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The Vital Spark: The Adventures of Para Handy and his crew on a Clyde puffer.
The Vital Spark is the first of the collections of Neil Munro's classic humorous tales of Captain Para Handy and the crew of the Clyde puffer Vital Spark.
From the turn of the 19th century and almost to the end of the twentieth, the puffers were an everyday sight on the Clyde and all through the Inner Hebrides, Islands off the West Coast of Scotland. They had mostly replaced the old sailing barges, which were reliant on a fickle Scottish weather. They were small, dumpy steam lighters of sixty to eighty tons, usually flat-bottomed. They were at best capable of five knots or so, but that was still better than the old sailing barges or gabbars.
The West Coast of Scotland today, is one of the finest sailing grounds in the world, when the weather is fair. But its heavily indented shoreline as well as the many offshore islands, always made it difficult to navigate by land. Even today, many of the roads are single track and are often cut by snowfall or landslips. The only sensible and economical way to transport goods was by sea, even after the railway was extended from Fort William to Mallaig in 1901. Even then, that left isolated communities all over the region with no access to supplies except by sea, so the puffers were still in business.
The Puffers themselves were small ships, between forty and sixty tons and so could enter the smallest harbours, built for fishing boats. Their flat bottoms meant that they could be allowed to settle while loading and unloading, waiting for the next tide to float off again. This was standard practice, but tremendous care had to be taken to ensure that nothing could penetrate the hull. They were essentially the equivalent of today''s FedEx delivery van. They carried everything from coal to lumber to fish, livestock, even furniture and motor-cars. The men who crewed them were often a little rough and ready - as Munro will show - but loved their work; they were dedicated seamen all.
The city of Glasgow was the hub of a diaspora that extended deep into the Western Highlands, to places where the Gaelic was still the everyday speak. It was the home port of the Vital Spark and many others like her. While Tarbert, Mallaig, Arisaig and Oban were the berths of the fishing fleets -- which in those days were enormous, plundering the silver herring -- Glasgow was too far from the fishing grounds in the Minches. So the fishermen landed their catches at their home port and they were transported by the gabbars, then the puffers and latterly the railway, to market in the great city of Glasgow, to feed those whose labour turned the wheels of industry.
Few people and only the very wealthy, had motor cars, even in the later Para Handy Tales. Traveling in the Western Highlands relied on shanks' pony or later, bicycles. There were already the great passenger steamers belonging to the MacBrayne line (later Caledonian MacBrayne and then CalMac) but those ships, their captains, crew and passengers had little interest in cargoes of coal, timber or the herring. The puffers were still in business.
The last Clyde Puffer in normal service, VIC32, was retired in 1993. Her name comes from 'Victualling Inshore Craft' and she was actually a War Department vessel that saw service in World War Two. She was restored, renamed The Vital Spark and now lies at Inveraray. A smaller replica lies on the Forth and Clyde canal for the tourists.
We hope that Para Handy, MacPhail, Dougie, The Tar and Hurricane Jack are enjoying a well-earned retirement; they certainly made us laugh.
From the turn of the 19th century and almost to the end of the twentieth, the puffers were an everyday sight on the Clyde and all through the Inner Hebrides, Islands off the West Coast of Scotland. They had mostly replaced the old sailing barges, which were reliant on a fickle Scottish weather. They were small, dumpy steam lighters of sixty to eighty tons, usually flat-bottomed. They were at best capable of five knots or so, but that was still better than the old sailing barges or gabbars.
The West Coast of Scotland today, is one of the finest sailing grounds in the world, when the weather is fair. But its heavily indented shoreline as well as the many offshore islands, always made it difficult to navigate by land. Even today, many of the roads are single track and are often cut by snowfall or landslips. The only sensible and economical way to transport goods was by sea, even after the railway was extended from Fort William to Mallaig in 1901. Even then, that left isolated communities all over the region with no access to supplies except by sea, so the puffers were still in business.
The Puffers themselves were small ships, between forty and sixty tons and so could enter the smallest harbours, built for fishing boats. Their flat bottoms meant that they could be allowed to settle while loading and unloading, waiting for the next tide to float off again. This was standard practice, but tremendous care had to be taken to ensure that nothing could penetrate the hull. They were essentially the equivalent of today''s FedEx delivery van. They carried everything from coal to lumber to fish, livestock, even furniture and motor-cars. The men who crewed them were often a little rough and ready - as Munro will show - but loved their work; they were dedicated seamen all.
The city of Glasgow was the hub of a diaspora that extended deep into the Western Highlands, to places where the Gaelic was still the everyday speak. It was the home port of the Vital Spark and many others like her. While Tarbert, Mallaig, Arisaig and Oban were the berths of the fishing fleets -- which in those days were enormous, plundering the silver herring -- Glasgow was too far from the fishing grounds in the Minches. So the fishermen landed their catches at their home port and they were transported by the gabbars, then the puffers and latterly the railway, to market in the great city of Glasgow, to feed those whose labour turned the wheels of industry.
Few people and only the very wealthy, had motor cars, even in the later Para Handy Tales. Traveling in the Western Highlands relied on shanks' pony or later, bicycles. There were already the great passenger steamers belonging to the MacBrayne line (later Caledonian MacBrayne and then CalMac) but those ships, their captains, crew and passengers had little interest in cargoes of coal, timber or the herring. The puffers were still in business.
The last Clyde Puffer in normal service, VIC32, was retired in 1993. Her name comes from 'Victualling Inshore Craft' and she was actually a War Department vessel that saw service in World War Two. She was restored, renamed The Vital Spark and now lies at Inveraray. A smaller replica lies on the Forth and Clyde canal for the tourists.
We hope that Para Handy, MacPhail, Dougie, The Tar and Hurricane Jack are enjoying a well-earned retirement; they certainly made us laugh.
234 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2002
13 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Neil Munro
156 books13 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Neil Munro was a Scottish journalist, newspaper editor, author and literary critic. He was born in Inveraray and worked as a journalist on various newspapers.
He was basically a serious writer, but is now mainly known for his humorous short stories, originally written under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. (It seems that he was not making a serious attempt to disguise his identity, but wanted to keep his serious and humorous writings separate.) The best known were about the fictional Clyde puffer the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, but they also included stories about the waiter and kirk beadle Erchie MacPherson, and the travelling drapery salesman Jimmy Swan.
Neil Munro was a Scottish journalist, newspaper editor, author and literary critic. He was born in Inveraray and worked as a journalist on various newspapers.
He was basically a serious writer, but is now mainly known for his humorous short stories, originally written under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. (It seems that he was not making a serious attempt to disguise his identity, but wanted to keep his serious and humorous writings separate.) The best known were about the fictional Clyde puffer the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, but they also included stories about the waiter and kirk beadle Erchie MacPherson, and the travelling drapery salesman Jimmy Swan.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 10, 2016
I came across this in a bargain bookshop some months ago but after reading the introduction and first couple of pieces put it down. Having read and enjoyed "John Splendid" I thought I would give it another try. The back cover says, "...light fiction, literary short stories, journalism, criticism, descriptive writing and poetry" and this is correct. There are also copious notes by the editors Osborne and Armstrong.
For me I enjoyed the author's short stories and his comic stories but I did not enjoy the poetry, journalism and criticism at all. I especially enjoyed the opening chapters of his unfinished novel "The search" though it was frustrating not to know how it might have ended.
I think I will read the parts I enjoyed again and this may really be a book for dipping into rather than reading from cover to cover. Two stars seems harsh as some parts are great but overall I am afraid two stars it is.
For me I enjoyed the author's short stories and his comic stories but I did not enjoy the poetry, journalism and criticism at all. I especially enjoyed the opening chapters of his unfinished novel "The search" though it was frustrating not to know how it might have ended.
I think I will read the parts I enjoyed again and this may really be a book for dipping into rather than reading from cover to cover. Two stars seems harsh as some parts are great but overall I am afraid two stars it is.
May 13, 2020
Good fun, pretty niche. If you want to brush up on your Scot's slang and colloquialisms then this is a pretty good shout, although maybe keep in mind there's not much in the way of Glasgow slang, as it's set elsewhere.
January 14, 2015
A collection of humorous short stories involving Captain Para Handy and his Clyde Puffer, The Vital Spark, the 'smertest boat in the tred!' A delightful read at only 94 pages.
Para (Peter) Handy has been captain on the Vital Spark for more than 20 years. His crew is first mate Dougie, a married man with 10 children and a new one coming every year. The Tar (Colin) their cook who can't seem to stay awake long, even to get married! And Dan, the engineer who is always in the engine room reading penny novels, romances no less! Story is he was in Australia once and killed a man in the bush (two when he's been drinking!) so Para treats him with kid gloves. All of this lends itself to hilarious adventures.
Para (Peter) Handy has been captain on the Vital Spark for more than 20 years. His crew is first mate Dougie, a married man with 10 children and a new one coming every year. The Tar (Colin) their cook who can't seem to stay awake long, even to get married! And Dan, the engineer who is always in the engine room reading penny novels, romances no less! Story is he was in Australia once and killed a man in the bush (two when he's been drinking!) so Para treats him with kid gloves. All of this lends itself to hilarious adventures.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews