I joined Trinity Academy primary school in 1957 at the old Bangholm facility. The headmistress was the formidable Miss Campbell. Our writing materials were a framed slate and a "slate pencil", a slim stick of softer slate which washed off after use. Very ecological! Between the ages of five and twelve we progressed in an anti-clockwise direction each year to a new classroom round the square. When we reached the last one we were decanted upwards to the secondary school at Craighall Road. The classrooms at Bangholm were of prefabricated concrete and brick with asbestos roofing. The classes were painted every few years in pastel colours and the walls were decorated with world Maps and other educational posters. Blackboards were on large mobile frames, and there was even a giant abacus. The cental playground was asphalted and once a year we had a visit from Edinburgh police who demonstrated Road safety by creating a mock street with rubber zebra crossing and "belisha beacons". The highlight was a Police Jaguar car racing into the "street" and performing a screeching emergency stop to demonstrate from the black skid marks the distance it took a car to stop. As I still remember this vividly after fifty years, it was a lesson well learned!

After the Slate era we were introduced to ink. Desks had an "inkwell" with a sliding brass cover. The ink was held in a glass or plastic container and the pens had chromed nibs. We were taught Copperplate writing which was very elegant in both Capitals, small letters (lower case) and Numerals. Once you had mastered this, you "graduated" to the elite by being awarded - ironically - a BIC.

Once a week each class was treated to a half hour Radio programme. The BBC transmitted educational programmes which were received in a radio in the Headmaster Mr. Browns office and sent via special sockets to each room. A large speaker was carried to the classroom and plugged in so we could listen to this weeks special.

Lunches were taken at the Dining hall on the ground floor at Craighall Road. That was known as the "Crush Hall". The meals were cooked elsewhere and brought in insulated containers to be served at wooden benches. My older sister Isabelle and my Brother Jim were at secondary school so kept an eye out for me. I spent many a lunch hour cosseted in the girls cloakroom with a meat pastie from Browns Bakers shop and among my sisters pals. What bliss!

When the new science block opened at Craighall road I progressed to secondary school having barely scraped my "eleven Plus". Alexander Neil, I would venture one of the schools most emblematic figures, had leaned in my favour for which I am eternally grateful. I admit I was a less than star pupil. The "streaming" system placed me correctly in the "E" grades, however I managed a slew of O and A levels by the time I left. My particular success was not academic. I became enthusiastic about the new Stage and equipment which had been built and took part in every type of show and perfomance and actually received an award for raising school funds from shows and dances. The award was the Alexander Neil award for Meritorious endeavour.

After Trinity I went to Leith Nautical College where my aptitude for Physics helped greatly in the Electronics Officers course. After just two years I was at sea as a Radio and Electronics officer in the Merchant Navy travelling to the Americas and Middle East plus a short spell of duty off Iceland in the less than dramatic "Cod War". I graduated through sheer good luck into the fledgling Offshore Oil industry where electronic positioning systems were used to position drilling rigs, pipe barges and ultimately the Huge Ninian field Oil platform. I lived in Aberdeen for ten years developing these systems and learning continuously about the changing technologies of Oceanography...remotely controlled vehicles, subsea acoustic systems, sonar mapping, then as the microprocessor took over I finally couldn't keep up. I became incompetent, so the company made me a manager.

I was sent to Spain where offshore exploration was underway. After a few years the Aberdeen company was taken over and I arranged to buy out the Spanish operation. In twenty years I have been involved in Gas Pipelines and Subsea Electrical cables to Morocco, Subsea Fibre optic cables from Spain to England, The Canaries, France, Madeira the Balerics and South Africa. All of this "beach work"! It doesn't get much better than that! On top of this I do consultancy work for construction companies, ports and city councils.

I live permanently in Spain with my Dutch wife, Corinne. We get back to Edinburgh every year and I always pass Craighall road and salute the school. As I say, I was not a star pupil, but I was given a chance and God gave me lucky breaks. All I did was follow the Leith motto.."Persevere", and I still do.

Malcolm Robb