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

[DCampbell16B]

£1.90 bus

Conned Englishman to take me up to main road to catch bus. His kids ordered him around. Waited 1½-2 hours for bus. Ran on hills for a bit. Took bus to Leurbost. Heard plenty of Gaelic. 2 girls behind me about 16-18 spoke ½ time English and ½ Gaelic [they would say something in one language and then the next was in the other. Regardless of which language, it was slowly spoken. I heard one of them say "We're in Leodhas" speaking English and using the Gaelic pronunciation of Lewis.] Waited at the crossroads for A. He was late. Got my stuff in the car and went to Great Bernera. Hot water pipe running from peat stove had burst. No more hot water (barring shower, which has its own heating unit).

[Showers were not common, but A had installed one in his second place. His business was based in Glasgow. The water was stored in a cistern in the roof or ceiling. A pipe ran down to the stove to heat it. I'm not sure of the details, and would appreciate anyone explaining to the group.]

Spent afternoon cleaning kitchen, mopping up peat soot. Also cooked burgers over fire, barbecue for boys (he also had a couple younger guys visiting). A and self had ate fried herring and fresh potatoes. Spent evening fishing on loch from Breasclete [in wooden rowboat in East Loch Roag]. I didn't catch anything, but other got a mackerel, and a few "saithes, laithes? Had a 10 pound salmon in a net, which I saw. Also places to put nets.

[First, apologies to @Jock Scot, but I saw and was involved in illegal salmon poaching. Leodhasachs were much more likely to take salmon than anywhere else in Scotland because in many of the districts the land was owned by the crofters in common. They made it much harder for the authorities to catch them. I helped with a net off the west side of Great Bernera. I also heard how they would signal that the authorities were heading out in a boat, at least in the days before cell phones one thing was to hang a dark tarp on the side of a white building. That gave the men with an illegal net time to sink it.]

That night got stories from Iain Tom (married to cousin of A) and A. About the Brahan Seer and personal stories of 2nd sight. Brahan Seer is well known here because he grew up in Uig [Uig Lewis, not Uig Skye] and may have been born in Ness. A's mother is like that and A sometimes. Told me about Dolaidh Angus and when he died. There was a great storm and he knew something was wrong. He called here couple times. They [relations] called him back and told him. Dolaidh Angus was a 1st cousin to A. [Dolaidh is a nickname for Donald in Leodhas. Another is Seonaidh for John]. He drank excessively. People would put him a car and he'd drive home. Never caught. A's mother from Great Bernera. She has more of an accent than her husband, whose English is very good.

[Notes put down the next morning] Dance last night, disco. Didn't go. I'd have looked more like a chaperone than a dancer [and to be honest, I couldn't dance then and still can't]. Out here they set up salmon nets and moor boats the same way. Anchor a floating ring and pass an endless loop of line through it back to shore. You get off the boat at the shore, tie a line to the loop and pull it out to the ring in deep water. The loop is dropped in a rock crevice and two handy rocks jammed in.

Also stories of Dolligan, who steals things and has a note from a doctor so gets away with it. A little soft in the head. Has gotten salmon from A and Iain Tom's net. The boys dumped some of his milk to get him back, but his sister is the one who will have to clean it up. A was mad at them but knew they did it with him in mind.

Lewis is flat compared to Harris. Great Bernera is very Rocky, but Ness is supposed to be flat.

Motor on boat temperamental. Rowed some []. Oars are long and thin like Aran Islanders.

https://postimg.cc/470YKSQF
Ordnance Survey Map showing part of Lewis and Great Bernera