Glorious Childhood

A Memory of Ecclefechan.

I was 10 years of age when this photograph was taken in 1955. Ecclefechan was the centre of the world to me at that age. I lived in Castle Acre and had the most wonderful childhood possible. I recall walking the burn under the road from the top of the village to the bottom without the aid of a torch, picking blueberries in the summer on Brownmoor, fishing in the Mein and later, as I got older, the Annan. My Headteacher was Mr Whitby, and other teachers were Mrs Goodwin, Mrs Cunningham and Ms Christie.
My friends at the time were all those who played football in the village.
I went off to Wallace Hall Academy at the age of 12 but over the next six years maintained good contacts with all my friends in the village. Shops at the time included Horsburgh's, Casbolts, Creighton's, Murray's, the chemist's on the corner and, a little earlier in time, Grove's. We also had two chip shop's over the years but, sadly, neither lasted very long. Even in those days, healthy eating was the order of the day!
My aunt was the curator at Thomas Carlyle's house and as a child I took a keen interest in his life.
Mrs Earl (Rina and Bob) supplied the Sunday papers from her house at 3 Castle Acre and I delivered Sunday papers to my aunt's and uncle's in the village and as far away as the station (Mrs Glen). On particularly wet Sundays, I had the benefit of a lift out of the village up to the station from Tom Lockart (the milkman) .
Every so often I return to the village for a personal tour of my childhood haunts....and never fail to feel the better for it!!