FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 16th – 23rd NOVEMBER 2025
This Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Education Week, which in fact is 2 weeks, running from 16th November, the Feast of St Margaret of Scotland, until 30th November, the Feast of St Andrew. It got me to thinking about my own Catholic education, which for the most part centres around two schools, St Peter’s Primary in Partick, from 1956-1963, and St Mungo’s Academy, in various locations, from 1963-1969.
I had an inauspicious start on my first day at St Peter’s Primary. From the word go my teacher realised I was having difficulty seeing the blackboard. I was sent home with a note for my mother advising her to make an appointment with the opticians. Before long I had my first pair of NHS spectacles, John Lennon style. For a while I also had to wear a patch over my right eye, as my left eye was a lazy eye. To this day my left eye is much weaker than my right eye but, if truth be told, neither of them is great and my prescription is very strong. I had the same teacher throughout primary school who, at the time, I thought was ancient, but she may only have been in her forties. I must have been a bit of a teacher’s pet as she would send me, every day, to a local grocer shop in Partick, to get her a quarter pound of red cheese for her lunch. I would watch, mesmerised, as the grocer brought out the block of cheese, sliced it with wire, weighed it, and then wrapped it in grease-proof paper to bring back to the school. It was the same procedure just about every week, Monday to Friday, so she was eating an awful lot of cheese. I may have been her pet because she knew that I served early morning Mass in St Simon’s before coming to school, and each year I would win the prize for religion. However, there was one year when I disillusioned her, because a group of us, 4 Kelly’s and 2 Keevins’s, arrived late to school one day, because we had been at the children’s panel, having been booked by the police for playing football in the street. We were all fined £5 each, which was a lot of money for our parents, and sent back in disgrace. The teachers of the others took it in good part, but my teacher, who was also the teacher of one of the Kelly’s, took it very seriously and we could feel her disappointment. Still, I retain good memories of my primary school days, and am grateful for the preparation I was given for moving on to big school.
I should really have gone to St Thomas Aquinas secondary school, as did my two brothers. However, I acquired a bursary to go to St Mungo’s, traditionally a Marist Brothers school, and where my father had been before me. I started out in Duke Street for the first two years; then two years in Barony Street in what, I didn’t appreciate then, was a Rennie Mackintosh building, and then my final two years in Parson Street. I found things a bit tough at the beginning, especially as all my primary school pals had gone to St Thomas Acquinas. There was also the long journey to get there, as by this time the family had moved from Partick to Drumchapel so, regardless of which of the three locations, it was a 2-bus journey with a very early start. Added to that, the 1960’s were quite violent years in Glasgow with various rival gangs spread throughout the city, and sometimes the rivalry between gangs would find expression in the playground, with some serious looking weapons being produced during playground fights. – scary stuff. Somehow, I got myself a decent education, and I had my first encounter with the Passionists, who acted as chaplains to the school, and would provide preachers from around the province to give school missions and retreats each year. No doubt this influenced my later decision to join the Passionists, although the bigger influence would have been the Passionist Retreat House at Coodham in Ayrshire, which I became involved in shortly after I left school. Again, I am grateful for my time at St Mungo’s. There were some excellent teachers, and my time there equipped me adequately for future life. Deo Gratias.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Education Week, which in fact is 2 weeks, running from 16th November, the Feast of St Margaret of Scotland, until 30th November, the Feast of St Andrew. It got me to thinking about my own Catholic education, which for the most part centres around two schools, St Peter’s Primary in Partick, from 1956-1963, and St Mungo’s Academy, in various locations, from 1963-1969.
I had an inauspicious start on my first day at St Peter’s Primary. From the word go my teacher realised I was having difficulty seeing the blackboard. I was sent home with a note for my mother advising her to make an appointment with the opticians. Before long I had my first pair of NHS spectacles, John Lennon style. For a while I also had to wear a patch over my right eye, as my left eye was a lazy eye. To this day my left eye is much weaker than my right eye but, if truth be told, neither of them is great and my prescription is very strong. I had the same teacher throughout primary school who, at the time, I thought was ancient, but she may only have been in her forties. I must have been a bit of a teacher’s pet as she would send me, every day, to a local grocer shop in Partick, to get her a quarter pound of red cheese for her lunch. I would watch, mesmerised, as the grocer brought out the block of cheese, sliced it with wire, weighed it, and then wrapped it in grease-proof paper to bring back to the school. It was the same procedure just about every week, Monday to Friday, so she was eating an awful lot of cheese. I may have been her pet because she knew that I served early morning Mass in St Simon’s before coming to school, and each year I would win the prize for religion. However, there was one year when I disillusioned her, because a group of us, 4 Kelly’s and 2 Keevins’s, arrived late to school one day, because we had been at the children’s panel, having been booked by the police for playing football in the street. We were all fined £5 each, which was a lot of money for our parents, and sent back in disgrace. The teachers of the others took it in good part, but my teacher, who was also the teacher of one of the Kelly’s, took it very seriously and we could feel her disappointment. Still, I retain good memories of my primary school days, and am grateful for the preparation I was given for moving on to big school.
I should really have gone to St Thomas Aquinas secondary school, as did my two brothers. However, I acquired a bursary to go to St Mungo’s, traditionally a Marist Brothers school, and where my father had been before me. I started out in Duke Street for the first two years; then two years in Barony Street in what, I didn’t appreciate then, was a Rennie Mackintosh building, and then my final two years in Parson Street. I found things a bit tough at the beginning, especially as all my primary school pals had gone to St Thomas Acquinas. There was also the long journey to get there, as by this time the family had moved from Partick to Drumchapel so, regardless of which of the three locations, it was a 2-bus journey with a very early start. Added to that, the 1960’s were quite violent years in Glasgow with various rival gangs spread throughout the city, and sometimes the rivalry between gangs would find expression in the playground, with some serious looking weapons being produced during playground fights. – scary stuff. Somehow, I got myself a decent education, and I had my first encounter with the Passionists, who acted as chaplains to the school, and would provide preachers from around the province to give school missions and retreats each year. No doubt this influenced my later decision to join the Passionists, although the bigger influence would have been the Passionist Retreat House at Coodham in Ayrshire, which I became involved in shortly after I left school. Again, I am grateful for my time at St Mungo’s. There were some excellent teachers, and my time there equipped me adequately for future life. Deo Gratias.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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