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In
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In The News - September 2007 |
We are sad to announce the death, at the age of 54, of ornithologist Dr Jeff Watson (62-70) on 19th September. In an obituary in The Herald, he was described as a world-acknowledged expert on golden eagles. He was a keen photographer and the tribute also mentioned his evocative landscapes, comparing them favourably with the hill and raptor paintings of his father, Donald Watson (32-37), who died in November 2005.
In the business world, Keith Miller (68-74) Is, as predicted, in the news again, commenting on his interim profit announcement against the background of what he referred to as 'a pretty tough market on the housing side'. Another Accie property man featured in The Scotsman's business pages recently was Nick Hooke (70-82), a lawyer specialising in commercial property leases. Nick was described by one of his colleagues as 'a bread-and-butter commercial property lawyer working at the coalface'. Nick's comment on property in Edinburgh… 'there are plenty of properties out there but I have a bit of a suspicion about the domestic market'. In the medical world, Alan Robertson (87-97) has been elected as chairman of the BMA's Scottish Junior Doctors' Committee. There was an interview with him in Medical News Today of 4th September. In what must be his rapidly diminishing spare time, Alan is also webmaster of the Accies' website, www.accie.org.
To the Arts and on 1st September The Scotsman carried an interview with Iain Glen (66-79), who is the star of Niall Heery's new film, Small Engine Repair. Iain is described as having 'a cracking singing voice' and as being (girls take note) 'one of Scotland's handsomest men'. Iain's class-mate Angus Farquhar (68-79) also had his work extensively reviewed in The Scotsman this month. His latest show, Half Life, involves an exploration of prehistoric sites and landmarks in Kilmartin Glen before an open-air theatre performance by the National Theatre of Scotland who are co-producing the spectacle. Nicky Campbell (66-78) appeared on TV recently in the BBC series Who do you think you are? , in which he explored the history of his adoptive parents. The prelude to this, his book, Blue-Eyed Son, about his blood parents, was published in 2004; there is a copy in the school library.
Moving, then, to the literary scene, Ninian Dunnett (64-78) has written an introduction to a book by his father, Alastair Dunnett. The Canoe Boys, originally published in 1950 under the title Quest by Canoe, was warmly reviewed in The Scotsman on 15th September. Another book recently reviewed in The Scotsman was Suffer and Survive, which tells the story of John Scott Haldane (1870-76), inventor of, amongst other things, the gas mask. John is described as being 'a medical adventurer in an epic quest to personally explore the limits to human endurance and save lives'.
In the sports pages, the rugby World Cup has provided a focus for mentions of Accies. Mike Blair (86-99) featured as 'a key man for Scotland' in a Scotsman article before the Portugal match and there was a good picture of David Callam (87-91) on the steps of a plane heading off to France. Mike played scrum-half in the games against Portugal on 9th September, Romania (18th September) and Italy (29th September). David was No 8 in the match against the All Blacks on 23rd September. But Accies have not only featured on the field of play: in an article in Scotland on Sunday at the start of the month, naturalised New Zealand rugby commentator Gregor Paul (86-91) assessed the All Blacks chances and the character of one of their main players, Jerry Collins.
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