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Denoon was still teaching when I was at school, is he still on the go?

Had a combover of epic proportions.

I met him this morning. He's still going strong, there's still that hint of a combover - and you will be pleased to learn that he was wearing a "Yes - Still" badge. :smile:

 

Sorry Mantis - I realised I'd made a typo I needed to edit. :redcard:

Edited by Charles Bannerman
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Denoon was still teaching when I was at school, is he still on the go?

Had a combover of epic proportions.

I met him this morning. He's still going strong, there's still that hint of a combover - and you will be pleased to learn that he was wearing a "Yes - Still" badge. :smile:

 

Sorry Mantis - I realised I'd made a typo I needed to edit. :redcard:

 

I remember him from the High School although he did not teach me, His father was headmaster at Fort Augustus and his mother taught there when I was at primary school before moving to Inverness.  I thought the name was spelt Dunoon the same as in Argyll where I was born but my spelling was never good in school :sad:

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Well, the assembly is much smaller than I remember--that's what ageing does for you.

 

In 1953 I was fifteen so almost certainly I was in that photo.  Cor Blimey, that's an eerie thought.

 

 IHE, with your mystical powers , can you single me out please? I had hair in these days so that fact alone should make it easy for you, ,eh? :smile:

 

 One retains memories on a grander scale than they probably were on the day. 

 

But this particular view is a surprise to me.... probably due to the relative awe I had in these days for the fact that I  was in "THE" Academy and watching men in long black gowns walking tall.

 

Nope, they did not ride high in the saddle since this is auld Scotland we are looking at, not the high plains of  Montana (the big sky country). Also Clint Eastwood was not even born at that date in time. :laugh:

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Re 'Boosey",  the name of the other boy, as I now recall, was John Holmes.

 

If he was in Americcy nowadays, there is an outside  chance that with a name like that he might be black. 

For the uninitiated, the " epithet comes from an association with the Deep South where, at one time, in New Orleans for example, the area was part of the French territories. ...thus " l'homme" equals man.

 

The subsequent ' Louisiana Purchase"  by the northern Americans, which ceded a huge (i.e colossal) tract of land to them from the French, changed that scenario somewhat. This purchase enriched the Northern U. S.  immeasurably  and was literally ( in my view anyway) a sell-out by the French...more out of desperation at their financial challenges and it got the Yankees off their backs..

 

However,  he was more of the supporter, quieter type, not the mover and shaker that Willie was. I didn't dislike Willie who,  for the most part, actually had quite an engaging personality. In those days, also,  physical punishment was not frowned upon and Mr. "Boosey" once gave Willie a terrific crack on the back of his head with his hand that it was a wonder that he survived. He did and it seemed to make no difference to his outlook or behaviour...sigh.

 

Me? I just fidgetted until the teacher got fed up looking at me and I was belted very hard . At least Willie and I had one thing in common--we were both rebels without a cause--just too much energy I suppose and boredom held sway too. :clapoverhead:  

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I remember him from the High School although he did not teach me, His father was headmaster at Fort Augustus and his mother taught there when I was at primary school before moving to Inverness.  I thought the name was spelt Dunoon the same as in Argyll where I was born but my spelling was never good in school :sad:

 

 

As far as I recollect it is "Denoon". For a number of years Brian did some well presented monologues on the former BBC Highland called "The View From Denoon" and has subsequently written a few books on local/Great Glen subjects. His sister Deirdre (Mrs MacLennan) was also a teacher - History at Millburn and then moved up to the Royal Academy at the same time as I did when the Culduthel building opened in 1977. Deirdre unfortunately suffered a stroke-like illness about 15 years ago and retired at that point, but is still around.

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Denoon was still teaching when I was at school, is he still on the go?

Had a combover of epic proportions.

I met him this morning. He's still going strong, there's still that hint of a combover - and you will be pleased to learn that he was wearing a "Yes - Still" badge. :smile:

 

Sorry Mantis - I realised I'd made a typo I needed to edit. :redcard:

 

 

Good to hear, Denoon was strict but a very good English teacher. And obviously a cool guy given his badge. :thumbup:

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Been on before but if this doesn't give yo an extra shiver then nothing feckin will !!

That's the mid 30s Royal Academy pavilion at the field at Diriebught that I was speaking about. I actually have a lot of very happy memories of that building even though my mate and I had our personal sinks to be sick into after hard athletics trainnig sessions from Bill Murray.

Interesting to see the caption "The New (sic) Pavilion" which dates the photo.

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You know ,Charlie, I think I remember that pavilion. Wasn't it at the bottom of a downward-sloping road from the Academy much further up the hill. 

 

What did you think of Mr Murray?  

Yes, it was (indeed still is) towards the bottom of Victoria Drive, on the right. Victoria Drive, like Balnacraig Road (Bumber's Lane) was eventually given a tarmac surface in the late 60s/early 70s but it was a dirt track when I started school.

Bill Murray? That's a difficult one for me.

On the one hand he was one of the biggest influences I had outwith my own family since he introduced me to sport in general and played a large part in introducing me to athletics in particular. In effect I was one of "Bill's Boys" and he was a very good sports coach.

But on the other hand there was an extreme conservatism and an elitism about him which I came to realise and somewhat resent later. He set high standards but on the other hand is was his way or no way. He had something of an elitist obsession with the Royal Academy which was interesting because when he taught me first he lived in a council house in the next street to me - St Fergus Drive.

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Is this photo of the raining stairs by any chance?

 

As for Bill Murray, I see your point. I felt there was no use arguing with him and that he was going to do what he wanted regardless. The truth is that he  never taught me any other subject other then gym and the only real encounter I did have with him was when he allowed me to run half the park to score a try in a rugby practice game----that was the practice when I remember seeing the  pavilion we have been discussing--- and he chalked it off. When I asked him why he did that, since I thought it was a legitimate try, he said.." it was a knock on but I just wanted to see what you would do." Not the answer that brings music to the ears I'm afraid. I still think it was not a knock on...sniff. :happy:

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Who moved the gates ?

I think I may have explained that in an earlier post, but in 1954 what is the current front gate in the centre, down the steps from the front door, was established (rather belatedly) as a War Memorial Gate. At that point the gate shown in that photo, and I believe an equivalent one on the corner at the top of Stephen's Brae, were removed and the wall filled in. Even to this day, if you look at the wall where the gate is shown in the photo you will see a hint of a different colour where the filled in bit is.

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  • 3 weeks later...

If that is the Hedgefield Hostel, I do believe that it is currently owned and being developed by Tullochs.

After WW1 a War Memorial fund was set up by the Royal Academy and the proceeds, combined with donations of shares in the former Gentlemen's College next to the Nortern Meeting Park, allowed the school to purchase that brown sandstone building as a War Memorial Hostel for girls which was opened in 1921. The fund also paid for the War Memorial tablet which used to be on the main stairs in the oldest part of the Midmills building but since 1979 has been outside the theatre at Culduthel.

In the 1930s a deal was done whereby Inverness County Council took over the hostel as the County Buildings and the school got Hedgefield House in Culduthel Road instead. When that was no longer needed as a school hostel it was used by Highland Council run Inverness College.

When Colleges became privatised in the 90s, legislation allowed them to acquire free of charge all publicly owned premises they occupied and then when the building became surplus to the College's requirements a few years ago it was sold to Tullochs.

However the original asset belonged to Inverness Royal Academy as part of a War Memorial Fund so the school has been done at some point!

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Now this is more like how I remember it

Except it would have looked a bit smarter in our day. Since the College realised they were going to sell it they really haven't done much maintenance and the exterior looks downright grubby. The paint on the window frames in particular is in a dreadful state.

At the back, the huts are now in a pretty bad state and one has been added which is a lot worse and a downright eyesore.

I am surprised none of the residents of Crown Circus has complained that this is reducing the value of their half million pound properties.

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Well, a good power wash would work wonders but if the paint is in poor shape then the sooner that would have to (or have been)  be done the better for the old bird.  Pity .

 

Wasn't that a golden sandstone colour originally. If so, it  would come up beautiful after the power wash cleaning. Depends on how it has aged though. Sandstone can be  loose....

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Or one of these?

 

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I didn't know you were a dricketer CMIB! When I was teaching and writing books about the Royal Academy I was a frequent visitor to the school archive and among the treasures there are all the old mags going back to the 1890s. I remember the 1959 one in particular because in my view it was one of the best that there was. Off the top of my head 1959 was a year when there were several break ins at the school with items nicked ranging from vice captain Robert Lindsay's books to a belt!

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Or one of these?

 

attachicon.gif001.JPG

I didn't know you were a dricketer CMIB! When I was teaching and writing books about the Royal Academy I was a frequent visitor to the school archive and among the treasures there are all the old mags going back to the 1890s. I remember the 1959 one in particular because in my view it was one of the best that there was. Off the top of my head 1959 was a year when there were several break ins at the school with items nicked ranging from vice captain Robert Lindsay's books to a belt!

 

 

Yes, CB, cricket has always been my favourite game.  If you have access to that 1959 magazine you will see me in there as captain of the 1st X1.  Most of my cricket of course was played down here in Englandshire, but my experience of playing in the North of Scotland league stood me in good stead, as when I moved here (mid 60s) all the cricket this far south was friendly Sunday afternoon stuff.  League cricket didn't take off here until late 60s/70s and I fitted into it well with the good Highland background.

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