Then and now
In 1957 a new school was built on farm land in a rural part of Liverpool called Gateacre. In the late 1970s I went there for 5 years. It wasn’t rural anymore and the only roaming animals were us – the pupils. It is said that school years are the best years of your life; even in hindsight with my rose tinted glasses on and my nostalgiometer turned up to full I can’t say this is true.
I was however saddened when I heard they were pulling the old place down and rebuilding it a mile or so down the road, so jumped at the chance for a tour of the place, which I did with my brother and sister who also attended in the 1970s. It was eerie going into our old rooms, all the smells, layouts, fixtures and fittings were the same, it was like we were frozen in time.
On the day, as back in the day, the room I wanted to see most was my art room. I loved it then and it was nice to see now, looking exactly as I remember it. I realised a couple of years before leaving school that I wanted to be a graphic designer so art was the best outlet I had. My teacher (Miss Thomson) was amazing and helped me get enough work together for an interview at my local college where I studied graphic design. The rest is history.
In the picture above you can see the school and me with Cathy, now and then. She’s the only person I’ve stayed in touch with and we were both glad we went to the evening party to say goodbye to the place. Sorry I never got to thank Miss Thomson. I did alright, Miss.
- Blog
- July 18, 2011
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carole browne
Very well written Andrew, it summed up an experience of mixed emotions xx