The Silent Weaver (22 page)

It cannot be known if he was the first Celt in Europe to construct a pair of laced boots from woven grass and a pair of sandals from leaves. It can fairly be assumed that he was the last.

p. 1
   ‘Two people from that house . . . They all loved going.' Peigi Cross, née MacPhee, in the documentary film
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 2
   ‘It was the best way for getting a fortnight's holiday . . . and had a good time.'
Polly
, Roger Hutchinson, Edinburgh, 1990

p. 3
   ‘The horses in Iochdar were famous . . . depended on them.' Fr Michael J. MacDonald, email to author, 2010

p. 5
   ‘It was demanding work . . . Gaelic song and the “mouth music” with many good tales thrown in.'
The Story of the Lovat Scouts, 1900–1980
, Michael Leslie Melville, Moray, 2004

p. 6
   ‘But I was daft about horses . . . horse races and the like.' Interview with author, 2010

p. 6
   ‘We used marram grass . . . and sell them in the district.' Interview with author, 2010

pp. 6–7
‘In the '30s and the '20s . . . that's what my father would thatch with.' Peigi Cross, née MacPhee, in the documentary film
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 7
   ‘That Friday night . . . went back and got the horse.' Interview with author, 2010

p. 8
   ‘spent what seemed like hours . . . splashing through the water.'
The Story of the Lovat Scouts, 1900–1980
, Michael Leslie Melville, Moray, 2004

p. 11
  ‘Chaos ruled mainly . . . killing them with our bayonets.' Unpublished memoirs of Donald John MacKenzie, edited by George Hendry, available online at
http://www.scotsatwar.org.uk/veteransreminiscences/dmackenzie.htm

p. 11
  ‘Training was carried out . . . night training, anti-gas precautions . . .'
The Story of the Lovat Scouts, 1900–1980,
Michael Leslie Melville, Moray, 2004

pp. 11–12
‘Our main task for the first period . . . but soon we were very competent riders.' Unpublished memoirs of Donald John MacKenzie, edited by George Hendry, available online at
http://www.scotsatwar.org.uk/veteransreminiscences/dmackenzie.htm

pp. 13–14
‘the flat country . . . the Lovat Scouts'
The Story of the Lovat Scouts, 1900–1980
, Michael Leslie Melville, Moray, 2004

p.  14
‘We had a feather bed . . . his dart board at the twenty and the bull.' Unpublished memoirs of Donald John MacKenzie, edited by George Hendry, available online at
http://www.scotsatwar.org.uk/veteransreminiscences/dmackenzie.htm

p. 15
  ‘We were mechanized . . . too small for me . . . We suffered . . .' Unpublished memoirs of Donald John MacKenzie, edited by George Hendry, available online at
http://www.scotsatwar.org.uk/veteransreminiscences/dmackenzie.htm

pp. 17–18
‘Round about the town . . . those hopeless-looking hills.'
The Atlantic Islands. A Study of the Faeroe Life and Scene
, Kenneth Williamson, London 1948

p. 18
  ‘crowds of people . . . remained there all day.'
The Story of the Lovat Scouts, 1900–1980
, Michael Leslie Melville, Moray, 2004

pp. 19–20
‘Oh, we had a great reception . . . they were friendly, oh, very very friendly.' Interview with author, 2010

p. 20
  ‘The Faroese are hospitable . . . someone is almost sure to ask them in for cakes and coffee.'
The Northern Garrisons
, Eric Linklater, London 1941

pp. 20–21
‘We took over from . . . was a very sea-worthy craft.' Unpublished memoirs of Donald John MacKenzie, edited by George Hendry, available online at
http://www.scotsatwar.org.uk/veteransreminiscences/dmackenzie.htm

p. 21
  ‘When held firm . . . with a single magazine.'
Quartered Safe Out Here
, George MacDonald Fraser, London 1992

p. 22
  ‘Here's to . . . to do it again.'
The Story of the Lovat Scouts, 1900– 1980
, Michael Leslie Melville, Moray, 2004

pp. 22–23
‘was Major Richard Fleming . . . seven miles back to the billets.' Unpublished memoirs of Donald John MacKenzie, edited by George Hendry, available online at
http://www.scotsatwar.org.uk/veteransreminiscences/dmackenzie.htm

p. 23
  ‘It was a great pleasure . . . game with Tommy-guns.'
The Northern Garrisons
, Eric Linklater, London 1941

p. 27
  ‘The best arable . . . been sent to inferior lands . . .'
Evidence taken by Her Majesty's Commissioners of Inquiry into the conditions of the crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
, Volume I, London, 1884

pp. 27–28
‘We are yearly getting poorer . . . unproductive ground . . .'
Evidence taken by Her Majesty's Commissioners of Inquiry into the conditions of the crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
, Volume I, London, 1884

pp. 28–29
‘A skilled, unmarried farmworker's . . . three and sixpence [£10.50p] a bottle . . .'
The Furrow Behind Me
, Angus MacLellan, introduced and translated from Gaelic by John Lorne Campbell, Edinburgh 1997

pp. 30–32
‘There was a lad from Uist out there . . . Indeed I won't.'
The Furrow Behind Me
, Angus MacLellan, introduced and translated from Gaelic by John Lorne Campbell, Edinburgh 1997

p. 37
  ‘When they arrived . . . nothing but Gaelic.' Interview with author, 2011

pp. 37–38
‘Religion featured prominently . . . and left them bereft.' Interview with author, 2011

pp. 38–39
‘The early historians of Scotland . . . and well-stocked land on the north-west.'
History of the Outer Hebrides
, W.C. MacKenzie, London 1903

p. 41
  ‘It was a very sad, black place . . . in the early 1920s,' Author's interview with Eilidh Shaw, 2011

p. 42
  ‘Their colonel in the Cameron Highlanders . . . as she had lost two sons in the war.' Fr Michael J MacDonald, email to author, 2011

p. 44
  ‘the lamb marking . . . by law four times a year.'
Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist
, Margaret Fay Shaw, Oxford 1955

p. 44
  ‘O mo dhuthaich . . . Land where everything is plentiful . . .'
Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist
, Margaret Fay Shaw, Oxford 1955

pp. 46–47
‘The houseman is twisting twigs . . . where this grass grows.'
Carmina Gadelica, Ortha nan Gaidheal
, Volume One, Alexander Carmichael, Edinburgh 1900

pp. 49–50
‘The natives are much addicted to riding . . . a quantity of wild carrots.'
A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland
, Martin Martin, London 1703

p. 50
  ‘As I came from South-Uist . . . which are exceeding plentiful there.'
A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland
, Martin Martin, London 1703

pp. 50–51
‘Along the road . . . as if it were not worthy of comment.'
A School in South Uist
, Frederick Rea, London 1964

p. 51
  ‘By a curious coincidence . . . and other sports.'
Carmina Gadelica, Ortha nan Gaidheal
, Volume Two, Alexander Carmichael, Edinburgh 1900

p. 52
  ‘At a distance of two . . . which answered equally the purpose.' Unpublished history of South Uist, by Fr Alexander Campbell

p. 54
  ‘pretty primitive . . . good laughs, yes.' Peigi Cross, née MacPhee, in the documentary film
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

pp. 54–55
‘I was at school with them . . . a very nice, quietly spoken boy.' Interview with author, 2010

p. 55
  ‘Angus was such a lover of horses . . . “How did these horses get so mild ..?'” Interview with author, 2011

p. 55
  ‘the bobs my father . . . lost their mothers.' Peigi Cross, née MacPhee, in the documentary film
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 59
  ‘His father wanted him back . . . he would take over the croft.' Interview with author, 2011

p. 60
  ‘He couldn't cope with it . . . He seemed unable to cope. Couldn't cope.' Peigi Cross, née MacPhee, in the documentary film
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

pp. 60–61
‘Nobody seems to know . . . while he was pushing it . . .' Interview with author, 2010

p. 61
  ‘They all thought . . . I didn't see him for years.' Peigi Cross, née MacPhee, in the documentary film
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

pp. 61–62
‘His attack of illness . . . at the top of his voice the word “pipe”. '
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864–1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964

p. 63
  ‘He had been insane . . . twice in the course of the year.'
Report of the Royal Commission to inquire into the condition of Lunatic Asylums in Scotland, and the existing state of the law in that country in reference to Lunatics and Lunatic Asylums
, London 1857

p. 65
  ‘has drained the Highlands and Islands . . . or among the hills.'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864– 1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964

p. 67
  ‘The dread of the Asylum . . . attached to such a move.'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864–1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964

pp. 71–72
‘Almost all schizophrenics paint . . . And they'd be away . . .' Interview with the author, 2011

p. 72
  ‘the genetic inheritance . . . original and creative minds.'
Henry's Demons
, Patrick and Henry Cockburn, London 2011

p. 73
  ‘able, original, likeable . . . what he wanted to do himself.'
Henry's Demons
, Patrick and Henry Cockburn, London 2011

p. 73
  ‘In this hospital . . . a shell of what they used to be.'
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 76
  ‘It is conceived . . . graver error could be made.'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864–1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964

p. 82
  ‘Many patients unable to tolerate . . . and anti-depressant drugs.'
An introduction to physical methods of treatment in psychiatry
, William Sargant and Eliot Slater, assisted by Desmond Kelly, Edinburgh 1972

p. 83
  ‘characterized by dramatic . . . combinations of the two.'
Encyclopaedia Britannica
, London 2011

pp. 84–85
‘The Highland temperament . . . the gay as well as the grave occasion.'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864–1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964

p. 85
  ‘the somatic and medicinal . . . tranquillisers and antidepressants.'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864– 1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964

p. 86
  ‘great stress . . . poultry, potatoes and vegetables'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864–1964
, Martin M Whittet, Inverness 1964

pp. 86–87
‘He was very, very good . . . he would do it. You know, that was his style.'
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 88
  ‘What is found quite frequently . . . identity - re-find it, really.'
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

pp. 88–89
‘He wouldn't talk to anyone . . . he would weave them. He did it, and that was that.'
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 89
  ‘dark and chaotic . . . giving his drawings away.'
Henry's Demons
, Patrick and Henry Cockburn, London 2011

pp. 89–90
‘He made a cap. . . . and he made gloves.'
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 90
  ‘Angus was an interesting character . . . he wore them on top of welly boots.' Interview with author, 2010

p. 90
  ‘Sometimes you would meet him . . . you just feel he's still around here.'
Hidden Gifts
, directed by Nick Higgins, 2004

p. 91
  ‘Have you seen the way . . . together with the thinner plait.' Interview with the author, 2010

pp. 91–92
‘And then it all vanished . . . we never found anything like that. But I'd have loved to . . .' Interview with the author, 2011

p. 92
  ‘So he sat on the edge of his bed . . . the sheep marking on it – it gave a punch to it, you know.' Interview with the author, 2011

p. 93
  ‘I never heard him speak . . . look straight in front of him.' Interview with the author, 2011

pp. 94–95
‘preaching alternately in English . . . their appreciation of it.'
Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness, One Hundred Years, 1864– 1964
, Martin M. Whittet, Inverness 1964