Trip to Scotland 1983: Four and half months in the Highlands and Islands

**DCampbell16B** · 13th September 23, 09:31 AM

Rode bike to below South Dell, walked over moor to beach. Walked a mile or so of beach w/ high surf, rocks and sand beach. One cave sand 20-30 feet deep. Other with water [I really don't know what I meant. Perhaps water undercutting the machair]. Beach combing. Found several floats. Soft rear tire when I came back. Lunch. D home. After noon to Storn, intended Bern, never went, wasted trip. Afternoon wasted. Evening piped on hill. An and Gibb in evening, told stories. Chest of gold still on Traigh Geal. Also fight over sack of gold in Gibb's grandfather's house. Also saying "An auger hole will fill a house of seven rafters"**. An also recited a good length of bardachd. Got haircut! Revealed ears.*** Many thatched houses left Shader, Barvas. Also huge standing stone [near] Shader. [Clach an Truisheil in Ballantrushal]

** I have no idea what this meant. I didn't write down either the meaning or the Gaelic.

*** This was a big deal! Gibb cut my hair. He had experience doing that. He was retired from the merchant marine. Since my teen years my hair, although never long, had hung over enough to mostly cover my ears. It marked a change which I kept to this day. Granted, I have a lot less hair now anyway.

**DCampbell16B** · 16th September 23, 06:00 AM

17
Went to Stornoway to meet Steve of Carrickfergus who's driving [? unclear] for A at K's. Rode in lorry to pick up stuff Bernera and back. To Ness, sprayed turnips, went to fank. S Dell a lot of people, very convivial. N Dell not so many there. Dandaidh, Iain Tom, Alain Iachaidh [pronounced Itchy]. Fixed fence on old croft. Can see mainland from Stornoway and Butt of Lewis. Not feeling well, appears same as Killin, diarrhea and sleepy. Steve told story ? of with who was in [all unclear] Lochganvich.

18
£25
Feeling better. Brought peats. Read. Stornoway in afternoon. Checked skirts for girls [sisters] £45 if made to order. Chicken and chips for supper. Played pipes. Tomorrow Bernera fank.

[I quietly gave C £25 for food a couple of times, as I felt I was eating them out of house and home. Eventually An found out and said I was a guest, and that was not expected or wanted.]

**DCampbell16B** · 28th September 23, 08:38 AM

[While working on Gaelic over here, I kept running into the word "fank". I had no idea what it meant, and could find no English translation that wasn't "fank". So I kept my mouth shut and went to one. How else to learn?

]

Went to Bernera early with An and Gibb. Tea at Effie then to fank. Got there just as they were getting [the sheep] off the moor. (Common grazing off island, so is fank) [so the men and dogs round up all the sheep from across the common grazing and drive them in]. Weather got fine by end of day. Several hundred sheep. Put into middle pen and lambs taken out to side pens, also sheep which missed shearing were sheared. We "helped" Iain Tom. Gibb taught me how to shear sheep. Tie three legs firmly. Start on one side and shear to other, keep fleece whole. Chased a few sheep around pen, one w/ deaf [unclear] boy. Plenty Gaelic**. One student from Stirling U was there staying with family same reason I was. Didn't hear of him til after. Brought pipes but didn't play as lady in house past A did, and there was death in the village. She was cousin of Bean An** [An's wife, C]. Fank was convivial work. Great watching dogs. 2 sisters, one over 80 there working. Before fank set out net and saw black mink. After fank had tea at Effie then checked net. This is society (even more than Ness) where men rule. When company at Effie, men eat and women serve and eat after. Even An doesn't care for C contradicting him and she won't me. Even if I contradict myself she agrees. Sheep identified w/ different marks of paint., black, green, blue, red (maroon?). Tried pipes outside Barvas on way back. Terrible. An drove through Carloway. Told story of man telegraphing home that he was coming from the mainland. To save money and not having much English he sent "Oban leaving Tuesday. Barvas meet the horse".

https://postimg.cc/ZWzr6fNF

Bernera fank

https://postimg.cc/RW8xPHMR

[Myself shearing a sheep. Those are hand clippers. There was no power out there. I didn't do to badly, and hardly even hurt the sheep. Photo courtesy of Gibb. The wellies I still have, and use them often. I guess you can't see them in the photo. They were an excellent investment, something like £4. The flat cap I wore for several years before the trip, but it has not survived the years as well.

** These were how I entered the comments in the journal. Looking back I see I entered in English what would be Gaelic idiom.

The weather was warm and sunny, with a light breeze. One man walked by me and said "Blath, blath" (warm, warm).

Someone asked An who I was (obviously a stranger to them). "Ach, cha n'eil ann ach Nishach." (Oh, he is just a Nisheach). (I was tickled to hear I had been accepted as a Nisheach!)

Afterwards we thought it would have been great if I had been there to help drive the sheep in. My thought was I could have worked Robb the dog. In retrospect that would have been a disaster. Robb and I got along fine, but I would have created chaos trying to help! Just watching with no dog would have been really interesting.

Sheep were moved, if needed, in small open trailers behind cars. These were all crofters, no big sheep farmers. I learned how to load sheep into a small trailer. Stand on one side, reach over with one hand and grab a handful of wool over there. Grab a handful on your side. Lift the sheep up and over the side into the trailer until it's stuffed full.]

**MacKenzie** · 28th September 23, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by DCampbell16B

https://postimg.cc/ZWzr6fNF

Bernera fank

Wonderful photo.

**DCampbell16B** · 30th October 23, 04:20 AM

20 August Saturday
Day to self. Mostly read and watch little TV. An and C to Bernera for funeral. Up on moor to peat hags.

21 August Sunday
55 minute sermon in Gaelic. 50 in English. To shore in afternoon. [The only activity allowed on a Sunday was to walk on the beach. There were usually quite a few people out walking if the weather anything near to bearable. Usually people teens and 20s.]

22 August
To shore twice. An and C away again. Read. Big deal. Need to get something to do. Going to seed.

23 August
Iain Tom and Christabel and Effie tonight. Lots of Gaelic and when An takes a few his Gaelic gets faster. Real ceilidh before they left. Most much too fast for me.

24 August Wednesday
Not much today. Watched TV evening.

**DCampbell16B** · 31st October 23, 08:42 AM

Not much today. Fank for dipping in morning. Didn't go, felt I would be in way. Evening Bernera. Fixed fence, chased sheep out of lot, watched Iain Tom and dog chase sheep, and helped him get them off the hillside, then got lambs out of buck(?) by A. Waited for Iain Tom and got pipes out in Breaclete. An Sgoilear came over, he's a good piper. He played them. We talked ½ hour. He's very [very] good. Then Effie for kipper.

[That was a rather magical evening. It was dusky, and An and Gibb had had a dram or two, and I had wondered about An driving. He pulled over to the side of the road, and they were were "Oh, get the pipes out and play! Come on!" So I bowed to pressure and stood in road and played a while. Not another car went by. The pipes were going well. An Sgoilear must have heard them, as he walked up. I didn't even notice him until he was there. An and Gibb were whispering "That's An Sgoilear!" almost in awe. I never got his English name. He played my pipes for a while. I just walked around him and listened. My pipes had never sounded better, and never since.]