Newtonmore are famous for their shinty skill. In Jan 1890, their defence had so little to do no one thought much of 25yo Ewen Cattanach lying down on the field. Only after 30mins play did the ball come down field and it was clear Ewen was dead (heart attack).
In 1720, the Baron of Calder’s son convinced everyone he’d been possessed, claiming he could pee ink, fly around the room, teleport to Torryburn, and could sleep through being horsewhipped (folk tested). 5 women rounded up- all got off with a mild rebuke.
Bo’ness was almost an inland town. In late 17th C, Dutch engineers proposed a dyke to “reclaim” 2000 acres of the Forth. Bo’ness sea-traders turned them down. It’s the fault of the traders too that the Forth and Clyde Canal ends in Grangemouth and not Bo’ness.
In 1803, a gang of Newhaven fishermen came up to Bo’ness to steal the mussels at Ladies Scaup. Bo’ness boats chased them down, and fought to get some of them back, but most were lost in deep water. Although some were put back, the Scaup never recovered.
I liked this bird’s eye view of Cumbernauld *in progress* (1964).
“interestingly informal”
“maximum privacy in a small space”
“specifically Scottish”
he Erskine Ferry was an important part of the Glasgow to Greenock trade route and was the oldest ferry on the Clyde, started in 1777. Here are the tolls for the year 1845. Roughly equivalent to 50p per foot passenger and £15 for a four wheeled carriage.
In November 1863, PC Duncan McGillvray let the North British Daily Mail know that Mrs McCulloch of Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan had had triplet girls. When congratulations started flooding in, her husband sued PC McGillvray for £1 in damages She hadn’t given birth.
The “Big Porpoise of Machrihanish” or “Campbeltown’s Grampus” was a false killer whale and local celebrity in 1910 & 1911.”Boisterous” and “inquisitive”, it chased boats around Kintyre. At Bellochantuy, it grabbed a creel out a man’s hands and played with it.
In the 1880s, “Lifeboat Day” was the biggest fête of the year in North Berwick. In addition to rescue manoeuvres by the lifeboatmen, there was a greased mast to climb, diving competition and a “tub race” across the harbour, in drag.
In 1915, to avoid German submarines, 5 proposals for tunnels across the Irish Channel were looked into.
1. Mull of Kintyre -> Torr Head
2. Wierston -> Islandmagee
3. Stranraer -> Larne
4. Portpatrick ->Whitehead
5. Portpatrick ->Donaghadee
Parliament said no.
The first iron vessel to “sail” on the Firth of Clyde was a soap boiler ordered by an Ayr man named Bonaparte in 1813. It wouldn’t fit down the vennel off High Street to his shop (where Poundland is now), so took a bet to “sail” it up the R. Ayr from the Clyde.
