Comments

'And finally, not everyone’s being doing topical. In fact, here’s the rather lovely 6 Oxgangs Avenue devoted to the history of the development of the area, this week highlighting how the block of flats came into being. Could have been prompted by Who do you think you are? Or just a timely reminder that not everything worth blogging about is in the here and now.'

Kate Higgins, Scottish Roundup 26/08/2012



Sunday 16 September 2012

Tall Tales, No 2

Boroughmuir Secondary School (Peter Hoffmann)
On Tuesday, 8th May, 1971, at Boroughmuir School a class mate called Andy Downie walked past me and said 'Peter, I see you've a letter published in the Hornet this week.' Coincidentally, Ken Buchanan, the Edinburgh born and based world lightweight champion was on the front cover.



I could hardly contain my excitement - I got home to read the story in the letters page, The Hornet's Nest, and yes there it was - my name in print although spelt wrongly.  I received a ten shilling postal order for the story - excellent in its way, but ultimately I was disappointed because I wanted to win the top prize, a Raleigh bicycle. In retrospect justice was done, because the story was a porky - although my father had at least forty jobs in his working life, he'd never been employed as an electrician!



Footnote-Ken Buchanan was a major Edinburgh sports hero-as a young teenager I loved watching his fights around 1971-1972. A few years later in 1976 I took part in a Superstars type event at Perth with him and I think the rugby internationalists Andy Irvine and Bruce Hay were there too-my memory is a little hazy, but I think we were all driven to Perth in the back of an old Roll-Royce car.

Rolls-Royce, Morningside (Photograph Peter Hoffmann)

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