Div Ye Min'

Hello everyone

My name is Ian Sampson, age 77. I lived in Thurso as a young boy from 1945 to 1949. My greatest hobby was fly fishing on Thurso river, always accompanied by my faithful fox terrier. I also learned to play tennis (the first time that youngsters were introduced to the game in the town?).

I was given the book Over the Ord (by Herbert Sinclair) by the two ladies who ran the newspaper shop (the Mss. Swanson, perhaps?) when I left the town. To my great surprise I appear (arms akimbo) in a photo in the book on page 100, with my fox terrier. It was a wedding at which the bridegroom dispensed handfuls of half-crowns from the wedding car. I scrambled, successfully, for a few.

Saturday afternoon pictures were followed by treks (usually a game of cowboys and Indians) in the quarry, along with most of the boys who lived in Barrack Street.

The poem Div Ye Min' appears in the book. For many years I had this poem off by heart. In my first year of school in Harrogate I was something of a curiosity and referred to as - the boy from Thurso. At least it put the north of Scotland on the map for some of my new school friends.

PS Where are you Rocky Munro?

Hi Ian, Rocky Munro went to New Zealand where he was a plumber but I'm afraid he died quite a few years ago. I was speaking to his brother Billy's (Buster) widow Aileen and she remembers you. You were in the same class at school. She also says you were a handsome boy!

Hi Ian

Welcome home. Did you know Thurso Heritage society have an excellent facebook page. There's probably a few folk from your generation keep up with it.

Hi travelling man
How delighted I was to have your reply. I really did not think that this would raise a response. I was cajoled into joining the forum after my wife and I re-visited the book Over the Ord. I note that this book, by the way, commands a substantial price these days as the print run, I presume, was quite modest - it was privately published by the author.
Delighted to hear that Aileen remembers me! Tell her that flattery is acceptable - in small doses.
Somewhere in my collection I have a farewell photo with myself, Rocky and John Millar (his uncle ran a shoe shop in the town).
I exchanged foreign stamps with a Raymond Cardosi - the family ran an ice cream shop / newspaper shop in the old part of the town.
A tall, attractive girl, Christine Mackay, visited us in Harrogate once - she joined the Wrens and spent some training in a naval base at the nearby town of Wetherby.
As ever, one is sometimes just too late in attempting to renew acquaintances. I am so sad to have missed Rocky and Buster.
Many thanks again for your kind reply.
Ian

Hi gleeber

Many thanks for your reply. I will look up the Facebook page of the Thurso Heritage society.
Perhaps the fresh air off the Pentland Firth will engender longevity in the inhabitants of Thurso.
Kind regards
Ian