When Haddington became St Andrews

Camera, Action

The main street in Haddington where I live is being transformed this weekend to host a film crew who are using the center of the town as a backdrop for part of a new film Borges and Me, described as a ‘classic road movie’ set in the 1970s.

Haddington is an historic town. The main street is a conservation area and the buildings are much as they were since the 19th century but for the adding of some colorful shop fronts in the last 20 years or so. More generally the town has maintained its strong heritage based in its role as an significant place in turbulent Scottish history dating back to the 11th century.

It is fascinating to see how the film-makers have transformed the feel and identity of the place with some re-naming of some shops, introducing a period style to existing cafes and adding some ‘new’ shops which the main street no longer has.

Take away current traffic and the town centre is taken back 50 years. The film is about a graduate student in St Andrews making a journey through Scotland. Haddington’s built form has not changed but it seems that only a few changes to signage and the streetscape is necessary to transport you somewhere else.

Place identity is surely deeper than that!