Black Isle Heritage Memories - Hermione Protheroe (11 of 11)

In this audio extract Avoch resident, Hermione Protheroe, talks about some of the shops in the village. She also mentions a local landmark, the Giant's Staff.<br /> <br /> The audio recording was carried out as part of the Black Isle Heritage Memories Project, undertaken in 2009/2010 by ARCH (Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands). To find out more about the project, follow the link towards the foot of the page.<br /> <br /> Transcription: (Interviewer: Cait McCullagh)<br /> <br /> CM: But there's a lot of shops?<br /> <br /> HP: Yes.<br /> <br /> CM: A lot of shops. <br /> <br /> HP: Mmm-hmm.<br /> <br /> CM: As you've said, as well, the other shops down at Henrietta and ...<br /> <br /> HP: There was that one at Henrietta [?] they called him Cheek. [?] I think the woman's ... The woman came from Cromarty and I think that was probably a nickname. But her son, Thomas, after he came back from the war he had a van and went round Killen and all round about with the groceries. And the butchers had vans too, of course.<br /> <br /> CM: And, we've remembered, em, most of the village now, I would say, we've probably covered a lot of ground, but I want to take you back out on your walk when you went down to Craigach and you talked earlier about the Giant's Staff?<br /> <br /> HP: Staff, yes, yes.<br /> <br /> CM: Now I think you probably remember a little bit more about that. Do you want to tell us a bit more?<br /> <br /> HP: Well as I say I can't remember being up at it. but I believe it was a marriage stone.<br /> <br /> CM: Can you tell me a bit more about marriage stones?<br /> <br /> HP: I can't really.<br /> <br /> CM: No, no. And it was a stone that you saw from the road where you were up ...?<br /> <br /> HP: Oh yes, a big pillar, five, six feet maybe. <br /> <br /> CM: A big standing ...<br /> <br /> HP: Of course it looked like that as young children.<br /> <br /> CM: So, a big standing stone?<br /> <br /> HP: Uh- huh. I don't remember going up and reading anything, but, memory's ...<br /> <br /> CM: But that's right that somebody has told you that people carved their names ...<br /> <br /> HP: Yes. Uh-huh.<br /> <br /> CM: ... when they got married ...<br /> <br /> HP: Uh-huh.<br /> <br /> CM: ... at the stone?<br /> <br /> HP: Ye-es, but I've never heard of anybody getting married - a bit before my time, I suppose [laughs]<br /> <br /> CM: Well, Hermy, that's been wonderful. You've a lot of Avoch memories and Avoch has changed has changed a great deal in the time since you were a child.<br /> <br /> HP: Oh yes, you know the new, well, of course MacKenzie, they started building that and ...<br /> <br /> CM: All the houses.<br /> <br /> HP: Yes, uh-huh. And a lot of new people have come in you know. We used to know everybody, well, just like all the villages now, we don't know everybody. <br /> <br /> CM: Mmm-hmm.<br /> <br /> HP: But I was coming up Margaret Street the other day and I thought, 'Gosh, I would like to come back down here and try to remember who stayed in these houses.'<br /> <br /> CM: Well, maybe that's something we can do when the weather gets better.<br /> <br /> HP: Yes, we were just thinking of that; it'd be nice to do, that.<br /> <br /> CM: Have a walk through the village<br /> <br /> HP: And seeing the places, you know, makes you think more ...<br /> <br /> CM: Mmm.<br /> <br /> HP: ... you remember more of it. And the old worthies that stayed.<br /> <br /> CM: Mmm. Wellm we will do that. We will do that.<br /> <br /> HP: Yes, yes.<br /> <br /> CM: And I'm fascinated to see the house where, where the Queen's maid was born, in George Street that Don was telling us about, Don Patience.<br /> <br /> HP: Oh, oh - the Queen's Maid?<br /> <br /> CM: Mmm, but I think she was a Maid to the Princess Margaret perhaps, but ...<br /> <br /> HP: Oh, was she MacDonald? Because I know, know on the way to Muir of Ord, just after Tore, there's a cottage up there, and the MacDonald sisters that were maids to, eh, Princess Margaret and the Queen.<br /> <br /> CM: Oh well then, must be.<br /> <br /> HP: But they were born in Avoch? I didn't know that.<br /> <br /> CM: Yes [laughs]. Oh well Hermy, we'll get Don to tell us more about that.<br /> <br /> HP: Yes, yes. He's very informative.<br /> <br /> CM: Thank you very much<br /> <br /> HP: Not at all.<br /> <br /> CM:Thank you for all your time.<br /> <br /> HP: A pleasure.<br /> <br /> CM: Thank you.<br /> <br /> HP: A pleasure.