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Trusadh : Memories of Crofting in the Ardveg
Today Ardveg is a remote and uninhabited spot accessible only by foot over challenging mountainous terrain or by boat. John MacDonald was fortunate enough to have been brought up in Ardveg in one of only three households in the tiny township during the 1930s and '40s. He vividly captures what life was like then for his family - mother father three sisters and himself - and the rest of his vibrant thriving Gaelic community including his uncle and grandmother. The result is a fascinating wide-ranging and unique first-hand account of a by-gone era. The story reveals hitherto untold details of the everyday life of this crofting and fishing community. This slim book is perfect for slipping into a bag or luggage for reading while travelling and features black and white photographs interspersed with the text.
97 pages, Paperback
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About the author
John MacDonald
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There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 27, 2019
3 1/2 star rating
An trusadh - the gathering in of the sheep from where they wander free-grazing to the faing (sheep pen) is just one of the recollections from John MacDonald’s childhood growing up on a croft in an isolated part of the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in the years between the world wars. It was a subsistence living, with everyone contributing to the daily chores, and as MacDonald puts it, «More or less as soon as we became vertical we were allowed and encouraged to engage in any action which could be useful or (constructively!) purposeful. »
And of course there was school as well, which meant being sent to board with relatives at age 6 in another community to attend class with 20 others aged up to 14 in one room, and taught in a language (English) that MacDonald knew not a word of on his first day in class.
Originally meant as a recollection for family members and not to be published at all, it is a valuable account of the details of everyday life in a small crofting and fishing community, now abandoned.
An trusadh - the gathering in of the sheep from where they wander free-grazing to the faing (sheep pen) is just one of the recollections from John MacDonald’s childhood growing up on a croft in an isolated part of the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in the years between the world wars. It was a subsistence living, with everyone contributing to the daily chores, and as MacDonald puts it, «More or less as soon as we became vertical we were allowed and encouraged to engage in any action which could be useful or (constructively!) purposeful. »
And of course there was school as well, which meant being sent to board with relatives at age 6 in another community to attend class with 20 others aged up to 14 in one room, and taught in a language (English) that MacDonald knew not a word of on his first day in class.
Originally meant as a recollection for family members and not to be published at all, it is a valuable account of the details of everyday life in a small crofting and fishing community, now abandoned.
Displaying 1 of 1 review