Georg's story

The early years of Camphill Blair Drummond

1976 by Georg Schad

After thirteen years of very fulfilling lives, where we were engaged on every level of the Sheiling School in Thornbury, we both felt the need for a new challenge.

This came after Anke Weihs reported about Blair Drummond House at a meeting where many new projects were shared for possible Camphill venues. After initial hesitation we went to visit Blair Drummond together with Anke but were not sure how we could manage all these changes, with our children being pulled away from a very secure and happy situation.

When we finally decided to go north, there was still the challenge to form the legal body of trustees for this new charity, "Camphill Blair Drummond Trust". Anke was instrumental in finding Charles Hills as our Chairman, the accountant Mr Cursiter from the Helen Lowe company in Edinburgh, Bob Storm as solicitor from Perth, Johannes Surkamp from Ochil Tower; John Marley as a representative from BP and a parent of one of our pupils joined a little later. Again, for this special occasion I drove up from Thornbury. With these professionals we felt in safe hands as we could trust their considered advice.

On a cold winter's morning we arrived with our family at this mega pile on the 14th of January 1976. The East Wing on the second floor became our home - and it was very difficult to keep warm yet congregated around the AGA on the ground floor. Marianne Sander, together with Norma and Timothy, had already moved in on the 14th of November 1975. As Sir John and Lady Muir were unable to move out, we could not use the upper part of the house for half a year, which also meant that vital installation of the fire alarm etc could not proceed as hoped, and we could only have very few paying students to feed us: we lived on a shoe string! No free days or weekends! No meals out, and no paid holidays!

We soon discovered that part of the main roof was leaking badly, and it became one of my first jobs to spend days, weeks, yes three months, going up to 80m above the ground, going along the gullies and trying to do vital repairs, as much of the lead had perished.

Meantime we had to find for three of our own children boarding and schooling in Edinburgh, while the two youngest were to go to the Blair Drummond Primary School which was not a happy solution.

From mid-summer 1976 life went up into a much higher gear, as applications increased and bedrooms needed to become fitted out. I redesigned the bathroom on Juniper floor to become our kitchen which meant decommissioning a huge bathtub with a built-in shower.

Now we started to have morning assemblies in the beautiful library with summer songs and sharing all had to be done on that day. What was amazing during this early part was that we attracted just the right kind of volunteers, with the right kind of skills, and they came from all over the world.

To begin with we were open to accept any age, and any handicap into our care, which was completely idealistic and became unrealistic. Before long we noticed that those special needs pupils who had some education, but failed to find Further Education, we felt challenged to provide these with our specially adapted Waldorf Education.

But to describe our 'Camphill Way of Life', would need more space than is intended here. Education (curative) within Further Education, the crafts within the context of 'Social Therapy', and Community Building within the 'Cultural Life'. Each became complementary to the other theme, each addressing the whole human being, body, soul and spirit, and this was not just for our pupils/companions, but for all the older members of staff, as we were all in need of further education. The beginning of the Youth Guidance Course had its roots in this need.