Mnathan nan Iasgairean / Fishermen’s Wives

Nuair a bha mi ag ullachadh buth-obrach mu bhailtean iasgaich san Ear-Tuath bliadhna no dhà air ais (sgrìobh mi ma dheidhinn anns na Seaboard News aig an àm sin), bha mi a’ rannsachadh òrain freagarrach, agus mhothaich mi gu bheil iomadh òran ann a tha a’ dèiligeadh ri beatha nam boireannach, m.e. mnathan nan iasgairean is na caileagan-sgadain. Na làithean seo bha mi a’ bruidhinn mu dheidhinn sin ri mo mhàthair cuideachd, as dèidh dhuinn a bhith anns an East Neuk ann am Fìobha agus gu h-àraidh ann an taigh-tasgaidh iasgaich ann an Ànsruthair, leis na taisbeanaidhean agus na dealbhan a tha a’ sealltainn na boireannach sin aig an obair chruaidh a bh’ aca.

Bha mi ag iarraidh feadhainn de na h-òrain as fheàrr leam a phàirteachadh còmhla ribh, oir ‘s e pàirt den dualchas againn uile a th’ annta, leis an eachdraidh a th’ againn ann am Machair Rois, agus na ceanglaichean ris na bailtean iasgaich eile timcheall air oirthir na h-Alba agus fiu’s ann an Sasainn an Ear, gu ruige Yarmouth.  Gu fòrtanach, tha daoine anns a’ choimhearsnachd againn fhèin aig a bheil cuimhne fhathast air an dòigh-bheatha sin, no a chuala ma dheidhinn tric gu leòr bho na pàrantan aca . Bidh iadsan ag aithneachadh iomadh sealladh agus suidheachadh a tha air a dhealbhadh anns na h-òrain seo, agus ‘s urrainn dhaibh innse dhuinn barrachd ma dheidhinn.

Tha òrain thradiseanta ann agus òrain air an sgrìobhadh a chionn ghoirid anns an t-seann nòs, mar an fheadhainn le Ewan MacColl. ‘S e fìor “classic” a th’ anns an fhear seo, air a sgrìobhadh airson prògram rèidio BBC ‘Singing the Fishing’ ann an 1960, agus e a’ dèiligeadh ris na caileagan-sgadain, a dh’fhalbh bho Linne Mhoreibh gu Yarmouth – Come a’ ye fisher lassies:

….Rise up in the morning wi’ your bundles in your hand,
Be at the station early or you’ll surely hae to stand,
Tak’ plenty to eat and a kettle for your tea,
Or you’ll mebbe die of hunger on the way to Yarmouth quay…..

… It’s early in the morning and it’s late into the nicht,
Your hands a’ cut and chappit and they look an unco’ sicht,
And you greet like a wean when you put them in the bree,
And you wish you were a thoosand mile awa’ frae Yarmouth quay

There’s coopers there and curers there and buyers, canny chiels,
And lassies at the pickling and others at the creels,
And you’ll wish the fish had been a’ left in the sea
By the time you finish guttin’ herrin’ on the Yarmouth quay…..

Bha mo sheanmhair na caileag-sgadain na h-òige. Bhiodh i a’ cutadh nan sgadan aig na “farlans” fad an latha, le pìosan annairt mu na corragan, no a’ pacadh nam baraillean, agus a rèir coltais bha mo sheanmhair glè mhath air na sgadain a phacadh, obair a bha gu math cruaidh.

Bha na caileagan-iasgaich gu trice bòidheach agus spaideil agus tha òrain romànsach ann cuideachd, mar The Bonnie Fisher Lassie:

….Her petticoats she wore so short, they came below her knee.
Her handsome leg and ankle, they so delighted me.
Her rosy cheeks her yellow hair, for an empress she might pass,
And wi’ her creel she daily toiled, the bonnie fisher lass. 

I stepped up beside her and to her I did say
‘Why are you out so early? Why are you going this way?’
She said ‘I’m going to look for bait, now allow me for to pass.
For our lines we must get ready’ said the bonnie fisher lass…..

Cha b’ e sin an fhreagairt a bu romànsaiche! Ach practaigeach agus fìor gu leòr.

Bha spòrs agus beagan saorsa aig na caileagain-sgadain cuideachd nuair a bha iad air falbh leis na caraidean aca, ged a bha an obair fhèin cho doirbh is sgìtheil, ach nuair a bha iad pòsta, dh’fhàs a h-uile rud fiù ‘s nas duilge. Mar a sheinn Ewan MacColl anns The Fisherman’s Wife:

…Ye ken whit wye he has tae work
Ye ken the hours he has tae keep
And yet it maks ye angry when
Ye see him just come hame tae sleep

Through the months and through the years
While ye’re bringing up the bairns
Your man’s awa’ tae here and there
Followin’ the shoals of herrin’
And when he’s back there’s nets tae mend
Ye’ve maybe got a score or twa
And when they’re done he’ll rise and say
Wife, it’s time I was awa’….

Feumaidh gun do chuir e dragh mòr ort a bhith a’ feitheamh ris a’ bhàta, an dòchas gun tilleadh an duine agad gu sàbhailte. Uaireannan cha do thill, mar a chluinneas sinn anns an òran The Lifeboat:

… There’s sweethearts and wives standing round,
The boats crew are all from this town,
Such an earnest-like throng, such a silence among,
And we pray as the mercy-boat speeds on her way,
‘O dear Lord above, hear our cry.’

At length on that storm-wracked shore
Our hands help the lifeboat to moor,
And we learn of the fate of the skipper and mate,
And the fishermen pray as they stand ‘neath the spray,
‘O Lord, help their wives to endure.
Lord, father their bairns in this hour.’…

Ach uaireannan eile bhiodh iad fòrtanach, mar a chluinneas sinn anns an òran Guiding Light and the Evening Star, air a dhèanamh le Scott Murray (mòran taing!) a rèir sgeulachd a fhuair e bho bhoireannach ann an Cellardyke:

…And ye thocht on the man nearly lost
Wha was ta’en frae his boat by a wave
He was put back on deck by anither
An we thanked the Lord he was saved
Aye we thanked the Lord he was saved….

Mu dheireadh tha mi a’ dol a thoirt òran tradiseanta dhuibh a tha a’ glacadh  suidheachadh teaghlachan iasgaich air leth math – The Peterheid Fisherman’s Wife.  Tha dealbhan ann a chuir cuimhne orm air na a dh’innis mo mhàthair dhomh mun bheatha aca nuair a bha i òg, is an t-athair aice a’ dèanamh na tiopagan, na ‘cheepicks‘ no tippings, ri taobh an teine, agus na boireannaich a’ cruinneachadh a’ bhiathaidh air a’ chladach bho mhoch gu dubh. Seo an òran gu lèir dhuibh:

Fa wid be a fisherman’s wife
Tae work wi’ a tub an a scrubber an’ a knife
A deid oot fire an’ a raivel’d bed
An’ awa tae the mussels in the mornin.

Chorus: Here we come scoorin in,
     Three reefs tae the foresail in.
     There’s nae a dry stick tae pit on wer back,
     But still we’re aa teetotllers.

Noo, fa’ll gie’s a hand tae rin a ripper lead
Tae try for a coddie in the bay o’ Peterheid?
They’re maybe at the Lummies or the clock on Sautis’eid
Fen we gaun tae the sma lines in the mornin.

Ma puir aul father’s in the middle o’ the flair
Beatin heuks ontae tippets an they’re hingin on his chair.
They’re made wi horses’ hair, man, for that’s the best o’ gear
Tae be gyan tae the fishin in the mornin.

Syne it’s doon the Geddle Braes in the middle o’ the nicht
Wi an aul seerup tin an a can’le for a licht,
Tae gaither up the pullars, ev’ry een o’ them in sicht
So we’ll get the linie baited for the mornin.

It’s easy to the cobbler, sittin in his neuk,
His big copper kettle hingin on a crook.
But we’re in the boo and we cannae get a heuk
It’s sair hard work in the mornin.

It’s nae the kin o’ life that a gentle quine can thole
Wi her fingers reid raw wi the scrubbin oot a yole
An a littlen on her hip, she’s awa tae cairry coal,
She’ll be caaed sair deen in the mornin.

Still an aa she widnae change for the gran’est o’ yer gear
For she never kens the minute when her hairt’ll loup wi fear.
For he’s awa tae the sea an he’s aa that she has dear
She qued be a widow wi his bairn in the mornin.

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 (For lyrics of songs named, see Gaelic version above)

When I was preparing a workshop on the fishing villages of the North East a couple of years ago (reported in the Seaboard News at the time), I was researching suitable songs and I noticed that there were a lot dealing with the hard life of the womenfolk, the wives or the herring-girls. Recently I was also talking to my mother about this after our visit to the East Neuk and especially the Anstruther fishing museum, with its displays and paintings showing the women at their backbreaking work.

 I wanted to share some of my favourites among these songs with you, as they’re part of our own heritage, with our Easter Ross fishing history and links with the other coastal towns, from the Highlands to Yarmouth. Fortunately for us, there are still people in our community who remember that way of life or who heard about it from their own parents. They’ll recognise many of the scenes and situations depicted here, and can certainly tell us even more.

There are traditional songs and others written more recently but in the traditional style, such as those by Ewan MacColl. This one of his ‘classics’, composed for the BBC Radio programme ‘Singing the Fishing’ in 1960. It deals with the herring-girls who travelled from the Moray Firth to Yarmouth – Come a’ ye fisher lassies.

 …And you’ll wish the fish had been a’ left in the sea..

My grandmother was a herring-girl in her youth. They would be gutting the herring at the ‘farlans’ all day, with strips of linen round their fingers to protect them, or packing the herring in barrels, and apparently my grandmother was very skilled at packing, an extremely demanding job.

The fishing girls were often very pretty and smartly turned out, so there are romantic songs too, like The Bonnie Fisher Lassie. But her answer to the gentleman is more practical than romantic –

She said ‘I’m going to look for bait, now allow me for to pass..’

 The girls also had fun and an element of freedom when following the herring boats with their friends, hard though the work was, but when they got married, things got even harder, as Ewan MacColl sings in The Fisherman’s Wife.

 ..And when he’s back there’s nets to mend….

 It must have been very worrying, waiting for the boat, hoping that your man would return safely. Sometimes he didn’t, as we hear in the song The Lifeboat.

 …and we learn of the fate of the skipper and mate…

 But sometimes they were lucky, as in the song Guiding Light and the Evening Star, written by Scott Murray (thanks to him!) from a story told him by a lady in Cellardyke.

 ….Wha was taen frae his boat by a wave

He was put back on deck by anither…

 Finally I have one more song for you that for me captures the situation of the fishing familes particularly well – The Peterheid Fisherman’s Wife. There are scenes that perfectly recall what my mother told me about their home life when she was young , her father spinning the horsehair ‘cheepicks’ or tippings by the fire, and the women gathering bait at all hours.

Fa wid be a fisherman’s wife
Tae work wi’ a tub an a scrubber an’ a knife
A deid oot fire an’ a raivel’d bed
An’ awa tae the mussels in the mornin…..

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Thanks to Anstruther museum for permission to use the herring girls painting, and to my mother for the other paintings.

Links to sources, lyrics and audio-links 

Ewan MacColl lyrics: Come all ye fisher lassies (Song of the Fish-Gutters): http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/song-midis/Song_of_the_Fish-Gutters.htm

The Fisherman’s Wife (A the week…): http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/song-midis/Week_Your_Mans_Awa_or_Fishermans_Wife.htm

Scott Murray: Guiding Light and the Evening Star on the Sangsters CD Sharp and Sweet: http://www.footstompin.com/products/cds/sharp_and_sweet  (the Cellardyke song from last month is also on that)

Traditional: The Bonnie Fisher Lassie: http://www.mervent.ru/lyrics/293-bonniefisherlass.html

The Lifeboat: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138271

The Peterheid Fisherman’s Wife (Fa wid be..) : http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandssongs/secondary/genericcontent_tcm4572877.asp

Useful CDs:    Isla St Clair: Tatties and Herrin – the Sea http://www.greentrax.com/music/artists/reviews/Isla-St-Clair-Tatties-And-Herrin-The-Sea-CD/

Ewan MacColl: Singing the Fishing  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Singing-Fishing-MacColl-Charles-Parker/dp/B00000JG3V/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3

Audio/video:

The late Ray Fisher and Cilla Fisher singing Come all ye fisher lassies: http://youtu.be/K0Aeety5IGg

Steeleye Span: The Fisherman’s Wife ( A’  the Week yer man’s awa’): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRifQnoNL98

The Lochies: Shoals of Herring (in Gaelic, with archive pictures): http://youtu.be/EspRkEcfNHw

Cathair Aile / Crail

Fìobha – bailtean East Neuk

An samhradh seo chuir sinn seachdain seachad anns an Rioghachd Fìobha agus ged a bha iomadh rud anns an sgìre air fad a bha tarraingeach agus intinneach, ‘s e bailtean iasgaich an East Neuk, Fìobha an Ear, a bu mhotha a chòrd rinn, ‘s dòcha air sgath ‘s gu bheil iad gu ìre mhath coltach ri ar bailtean ann an Ros an Ear.  Ach tha iad brèagha agus taitneach gu leòr iad fhèin – ceart cho math, neo nas fheàrr, na na dealbhan-mìosachan air a bheil sinn uile eòlach.

Cathair Aile – cliabhan-ghiomach / Crail – lobster creels

An toiseach bha sinn ann an Cathair Aile (Crail) ann an taobh an ear an East Neuk agus abair gur e baile bòidheach a th’ ann, nas motha agus le coltas nas beartaiche na bha dùil againn. Chithear gur e baile stèidhichte a th’ ann, le eachdraidh malairt agus iasgaich, leis na taighean mòra cloiche air an togail le luchd-malairt anns a’ bhaile uachdarach agus na taighean is stòran susbainteach anns a’ bhaile ìarach faisg air a’ chidhe. Chithear buaidh Dhùitseach sa chidhe fhèin, a chaidh a thogail leis na leacan nan seasamh dìreach, seach nan laighe còmhnard. Tha na mullachan dearga air iomadh taigh ann am Fìobha, seach sglèata, a’ cur an cuimhne cuideachd linntean malairt leis an Òlaind. Bhiodh na bàtaichean a’ falbh le gual à mèinnean Fhìobha agus a’ tilleadh le leacagan-pana san toll mar balaiste. ‘S ann airson chrùbagan agus ghiomach a tha Cathair Aile ainmeil, is cliabhan-ghiomach nan laighe anns gach àite, agus na giomaich gan rèic ann am bothan air a’ chidhe fhèin. Latha an diùgh tha mòran fhlùraichean air na seann taighean agus timcheall air a’ bhaile agus gach taigh air a pheintadh geal is glan, rud nach robh iad uile roimhe gu cinnteach, nuair a bha dòigh-beatha iasgaich no malairt na bu chruaidhe. (PICTURES)

Ach bha sinn a’ dèanamh fiughair mòr a-nis ris an ath bhaile, oir chunnaic sinn air a’ mhapa gur e Cellardyke a bhiodh ann, aig a bheil ceanglaichean laidir ri Machair Rois, leis gu bheil  càirdean againn, teaghlach Wood à Bail’ a’ Chnuic, uile a’ buinntainn dha bho thùs.

Cellardyke

‘S e “Dykers” a ghabhas iad orra fhèin sa bhaile, agus bha mi èolach air an fhar-ainm “Dyker” no “Decker” ann am Bail’ a’ Chnuic o chionn bhliadhnaichean,. ‘S e ainm a bha air na sinnsearan aig neach-dàimh agus ban-charaid do mo mhàthar, Ceitidh Ros. Tha ùidh mhòr aig Ceitidh fhèin ann an eachdraidh an teaglaich, agus i a’ toirt iomradh gu trice air an àite. ‘S e “Fife Cottage” an t-ainm a bha air an taigh aca cuideachd. ‘S e baile nach eil ceart cho romànsach ri Cathair Aile a th’ ann an Cellardyke, ged a tha e bòidheach gu leòr cuideachd, le caladh nas motha agus coltas nas simplidh, leis na h-annartan a’ crochadh air an loidhne air a’ chidhe mar a bha e roimhe, agus glè bheag de luchd-tadhail ged a b’ e latha brèagha grìanach sna làithean-saora a bh’ ann.  Bha àite-picnic snog ann, ge-tà, agus nach b’ e sinn fhìn a bha thoilichte a chleachdadh (mar as àbhaist – ‘s toil leinn picnics), agus clàr-fiosrachaidh glè inntinneach mun chaladh agus mun bhaile. Thàinig “Cellardyke” (thathar a ràdh) bho “Siller Dyke”, bho na lìntean làn lannan-èisg airgid a’ tiormachadh air a’ bhall-mara.  Thog mi mòran dealbhan do Cheitidh…

Nuair a bha sinn air ais aig an taigh lorg mi òran beag glè shnog is èibhinn mu dheidhinn Cellardyke, a chuireas mi aig an deireadh.

Taigh-tasgaidh Ànstruthair / Anstruther museum

Tha Ànstruthair, no “Eanstar“, ceangailte ri Cellardyke an latha an diùgh, agus tha e mòran nas motha agus nas trainge, leis a’ bhùth fish and chips cho ainmeil agus caladh mòr làn bhàtaichean de gach seòrsa, ach ‘s e gheataichean a th’ anns a’ mhòr-chuid.  Chan eil mòran ri fhaicinn de dh’eachdraidh iasgach a’ bhaile a-nis an sin, ach tha aon rud eile anns a’ bhaile a tha a’ dèanamh suas airson sin: Taigh-Tasgaidh Iasgach na h-Alba. Chan urrainn dhomh sin a mholadh cus. Nam bheachdsa bu chòir do gach Albannach a dhol ann aon turas na bheatha. ‘S ann ainneamh a bha mi ann an taigh-tasgaidh cho tarraingeach (agus bha mi ann an tòrr). Chan e taisbeanadh àbhaisteach a th’ ann, ach “galeraidhean” eadar-dhealaichte le modalan-bàta (Zulus, scaffies), le tableaux (caileagan-sgadain), le dealbhan-ola, le bhideos, agus le eachdraidh nam bàtaichean diofraichte fhèin, mar na “Zulus” (air an ainmeachadh mar sin oir bha urram mòr aig na h-Albannaich air na Zulus uasal gaisgeil aig amannan nan Cogaidhean Zulu). Chì thu cuideachd seòmraichean ann an taigh luchd-iasgaich le uidheam iasgaich tradaiseanta, agus tòrr fìor bhàtaichean, mòra is beaga, à eachdraidh iasgach na h-Alba ann an tallaichean mòra, fosgailte, soilleir. Tha a h-uile rud air an gleidheadh ann an sreath taighean-iasgaich agus gàrraidhean dìreach ri taobh a’ chidhe. Thug sinn grunn uairean a thìde ann. (Ach tha cafaidh ann cuideachd!)

Taeping

Tha seann bàta-siùil bhon àm iasgaich-sgadain aca, The Reaper (1902), a chunnaic sinn ann an caladh Baile Aile.  ‘S ann à Ànstruthair agus Cellardyke a thàinig na sgiobairean Keay agus Rodgers aig an robh na clippers ainmeil Ariel agus Taeping anns na ‘tea races’ anns na 1860ean.

http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/

Baile na h-Uaimhe / Pittenweem

Chòrd rinn na h-ath àiteachean, Baile na h-Uaimhe (Pittemweem) agus St Monans (Baile Naoimh Moinenn), gu mòr cuideachd, is iad air an togail air tràigh àrdaichte ma a bha Cathair Aile, le pàirtean uachdrach leis na taighean nas motha agus na bùithtean, na h-eaglaisean agus na sgoiltean, agus pàirtean ìochdarach leis na calaidhean, agus na sràidean cas, cumhang, toinnte air a’ bhraigh eadarra. Chunnaic sinn barrachd eiseimplearan math mhullachan dearga agus “crow-stepped gables” gu leòr, an dà chuid a’ toirt iomradh air malairt le Òlaind a-rithist agus cho cudromach ‘s a bha Baile na h-Uaimhe an uairsin leis a chidhean mòra agus a mhargadh-èisg. ‘S ann anns an t-seann eaglais air a’ chreag ann an St Monans a phòs caraidean agam dà bhliadhna air ais agus ‘s e àite fìor bhrèagha, soilleir agus sàmhach a th’ innte, le sealladh mìorbhaileach air am Bass Rock.

Elie

Tha am baile mu dheireadh air an East Neuk, Elie, ceanglaite a-nis le Earlsferry, gu tùr eadar-dhealaichte. Tha caladh mòr ann, ach tha e làn ghainmheich a-nis agus nuair a bhios a’ mhuir a-muigh chan fhaic thu ach clann gun àireamh a’ togail caisteil-ghainmeich air. Thàinig an t-ainm Elie bho “Eilean Ard Rois” (chaidh an caladh fhèin a thogail air an eilean bheag sin), agus chunnaic sinn seann tucaid coltach ris an tè aig Cathabul faisg air “Ardross Farm” agus tobhta Caisteil Ardross. ‘S e MacDhubhaich a rèir choltais a bh’ anns an “earl” a chleachd an t-aiseag airson teicheadh bho MacBheatha.

Tucaid Àrd Rois / Ardross Doocot

Bass Rock

Mura robh sibh anns an sgìre sin fhathast, dh’fhaodainn a moladh dhuibh.  Tha tòrr ann air a bhiodh sibh eòlach gu leòr airson faireachdainn aig an taigh, ach aig an aon àm gu leòr rudan ùra, taitneach agus iongantach ann. Is fhiach fhaicinn!

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/areastan/index.html
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Fife – the East Neuk Villages

This summer we spent a week in the Kingdom of Fife, and although there are lots of attractive and interesting things in that area, it’s the fishing villages of East Fife that we liked the best. Maybe this is because they’re similar in some ways to our Easter Ross villages but they’re also attractive enough in their own right, just as good if not better than the calendar views we’re all familar with.

Cidhe Chathair Aile / Crail harbour

First we were in Crail at the eastern end of the East Neuk, and what a lovely town it is, bigger and more prosperous-looking than we’d expected. You can see that it’s a long-established town with a trading history too, with the big stone merchants’ houses of the upper town as well as the solid homes and storehouses in the lower town by the quay. You see the Dutch influence in the quay itself, with the slabs being placed vertically instead of horizontally. There are red tiles on many roofs in Fife, instead of slate, reminding us of the centuries of trade with Holland. The boats would leave with coal from the Fife mines and return with red pantiles as ballast. It’s for crab and lobser that Crail is famous, and there were creels lying everywhere and lobster being sold from a hut on the harbour. Nowadays there are lots of flowers on the houses and around the village and every house is freshly painted, which certainly wouldn’t have been the case back then when the the fishing and trading way of life was harder.

Cellardyke

But we were now really looking forward to our next port of call, which we had seen on the map was Cellardyke, and which has close links with the Seaboard; the extended Wood family of Hilton, whom we’re connected to ourselves, all originated there. The inhabitants of Cellardyke proudly call themselves “Dykers” and I knew myself from my childhood that ancestors of my mother’s relative and friend, Katie Ross, had the by-name “Dyker” or “Decker”, and their house used to be called Fife Cottage. Katie, who’s very interested in family history, has often mentioned the town. Cellardyke isn’t as romantic a town as Crail, though it’s attractive enough too, with its large harbour and workmanlike appearance, and washing still flapping on the line down at the quay as it used to. There were very few visitors, despite it being a lovely sunny day in the holidays. We found a nice wee picnic spot there, though, and were happy to make use of it as usual (we love picnics, and we had the perfect weather for them), and read the very interesting information-boards about the harbour and the town. It’s said that Cellardkye comes from “Siller Dyke”, from the nets full of silver fish-scales hung out to dry on the seawall. I took lots of photos for Katie…

When I got back I found a very nice funny wee dialect song about Cellardyke, which I’ll quote at the end.

Taigh-taisgaidh Ànstruthair / Anstruther Museum

Anstruther, or Anster (pronounced “Ainster”), is joined directly on to Cellardyke nowadays and is much bigger and busier, with its famous fish and chip shop and its large harbour, full of small vessels of all sorts, though mostly pleasure-boats. You don’t see much of the area’s fishing history there now, but the town has something else that more than makes up for it – the Scottish Fisheries Museum. I can’t recommend that too highly. In my opinion every Scot should go there at least once in his life. I’ve seldom been in such a fascinating museum (and I’ve been in a lot). It’s not the usual display, but different themed ‘galleries’, with model boats (Zulus, scaffies etc), tableaux (e.g. herring girls), paintings, videos, and the history of the the different boats, like the Zulus (so called due to the respect the Scots had for the brave, noble Zulus during the Zulu Wars).

The Reaper (1902)

There are also  rooms from a fisherman’s house, with the tools of their trade, and a whole series of real boats from Scotland’s fishing history, big and small, in large, bright, airy halls. The whole thing is housed in a collection of old fishermen’s houses and yards, right beside the harbour. We were there for hours (but there is a café!).

Taeping

They also have a  working 100-year-old sailing-boat from the herring fishing, The Reaper, which we saw in Crail harbour. It’s from Anstruther and Cellardyke that Captains Keay and Rodgers of the clippers Ariel and Taeping came, famous in the “tea races” of the 1860s.
http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/

Baile na h-Uaimhe / Pittenweem

We also really liked the next two towns, Pittenweem and St Monans, both built on raised beaches like Crail, the upper part with the bigger houses and the shops, the churches and schools, and the lower part with the harbours, and the steep, narrow, twisted streets on the brae in between. We saw more examples of the red roofs and also plenty of crow-stepped gables, both features reminding us of the trade with Holland, and of how important Pittenweem was then with its large harbour and fishmarket. Friends of mine got married in the cliff-top Auld Kirk of St Monans a couple of years ago, and it’s truly a lovely place, light and peaceful, looking straight over the Forth to the Bass Rock.

Elie

The last town of the East Neuk coast, Elie, now joined on to Earlsferry, is completely different. It has a large harbour, but it’s full of sand, and at low tide all you see is dozens of children building sandcastles.The name Elie came from “Eilean Ard Rois” (the harbour was built on that small island), and we saw an old crow-stepped doocot like the Cadboll one near an Ardross Farm and the ruins of Ardross Castle. The earl who used the ferry was allegedly Macduff, fleeing from Macbeth.

St Monans

If you haven’t yet been in the area, I can only recommend you to go.  There’s plenty you’d be familiar enough with to feel at home, but at the same time plenty of new, attractive and surprising things to see which make it well worth visiting.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/areastan/index.html

Thanks to the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther for special permission to use photographs taken in the museum (as indicated).

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Song: A Dyker’s Compliments to Her Neighbours

This song was made by Scott Murray of the Fife song group Sangsters. Scott went to visit a group of elderly ladies living in Ladywalk House in Anstruther as part of a songwriting project in Fife in 1998-2000 run by the organisation New Makars Trust which works to support people writing songs about where they live. (Ed. They were interested in the Seaboard, after I approached them for permission to print the song here, so maybe something will come out of that.)

He explained that ‘The ladies were adamant that they were having nothing to do with actual songwriting. ‘Dinna be daft, son – is that not what ye dae?’ They came out with stories, I took notes of the gallus Dyker (Cellardyke, next to Anstruther) sayings and gathered together strands.’
Chorus
Keep yer ain fish guts tae yer ain sea maws
Anster daws, tattie shaws
Keep yer ain fish guts tae yer ain sea maws
Lyin amang the deid craws

An wha’s acht you ma bonnie lass
That moved here in the simmer?
Ah kent yer faither at the scale
He’s a torn-ersed Pittenweemer

Ye lookin at me, ye Anster daw?
Ah’ll cowp ye in a dub sir
An wha cried ye a partan face
An ye sae like a lobster?

What’s that ye’re sayin? Ah canna tell
Ye styipit shilpit moaner
Ye’re nae frae here, Ah’m shair o that
Ye’re a St Minnens droner

Ye can keep yer Crail an Pittenweem
Yer Anster an St Minnens
Daft Dyker’s whit ye cry us aa
Awa back hame, guid riddance

Listen to Scott singing it, inimitably, here: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandssongs/secondary/genericcontent_tcm4572775.asp

Thanks to Scott and the New Makars for permission to use this, and to the LTS Scotland site for background and audio link.

The New Makars Trust:  http://www.newmakarstrust.org.uk/

The Sangsters: http://www.scottish-folk-music.com/bands-singers-pages/band-sangsters.htm

Taigh-tasgaigh Ànstruthair / Anstruther Museum