Transcript:

Men’s night – on water

When they broke trees and stole vegetables, the children used to get chased by Lizzie Ferguson (Syrupy Liz?) who lived

‘at the Heid o’ the Green’ further down from the church. They were chased by ?? when drinking from the water pump.

Lots of water pumps in the street at the roadside as people didn’t have water in their houses. On the farms the water was

all outside and pumps needed primed every time water was needed. They froze in winter. Sometimes Jimmy was all

winter without water. Had to fetch it out of the burn.

??????

“Heid of the Green – she stayed further down and up – Lizzie Ferguson. We used to go in and steal

greens and broke all the trees. She bided away in that place up there.”

“Did she chase you?”

“Oh, she came down and chased us alright, when we broke all the trees.”

???????

“The water pump up there – we used to play taking a drink. There were a lot pumps in the street at

that time. A lot of pumps.”

“And was that because people didn’t have water in their houses?”

“You had to go and collect your water. The pumps were on the green, down from the church. All

outside at that time.”

“When we come here we just had a pump out there and the pump needed primed every time we

needed water. Aye – we were the same. They froze in the winter. Sometimes we (Jimmy) was all

winter without water. We had to fetch it out of the burn.”

“Because that’s what I always thought – if ever I have a problem with water then there’s always

some down there. I’d just get a bucket and get some out of there.”

???????

Transcript:

Men’s night – on working on farms

A lot of people worked on farms. Many walked home every night. Some single men stayed in bothies. You got fed in the

house and slept in the bothy. McHardy and Robertson had cars at that time but farmers didn’t have cars.

“That was my first place, Auchindoir. I left the school. Ken was there at that time. And old Sandy.

Old Sandy didn’t work though? No – neither of them worked.”

“Were there quite a lot of people working on the farms?”

“Oy aye. Sandy [SAM?] was nae working though – he was away to school with his sister. She

learned me to smoke. But I dinnae smoke now.”

“Did you stay on the farm or did you walk home?”

“No I still come home.”

“Did most folk do that?”

“Well – it depended on the distance. A lot was bed and bothies, you see. Single men – bed and

bothies.”

“Was that quite good fun?”

“Oh aye. It depended, it depended what like a ????. [Something about Clova]”

“Was it hard?”

“[Something about Clova] You got fed in the house and slept in the bothy. “

“Was it cold?”

“Fire was on. ????? Dougie ???

McHardy had a car and Sandy Robertson had a car but farmers didn’t have cars at that time.

Murray at Battlehillock bought one – he was first. And he was first to do away with the horse –

Murray. He put away the horse. Just a tractor but he managed alright.”

“????? stray? He could do anything. “

Transcript:

Men’s night on Working on the Land

School and work for children

Jimmy – Ploughing at 10 years old

Teacher – brought me chocolates when I was 5 and broke my leg.

Parish bairns – people took them in. ‘they went all day wi’out a piece’

Travellers’ children.Children who wore boots to school. Some had to muck out the byre before school.

Bill – left school at 12 and a half. Lived at the K-now – correct name ‘Woodend’ next to the Glen. Road was up past

Boghead.

“I was telling Dad, Jimmy, that you had said that you learned to plough when you were 10 years

old.”

??????????????????????

“Oh aye. We was working all the time, us little ‘uns.

“Aye, the school teacher could see me out of the window. My teacher was Mrs Mairston.

“She was alright. She was always very straighish, ken. ?????????????

“It was’nae always bad news though. It would’nae go on. The collars go a way back on the neck.

“Miss Grey [Grave?], Miss Hunter – they were the other ones.

“I broke my leg when I was about five and she came over with chocolate and stuff. after she left the

school. I mind lying in a wee low bed and looking up at her. “

?????????????????

“Did the teachers understand that you had to work?”

“She understood that I had to work – we didn’t get into trouble. Well – got into trouble all right.

Mind the Stewarts that were here – mind they used to come to school with shar on their boots. But

they had to muck the byre out. Went all day without a piece. Issac and Davey. The Stewarts …”

“Two people came here – to the house – when Mum and Dad were here. One from Canada and one

from somewhere in Scotland and said that they had lived here when they were children. And they

had gone to Lumsden School. And you were saying that’s who they must have been.

“They were parish bairns, you see. And travellers bairns. And both their grannies and

grandfathers lived just the other side of Alford ???. Aye – parish bairns, they’d be.”

“Was it common for people to take in parish bairns? “

“Oh yes quite a few were taken in. There were a few kids. Down the village, there was a few good

bairns. There was a boy, and Jimmy. And a girl – Rebecca. That was the tink. When Issac left the

school he took all the rest away. And I saw Issac when I was about 24 and I saw him. And he said

that Davie was about Aberdeen somewhere. But he didn’t know where. She wore ??? to school?”

“????????? up Smiddie Lane.

“When I started school I left from ??? I come from ??? Willie Yates has it now. A ruin now. I came

over the hill from there. “

“I’ve never walked up there but Mum … I would like to walk up there but Mum was saying there

were a few people that lived up there. Grannie and Granded …. Woodend was the right name of it.

Two parks down …. Up past Boghead. “

“They were all up there. I left the school at 12 1/2. You were a working man by the time you were

12. Came here in 44. Came to Deskie in 44.

Worked at the pub at that time. Not Lumsden – Kildrummy.”

Transcript:

Cutting of the Peat

A story told by Pan Dunn about cutting and carrying peat

Towards the end of May or early June, depending on the weather, my father and I started to give

some thought to cutting peat. The weather needed to be dry because the moss was usually in

poorly drained wetland habitats. The peat was formed from mainly wetland vegetation; principally

bog mosses, plants, sedges and tree trunks.

Peat which we dug in the summer months was used to heat the house and allowed my mother to

bake scones, pancakes, and oatcakes throughout the year. We were new tenants to the Craig Moss

in 1947 and had to take the deep banks as the early tenants were allocated the lower banks. As

these tenants stopped using the lower banks, we could move onto them. We needed to take a

horse and sledge to move the peats from the deep banks to lower ground to dry.

The peat bank first had to have the turf removed to access the true peat. We used a peat spade

which had a tusk attached to it to help with the cutting. The peats were cut 14 inches long, four

inches wide and four inches deep to allow for shrinking when they dried. We loaded 20 peats onto

the sledge and took them to dry ground, tipping them into heaps using the handle on the peat

sledge.

We usually worked for two days cutting and sledging the peats, then left them for two weeks to dry,

depending on the weather. On returning we set the peats on their sides to dry for another two

weeks, setting four peats upright and one on the top. They were usually ready to uplift in four to six

weeks.

In the early years we had a horse and cart each to take the peats home. We came over the hill,

passed Clayhooter loch and down to Auchinleith. We had twelve loads of peat which were left on

the grass until we were ready to store them in the peat shed.

Later we moved to the lower bank where the peat had to be dug downhill with a smaller peat spade.

No sledges were required as we spread the peats top and bottom of the bank to dry. The banks

were about 30 to 40 yards long. We now used the tractor and cart. Often, due to poor weather, the

road from the moss was difficult to manage and when the tractor and cart got bogged down we had

to call on neighbours to pull us out. I had to walk two to three miles to get help from Alex Bremner

at Tamduff to pull out our tractor and we helped him when he needed.

My father and I both enjoyed our days at the peat cutting. We carried a sandwich lunch and listened

to the birds while eating it. Midges were a menace. My father used to light a cigarette to send them

on their way. We used to say that we had ‘two heats from the peat’: one working turfing the bank

and the other sitting around the fire at home. All this came to an end in 1990 due to work pressure

and access to the moss.