 Image: Frank McGrail | The school's misfortune was to occupy a key strategic position, and government forces and rebels alike felt it necessary to shell it to smithereens. Fortunately, everyone escaped. Everyone except Effie Frogspawn. Too preoccupied reading her Sunday Post and Weekly News – the school's librarian never read books – she'd yet to notice the mayhem around her. Only when a mortar hit the Girls' Toilet directly underneath did she finally appreciate her danger. By that time she was airborne. Miraculously, she suffered only minor injuries. Still clutching her two newspapers, she found a nearby park bench and continued reading where she'd left off. |
The building where I worked for almost 30 years – yes, that was a school – is currently being demolished. The Sunday Post and the Weekly News are two of Scotland's more widely-read news publications; they're not so widely respected for their journalism. Those connected with the Portobello High School in the 1970s and early 1980s will recognise the character.
As far as I know there is currently no civil war in Edinburgh.
As far as I know there is currently no civil war in Edinburgh.
