Tog Blog

Moving on to Benbecula this month we feature Alec MacPhee from Nunton – Baile nan Cailleach – in our regular spotlight on contributors to Stòras Beò nan Gàidheal. Alec still lives in Nunton, and has three sons (Donald, Angus, and John), eight grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Here he talks to Archie Campbell, also a Benbecula man.

In the first part, Alec recalls his childhood in Nunton, and wartime schooling in Balivanich – Baile a’ Mhanaich – and then Torlum, including pranks in the playground, classroom, or garden, as well as crofting chores at home, and later with the peats. Leaving school at 14, he started his first paid job in the building trade at 16. He also recalls wartime memories of many different nationalities associated with the airport and POWs, including Australians, Poles, Germans and Italians. He talks too of the end-of-war celebrations and memories of the “Whisky Galore” SS Politician. He then spent some time in Glasgow.

A wordlinked transcript is available here: http://multidict.net/cs/8243

In the second part, Alec relates how he came back to the croft and then got work with a services company which took him and several friends out to St Kilda. He later got work with the Water Board, with whom he stayed until retirement. He also talks about recreational activities, including badminton and football, as well as dances and New Year customs and associated drinking practices. He describes how he met his wife, Margaret, and the details of their wedding, and tells a story of a commando who turned up in the Steadings. Discussion of army-community relations leads to reflection on the changes he’s seen in island life.

A wordlinked transcript is available here: http://multidict.net/cs/8244