Following on from my last post. Are they any chance for each one of us posting somthing nice . Could be outwith a meeting at smc . It could be a fond memory . A funny thing happening connecting to somone or something in the time you attended Smc.
Please

FALKIRK BAIRN

Here's a couple for you FB.
Andrew Jewell's grandmother at one point had a school let meeting in Greenock and a group of teenage girls came into the church via her. They were the last of the non-uni kids that I remember from Greenock. They stayed in the church for their first working years. Friends with MacDonald twins oldest sister, Margaret. They disappeared as the demographic changed thro' the 80s. Well, they were knitters. Knitted Aran cardigans. Knitted hats, those French bonnets like you said, FB. Matching sets. Very geometric. Think of a round circle or a white-iced sponge cake cut into 8 pieces. Different stitch patterns to make the 8 "pieces of pie". Of course this is back in the "bad old days" when hats for females had to be worn at every meeting. Those girls dressed so well on Sundays. Fancy clothes which they must have paid for out their wages. I remember when it was the fashion for wedge brogue high heels, shining leather with so many buckles along the outside edge of each shoe. That Aran knitting showed an amazing skill. Doing craft things were one of the few normal things that were not disallowed. eg in our family we were allowed to make things on a Sunday afternoon when playing outside was a definite no no. :) Maybe the Glasgow Craft Fayre is an unknown happy consequence of - arts n crafts = good, sport = bad.

Another random one - Millionaires shortbread - I was introduced to this amazing homemade delight from the hands of Mrs Lea(r?) and Mrs Penn, both Falkirk ladies. They baked for church conferences and camps. What was this amazing toffee thing on top of shortbread??? And chocolate on top of that? Wow - no match for Bookers scone mix we helped make for the masses.

One more from the "bad old days" - canvas camp beds at Wiston. Before blow up lilo airbeds arrived.
First, join together 2 sets of 3 poles. Try and get them to stay joined together while you insert them into each long edge of the camp bed canvas. Then it's time to attach the camp bed feet. Maybe it was a child's lack of strength, but trying to get those wire feet to lock into the holes along the canvas? A struggle. Now for the getting into bed bit. Unzip your rectangular nylon sleeping bag placed on top of the canvas campbed, stick your feet into the opening, then boom, your bum is on the ground, your feet and the sleeping bag are in the air. Those beds were notorious for tipping back when you were getting into bed. Try and shuffle your bum forward to bring your feet and body and canvas camp bed back down to earth.

Oh, and when your have succeeded and are drifting off to sleep, listen out for the London train racing along somewhere miles away, but you can hear it as the place is silent. And the pellet gun going off intermittently in the field next door scaring off, birds?

Hi FB and all in forum
Re
‘really hope that is not happening folk getting hounded in pm.’

I apologise to the forum if anyone thought that this was what I meant …

No one was being hounded in a pm. This is a misinterpretation of the dialogue.

I’m not going to re-explain it ..all is well and the message was really to westofscotland.
I hoped that they felt they could have an open discussion even though we have a different opinion on things and they didn’t feel that I was hounding them of the forum because of this.
I repeat as the Petitor has said it’s good to have different views and opinions. We simply agree to disagree.
AG

Ohhh Redroad that made us laugh.I mind off each of your memories well.

Another one what came into my memory is I mind my first camp at a ripe age of about ten. We arrived at camp to be showing to our tent. There infront of us was a old canvas Scout tent. 8 off us were to stay in this with one of the adults. WE were all excited and took ages all getting to sleep that night to be woke up in the early hours of one of the girls crying thinking she had had a accident in her sleep but no the full tent had sprung a leck. .The next minute we are all trecked through the field in our nightware to be bunked down in the main house on the floor.

FALKIRK BAIRN



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2025 06:48AM by FalkirkBairn67.

Haap memories for the record:

1: Brilliant singing.
2: Jumping in the pond at camps.
3: watching people eat midges at camp!
4: Watching Spiders AS at the Mirror with dialogue " Mirror mirror on the wall who is the best minister of all. REPLY
" NOT YOU... "
5 Mirror Mirror on the wall who's the best headteacher of them all.
Reply" Not you yaa eegit".
Still at the morrow surveying her empire!
6: Mirror mirror on the wall why do l have the worst over 35s than them all?
Because oh wicked AS they know the Bible and you don't! Oops oops forgetting you know 1 text from.... Wait for it... Hebrews.

Regularly heard her chat about these folks with E Mc K S.
Drum roll to remember the loathed:

LG really annoying.
LB a total twat
JO
Fl Bu so arrogatn
GO
JT always complaining

Well these older people are still there and where is AS oh yes prancing around Largs trying to get people to break!
Happy Happy Easter there we go lots to be happy about.
Esme

SMC wasn't all bad. For a start, there was Wiston! The highlight of my year!
We'd set off early on Saturday morning, car laden with suit cases, sleeping bags, pots and pans, a yapping dug and two over-excited teens. The promise of one whole week with our church buddies was just too much to bear. Of course, we'd have to contend with tediously long meetings but that was a small price to pay for the fun we'd have with our pals.
As soon as we hit the red road the excitement would build! I can still remember that intense feeling of childish anticipation, even as a 57 year old! The gates of Wiston would appear on the horizon and eventually swallow us up. The car bumped and clanked it's way up the pot holed path to the grassy camp site which was lined with caravans and tents of all sizes and vintage. I remember one particular year we were allocated a church caravan by RG (one of Mr Black's little gofers). Well, it was only THE infamous "Yellow Submarine"; a filthy, decrepit, mustard coloured Sunbeam caravan that could barely accommodate two adults never mind a family of four! It was rather a slap in the face since next door was a brand new, top of the range 5 berth caravan, housing 3 of Hugh Black's favourite female protégées. Well, mum was not having any of it, bundled us all back in the car and had words with RG. I think after much to-ing and fro-ing we were eventually given a
more fitting abode. I think that was the camp where I met my first boyfriend...and lost him to LM (Falkirk) just a month later! Can't say I was broken hearted...lol...
Ah the memories!

Thank you Redroad .Esme and Mulberry for your post. IM SURE THEY ARE OTHERS ..
I wonder who will be at the Easter conference this weekend. I put my last few post up because .we know there's lots of folk who read this forum and never say a word. I know loads who are in my past I would love to talk to again.Alot of folk know who I am and anyone who wishes to have a word with me please get in touch. Even if it's to pull me up on somthing I have said wrong in your eyes. I really don't care if you a ex member or Struthers or yo7 a still a member I will listen to any of you .but be warned I do have a mind of my own. My pm are open to any you.

FALKIRK BAIRN

For the record WS the children in those families knew exactly what happened. Did lamb chops ever know why her father had been abandoned by AS the lies around that were incredulous! Ask Spiers she knosr.
Heard about 250 a the Church last night.
Glasgow celebrating loss of Spiers given much, much, much happiness to them apart from one or 2 whalers and we don't mean Jonah!

But moving to Happy times:

1: pond dunking at camps.

2: some folks hanving the banned midnight festd
A.S "Jekly ordered curries a lot. She never got dunked would have sank to the bottom along with preeeecious lamb chops, may have come out to be pork chops!

3: We could listen in to Spiers and she was definitely not funny:

Preeeecious Elaine how much longer do we suffer those not breaking.
Reply" They don't respond to fairy dust, so strange l can't get enough oh wonderful, amazing guru. Who exactly shall we make life difficult fir?
Yes you have got it drum roll for the loathed, yuk, yuk yuk really loathed:

1: Flo Bu_ too opinionated& arrogant.
2: Dan H- annoying little comic.
3: EW- thinks he is 5 talks trash.
4: J Irw.. Makes up nadt stories
5: DD needs some discipline.

This is all detailed in the diary of one who left recently and we had a cuppa whilst sharing.

6: Alison Spiers l feel rebellion, rebellion in this hall, stares scarily around the hall with extra few stares at me. I learned the closed eye sort of pious look came in handy. The silence was tangible the many short rsntd:

1: l am not having This Do You hear me?
Hear the whole street could hear, my earvplugs came in handy!

2: There is filth in this hall, stares around with a few moments silence then Bang, bang bang on the lectern. Is it You, You, You.?
Eyes shut thinking about wind in the willows, much safer.

3: Come to me tToday. tThis morning and l will give you freedom. Now look how free Lamb chops, Hyde Elaaaine Mc Kenzie Smith and Preeeecious Janice are. Yuk, yik yuk l wanted to puke at the thought.

Jesus makes us free, wrongvdpiders claimed she was
1: Head of The church.
2: She set people free.
3: She could give guidance for life, at a fee, remember the deluded Fiona and Jay who now fund hercneeingvatv Inverkip/ Skelmorlie
4: lf really lucky... Got fairy dust.

But, wonderful isn't it we truly celebrate Easter as she has Gone, Gone, Gone.
But, we would do well to remember the poor souls in Largs.
I can only conclude.
"Lord please be merciful to Largs"


.

I am adding to the good memories section though this specifically happened after I’d left.

I have recently been clearing out photos and letters and found 3 or 4 lovely letters & a card with multiple signatures from people still within Struthers, sending me love, asking me to come back or just wishing me all the best. This included a lovely necklace gift.
I’m not sure if I ever answered these because it was quite dramatic leaving an organisation after almost 30 years and at that point I didn’t wish to know about it.

So here is an apology to anyone reading this who contributed to these letters & gift to me and Thank you for them. They meant a lot at the time.

I’d like to say, Andrew Jewell was one of the few leaders in the church who stood up for me. During a youth camp’s discussion groups, a couple of the older Falkirk and Cumbernauld punks - brothers from both churches and sons of leaders - were mimicking my voice and trying to get me to chant the Lord’s Prayer in Elvish (I was wearing a Gondor tshirt) and Andrew came to see what the commotion was. He split the boys young men - let’s be honest they were adults who were completely capable of independent thought but were in a situation where they could behave as irresponsibly as they liked because they were protected - up and asked if I was ok and took an interest in me. He talked about his Star Wars collection he had when he was my age and how it was stolen. It humanised him from the powerful leader he was on the stage.

This may sound silly and irrelevant to people but being neurodivergent, I find it hard to express myself in person therefore him taking a few minutes to care about me meant the world.

He prayed with one of the ring leaders of our posse and he got baptised in the Holy Spirit. I remember tearing up when I saw how happy it made my friend. He was running around the activity centre barefoot yelling “I’ve been redeemed” like he was a gift card. I was never prayed with, probably because I rocked back and forth to try to calm my sensory overload. Especially when what sounded like yodelling came from the female side of the meeting - I think this was them talking in tongues.

God bless everyone.
Happy Easter.