It is always nice to meet old St Andreans, and yesterday was no exception as I made the acquaintance of Graeme Booth who graduated here in 2005. He was up on a stag weekend for an ex-President of the Students Union and their group had been having a bit of a bash by all accounts. Indeed they had been up till 5am that morning drinking whisky (four bottles!) down on Castle Sands. And a round of golf was deemed the best antidote.
I noticed that Graeme had the letters OSCC on his golf shirt, which turns out to be The Old Seagulls Cricket Club which he set up for graduate cricket players of the Uni. They have about ten matches a year including one against The Ship in Elie and I must say I would fancy being an Old Seagull for that game.
I love all these societies which keep us old boys in touch with our great University and allows us to maintain and develop comradeship in the magical place that is St Andrews. However I must not forget that I am already a HOG which is a member of Home of Golf Society, a club set up in my day for graduates who had played on the golf team here.
And so I could become a very strange thing indeed, and that is an Old Seagull and a Hog. Nothing changes: I’ve always been a bit mixed up. But in this instance it will just be over fores and sixes.