millknowe. Assuming WC1 went to P1 in 1954, P2 in 1955, then P2 must have moved to Millknowe in 1956 (I hope that WC1 is not upset that I have given away his age). I think that Miss MacConnachie retired shortly afterwards, this was probably when P1 moved to Millknowe (probably 1957 or 1958).

For those of you old enough to remember Miss MacConnachie, I think she was a sister of the MacConnachie that had the bus company in Campbeltown, and the owners of the Argyll Hotel. She started her teaching career in Auchencorvie school, where she taught my father (he was there from 1915 to 1924). She was a lovely old lady. I bumped into her in the street in 1967, she remembered me, and asked how I did in my 'O' levels.

WC1's recollections about walking from the Meadows scheme to Millknowe and back twice a day are a bit different from mine. I remember that there was always a couple of busses outside the school at midday. It was amazing how many children that they packed into the busses. Once the bus I was on was stopped by the police and we were counted. The police would not let the bus move until another one arrived to take the excess. We were all late home that dinner-time. I also used to cycle back and forward to the school.

All a bit different from today where school gates around the UK are congested with mothers on the "school run". To us the school run was when you had to run to school if you were a bit late.

[EMDEE]

Primary 2 (Miss McBrayne's class) had moved to the Millknowe.

Miss McBrayne was our Primary 2 teacher in Dalintober 1960/61

[dunc99]

Miss McBrayne was our Primary 2 teacher in Dalintober 1960/61

She taught me in Millknowe in 1957/8.

My teachers were:

P1: Miss MacConnachie
P2: Miss McBrayne
P3: Miss Marks
P4: Miss Ellis/Mrs Robertson
P5: Miss Marks (again!)
P6: Miss Cochrane
P7: Mr Beveridge

Miss Ellis was my first teacher in P4, she took ill and was replaced by Mrs Robertson. I don't think she ever returned to work. Her sister had a sweet shop on Longrow (on the corner with Burnside).

[gizmo]

You had Miss Marks twice as well. I had her in P3 at Millknowe and P4 when we moved to Castlehill. I can remember her voice as she told us we would never be able to do "real writing" and we would have to do printing instead. . I used to tell my son if he wouldnt behave, that Miss Marks would come and get him. That used to do the job, he wasnt scared of the bogie man

[EMDEE]

Dalintober 1959-1966

P1 Miss Thomson
P2 Miss McBrayne
P3 Mrs Hunter
P4 Miss Fisher
P5 Mr McLay
P6 Mrs McIntyre
P7 Mrs McGeachy

Two years ago, I met my P4 teacher, Miss Fisher, at an event in Oban. After a gap of 43 years.

[hugh]

I remember all of them, Emdee. Except Primary 5 or primary 6. Seem to remember miss (Mrs ?) McGowan. Excellent teacher.

[WC1]

dunc99 wrote:

Assuming WC1 went to P1 in 1954, P2 in 1955, then P2 must have moved to Millknowe in 1956 (I hope that WC1 is not upset that I have given away his age). I think that Miss MacConnachie retired shortly afterwards, this was probably when P1 moved to Millknowe (probably 1957 or 1958).

Don't worry dunc99, that cat escaped from the bag a long time ago! I also had Miss McConnachie in P1 - eventually. When I started at the Wee Grammar there were two P1s and two P2s, probably the tail end of the post-war baby boomers. On the first morning we were all seated on benches round the four walls of the hall and each P1 teacher called out the names of the pupils who were to be in her class. I was behind Miss McMillan's back when she called out the name of a boy she obviously knew because she just said "William!" but since that was my name I went and stood behind her then trooped into her room with the rest. Presumably Miss McConnachie was puzzled by the absence of a boy by that name from her class, and Miss McMillan must have wondered why she had one more than she should have had, but I think it was the second day before they got to the bottom of it and I was restored to my rightful place in Miss McConnachie's class. I have fond memories of both Miss McConnachie (P1) and Miss McMillan (P2). I have a vague recollection that I met Miss McConnachie very soon after I came home to be Rector of CGS and she congratulated me on my appointment. Miss McMillan is still with us of course though I've not seen her lately. When we moved to Millknowe we had Miss McDonald (P3) Miss Ellis (P4) Miss Cochrane (P5 and P6) and Mr Bevereidge (P7). The janitor, Archie McKay, was my father's uncle and I remember him ringing a big old ship's bell on the front corner of the building to call us in to classes. What sticks in the mind about Millknowe, apart from making rafia mats or wicker baskets for handwork at the end of the day, the weekly visits from the famous music teacher M G McCallum (wee Micky as we called him, rather disrespectfully) or climbing up to the top of the enormously high ropes in Mr Beveridge's weekly drill lesson (we didn't call it PE back then), was the collective smells of the gas works next door, the piggery further up the Roading and the open-air toilets in the back playground (do you remember the squeals of the girls when the boys managed to pee over the wall into their part? Just another of the things you can no longer manage as you get older). Oh and getting away at 3 rather than 4 on a Friday if your class won the shield for best attendance. Now there's an idea . . .

WC1's recollections about walking from the Meadows scheme to Millknowe and back twice a day are a bit different from mine. I remember that there was always a couple of busses outside the school at midday. It was amazing how many children that they packed into the busses. Once the bus I was on was stopped by the police and we were counted. The police would not let the bus move until another one arrived to take the excess. We were all late home that dinner-time.

I was on that bus! Rosie Duncan the conductoress was the guilty party. She had been met at Millknowe by a bigger than usual horde of weans because it was raining heavily and rather than turn any away to walk home in those conditions she just crammed them in. I was only given my bus fare on really wet days (I think it was tuppence in old money) but unless it was really lashing down we would walk, wrapped up well in oilskins and a sou'wester. I suppose there would have been days when we walked and spent the fare on sweeties. We did something similar with the collection for Sunday School - a penny in the bag and tuppence to spend on the way home.

[hugh]

We used to stay next door to Rosie Duncan (MacMillan) in Burnbank Place. Whenever I was given money to get the bus 'cos of the weather Rosie would invariably pass by in the ailsle with the ticket-machine saying, "Hugh, your mother gee'd me the fare already."

Got there early with money to spend at Wagget's. Happy days.

[Govangirl]

Hugh, all the other weans on that bus should sue Rosie for the psychological trauma of missing out on the same treat due to naked, blatant nepotism!

[EMDEE]

Got there early with money to spend at Wagget's. Happy days.

The other mecca for the pupils at Dalintober School was Mrs Finn's shop on Broom Brae. I think there was a wee fruit shop beside it but don't remember the name or the owner. Up at the corner with High Street there was the Co-op.

I thought I'd try to restart this thread, as it's been getting a bit heavy on Speakers Corner over the last few days.

[blueboyno1]

[

I thought I'd try to restart this thread, as it's been getting a bit heavy on Speakers Corner over the last few days.

Could not agree more EMDEE lets have more stories.

[blueboyno1]

One of the funniest stories i remember about Campbeltown was years a go the town was snowed in and because of the fact that there is only one road in everything was running short ,including alcohol .Morgan Mcallister owned the Glue pot at the time and he hired a fishing boat to go and get a barrell of wine .All the worthies from the town met the boat at the quay and marched the barrell shoulder high up to the pub .There was hardly a loaf in the town at the time .