Great advantages

Eve Boswell of Pickin’a Chicken fame.

“The comedian then attempted to save the ailing variety show business by buying the Empress Theatre in Glasgow in 1964 and reinventing it as the New Metropole but the venture failed.

“Before his death in 2001 at the age of 73, James Allan Short, OBE, the leading light of the Logan family, made one of his last stage appearances at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre.” “Sally Carus, president of the DundeeOrleans Twinning Association, wrote in this column recently that it was no longer possible to send young people to stay with other families,” writes a retired modern languages teacher.

“If I had not taken part in the DundeeOrleans exchange in 1948, I should never have become a teacher of French and German. My knowledge of French took off during my stay with the Midoux family in Orleans and during the three weeks my French exchange pupil stayed with my family in Dundee.

“As he had little English and showed no inclination to learn more, I acted as interpreter during his stay. That friendship lasted – my exchange pupil, Jacky, is now 86 and in a home in the Ardeche, but I have visited him there and I send him regular letters.

“I also led school parties on DundeeOrleans-type exchange visits to Caudry in Northern France, the Dordogne and to Aschaffenburg in Germany. All were successful and my own daughters, who took part, learned a lot.

“Why can pupils not go to live with families abroad? In all my years as pupil and teacher, I experienced few problems. It seems a great pity to throw away the enormous advantages of learning a language living in a family in their own country.”

“This advertising poster for The Palace Theatre in Dundee, includes many of the names your readers remember,” says Jim Howie. “So far no mention has been made of Sydney Devine who appeared well down the bill.”