The Real St Trinians Traditional Cache
manylegs: Putting this one to bed.
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A wee micro to celebrate the release of the new film at the home of the real St Trinians in Edinburgh.
A new version of the St Trinians film, based on the original cartoons by Ronald Searle, starring a group of errant schoolgirls is being released on 21 December 2007. For those who have seen the original films starring the Edinburgh actor Alistair Sim and Joyce Grenfell, it might interest you to know that the school of the film was based on a real life school in Edinburgh.
The first St Trinneanns was situated at 10 Palmerston Road - an Edinburgh town house on the edge of The Grange. It opened on 4th October 1922 with sixty girls. It was established by Miss C. Fraser Lee. This house is now in private ownership - indeed it recently changed hands.
Miss Fraser Lee practised the revolutionary Dalton system of education - where the emphasis was on self rather than school imposed discipline - which led to it being said that St Trinnean's was the school "where they do what they like".
In 1925 the school moved from Palmerston Road to St Leonard's House near Dalkeith Road - now part of Pollock Halls and where the cache can be found - and then at the beginning of the second world war moved again to Gala House in Galashiels. The school was finally closed in 1946 after the retirement of Miss Fraser Lee.
So how did the name, albeit modified, end up in film?
Apparently, the story goes that a family by the name of Johnston whose two daughters attended St Trinnean's were evacuated to Kirkudbright, where they met one Sapper (Ronald) Searle. He drew a cartoon depicting his idea of the school attended by the girls which was published by Lilliput. After the war (which Searle spent part of in a Japanese POW camp) Lilliput published the cartoons. The first film was made in 1954.
The above information is paraphrased from Malcolm Cant's book, "Sciennes and the Grange" - more can be learned from within its pages.
The cache can be found close to St Leonards Hall. Within the hall is a room by the name of St Trinneans.
The area is completely infested with muggles so various subterfuges along with extreme stealth may be required in order to retrieve and replace the cache. It is possible to park in the Commonwealth Pool overflow carpark.
(Note - I am slightly concerned about the fixing...if it comes adrift please hide the cache somewhere close by and let me know.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jnvg sbe n pno jvgu Jnygre