A blast from the past returns with Legends of the Pentland Firth illustrated book
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A popular book of Caithness-based mythical tales that originally hit local bookshelves in 1977 has just got a new lease of life and is on sale at John O'Groats.
The Legends of the Pentland Firth is illustrated by Barbara Myatt, formerly of Thurso, and is composed of folk tales gathered together by the late Hetty Munro.
"Hetty had all these notes on the legends that she'd accumulated over the years and wanted them in a book so she asked me if I'd cooperate with her to do some drawings for it," said Barbara who now lives in Lytham St Annes in Lancashire.
Henrietta Munro (1912-1989), better known as Hetty, was born in Thurso and is remembered across Caithness as the owner of The Ship’s Wheel antiques shop, and as a former member of the Auxiliary Territorial Army (ATS) during the Second World War. She authored diaries about her WWII experiences, wrote poetry and plays and helped to furnish the Castle of Mey for the Queen Mother. Hetty is also fondly remembered as an aficionado of the local arts scene in Thurso.
"She was one who restarted the Caithness Artists exhibition as it had died off a bit during the Second World War," said Barbara. "She was very keen on collecting stories about Thurso and local folklore. I think people are probably more aware now than ever about the importance of collecting these tales. She had seen my work at a Caithness Artists show and asked me to illustrate the book. I like using my imagination so it suited me well."
Barbara said the book was a "great success" when it first appeared in 1977 and she travelled around the county and over to Orkney with Hetty to promote it. When she moved away from Thurso to be nearer her family, her grandson Ben Morris said it would be a great idea to republish the book. "It's a bit easier with the computer nowadays compared to what it was. We decided the original cover was a bit dull so Ben found someone who was good at printing and redid it with different colours and it made it more attractive and up to date we thought."
The book has 20 folk tales from Caithness that include stories about fairy mounds, the lost gold of Dirlot Castle, clan battles, mermaids and numerous ghostly apparitions. It is lavishly illustrated throughout by Barbara and is currently on sale for a very reasonable £6.
The Legends of the Pentland Firth is only available to buy from three outlets in John O'Groats – The First and Last Shop, the Tourist Office and the Groatie Buckie shop.
