From the Rector -
Gratitude is the Attitude…
There are any number
of jokes about nuns and bishops. But when real
spiritual leaders like Rowan Williams, Archbishop of
Canterbury and Joan Chittister, a Benedictine sister
collaborate to produce a gem of a book like “For
All That Has Been, Thanks” we are the grateful
recipients of food that will last a sight longer than
even the wittiest quip.
This ‘summer read’ invites us to grow a sense
of gratitude in our attitude to everything that is
going on around us. It is even possible, contend the
authors, to say ‘Alleluia’ to those parts of
life that feel more like a burden than a blessing.
Doubt as well as faith, sorrow as well as joy have an
important role to play in our spiritual maturing. The
chapters are relatively short and therefore perfect
for the odd half hour we might usefully use to ingest
something spiritually nourishing which gives us food
for thought. The pieces on ‘Saints’ and
‘Sinners’ will provide me with hope for years to
come. Perhaps the insights provided on the state of
‘poverty’ will help us through the dark
economic times that will impact upon us all too soon
after the summer skies have ushered in the autumn
clouds. We shall indeed need a new way of looking at
ourselves and the spiritual as well as material
resources we have to deal with the challenges of an
uncertain future. The illuminating reflections
offered in this volume will go a long way to doing
that and a great deal more.
We are most spiritually in danger when we feel
threatened by being out of control. We habitually try
to control what goes on in our lives and find it hard
to trust what we cannot yet see, weigh up, evaluate
and turn to our own advantage. But believing that we
are in a position to always do that is a joke.
The wisest kind of living is seen in those lives which
embrace whatever each day serves up with an
‘Alleluia’. For when Jesus himself acknowledges
that each day has enough worries of its own without us
adding extra anxiety about what tomorrow will bring he
is inviting us to live out the present moment in an
attitude of faith in God’s mercies. The subjects
deftly dealt with in this compact hardback are as far
as we could possible get from the holiday escapism we
might pine for on the beach. But time devoted to
reflecting on the skilfully considered subjects
embracing everything from ‘Crises’ and
‘conflict’ to ‘Faith’ and ‘Friday’
is certain to bring a refreshment that won’t just rub
off with the suntan lotion.
“For All That Has Been, Thanks”
– Growing a sense of gratitude - by Rowan Williams and
Joan Chittister OSB is published by Canterbury Press.
ISBN 978-1-84825-017-8 Price £12.99
Peter Jones
From the Editor
August tends to be a quieter month – driving ones car
is much more pleasant early in the morning and
afternoon. However, seven decades ago it wasn’t as
quiet as many of our older readers will remember when
bombs were falling over Portsmouth and vicinity.
The Town Fair is on Saturday 11
September. Can you organise a stall or help in any
way?
Congratulations to Mary and Bruce Strugnell who
celebrate their Ruby Wedding anniversary this month.
Colin Carter
Help in Bereavement
Help in Bereavement was founded in 1980 in the
Portsmouth area in response to the perceived needs of
those suffering the grief, loneliness and social
isolation caused by losing a loved one. The visitors
are especially trained to recognise the needs of the
bereaved, regardless of when the bereavement happened
and will be given support for as long as it is
needed. A team of visitors is also trained to work
with children on a one to one basis. The service is
free and confidential.
There will be a training course for new prospective
visitors from September to November 2010. If you
would like to be considered to become a visitor please
contact telephone 023 9266 8884 or email:
training@help-in-bereavement.co.uk.
Rosemary Thomas
The Prime of Lifers' Retreat
On Friday 18 June, a nice sunny but chilly day, nine
ladies from St.
 Faith’s,
St. Albans and St. John's Rowlands Castle met up at St
John's for a short service led by Lay Reader, Mary
Close, to ask God's Blessing on our three-day retreat to
Earnley Concourse, near the Witterings in West Sussex.
The subject of study and contemplation this year was
"The Eucharist" but as we had been asked not to
arrive before mid-afternoon we stopped off for a lovely
lunch at The Lively Lady at Bracklesham (the suggestion
was made that it should have been "The Lively
Ladies"!). Upon our arrival we found that the
Regency house with four bedrooms and its Conference Room
was ours totally for the weekend. The Gatehouse
provided other rooms and having sorted ourselves out we
were welcomed with afternoon tea, a screechy welcome by
the resident peacock who liked nothing better than to
display his feathers and give us a twirl, and a
cacophony of rooks high in their rookery situated in
pine trees. Then it was down to business. We took it
in turns to set and lead morning and evening prayers
with a couple of sessions each day, considering the
Eucharist, our relationship with Christ, family and
friends as we share, and have shared, meals on different
occasions. We even considered our gatherings in church
and what sort of church buildings we wanted - no expense
spared and no thought about sites and their size! All
the designs came to the same conclusion: semi-circular
in the style of modern Roman Catholic buildings such as
Walsingham, or Worth Abbey for example.
We were able to hold a short evening service in Earnley
 Church
which, conveniently, is just across the road from the
entrance to Earnley Concourse.
It is a 13th century building of Saxon design which
has never been dedicated to anyone. It had to have
extensive work done on the roof when death watch
beetle was found in the woodwork in 1990, and it had
previously lost its roof due to bomb damage during
WWll but the little congregation found the money each
time to repair it. On Sunday morning we were able to
join them for a communion service with Mary Close
assisting.
We all had to take some special memento with us and on
Sunday morning after the church service we each told
of our reasons for choosing these things which spoke
of love, sadness and poignancy but especially of
love. One final service after lunch then afternoon
tea, and it was time to leave. We arrived home just
after 4pm.
Our one regret was that we were not all able to sit
together for the meals in the restaurant but on
reflection we decided it was a positive thing as
people were interested to know what course we were
doing and were surprised when we told them!
It was not all “work”. We had time to explore
the lovely grounds even if it was too chilly to sit
outside much. Some walked into the village and on the
Saturday evening we enjoyed a few drinks and played
games until bedtime.
Finally, the following story framed and placed on the
south wall of Earnley church surprised and amused us:
Joseph of Arimathea was asked why he had given such an
ornate and beautiful tomb for Jesus' burial. He
replied that he-did not mind as it was only needed for
the weekend.
It was a thought provoking and enjoyable weekend in
lovely surroundings giving us even more to think about
as we sit back and consider what its effects are on
our own approach to Communion. We are all one family
because we all share the one bread.
Sheilah Legg
A Cricket Miscellany
No sport has as many stories as cricket. They go back
as far as W G Grace, the greatest batsman of his
generation and a man who could be intimidating to
opponents and umpires alike. On one occasion while
batting, a ball dislodged a bail. Picking it up and
placing it back on the stumps, he said to the umpire,
“It’s windy today!” To which the umpire
replied “Yes. But I’m not! You’re out!”
George Gunn was a batsman who relished going down the
wicket to fast bowlers. He played county cricket
until he was 50 but towards the end he became very
difficult and set in his ways. Batting on one
occasion, he heard the pavilion clock strike 1
o’clock. At the end of the over, he removed the bails
and handed them to the umpire who said, “George.
Lunch is at 1.30 today.” The next ball he faced,
Gunn removed his bat and let the ball hit his stumps.
Walking past the umpire on his way back to the
pavilion, he said “I always take luncheon at 1
o’clock!”
During the bodyline tour, the famed barrackers of the
Hill at Sydney were in full voice. England’s Eddie
Paynter would always field in the deep close to the
Hill and the Aussies loved him for the way he
responded to them. In one match, a barracker shouted
out to ask why someone was not playing for England
that day. Eddie, not noted for his good looks,
shouted back, “They’re only playing handsome blokes
like me!” The Hill gave him a big cheer! Two of
the greatest spin bowlers ever to play for Australia
were Bill O’Reilly and Clarrie Grimett. They both
loved winding one another up. On one occasion,
Grimett was being hit all round the ground. At the
end of one over, O’Reilly said to him, “Keep going
Clarrie. You’ve got him in two minds. He doesn’t
know whether to hit you for 4 or for 6.”
We started this little cricketing trilogy with Harold
Larwood MBE so I will finish with him. On one
occasion his bowling was electronically timed in an
experiment at the White City at over 100mph. Of the
1,427 first class wickets taken by Larwood, slightly
more than half (743) were bowled. At his home ground,
Trent Bridge, the ground staff kept three sets of
spare stumps because he was always certain to break,
splinter or shave one. Someone once said that a few
overs from Larwood at top pace were like a public
stoning. In one match, a very nervous batsman was
facing his first ball in county cricket.
Unfortunately for him, it was to be delivered by
Larwood who thundered up and bowled. In a flash the
ball had struck the bat before the nervous batsman had
time to move it out of the block hole! Fortunately,
the ball ran away for a single and the relieved
batsman scampered for the safety of the bowling
crease. When he arrived, the umpire said to him,
“Harold is a lovely man. He knew you were making your
debut, so he bowled you his slower ball!” There
is no record of what happened next.
Roger Bryant
Pamela Joyce Le
Goaziou RIP
We were all saddened to hear of the passing of Pam who
was a remarkable lady. She was born in London in
1922, one of three children. When war broke out in
1939, she was one of the first to volunteer for
military service in the RAF. It was there that she
met Charles whom she married after the war. They had
a daughter Christine and a son Roger before
separating. Pam came to this area and joined St.
Faith’s. So these are some of the facts of her life
but they do not begin to tell us the story of Pam.
If we had to sum her up in a few words they would be
that she was a free spirit. She lived by her own
rules. She had an infectious gift of fun and loved to
tease companions. She enjoyed raising the spirits of
all with whom she came in contact. She was full of
energy, enjoying the social and working life of her
time. She loved dancing which was her passion and
enjoyed flower arranging. Life as a single mum was
not easy but she did more than survive. She gave
Christine and Roger a wonderful message of hope. To
her, the past was gone; the future was her concern and
she tackled it with enthusiasm and joy.
She was adventurous and loved travelling. Undaunted,
she would travel alone to places like India and
Ghana. For many years we maintained a child in Boys
Town, India, and Pam was the first person from St.
Faith’s to visit the town. When in her 80s, she made
several visits to Father Felix and the parishioners of
St. John the Devine in Ghana. She has left us with
memories of a wonderful free spirit. Our love and
thoughts are with Christine and Roger who summed up
all our feelings with the following words:
Mum you are on your last journey
Through the stars to heaven
Dancing all the way
Roger Bryant
A Little Faith Goes a Long Way
The result of a letter written to the Rector whilst
researching my Burcher ancestors was published on page
10 of the January 2005 issue of “Faith Matters”.
The article printed on Harry Burcher, my great
grandfather and former Havant resident has recently
brought about a joyful second meeting with Rob Burcher
of Brisbane, Australia. Rob had also written to Father
Gibbons in his quest of researching his ancestors of
Havant Parish which was printed in the February 2005
issue of “Faith Matters”. Father Gibbons,
realising we were both researching the same family, put
us in touch with each other.
Since that introduction Rob and I corresponded regularly
and met for the first time in 2007 when Rob and his wife
Jayne visited Wales. During May/June of this year Rob &
Jayne travelled over from their home in Australia for an
extended holiday of England and Wales visiting the
places of his Burcher forebears. On Monday, 7th
June and Tuesday 8th June instant they
visited my home in Caerphilly where Rob presented me
with a bound volume of the Burcher Family History
1500-2007 which he had painstakingly compiled.
Thanks to the alertness and kind gesture of Father
Gibbons I am pleased to say I now have an Australian
branch to the family tree and am the very proud owner of
a written history spanning 507 years of my Burcher
ancestors.
Best Regards
Mrs Jennifer Smith
Caerphilly, Mid-Glamorgan
Congratulations
Congratulations to Claudia Rowthorn who was admitted to
the choir and to Ann-Marie Bellinger who was awarded her
RCSM Light Blue ribbon at the 9.30am Family Service on
Sunday 4 July.
Celebrating 40 Years of Marriage
The St Faith’s Church Young Communicant’s Guild (YCG)
led by the Reverend David Slater (Harry to all who knew
him) regularly held compline services in local churches.
In November 1965 a service was held in the chapel at
Idsworth and this was followed by a firework party and
folk evening at the farm. Harry provided transport in
his aged Commer van. This would be highly irregular
these days as the van had no seats in the rear and often
significant numbers of young people were carried in the
back of the van. On the return to Havant various people
were dropped off en-route leaving a small number when we
reached St Faith’s Church. Here, due to the hour being
11:15 p.m., Harry asked Bruce to escort Mary home to
which Bruce said ‘but I don’t know where she lives!’
Harry assured Bruce that Mary would know and the two of
them left sheepishly in the wake of some laughter. On
arrival at her home Bruce was invited to go in for
coffee and in spite of the late hour he did so and met
Mary’s parents for the first time. It was a Portsmouth
Grammar School sock drying by the fire that sparked
conversation Bruce being a pupil from the same school.
Bruce eventually returned home in the early hours much
to the relief of his worried parents.
In 1967 their engagement celebrations took place at
Mary’s parent’s home in Boundary Way and were attended
by family and quite a few of the YCG including Harry and
his wife Kirsten. It was timed to take place before
Mary went off to undertake teacher training at Bishop
Otter College, Chichester and Bruce went to St Paul’s
College, Cheltenham also to undertake teacher training.
Having decided that teaching was not going to be his
future career Bruce left college and eventually joined
Havant Borough Council as a trainee accountant. When
Mary completed her teacher training there were no jobs
available in Hampshire and because she did not want to
travel into Sussex she joined the Trustee Savings Bank
in Chichester as a temporary job pending a suitable
teaching vacancy in Hampshire.
Their wedding took place on a fine, sunny and
 warm
day in Havant on 15 August 1970 – a quiet summer’s day
at its very best. However all that was about to change.
In West Street outside St. Faith’s Church traffic on the
A27 (yes it really did go past the church in those days)
was proceeding normally except that bollards adorned the
pavement on the church side and there was a police
constable and police sergeant in attendance. Activity
indoors at 18 Boundary Way was frenetic where the bride
and her four bridesmaids eagerly awaited the arrival of
the cars to take them to the church. Whilst outside
flowers were being delivered and neighbours were
collecting anxious for a first glimpse of the bride and
bridesmaids in their outfits. Ray and Connie Hoad as
the father and mother of the bride in particular were no
doubt doing their best to maintain an atmosphere of calm
in the gathering tension as the time moved forward. At
16 Beechworth Road in Glenhurst School there was no less
concern regarding time. Here it was Norman and Evelyn
Strugnell doing their best to maintain some semblance of
order whilst keeping track of the numerous relatives
arriving to park and give their best wishes prior to
walking to the church.
Although the ushers had already been sent on ahead the
groom and best man (Bruce’s brother Keir) were not
despatched until 2 p.m. although it was still an hour
to go before the ceremony would commence. The arrival
of the bride’s car brought traffic to a standstill and
pavements on both sides were filled with people eager
to get a first glimpse of the bride. The service was
conducted by Canon Duke-Baker accompanied by the then
Rector Canon Derek Brown and assisted by the Reverend
David Slater. The church was filled with family,
friends, and Bruce and Mary’s colleagues from both
colleges. After the service all the wedding party
retired to the Bedhampton Social Hall for the
reception. The bride and Groom arrived at the hall
having had to wait at the Bedhampton level crossing
gates for two trains to pass.
Thanks to alertness of Mary’s father the couple had
managed to secure their first house 33 Parkway. At
this time the house was in need of considerable
attention having rising damp, an outside toilet and no
heating or hot and cold running water. It was to be a
major project but at least they had a roof over their
heads. Fortunately being close to both sets of
parents was to prove invaluable for baths and other
home comforts! Mary continued to work for the Trustee
Savings Bank and Bruce moved from Havant Borough
Council to work for Fareham Borough Council as an
Internal Auditor. The couple then moved to 12
Highland Road, Emsworth and at this time Bruce also
moved from Fareham Borough Council to Portsmouth City
Council as a Senior Auditor. They had their first
daughter Claire in 1975 followed in 1978 by Sally.
Then as Claire was attending Glenhurst School in
Havant they moved to 32 Orchard Road Havant.
They moved to Brunswick Gardens in Bedhampton in 1997
mainly to allow them to care for Bruce’s mother
although she later left to go and stay with Bruce’s
brother Keir in Somerset. Bruce and Mary continue to
live there.
A wedding blessing in St Faith’s Church at 3 pm on
Saturday 14 August will be followed by a reception at
the new Bedhampton Social Hall and then Bruce and Mary
are flying to Cyprus where they will be staying in
Paphos. On their return home they will both be
officially retired and hope to spend more time with
their family and two grandchildren.
What a Challenge!
What is happening on September 11 at St Faith’s? Yes,
it’s the Town Fair but do you realise that it is also
the day of the Historic Churches Ride and Stride?
That’s when our church is visited by cyclists,
walkers, those on mobility scooters(!) and horse
riders who have been sponsored to visit as many (or as
few) churches as possible in order to raise funds for
their own church and for the Historic Churches Trust.
In past years we have had riders and walkers from our
own parish going out on a day of adventure and St
Faith’s has benefitted from the funds which have been
raised. We have always given our Trust visitors a
welcome when they ‘sign in’ and ensured that
refreshments are available to help them on their way.
What can we do this year? It will be a very
busy day for us all.
-
Could you
give an hour of your time to show our Trust visitors
where to sign in and where they can get
refreshments? St Faith’s is well known for its
quality cakes!
-
Could you
get sponsorship and fit in an hour to visit the
other churches in our area? The Historic Churches
Day is from 10am until 6pm and the Town Fair is
scheduled to finish at 3pm.
I look forward to hearing from you with your offers of
help. I am helping on the Plant Stall at the Fair so I
shall have a personal challenge too!
Hilary Deadman
Havant Town Fair
10am – 3pm Saturday
11 September 2010
Fun for all the family! Lots of Stalls
Grand Draw Bottle Tombola
BBQ & Refreshments – sponsored by Waitrose
Donations gratefully received – please telephone
023 9249 2129 (Parish Office) or 023 9248 3485 (Rector)
Helpers to run and
organise the stalls are required – please let Helen
Faulkner (023 9289 6060) know what stall you can
organise and let her know if you are willing to help
Proceeds in aid of St. Faith’s Church, Havant
& St. Nicholas Chapel, Langstone
Restoration & Redevelopment Appeal
Some Tales with a Scottish
Flavour
What connects the world's highest
mountain, one of the oldest burghs in Scotland, a
high-ranking Nazi, the North African desert, and a tale
of witchcraft? No, it’s not a riddle; for there is a
link. Here is the story.
No one knows when the summit of Mt. Everest was
reached. The first authenticated successful climb to
the top was by Sir Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa,
Tensing Norgay, on 28th May 1953, though the
announcement was not made public until the day of the
Queen's coronation on 2nd June. It is
possible that the summit was first reached before that.
In 1921 an exploratory expedition was staged to see if
it would be possible to make an attempt on Everest.
This resulted in a full-scale expedition in 1922, which
failed to get to the top. Another expedition took place
in 1924, and after two unsuccessful attempts, during
which a climber called Norton reached a higher altitude
than anyone had ever attained, it was decided to make a
final attempt before the short climbing season ended.
The two men chosen to do this were George Mallory and
Andrew (Sandy) Irvine. One of the other members of the
party was following them some way behind, and thought
that he saw them, as small dark spots, high up
approaching the summit. They never returned, and no one
knows if they actually reached the top or not. On the
next expedition in 1933 Wynn Harris found Irvine's
ice-axe. In 1999 Mallory's body was found in the ice at
a height of 26,768 feet, just 2,260 feet short of the
summit. But when he fell, was he still climbing, or was
he on the way down; and if so, had he already reached
the top, or decided to abandon the attempt? It
will always remain a mystery. There is only one slight
clue: throughout the expedition Mallory had carried in
his pocket a picture or his wife Ruth, which he intended
to leave at the summit if he ever got there. When his
body was found there were no pictures of Ruth in any of
his pockets!
After that 1924 expedition, no other was planned until
1933. Meanwhile, in 1930 a committee was formed to
organise a flight by aeroplane over Everest, but
sufficient funds were not forthcoming. When they heard
of the intended 1933 climb, they redoubled their
efforts, hoping to make the flight before the climbers
got there, as there was some rivalry between the two
camps. Help came from a society hostess, sponsor of the
Schneider Trophy races for seaplanes, Lady Houston. She
promised £10,000, with a further £5,000 if needed. She
was a family friend of the Marquess of Clydesdale so
naturally he was chosen to be the first pilot. Douglas
Douglas-Hamilton, born in 1903, was the eldest son and
heir to the 13th Duke of Hamilton, and
holding the courtesy title of Marquess of Clydesdale
until he succeeded as 14th Duke in 1940.
Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, some of
the many positions and honours he held included
Hereditary Keeper of Holyrood House, Lord Steward of His
(later Her) Majesty’s Household from 1940 to 1964,
commander of 602 Sqdn. Auxiliary Air Force, 1927-1936,
and himself a pilot and aircraft owner, holder of
various senior positions in the RAF during WW2,
commander of the Air Training Corps in Scotland,
President of the British Airline Pilots Association, an
Elder of the Church of Scotland, and Lord High
Commissioner to its General Assembly in the 1950s. In
1964 he was awarded the Royal Victorian Chain by the
Queen. Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, flew to Scotland
in 1941 to seek the Duke's help in possible peace
negotiations. Though this incident is still shrouded in
mystery, we know that Churchill refused to sanction
their meeting. The Duke, as he had become, was regarded
with some suspicion of having Nazi sympathies because of
this incident, though he was entirely innocent, but he
had to resign some of his posts until his name was
cleared. The second man to accompany Clydesdale
was David Maclntyre, also an Ayrshire man born in 1905,
and at the time a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF.
To fly over Everest requires reaching a height of over
30,000 feet - no problem today with jet engines and
pressurised cabins, but in 1933 the aeroplanes to be
used had open cockpits and ordinary aero-engines. It
was calculated that at that height, an engine would
lose 75% of its power, but a supercharged engine
would lose only 50%. The most suitable engine was the
Bristol Pegasus S3. The aircraft chosen was a Westland
PV3, a brand new day bomber, but there was only one in
existence, so the second plane for Maclntyre had to be
the next best. Electric heating was provided for the
kapok flying suits, the cameras and the oxygen supply.
Each plane was to carry an observer to take photographs,
using three kinds of camera to record the historic
event: a survey camera, pointing down for aerial
photographs, a heavy plate camera, and a cine camera.
These took up so much space in the observer's cockpit
that there was no room for a parachute or safety
harness. Maclntyre's observer was S.F. Bonnet, a
professional photographer with Gaumont-British
newsreels. He had more of an adventure than he had
bargained for! Reaching the required height was a near
thing for Maclntyre but he just made it, only to notice
that something was wrong with the observer. Bonnet's
oxygen pipe had fractured, and he almost passed out, but
keeping his presence of mind he managed to tie a
handkerchief round the break just in time. When he
tried to stand up to point the heavy plate camera
downwards over the side, he was so weakened from losing
oxygen that he collapsed on the floor unconscious.
Maclntyre, in trying to see what was wrong wrenched off
the nosepiece of his oxygen supply. He couldn't get it
to stay back in place so had to hold it with one hand
while he piloted the plane with the other - for three
hours! He said later it had been like a nightmare. To
the credit of all, both pilots made it successfully, and
before the ground expedition reached Everest.
In 1936, Maclntyre left the RAF with the rank of
Squadron Leader. He and Clydesdale set up a company
called Scottish Aviation Limited to operate a flying
school at what was later to become Prestwick Airport, on
the outskirts of the ancient Burgh of Prestwick, just
north of Ayr on the Clyde coast 40 miles from Glasgow.
Intending pilots from the RAF Volunteer Reserve (similar
to the Territorial Army) came at weekends to do their
training. When war broke out in 1939, the school was
taken over by the RAF, with MacIntyre as Commanding
Officer. In addition to pilots, they began training
observers, air gunners and wireless operators. My
brother-in-law went to work for the company in 1937 and
remained with them until he retired in 1970. I met
Maclntyre on a visit to Prestwick. The aerodrome
expanded greatly, and after the war was taken over by
the CAA. Scottish Aviation Limited had continued during
the war to run the civilian side, and now it became a
manufacturing company, building among other things
aircraft and buses, its showpiece was the Prestwick
Pioneer aeroplane, an example of which can be seen in
the RAF Museum at Cosford, near Telford. It was on a
sales tour with this in N. Africa in 1957 that Maclntyre
was sadly killed in an accident over the desert,
at the early age of 52. There is a commemoration plaque
to him on the wall of the churchyard of the present
church in Alloway, the village where the famous Scottish
poet Robert Burns was born. It is now a suburb of Ayr.
Just across the road from that modern church can be seen
the ruins or the old Alloway Kirk where Burn's parents
lie buried. This church is featured in one of Burn's
best known poems, the strange tale of Tam o' Shanter,
who lived south of Ayr, beyond Alloway.
On a market day, Tam had had too much to drink in Ayr.
As he made his way home through Alloway, he saw a light
coming from the church, and heard the sound of music.
He knew it was wiser to go on than turn back on such
occasions, but with the perversity of those who have
drunk not wisely but only too well, he just had to go up
and look. Inside were witches dancing and the Devil
himself playing the bagpipes! A good-looking young
witch caught Tam's eye. Her name was Nannie, and she
was wearing her best dress, which-was very short -
'Her cutty sark, o' Paisley harn…in longitude tho'
sorely scanty’ as Burns put it. Today's mini-skirt,
perhaps. Tam, bemused, simply gazed at the sight, then
so far forgot the situation that he called out, "Well
done, Cutty-sark!" The light went out, and the band
of witches came out like a swarm of bees after Tam. He
jumped on his faithful horse, Meg, and
galloped off. He knew that their diabolical powers
could not follow him beyond the middle of a running
stream, so he tried to make for the auld brig over the
River Doon close by. (It is still there.) As he reached
it, the revengeful witches were just behind Nannie,
perhaps because she was the youngest, was in front, and
made a grab for him as he crossed the keystone of the
stone arched bridge. Meg, the horse, sprang forward
unseating Tam, but her tail was still on the witches'
side of the mid-point as Nannie caught hold of
it. Off came the poor horse's tail! I wonder how he
explained that to Mrs. Tam when he got home? The moral
of the story? Let Rabble himself tell us.
"Whene'er to drink you are
inclined,
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,
Think, ye may buy the joys o'er
dear,
Remember Tam o' Shanter's mare!"
Trevor Hopkinson
Better Late Than........
Sixty years after the North Korean Peoples Army invaded
South Korea the Chinese have acknowledged that the war
was started by the North Koreans and not when the United
Nations forces crossed the 38th parallel.
From the Registers – July
4th –
Baptism of Jordan and Isaiah Portsmouth
4th –
Baptism of Scarlett Ann Hook
Back to Magazine
|
