James Taylor recalls the snowy winter of 1881, and a youthfu...
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1955.67.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
James Taylor recalls the snowy winter of 1881, and a youthful prank on his great grandmother, Eppie Thain.
Eppie Thain, James Taylor's great grandmother, was a Gaelic speaker. She walked with a stoop. In the stormy winter of 1881, his grand-uncle used to rise in the morning and look to see how far up the door the snow was, until one morning he couldn’t see out, and had to cast the snow into the field and crawl out. James used to kick castings [peats thrown up onto a bank to dry] onto Eppie’s head, and she called him Red Taylor, because his father had a red beard, and she chased him with a stick.
Hamish Henderson quotes a saying that red-headed men are best both for women and for the laird.
Item Subject/Person
Thain, Eppie
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good