- TITLE
- Black Isle Heritage Memories - Hermione Protheroe (11 of 11)
- EXTERNAL ID
- ARCH_HERMI_PROTHEROE_03_04
- OLD COUNTY/PARISH
- ROSS
- DATE OF RECORDING
- 2010
- PERIOD
- 2010s
- CREATOR
- Hermi Protheroe
- SOURCE
- ARCH (Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands)
- ASSET ID
- 41107
- KEYWORDS
- audios
built environment
villages
dwellings
houses
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.
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.
Transcription: (Interviewer: Cait McCullagh)
CM: But there's a lot of shops?
HP: Yes.
CM: A lot of shops.
HP: Mmm-hmm.
CM: As you've said, as well, the other shops down at Henrietta and ...
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.
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?
HP: Staff, yes, yes.
CM: Now I think you probably remember a little bit more about that. Do you want to tell us a bit more?
HP: Well as I say I can't remember being up at it. but I believe it was a marriage stone.
CM: Can you tell me a bit more about marriage stones?
HP: I can't really.
CM: No, no. And it was a stone that you saw from the road where you were up ...?
HP: Oh yes, a big pillar, five, six feet maybe.
CM: A big standing ...
HP: Of course it looked like that as young children.
CM: So, a big standing stone?
HP: Uh- huh. I don't remember going up and reading anything, but, memory's ...
CM: But that's right that somebody has told you that people carved their names ...
HP: Yes. Uh-huh.
CM: ... when they got married ...
HP: Uh-huh.
CM: ... at the stone?
HP: Ye-es, but I've never heard of anybody getting married - a bit before my time, I suppose [laughs]
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.
HP: Oh yes, you know the new, well, of course MacKenzie, they started building that and ...
CM: All the houses.
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.
CM: Mmm-hmm.
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.'
CM: Well, maybe that's something we can do when the weather gets better.
HP: Yes, we were just thinking of that; it'd be nice to do, that.
CM: Have a walk through the village
HP: And seeing the places, you know, makes you think more ...
CM: Mmm.
HP: ... you remember more of it. And the old worthies that stayed.
CM: Mmm. Wellm we will do that. We will do that.
HP: Yes, yes.
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.
HP: Oh, oh - the Queen's Maid?
CM: Mmm, but I think she was a Maid to the Princess Margaret perhaps, but ...
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.
CM: Oh well then, must be.
HP: But they were born in Avoch? I didn't know that.
CM: Yes [laughs]. Oh well Hermy, we'll get Don to tell us more about that.
HP: Yes, yes. He's very informative.
CM: Thank you very much
HP: Not at all.
CM:Thank you for all your time.
HP: A pleasure.
CM: Thank you.
HP: A pleasure.