Smiddy Tales

The superb article on David Wilson Master Farrier brought back lovely memories of the hours spent in the smiddy in the village of Glenferness near Nairn. I lived next door to Alex Masson, the blacksmith, and spent some of the most formative years of my life - aged one to four - sitting on top of the coal on the huge stone bench where the bellows coaxed the flames, listening to the blacksmith while he created the horseshoes. He regaled me with all the folklore and stories he knew including the arrival of the first car in the village in 1904. He taught me the alphabet (backwards as well as forwards), counting and simple additions to the point that I skipped first year at the primary school. He also plucked me from the cauldron of murky green water used to cool the horseshoes as he entered the shoeing-shed, into which I had fallen while contemplating the exotic wee beasties that lived there. Needless to say, my mother, while appreciating my tuition, did not appreciate my constant coal-covered hands, face and clothes, particularly on the day when, in the middle of submitting to some fierce remonstration, I fell backwards into the old zinc bath full of newly washed clothes. Happy days!

Hamish G. McClurg, Bridgeton, Barbados.

 

The Clarion Calls Again

I read with interest the fascinating history of the Clarion Cycling Club in the September issue. The Stories of "drum ups", good fellowship and marathon bike rides painted a wonderful picture of cycling in its heyday. But cycling in Scotland is booming again and a new Clarion Cycling Club has been formed north of the Border! West Lothian Clarion now has 15 members and is growing. Our cyclists regularly compete in races and ride recreationally around our beautiful country. We hope to build on the Clarion's past and add our own stories to those wonderful tales told by Jim Harris and Bill Campbell. I recently spoke to Jim and he has very kindly donated the competition trophies from the West of Scotland Clarion to our new club. So we now have an historic link between great cycling exploits past and present.

Matthew Ball Secretary, West Lothian Clarion, Linlithgow.

Fire Alarm

I well remember the Clarion Cycling Club when I was a teenager growing up in the Trossachs. A brave lot they were tackling twisted, gritty, steep bends with their flimsy racing bikes. A more memorable occasion in 1956 was when Hamish Naismith and I were on fire patrol, carrying birch fire beaters on our shoulders on the Duchray Road between Kirkton and Duchray Castle. In the afternoon, a group of Clarions came by and asked if they could "drum up" beside Lochan Spling about 200 yards up the road. Of course, being such pleasant people, we gave them permission. A few minutes later our hearts stopped when we saw smoke billow up beside the lochan. By the time we arrived at the scene a wee bit of a blaze was underway under the spruce trees. Mercifully, the Sitka spruce trees were young and too green to burn; so there was lots of smoke, but little fire. So with our antique birch beaters we had the fire out within a quarter of an hour. The fire was started when a cyclist accidentally tipped over a small primus stove. Everyone was happy that no damage was done except for a wee bit of scorched earth and spruce branches. Naturally, someone in a nearby village (probably Milton) alerted the forest fire crew. So Hamish and I stayed out of sight for a while, while we listened to the old makeshift Forest Fire truck lumbering along the Duchray Road searching for a fire that never was (in our minds, anyway). It was a wee fire that created a huge amount of gossip in the district - but neither Hamish nor myself ever parted with the truth of it so that the Clarions will forever enjoy a wee drum up in the Duchray. Juist mind yer feet aroond the Primus next time. I wonder if there are any kindly Clarions who remember the incident.

Alexander Robertson, St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

Fuel Stops

The recent article "Call Of The Clarion" (September) prompts me to write of a small breakaway group from the Govan Clarion. I refer to the group known as The White City Wheelers (alias Boozey Wheelers) who enjoyed cycle life - but not to the same extent as "Clarion" members. The White City Wheelers came from around Ibrox, Mosspark and Cardonald Districts and numbered about 12. Club runs were usually to Aberfoyle and home via Balloch with a visit to the chip shop in Renton or to Largs and home by Gourock. A third run was to Whistlefield just up the hill from Garelochead with a visit to the Green Kettle Tea Room. Tuesday and Thursday evenings were training runs and about six of us would meet on Paisley Road West and cycle to Barrhead, then up past the dams to Patterton then from Patterton to Newton Mearns Cross and onto the A77 to Malletsheuch Inn where a few pints would be downed. Back on the bikes it was "hell for leather" for four miles downhill to Eastwood Toll and home by Rouken Glen and Pollok. This was most enjoyable as in 1958/9 there was little or no traffic about.

Neil Clark, Bo'ness.

Canny

It was interesting to read the article "The Canny Scot" by Douglas M. Gunn (August). Recently, while doing some research work in the Reference Library in Aberdeen (Schoolhill), I was browsing through a copy of The Deeside Journal and came across this amusing snippet. An old farmer had a marriageable daughter and many were the suitors that came a-wooing of Mary. Determined to expedite matters, her father accosted one young man. "Fat dae ye think o' my Mary, Jeems?" he asked. "I'll gie a hunner tae a man 'at taks her." "A hunner poun' did ye see?" queried the cautious lover. "A weel. No, no," replied the farmer. "But I'll gie him a hunner gweed kail plants." My mother oft told of her arrival in Durban just after the First World War. Not sure about tipping her rickshaw driver she gave him a "tickie", a silver threepenny piece. He looked at it rather scornfully and said, "Ah. You Mrs Harry Lauder." Mother was English.

Dorothy I. Robertson, Bucksburn, Aberdeen.

 

An Open Door

The invitation to visit Innerpeffray Library as part of "Doors Open Day" caught my eye in the September issue. While staying at my holiday B&B in Crieff in 2005 I picked up a leaflet about the library and decided I must visit it. I managed that in 2006 and spent a delightful hour there with the extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable librarian. The 1502 book mentioned in the magazine has a lengthy Latin title! Bibles, dating from 1530 onwards, are a feature and they include Montrose's own pocket Bible. As one who is interested in natural history the History of Foure (sic) Footed Beasts by Edward Topsell (printed 1607) was a title that stood out. Other publications included Atlas Novus whose maps contain no reference to Australia or Antarctica. Not surprising considering the publication date - 1638! How many historical books have I read that include Holinshed in the bibliography and there was the original - Raphael Holinshed's History of Scotland, 1577. Of particular interest was a collection of Scots Magazines dating from the 1700s, leather bound and giving the impression that they were more erudite than our current, beautifully illustrated ones. To each age its own! To conclude this wonderful visit, the other lady who had been going round with me turned out to be a pupil at a school in Chester at the same time as I had taught there in the 1960s. What a serendipitous encounter in such a quiet place. The Collegiate Church of St Mary (1508) next to the library is well worth a visit. The library was housed there in the little upstairs room until the purpose-built library was erected in 1762. The church is very plain and quite severe, but on the day of my visit it was beautifully decorated with flowers ready for a wedding. I can thoroughly recommend a visit to this extraordinary and welcoming Aladdin's cave of a library. Incidentally, don't miss the "Crieff Window" - not stained glass, but a lovely view of Crieff framed by the trees in the church and library grounds.

Betty Needham, Mayfield, Derbyshire.