For Whom The Bell Tolls Number Two-Comments and a Response

Comment From Alan Brown:
Hi Peter, I was christened at St John's by the Rev Orr in 1967. I have a photo of me with my parents, brother and Auntie standing outside. Sad to hear this news, another link to my past slowly fades away.

Comment From Anonymous:

Hello Peter 
I also was a member of St John's Church even although I was christened in Colinton Mains in 1956. I remember the concerts that used to be held in the main hall for the local community and also the BBs, the 17th I think would meet there as well as the Life Boys as they were called in the old days. 
I went to bible class then progressed to the big church.
My most abiding memory was the annual fair held in the grounds and the main hall where all sorts of stalls were set up to raise funds for the church everybody used to turn up even teachers from all the local primary schools catholic and CofS, Oxgangs was a real local community in those days everyone knew everyone else.
Unfortunately In this day and age those days are sadly gone but thankfully the memories remain, good and bad but in my case the good outweighs the bad.
I notice that they are talking about closing the police station in Oxgangs, ironically I have the same scenario up here with my local station, so much for progress, sorry cost cutting, as Alan B said another link with the past fades away.
I think I will have a trip to Edinburgh this weekend and take some pictures of St John's before it is turned into a building site.

Keep on doing the The Stair Peter you are slowly jogging the memories out of me that I thought were long gone Thank you. 

Response:

Thanks for your very interesting e mail.

Because I drew down the curtain on Hogmanay 2012 I never got around to doing a variety of planned blogs-your e mail touches on some of them. Like you I too recall with great fondness the St John's Church Fete held annually each June-it really was a highly enjoyable day out. Looking at the area of the church it couldn't have been that large, but in my mind's eye it remains so. I vividly recall the bendy 'electric wire' (battery operated) that one tried to take a handle with a ring on the end from the start to the finish without the buzzer sounding-not often achieved as it took a steady hand-certainly beyond me today as it was at the time. 

The ice cream sold was always very pleasant and like the occasionally held fete day at Colinton Mains Church they held a sprint race for boys and girls on the grass area adjacent to the church building-I still recall receiving a colouring book and paints as a prize. There were excellent stalls selling all sorts of serendipities-it was from here and long before eBay we garnered our knowledge of ancient Dandy and Beano annuals. 

They always seemed to be very lucky with the weather; they really were sunny occasions and the volunteers-presumably church goers were equally sunny in their disposition, smiling and friendly-a really great and lovely day out for all the family-it must have warmed the heart of the Rev Jack Orr as he strolled amongst the happy crowd.

Similarly, I also recall performing in local youth club drama productions at the church hall-it was also probably one of several venues for The Pentland Festival-a blog which I really should get around to. 

Writing this wee response and your planned visit to Edinburgh has just given me the idea to record the sound of the St John's Church bells before they are perhaps silenced for ever-I'm due to be down next month so will need to brush up on the technology.

Thanks again for your comments-keep in touch!

Best.

Peter

  

For Whom The Bell Tolls-Number Two

One of the loveliest memories of living at Oxgangs between 1958 and 1972 was the sweet sound of the St John's Church bells which rang out every Sunday morning calling the parishioners to worship. They had a lovely tone to them, somehow fresh and inviting, but also serving as a reminder of church bells down the centuries too. Very sadly these bells may no longer ring out.

St John's Church, Oxgangs

Last year on 2 September, 2012 I did a blog which focused on the former St Hilda's Church, Oxgangs Avenue-the last paragraph of which said: And what of St Hilda's Church? The congregation first met in a cottage in Colinton and then moved to the existing hall in 1951. In 1966 a striking, state of the art Modernist building was opened; and yet less than half a century later the church was knocked down only a few years after the start of the 21st century. The coming and going of a church within a few generations says something about Christianity and lends some weight to recording these vignettes before they disappear of life at The Stair.

I got quite a surprise a few weeks ago when I noticed that St John's Church and Hall were up for sale-St John's-surely not? I decided to inquire a little further and entered into some correspondence. I received an update from the Rev Iain Goring as detailed below.

Hi Alison,

Last year I authored a blog entitled The Stair about eight families living in Oxgangs between the years 1958-1972 which has proved to be quite popular with followers from as far away as Australia-St John's Church is mentioned a few times and particularly Rev Jack Orr-I still put up occasional updates and noticed the church building and hall has been put up for sale. I wondered whether you would be kind enough to please give me an update on this and also the congregation.

Thanks Alison.

Best.

Peter Hoffmann

The charismatic, Rev Jack Orr

Hi Peter - Alison Swindells passed on to me your email to her about St John's Oxgangs.  I arrived here on 15th August as Interim Minister and it is my task to take this congregation and the congregation of Colinton Mains to the point of becoming a united congregation on 1st January 2014.  The two congregation are only half a mile apart and although they are very different in background and culture the Presbytery of Edinburgh has wanted them to unite and become St John's Colinton Mains.

Colinton Mains Parish Church

As you might imagine this is a difficult time for St John's people because the building chosen for the united congregation is Colinton Mains and they are deeply sad at losing their own building that has been so much a part of their life and the life of the area.  As you have discovered, the building is to be put up for sale.  That will be hard for people to see.  There is a real hope that the site might be used for housing rather than for a supermarket  which the area does not need - it already has two and a small local supermarket as well.  

Come 31st December the building will no longer be used - and that will be another difficult time for people to come to terms with.

I hope this gives you a little of the picture of what is happening, but if you need any more info, then please do let me know.

Every best wish

Iain

Iain M Goring Interim Minister

Colinton Main & St John's Oxgangs

Mob: 07762 254 140

I'm sure all followers of The Stair will join me in wishing Iain and the new united congregation well-I can't recall whether Colinton Mains Church had bells-I don't think it does-if so it's a pity that the old St John's bell tower couldn't somehow be incorporated into Colinton Mains Church-as well as combining the two names a merging of the two buildings might go some way towards making it easier for those from St John's to adapt to life at the church down the hill-just a thought!

Christmas Eve

When Anne Hoffmann, Iain Hoffmann and I were young, whatever our circumstances - whether our father was in work or not - Santa Claus always did us proud.

Christmas was always the best and most exciting time of the year.

When I say that Santa (aka Mother, Mrs Anne Hoffmann) - sometimes with support from Father (Ken Hoffmann) did us proud I don't mean that we were spoiled or received any expensive presents - no, instead we always got a stocking which was filled full of imaginative small presents which were an absolute delight to wake up to.

Like most kids it was the one evening of the year when we were keen to go to bed early of our own accord.  And of course it was the one morning in the year that we were keen to get up early too!

I'm not too sure how it worked in all the other households in The Stair.

In terms of quality high spend presents Norman Stewart (6/3 Oxgangs Avenue) did better than any of the other children.

One feature which I didn't enjoy at school was that on our return in January the teacher always asked us all individually, in front of the class, what we had received.

I can recall telling a fib saying that I had been given a graphic designer's set - of course I didn't have a scooby what that was but I was determined not to be out-gunned by Norman - he of course was the one pupil in the class who knew perfectly well that I had not received any such thing!

In my memory Christmas Eve was a very quiet evening in The Stair. 

I can recall my father regularly going out to the Christmas Eve Watchnight church service, presumably at Colinton Mains Parish Church, the same church which the Swansons attended - I don't think he went to the remarkable Reverend Jack Orr's St John's Church service.

Colinton Mains Parish Church

St John's Churdh of Scotland, Oxgangs Road North

Rev Jack Orr

The Hanlons (6/7) always seemed to receive some quite nice presents and they might be seen out playing with them, but not until several days after Christmas Day.

Over the years Mother and our next door neighbour Mrs Molly Swanson (6/1) had an arrangement whereby Mum gave Gavin and Heather a wee tin of Woolworths' toffees and we all received something from Molly - as mentioned I once got a book from her, but when it was opened it instead contained seven tubes of sweets inside arranged horizontally inside.

The Hoggs up above (6/4) always received girly pressies and I can recall my sister Anne spending time with Christina, Maureen and Eileen. I'm much vaguer on the Blades (6/6), other than one year when Alison, Ruth and Esther got their Spacehoppers.

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Presumably before Anne was born our grandfather gave Iain and me a bobble Santa each which were full of wrapped toffees - the figure is a delight and has been carefully looked after over the past fifty years - each year we bring the two Santas out. The Swansons got a similar Santa figure, but they had less jolly faces.

I may be wrong but I seem to recall that the Hanlons and the Blades were quite big on such decorations as the linked rings which went from corner to corner across the ceiling.

I used to regret that we were more conservative with individual Woolworths' decorations which were very attractive and aesthetically pleasing. There wasn't such a crowded effect which as a boy I would have liked. I suspect Woolworths did Mrs Anne Hoffmann and many other parents proud over the decades.

On Christmas Eve each of the three of would leave one of our mother's nylon stockings at the foot of our beds.

I was always the first of us to awake.

I would crawl down the bed and reach out to see if Santa had arrived yet and then the excitement of feeling the bulkiness of the mis-shapen stocking full of surprises was the most wonderful sensation in the world It's Christmas! I would bellow out It's Christmas! as I jumped down from the bunk bed to switch on the light and awaken the others.

The stockings were just great - they were filled with torches; little games; Yogi Bear or Huckleberry Hound picture books; perhaps a young person's novel; colouring books and pens; a selection box; some gold coins; an orange and an apple and a half crown; The Broons or Oor Wullie annual in later years.

Photograph courtesy Heather Lawrence

Anne would get some girly stuff - I particularly recall a delightful peach smelling cream; whilst Iain might get a toy car, perhaps a Corgi or some Matchbox cars; on one occasion when quite young I got a leather football and football boots. Iain was very into his cars whilst I was uninterested in cars, although ironically I have had more sports cars over the years than one could throw a stick at, much to my wife's dismay.

When we were very young, in our innocence we'd then rush through to awaken our parents to show them what Santa had brought us.

These Christmas mornings were simple little affairs, but wonderful - our mother ensured that these were magical occasions every year from being very small children and into our teens; happy times and very, very sweet memories, which I've never forgotten.

Much like Sundays, on Christmas Day we saw very little of what went on in The Stair because our grandfather would collect us at mid-morning and take us down to Portobello for the day, not returning till late at night - but for that you'll all have to be patient children and wait until Christmas Day to hear that story!

6/1 The Swansons

Iain Hoffmann; Peter Hoffmann; Norman Stewart; Gavin Swanson (Back garden, 6/2, circa 1961)

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The Swansons, 6/1

The Swansons were a very pleasant family who lived opposite us (The Hoffmanns) on the ground floor. The family consisted of Dougal, Molly and their two children, Gavin and Heather. I liked them very much indeed, although Dougal was a bete noire to us children and we couldn't resist teasing him or annoying him with games of knock door run. Dougal was a very fine looking man. He was immaculately presented, always wearing a tie, even for gardening. He lived a very orderly and disciplined life. H breakfasted on eggs and bacon each morning-home at lunchtimes-and he had the best garden in the local area. He seemed to look down on us, literally and metaphorically. I think he worked for many years at a branch of the high class grocer’s, Coopers, at Comiston Road, Morningside. When it eventually closed he worked at Brown Brothers Engineering, possibly as a stock-keeper. He was an intelligent man who worked in positions below his ability.

My abiding memory of Molly is a more recent one from the late 1980s. Each day I travelled to work across the Braid Hills to Midlothian. I recall seeing Molly going to work at the Royal Bank of Scotland at Liberton Brae. She looked so happy and she was such a handsome woman.

Along with The Hoggs at 6/4, The Swansons were perhaps the most stable family unit at The Stair. Dougal and Molly Swanson took the raising of their children more seriously than any other of the eight families. This could be seen in the way that Gavin and Heather were raised in a positive culture of safety, stimulation, guidance, boundaries and education and also the way they were presented socially-they were always very neat, tidy and clean. 

Colinton Mains Parish Church (Peter Hoffmann 31/08/2012)

Each Sunday they attended the rather lovely local Church of Scotland, Colinton Mains Parish Church. I don't think they were big on religion at all, but it was another aspect of the socialisation process at work and it distanced them slightly from the rest of us, as no-one else attended that church, apart from my father intermittently. 

Whilst the rest of the children at The Stair eagerly consumed our comics, Gavin used to get the Look and Learn magazine although Heather got either Robin or the Bimbo.

Socially, they didn't really integrate much with the other families. It wasn't that they were disliked because in many ways they were immaculate neighbours. Gavin wasn't allowed to run free the way the rest of the boys were. Only on very rare occasions did he come out to play. In the photograph of him with Norman Stewart (6/3), my brother Iain and me which was taken in our back garden. In he’s certainly the best looking of the four boys. 

One rare summer I recall him being allowed out to play. He joined me sitting on the back of my guider (bogie) while I steered it down the hill of the road opposite, Oxgangs Place. It was good fun and as there were few cars back then, not too dangerous. However, when Molly got wind of this, it was immediately stopped and Gavin was back inside for the rest of the summer. I seemed to be the only boy he was allowed to play with, but as I had a poor reputation that didn't continue for long.

Alison Blades; Heather Swanson; Eilleen Hogg

Ruth Blades; and Anne Hoffmann

Heather meanwhile seemed to be allowed slightly more freedom and she mixed a little with my sister, Anne and one or two others; she struck me as being slightly more rebellious than Gavin. Also, she attended the local secondary school, Firhill, whilst Gavin, like me and several of the Blades attended Boroughmuir Secondary School.

The summer holidays would have been the obvious time to have mixed with other children, but I think their granny, who lived at Colinton Mains, often looked after them. This was slightly restrictive, however, we might play with them briefly in the early morning before they left to go and join her. They were close to their granny and this seemed to be the dominant social relations which they enjoyed as a family, apart from a weekly visit from a most lovely lady called Nettie, who lived in posh Morningside. She was a gem and suffered a great tragedy when her only child, Pamela died in her early teens. I recall Pam playing with us occasionally. Nettie may still be alive and if so, will be a very old and noble lady. I once thought I saw her standing waiting for a bus at Morningside and regret that I didn't introduce myself.

The Swansons were possibly closer to us than the other families at The Stair. My mother, Anne was close to Molly, who was very supportive when we had the ups and downs caused by my father. They exchanged Christmas presents each year-my mother always gave Gavin and Heather a tin of Woolworths’ toffees. We got some imaginative presents from Molly. I once recall taking what I thought was a book from my Christmas stocking, but when I opened it up there were six or seven tubes of fruit sweets arranged horizontally inside. Molly always checked on my sister Anne, brother Iain and me if my mother was out dancing at The Plaza, Morningside on a Friday evening.

I know that my mother Anne and her second husband, John Duncan attended Heather's wedding. Heather became a nurse and went to live in Florida, America. Gavin studied at Edinburgh University and then at either Cambridge or Oxford University-I believe he’s now an editor at the Cambridge Press. Along with his own very hard work Dr Gavin Swanson's successes are partly due to his mum and dad's approach to parenting and they must have been very proud of him. 

Postscript: I came across this article last year about Gavin-I hope he's keeping well. 

Medical student saves rower's life after heart attack

Jennie Baker

A medical student has told how he raced to save the life of a rower who had suffered a heart attack.

Dr Gavin Swanson, a Cantabrigian rower, suffered a cardiac arrest at Baits Bite Lock during a major rowing competition on the River Cam.

Several rowers helped him before emergency services arrived – including a graduate medical student who is also a rowing coach.

The January 22 incident has led to a review of rowing safety by authorities.

Dr Swanson, 53, who was discharged from Addenbrooke’s earlier this month, said: “I’m completely lucky and fortunate that there were people around to do that.”

Dominic Silk, 37, a graduate medical student and rowing coach, ran to Dr Swanson and gave him cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), helped by others, until the ambulance arrived to resuscitate him.

Mr Silk said: “I’m very lucky I have been trained to do it, I have done it lots of times on a dummy.”

He added: “I think everyone could do it.

“I think everyone should do it, frankly, I think it’s a no-brainer. It’s a great skill to have.”