"a photo he took of us on the Spitsbergen trip has pride of place above our computer""

"We certainly remember Ian – a photo he took of us on the Spitsbergen trip has pride of place above our computer – he managed to catch us both looking very happy and smiling.  

Here is a photo of Ian from that trip – the caption I put in our photo album reads: “Ian’s attempt at keeping his feet dry was amusing but not very successful!”.  

We had just completed a river crossing and Ian had pulled out these amazing plastic bag boot/leg covers which were supposed to keep the water out.  Unfortunately they failed heroically and Ian just ended up with bags full of water over his boots.  

But I suspect you won’t be surprised to see from the photo that he is still grinning broadly."

- Julie and Colin Gadsden

2002 Trip to Spitsbergen

"He was far more than a teacher..."

Was at Port Glasgow at the weekend and my dad showed me an article in the Greenock telegraph about Mr Barr and a link to this page.

Brings back so many fantastic memories of my trip to Sicily.

Such a life changing experience and one i shall never forget.

Everything we did, see, touch, experience is something money can't buy.

Memories of the Vatican, Pompeii, Etna, volcanoes and the overall experience.

Sleeping under the stars on a warm Sicily night !!!! 

(Unaware of wild pigs till Mr Barr told us in the morning)

Re Mr Barr- For me they don't make teachers like that anymore - He was far more that a teacher - he was a legend. total respect for all he did for me, the school and all other pupils who experienced him.

Would be so fantastic to see the Full box of stuff from the 1979 trip.

Glad to see trying to find a place for the records to be viewed. I so hope that comes to fruition.

I still tell my kids about the trip to this day................

My mum passed away two years ago and i found old Telegraph clip of the photo above.

If anyone else has any pics of 1979 Sicily trip it would be fantastic to see them.

Cheers

Rob Curran

1979 - Sicily

"Ian was such an awesome teacher..."

"The website made me smile so much. Ian was such an awesome teacher and his stories never failed to bring a smile to anyone who heard them.

 

The class room picture is of my 5th year Higher geography class, which was taken either in 1999 or 2000, and as it turns out we where the last Higher class that Ian ever took, which is something that at the time we all felt immensely proud of, although we where all very sad to see him go.

 

The second photo is again of my 5th year Higher class and was taken outside the Dynamic Earth exhibition in Edinburgh. The original plan for this trip was Ian was going to drive us all through in the school mini bus but on the day of the trip as we where about to leave the bus broke down, never one to let us down, Ian managed to get a bus booked through a local bus company, although the only bus they had left was a 52 seater coach. So for the journey there and back to had me and my class mates sitting up the back while Ian sat down the front talking to the driver!"

- Andrew McKinnon

"Thanks to him I began a life long love of travel…"

Hi, I found out about this website via my parents who still live in Greenock and kept the Telegraph article for me. I'm so glad that someone has taken the time to put this website together to celebrate the life & work of Mr Barr. I heard about his death via my parents and I regretted not being able to tell his wife & family of the positive effect the Geog-Ex trips had on my life. I fondly recall his humour, his organisational skills and his easy way with people. I took history rather than geography but I'm so glad he allowed me to go on the Geox-Ex trips.

Thanks to him I began a life long love of travel, I've since taken my family to some of the places I went with Geog-Ex. I have wonderful memories of those trips to Sicily & the Pyrenees. I'd forgotten about the wild pigs but I recall sleeping in the orchard under the stars.

It was great to see the picture from 1979, I'd forgotten all the people that had made the trip. My boys were laughing to see their dad with hair ! How the time has passed so quickly.

We had some great teachers at Port High - Mr Carmichael & Mr McCann (Maths), Mr Bonar (History), Mr Lappin & Samuels (PE), Mr Winch, Mr Young (Headmaster). I owe all of them and other teachers at PGHS a debt of gratitude for pushing me on and giving me a love for their subjects.

Thanks Mr Barr, I will always remember you fondly and with a smile.

Alan Morgan

1979 - Sicily Expedition Members & Photo

"We didn't do anything as exciting as those on Iain's expedition"

As a result of Iain's expedition to Andorra in 1964, the Scottish Headquarters International Commissioner (Jack Stewart) arranged a Scottish Scout Expedition to Andorra in 1965, led by Dr George Smith from Stenhousemuir. We camped at the village of Ordino, which was the weekend stop on Iain's expedition, in the company of the Andorra Scout Association. We didn't do anything as exciting as those on Iain's expedition, but for many of us it was a very good introduction to Scout expeditions abroad.

Duncan Alexander

1964 - Andorra