JEAN Bell, 74, a lifelong Edinburgh resident, will today reunite with old school friends ahead of an exhibition of photos from an old city school.
AN Edinburgh woman born and bred, Mrs Jean Bell is looking forward to meeting up with old classmates at an exhibition of photographs of her former school, James Clark School, at Nelson Hall Community Centre today.
Converted into housing in 1972, t
he St Leonard's Lane school was the starting point for Mrs Bell's inspirational life, which is rich with tales of the Capital's people.
Part of a group of ten "leftovers" too young to leave school at the Easter holidays, Mrs Bell, then Miss Jean Bottomley, was James Clark School's Dux girl in 1949.
She said: "We were supposed to leave in the April but we were too young and got kept until July. We had a ball.
"The commercial class had typing, shorthand, book-keeping and a year of cooking and a year of sewing. We had a good all-round education."
Mrs Bell feels her successful and varied life was largely down to the education she received at James Clark School.
She added: "I don't feel as if I missed out on further education, that's for sure."
Through a drama group called James Clark Players, Mrs Bell had her first taste of work in the theatre.
Her father was a brass moulder during the day and at night he worked on scenery at the King's Theatre.
Mrs Bell was saving up for a trip to France and her father got her a job as a call boy.
After marrying husband Archie in 1956 and having three sons – Alan, Leslie and Douglas – Mrs Bell worked in a number of lawyers and accountancy firms around the city, and spent a number of years working at Powderhall greyhound racing as tote supervisor.
The couple now have two grandchildren – Sita and Harry, both 15.
Growing up in Dumbiedykes, Mrs Bell has a keen interest in the history of the Old Town.
She is a member of the Living Memory Association through which she has works all around Edinburgh talking to people about their lives and experiences.
And, through the help of community grants, the group has also published five books on the history of the area.
Mrs Bell now hopes to reminisce with a few former classmates at Southside Heritage Group's exhibition of events on the history of James Clark School.
The full article contains 416 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
