My Way Home

Date: 1978
Director: Bill Douglas
Production Company: British Film Institute (BFI)

Stars: Stephen Archibald, Paul Kermack, Jessie Combe, Morag McNee, William Carrol
Location(s): Caito (Egypt), Edinburgh (Scotland)

Region(s): ,

Storyline:

The final part of an autobiographical trilogy about the early life of a boy brought up in an impoverished family.

Additional Information:

Screen captures uploaded by Phil Wilkinson

 

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After deciding to take care of his offspring, Jamie's Father drives his son away from the care home where he has been growing up.

Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh. Also seen in 'The Girl With A Pistol'. SD

When Jamie's Father drives past his Wife (Jessie Combe) in the street he stops the lorry and waits to pick her up.

Old Fishmarket Close, Edinburgh. Also seen in 'Burke and Hare' (2010) (SD)

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Having dropped his Wife off in the middle of nowhere, Jamie's Father returns to his Girlfriend's flat with his son. No. 7 Main Avenue in Newcraighall, Edinburgh.

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Jamie turns as his Father’s Girlfriend calls to find out if he’s eaten. The village is seen in 'My Childhood' and 'My Ain Folks', the first two films in the Bill Douglas trilogy about his early life.

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On the steps of his Granny's now derelict flat, Jamie reads the book given to him by his Grandmother. The buildings once stood on Third Avenue in Newcraighall.

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At the pit, Jamie’s Father attempts to get jobs for his sons. Newcraighall Colliery, closed in 1968.

Returning to the home, Jamie gets a job as a delivery boy for a department store where he is kitted out in a slightly too large uniform suit. R. W. Forsyth, 30-31 Princes Street, Edinburgh. The reflection in the window is of the former Tron Kirk on the High Street. (SD)

No reflections in this covered window! The R. W. Forsyth department store closed in 1983 and was sold to the Burton Group. In 1998 Burton became Arcadia Group plc. Topshop and Topman were on the first two floors and the upper floors were leased to Travelodge. Arcadia went into administration in 2020 and the store has remained closed. (SD)

The young lad prepares to cycle away with his first consignment. Meuse Lane, Edinburgh. At the rear of R. W. Forsyth. (SD)

This door at the rear of what is now the former Topshop and Topman store is still recognisable. (SD)

Having discarded his uniform, Jamie appears from a gent's toilet. Not so convenient now as this WC at the east end of Grassmarket in Edinburgh EH1 no longer exists. Grassmarket was also seen in ‘Battle of the Sexes’ and ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’.

Now, without the toilets. (SD)

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Jamie approaches the delivery address. Looking towards the gates of Fettes College on Carrington Road in Edinburgh with Fettes Avenue continuing into the distance.

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The Main Building of Fettes College on Carrington Road EH4.

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Jamie tells a Schoolboy (Ian Spowart) that he’s looking for someone called ‘Gaskni’. Fettes College is a private boarding and day school founded in 1870.

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The Pupil calls Jamie a fool, telling him that the name is Gascoigne. Fettes College on Carrington Road in Edinburgh.

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Jamie returns to the home where the Headmaster, Mr. Bridge, finds a Foster Carer for the young teenager. The Fettes College War Memorial of a fallen Officer telling his men to “Carry On”.

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Although he’s taken to a respectable home, the fostering doesn’t work out. Orchard Brae West, Edinburgh EH4.

Running away from the foster home, Jamie spends time at a Salvation Army doss house. Cowgatehead in Edinburgh EH1.

Now converted to holiday apartments. (SD)

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Jamie returns to the village where he grew up to find strangers living in the homes he remembers. The area has been largely redeveloped and buildings around Newcraighall Drive now occupy the site of these streets.

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The cottage flats of his Grandmother and his Father's Girlfriend stand derelict. Main Avenue in Newcraighall.

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With little chance of employment, Jamie joins the Royal Air Force and is sent to Egypt where he becomes bored, spending most of his days carrying menial tasks.

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As Jamie stands about uninterested, fellow airman Robert (Joseph Blatchley) looks up at the Pyramid of Khafre. The Pyramid of Queens and the smaller Menkaure stand in the background. The pyramids at Giza were also seen in 'The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb', 'After the Fox', 'Here Comes the Sun' and 'Out of the Clouds'.

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Robert and Jamie take a trip into town from the base at Abu Sueir.

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On another day, Jamie tells Robert that he wants to be an artist or a film director.

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Reading a tourist guide, Jamie suggests a visit to a Mosque. Sultan Hassan Mosque-Madrassa on El-Soultan Hasan, El-Darb El-Ahmar in Cairo.

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The two stand in silence before Jamie reads more from the guidebook. Sultan Hassan Mosque-Madrassa dates from the 1340s.

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The mosaic floor at Sultan Hassan Mosque-Madrassa on El-Soultan Hasan, El-Darb El-Ahmar in Cairo, Egypt.