Hamish McHamish

As I jogged down the centre of town this morning at 7:30, I encountered one of my favourite St Andrews residents who was also out for a morning stroll, and I realized that I’ve never introduced you to him. His name is Hamish McHamish, which, as odd as it sounds, is a traditional Scottish name.  He’s not your typical St Andrews resident, as St Andrews has very few homeless residents that I know of, but he’s more famous than probably everyone else here.  Hamish is known for leaving home when young and essentially spending the rest of his life going from house to house and shop to shop asking for handouts and shelter for a night, or even just for a few hours.  Oddly enough, no one really minds because he’s such a sweet and gentle soul, which is a rather remarkable feat.

He even has a book written about him.  That’s right… not by him, but about him.  He has been featured in numerous newspapers, radio shows, and even t.v. shows from outside of St Andrews.  There’s even talk of a statue to be erected in his honour.  Hamish McHamish is legendary here.

On all of the occasions that I’ve crossed paths with him I’ve never once had my camera with me to get a photo of the two of us.  But there are plenty of him on the web, and on his Facebook page… where he has nearly 5,000 friends.

So meet St Andrew’s most famous citizen, Hamish McHamish.

Not a bad looking chap.

Here’s a couple photos of him as well as the cover of his book. 

It’s always a treat to run in to him on the streets, especially on quiet Sunday mornings when no one else is about.  Come visit me and I’ll introduce him to you.

Someday soon I’ll introduce you to two other St Andrews resident well-known in these parts:  Tommy Milne and Star the Wonder Dog.  And yes, they’re as cool as they sound!