AN ECDOTES

Anecdotes are not only interesting or amusing in themselves, they also

illustrate aspects of life.

There is a story told in the village about the Free Church and the Parish

Church, which if not true, might well have been. In the Free Church there

was a window high up in the wall from which a good view of the Parish Church

could be obtained. When the two churches were holding services at the same

time, somebody would keep a watch from the window to see when the

members of the Parish Church came out. The Free Church could then allow

its congregation to depart, as a longer service had proved that the Free Church

was Godlier than the Parish Church.

A story Mrs. Nancy Webster of Bon field Road related is about her uncle,

chauffeur to the Younger family;

‘The head chauffeur at Mount Melville, Mr. A. (Sandy) Grieve, one day had

to take Mrs. Younger to St. Andrews shopping. When the shopping was

finished he assisted Mrs. Younger into the car, then got into the driver’s cabin

and started up the engine. In the meantime Mrs. Younger had seen one of her

friends across the street, opened the other door and went over to speak to her.

The chauffeur got back to Mount Melville, got out of the car and opened the

back door to let Mrs. Younger out and found she wasn’t there. So he had tp

go back to St. Andrews and, needless to say, was worried in case he got “told

off”. However, Mrs. Younger saw the funny side and smiled, then was driven

safely home to Mount Melville’.

Another true story, told by Mr. AIf Arkle, ‘Lilac Cottageç Sunnyside,

is the sort of thing that could happen to any child;

‘In 1930 at the age of ten the Kinness Burn was a great attraction to me

and other boys from the village. It seemed to have about four times the

volume of water it has today. At a point about mid-way between Tongues of

Clatto Farm and the main road there was a small stone bridge. One day in

bright sunshine a friend and I noticed a shoal of small fish dart under the bridge.

After a close inspection, we decided they were young trout about two inches

long. We had no net, but with a lot of patience, we managed to coax two into

a small tin.

‘My first intention was to keep them in the rain water barrel. (Every house

had a rain water barrel then.) However, I was told that young trout needed

fresh running water. The well at Pettycruik was a rather unusual type only

about eight feet in depth and five feet in diameter with a concrete slab covering

the top. Outside the well were steps going down to a small door which one

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