R E M E M B E R I N G
The Glenbuchat community were asked to contribute their own photos to an exhibition recording life in the glen in the present day. The focus of the display changed slightly as more and more old photographs of former times were donated, some of them from previous residents who had heard what we 'were doing. Visitors remembered, shared stories and added to the display with 'post it' snippets of information. As part of the photo exhibition, I collected stories from people who shared their childhood memories of the glen.
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| Conversation with Mr. Nisbet |
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Mr and Mrs Dick Stewart reading his transcribed stories
'I wis plooin' fin I wis 12 wi a pair o’horse. Fan I got hame fae skweel my grandfaither gave me a shot o’ a ploo, he went tae feed the cattle and I plood the roadside beside Dulax. Ye wis thrown aboot a bit but horses nivir give me nae bother. I aye myne, it wis dark , Sandy Shand comin’ doon the road wi' his bike, he worked fur John Begg o' Badenyon, shoutin’ ”Time ye had lights on him!”… me with a pair o’horse plooin. Things like that aye stick in yer mind....
'I wis plooin' fin I wis 12 wi a pair o’horse. Fan I got hame fae skweel my grandfaither gave me a shot o’ a ploo, he went tae feed the cattle and I plood the roadside beside Dulax. Ye wis thrown aboot a bit but horses nivir give me nae bother. I aye myne, it wis dark , Sandy Shand comin’ doon the road wi' his bike, he worked fur John Begg o' Badenyon, shoutin’ ”Time ye had lights on him!”… me with a pair o’horse plooin. Things like that aye stick in yer mind....
I bought my first wee accordion fan I wis 16. I never got nae learnin’, just learnt myself off Jimmy Shand records. Would sit in the bothy and play along, 'the Old House' Loch Lomond, Comin’ thro’ the Rye and Rowan tree. When I went fur lessons in Aiberdeen the teacher put music in front o’ me. Aifter I played he said ”Ye’re playin’ perfect, dinna cum back, ye’re wastin’ my time and your money”.
I’ve been marching for 59 years, carried the flag fur 43 years. I missed one year. At that time they couldna get folk tae join, numbers were only 60 or 70. Young lads didna wear kilts. The wye I joined, I worked at Kinbattock fairm, my boss Rob Keir had a gye lump on his neck and couldna get his tunic on. That wis the Wednesday nicht, the march wis on Friday. ”Try ma tunic on, go on, pit it on”. Rob’s faithir he tried me to go, ”I wunner at ye man, ye a Lonach man, a Strathdon man and nae gaen to the Lonach , God Almichty!” It’s a great day, great atmosphere.' Lonach Games
Sample from Wullie Gray's Doric Poem
written for Corgarff Rural Exhibition
..Of course they're nivver here tae see
Fit fairmer's in the winter dae
For in Corgarff that's far I bide
Ye maun tak a'thing in yer stride
For Winter's early Spring is late
'An acht lang months ye've beasts tae maet,
so get up early feed the coos
Set off fur the black faced ewes'
Because fur them ye've files tae ca'
Buried deep in drifts o' snaw
Dig fur neeps,muck the byre
tak in peats tae stoke yer fire...
Nae much time tae tak yer grub
More collected local stories can be found in the following Links
'Hielan' Ways Project', Deveron Arts, 2015: Podcasts in collaboration with Gill Russell.
