Having been exposed as a “superhead” in last week’s TES Scotland, Doug Marr (or “the Lennie Henry of the north-east”, as someone is bound to call him following the recent BBC drama Hope and Glory) has been doing his best to make sure he is not forced to live up to the top billing.
The Banchory Academy head, drafted in to cure the ills of Fraserburgh Academy, met his new staff for the first time last Monday. He told them that, unlike most heads, he is prone to the odd error of judgment.
When he was a teacher at Kemnay Academy, he ran the football team which included the future Open Golf champion Paul Lawrie. The day before an important game, Lawrie went along to tell Marr: “I can’t play tomorrow because I’m playing in the local golf competition.”
Marr confessed: “I had no hesitation in advising him to withdraw from the golf.” And his immortal career advice to Scotland’s latest millionaire was:
“You’re not bad, son, but you’ll never make a living.”
