Book revives memories of Caithness crofting life
A CANCER survivor has committed to print her childhood memories of life on a croft in Caithness.
Marigold Stewart had always wanted to write a book about her experience growing up in the post-World War Two times of austerity.
She wanted to let her two children know of the humble existence of her parents, Kenny and Dennie, and her seven siblings.
The spur for writing Kenny’s Bairns came after she was diagnosed with cancer in June 2005. Fortunately, after treatment, she was given the all-clear.
Ms Stewart said: “I first put pen to paper in 1997 but it wasn’t until I was told I had cancer that I really started writing seriously. It gave me the stimulus I needed to get on with it.”
The book centres on family life in the traditional crofting township at Sarclet, near Thrumster. The 62-year-old first-time author said: “I wanted to get over how different my lifestyle was to my own kids’ growing up. We didn’t have mains water or electricity or a car. There was no TV or many of the other things kids would now view as necessities.”
She recalls how she and her sisters and brothers would each be given sixpence on a Saturday out of their father’s pay packet.That (the equivalent of just over 2p) would be their pocket money for the week.
They would walk the mile to and from school in Thrumster in all weathers.
Ms Stewart, of Weir Crescent, Milton, said: “We didn’t think we were particularly badly off as everybody round about was in the same boat. Though my kids couldn’t imagine what it would have been like, it was an acceptable existence and hopefully in my book I get over the many happy times we had.”
Ms Stewart, who was born in the croft house, lived there until she was 22 when she married. Her book chronicles family life up to 14 when her father died of a heart attack at the age of 55.
She arranged for hard-back copies of her 117-page book to be presented to her teacher daughter, Wendy and son Gordon, an offshore worker, and her six surviving siblings.
All were present at a recent family get-together apart from Marigold’s sister, Betty, who appeared via Skype from her home in the US.
Though the croft house is now unoccupied, it is still visited by members of the family while Marigold’s older brother, Kenny, has built a house beside it.
The book is being publicly launched from a stall at the Caithness County Show in Wick.