THE STAIRWAY TO 'HEAVEN' LEADS DOWN, NOT UP... ~ Comics Live Updates

The new building between the old ones was once grass, with the end of
a large annexe hut just showing from behind the building on the right

As a teenager, I went through a phase where I developed

an interest in religion. Y'know, the full "who am I, where did I

come from, why am I here, where am I going?" bit. Consequently,

I attended a couple of church youth clubs with some pals, who weren't

quite so interested in religion, but were interested in the girls who fre-
quented such establishments. We were regarded as 'neds', not because

we were (not real neds anyway), but because, compared to all the other

prim and proper youths who regarded Jesus as their 'personal Saviour'

(and who were liable to break into a chorus of 'Kumbaya', with guitar

accompaniment, at the drop of a hat), we were seen as 'rough boys'

to be pitied and avoided if we couldn't be 'converted'. (Not

in the recent Doctor Who way, I hasten to add.)

The basement fire exit. Members came and went
through here to and from the garden. The barred
window on the left is the one seen from inside the
basement's main room in the next photo

One such club was held in the basement of what used to be

the manse across from the church, within the same grounds. The

last time I recall being in that basement must've been around 1979

or '80 - almost 40 years ago. Wow! That's a hard one to get my head

around. At the back of the church once stood an annexe hut, which was

replaced with a large extension a good number of years back, housing a

cafe and various other things. I was in there yesterday for a coffee (first

time I've used the place), and after I'd finished, I took a wander into the

former manse and visited the basement. It was pretty much as I re-

membered, though it looks like the kitchen has had a refit, and what

was once a window-sized opening into the kitchen from the

staircase has now actually had a window fitted.

If I recall rightly, an old radiator was affixed to the wall under the
window, and the seats were previously oblong wooden box-like
structures, adorned with square cushions on top for comfort

As I stood looking around and drinking in the memories

of my teenage visits to the place with my friends (one of whom

died some years ago), I was struck by just how recent it all seemed

to have been. Hard as it might be for you to believe, I was consider-

ed what we Scots call the 'leader-aff' by my group, which was probably

a good thing as I tended to rein them in a bit from indulging in the full

catalogue of youthful 'hijinks'. Had all those years really elapsed since

I'd last stood in these low-ceilinged vaults? It hardly seemed possible.

I was both cheered and saddened by the occasion, and returned this

afternoon my camera and snapped a few pics for posterity. How-
ever, yet again I'm reminded of just how fleeting the years are,
and how quickly events of the present become mere echoes
of the past in the haunting halls of memory.