During his first year in 1959 Alan Norcott met many friends in Airlie Hall so at the end of that year Alan and seven of his friends – David Hitchcock, Donald Mercer, Donald Collins, Ian Donald, Jonathan Wilkie, Michael Hallam and John McLaren decided to take over the two floor flat at 143 Nethergate known as Sunshine House. Alan and his housemates fondly look back on their time between 1960 and 1962 in Sunshine House . . .
‘We stayed in Sunshine House for two years having a great, and often hilarious, time. Because of its proximity to Campus many students would just drop by for a chat. You never knew who might be there when you arrived home. I got to love Scotland and its inhabitants but I regret that I didn’t take more opportunities to see even more of it. Amazingly we are all in touch with each other. I had wonderful time, made good friends and would do it all over again.’
Alan Norcott BSc Honours Chemistry, 1963
‘We were looked after by a lady called Mrs Wilde, who cooked our breakfast and our evening meal and did some tidying up now and again. Sometimes when she was a bit pressed, she would go out to the nearby chip shop and return with our meal duly wrapped in newspaper. We recently had three Dundee gatherings for a get together that included spouses, along with Cathy Duncan, June Kilcolm and Liz Manton who were good friends right throughout our student days.’
Don Collins BSc Honours Mathematics, 1963
‘Skiing in Scotland in the 1960s was not for the faint hearted. Nevertheless four intrepid Sunshiners set off for Glenshee in an Austin A30 in 1961, unperturbed by the Met Office forecast of 80mph blizzards at the summit. As I was putting on my skis, I slipped and one ski took off down the mountain and disappeared. Two hours later both skis were amazingly reunited but unfortunately at the bottom of Glenshee and a long way from the ski lift. The next year the Sunshiners went skiing in Switzerland!’
Ian Donald BSc Maths and Physics, 1963
‘When we moved from the second floor to the third floor of Sunshine House in September 1961, just as our term started the remains of an Atlantic hurricane arrived in Scotland. We had all returned to Sunshine House with the exception of Mick Hallam, whose Dental faculty started a couple of weeks later than the rest of us. The hurricane was sufficiently powerful during the night to remove a substantial part of our chimney which came through the roof and through Mick’s bed onto the floor of his room. I’m glad to say he wasn’t in residence at the time!’
Jon Wilkie BSc Chemistry and Maths, 1963
‘After the rather rigid regimen of Airlie Hall, life in Sunshine House struck me as that of a warm spirited commune where everything was shared. I have memories of the living room at full house, with activities ranging from newspaper reading (Mrs W supplied a range from The Courier and ‘The Broons’ to the Observer), bridge quartets, chess, earnest talk of scientific formulae, spinning LPs on Ian Donald’s turntable, and reverent silence as everyone listened to that earliest of the pirate radio stations, Radio Luxemburg, late in the evening for the latest Top 20.’
John McLaren Bachelor of Laws, 1962
‘I was the only Dental Student in the flat and I joined only by default. The original guy unfortunately failed to return after first year so I slotted in. As a Dental student I spent more time in Dundee, working in the Hospital during the vacs. Indeed I stayed there for most of the holiday after the others had left, Mrs Wilde taking care of Campbell Hargreaves and myself for a few weeks. Campbell was also studying dentistry and was well known to the other Sunshiners.’
Mick Hallam Bachelor of Dental Surgery, 1963
‘One of my memories is of the politics of the time. Being alive to the possibilities of a good prank, Sunshine House sent a letter to the Communist leader of Albania applauding his achievements and asking for advice on how to follow in his footsteps. Months later, we received a parcel of books from the General and noted that the parcel had been opened, inspected, and resealed. I have long suspected that the ‘Sunshiners’ were all included on a list of communist sympathisers, to be watched!’
Don Mercer BSc Honours Chemistry, 1963
‘From memory I think Sunshine House participated in three charities events with different themes, Alice in Wonderland with the slogan ‘Give it to Alice’, a Stone Age ‘ban the bomb’ and a cleaning crew. As well as the floats and procession there were other activities such as the car raffle. The car if I remember was an Austin A30/35 and to win you had to guess the number of tickets sold. Many an evening at Sunshine House was spent counting the counterfoils.’
David Hitchcock BSc Physics and Chemistry, 1963
Did you stay in Sunshine House? What are your memories of the charity events? Please tell us your story! Email alumni@dundee.ac.uk
