26 April 2026 – From My Diary 1996

Mary-Catherine and I visited an exhibition at the Smith entitled, ‘Meadow, Mountain, Moss and Moor’. It featured works by the artist, Joseph Denovan Adam. He lived in the parish of Logie at Craigmill from 1887-1895. He was an elder in the kirk, led the choir and was a great friend of the minister, Menzies Fergusson.

He specialised in painting Highland cattle. The large canvasses were impressive. ‘Don’t be afraid of the cattle and you are alright.’ he would say to the students who studied at Craigmill. One of them was Edith Holden who wrote and illustrated ‘The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady’ throughout 1906.

There was a wedding. The English groom revelled in  singing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’  to ‘Jerusalem’. A critic at the kirk door said,  ‘Imagine singing a hymn to the tune ‘Kelvingrove’’.  A light bulb fell from the ceiling, smashed into smithereens in the sugar bowl at the afternoon service in Hanover Court!

One of my new communicants confessed that he couldn’t go through with the confirmation service. ‘I don’t want to be a Protestant.’ he said leaving his wife gobsmacked. Five boys were awarded  the Queen’s Badge at the BB Display in the Kirk Hall. Colin played a duet. One of the pieces was called, ‘The Lively Rascal’.

A homeless couple who had been housed and moved to the homeless unit wanted to return to the derelict green hut in the kirkyard. They wanted me to transport their few possessions. They were packed in plastic bags together with a saucepan.

Because the green hut was under threat of removal, I contacted the person in charge of Parks and Cemetries. He said, ‘Unless I receive a complaint, I will not take any action at the moment to remove it.’ Such a welcome response – kind and compassionate.

A burial in the kirkyard … the widow was too frail to stand at the grave. She sat in the car. When the words of committal had been spoken, the car door opened, she got out carrying a red rose. She walked slowly to the edge of the grave, kissed the rose and threw it onto the coffin and silently returned to the car.

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