Capelaw Court

This 'C' takes pride of place in my living room. I pretty much glance over at it most days, a warm reminder of my childhood. I was born in Capelaw Court, Oxgangs, and raised there until I left for France at the age of 18. After spending two years in France I went to study in London and there remained.

About four times a year I would come home to Edinburgh to be with family. Mum had well and truly moved out of the flats by then, but I would often take a spin down to Oxgangs and drive around so that I could cast my halcyon eyes upon old familiar places: the Shops, the Launderette, the Toy Woods, the Big Woods, the City Hospital, the Burn, the Brick Wall on which I played tennis, and the Field in which I learned to play football.

Despite the flats being considered rough, I can say, hand on heart, that I only ever had fond memories growing up there.

If you were to look at Capelaw Court from an aerial view, you would see that it was in the shape of an 'H'. The upper portion of the 'H' was shaped like a rectangle, and here we would play tennis, imagining the concrete surface was a clay court. On the lower portion of the 'H' we too would play, but this area had less sun. However, it was here that I remember the name of the building being displayed. 'Capelaw Court' was written out in large metal letters, each one screwed onto the stonework, about 10-15 feet off the ground.

Then came the news that all three flats (Caerketton, Allermuir and Capelaw) were to be demolished. Capelaw was the last one. Whilst it took some time for the City Fathers and the demolition company to plan this event, I continued to come home to Edinburgh and visit Oxgangs. However, a perimeter fence made of corrugated iron was eventually built. This was to prevent people from getting too close to the flats so that the building could be emptied of all industrial materials before any demolition.

It was at this point that I said goodbye in my head. It's pretty weird thinking that your home is going to be blown up. I was abroad when Capelaw Court was demolished on the 17th of April 2005 with 35 kilos of explosives.

A few months later, I went home for my birthday. I celebrated by going out for dinner with my brother Curtis and our respective partners. Once at the table and a celebratory glass in hand, Curt handed me a small box, which felt peculiarly heavy. Intrigued, I unpeeled the wrapping paper.

Before me was a strange gift. It was a metal letter 'C'. I looked up at my brother, unsure as to what this gift was, and looked down again at the letter in my hands. My brother said 'Do you not recognize it?" I studied it again, but still no memory came to mind. "It's from the block of flats, silly!"

As soon as he said it, I recognized it immediately.

"But... how did you manage to get it, and how come it looks so, well, beautiful, like it's brand new?" "I know", Curt said "It took a bit of wrangling". Curt explained how he wanted to try to get a specific memento from the flats. He tried to meet up with the site manager a good few times and finally, finally, hooked up with him. Curt explained to the manager what he was looking for, that it was for his sister who lived in London, not for him. A strange request, but so was his sis'!

Apparently the Manager looked at him curiously, but agreed to let Curt climb up a ladder and take down any letters he wanted.

Being a nut about cars, Curt sanded down the letter, de-rusted it, primed it and borrowed a mate's vat in which was hot molten metal paint. He immersed the 'C' in the vat and had it dry on a hook for a few days. Just in time for my birthday

I was lost for words: his action, his sensitivity, his knowing how much it would mean to me. That was a special night and a very special birthday.

The 'C' you see is from the C in 'Capelaw'. This place was a happy home.