The winner of this year's writing competition for the Warnock Trophy was revealed at the SWI National Conference & Exhibition.
Theme: A Childhood Memory
Winner: Alison Smellie, Ruskie SWI, Stirling, Clackmannan and West Perth Federation
2nd Isobel Mary McGuire Ruskie SWI, Stirling, Clackmannan and West Perth Federation
3rd Diane Ryan Eassie & Nevay SWI, Angus
Very Highly Commended: Doreen Peace Holm SWI, Orkney
Highly Commended: Claire Totton Monquhitter SWI, Aberdeenshire
Commended: Margaret Wilson Mennock SWI, Dumfriesshire
This is Alison's winning story...
At 3.45pm on the school day the ‘home bell’ rang and everyone raced to get on the school buses for the best seats, upstairs at the front where the windows could open.
Bus full we headed down to Greenock Esplanade and turned east where keeping the River Clyde on our left we headed for home.
Passing Princes Pier we noticed the Paddle Steamer Waverley waiting to board passengers for an evening cruise to the Kyles of Bute.
Next came the Great Harbour and the James Watt Dock full of working boats. Tugs, puffers, the Pilot boat and the Torch which maintained the buoyage system on the River Clyde.
On up the road past the Kingston Shipyard where our bus was stopped to let 4000 men pour out the gates with their wages, some to go home, some to the pub!!
Next came the banana boots docked to discharge their cargo of small sweet yellow bananas from the Canaries and the sugar boats releasing their cargo of West Indian raw cane sugar directly into waiting lorries.
We got caught behind one of those lorries as it was taking its load to the Tate and Lyle sugar refinery and the sweet sticky contents blew in the windows of the bus and stuck to our hair, eyelashes, lips, and blazers but it was a lovely taste and smell. We wrinkled our noses for the next smell as we approached the turning for the glue factory. Fumes from the slaughtered animals which were brought here for processing into glue – not so nice as the sugar.
We then changed buses at the Inchinnan Bus depot and yet more smells, oil, diesel, cigarettes where all around but bleach, leather cleaner and chrome polish on a newly serviced bus encouraged us to
get on board.
The newest of the dry docks came into view. The new QEII was fitted out here before has sea trials on the ‘measured mile’ just off Arran. At last, we entered Port Glasgow, my home town, past the replica of The Comet, the first commercial steamship in the world and built here.
See all of the entries here