Audio cassette recording of Elsie MacKinnon of Lodge Farm, Kirkapol talking to her daughter Fiona MacKinnon in June 1998.
Elsie MacKinnon of Lodge Farm, Kirkapol talks to her daughter Fiona in June 1998 about her adoption by Katie MacKinnon in 1925 when aged 9, the differences between Ashford in Middlesex where she came from and Tiree, her schooldays in Scarinish and Kirkapol, the work she did on Saturdays, toys and presents, Sundays on Tiree, the work on the croft, learning Gaelic, the population of the island, school sports, the work her aunt did and playing with friends, a school picnic at the Ringing Stone, the sense of community, fostering children, the people in Kirkapol, the construction of Ormer Cottage and the fire in the Scarinish shop.
Because thatching is so labour intensive, islanders have experimented with different roofing materials as they became available. The most popular has been a layer of felt laid on wooden sarking which is then tarred every other year.
The roof timbers were largely retained so that the shape of the new black roofs resembled that of the thatch. This design allowed small windows to be put into the roof space which give a more usable upper floor.
Putting a modern roof on to old walls has given the traditional houses a new life to an extent not seen anywhere else in Scotland. This was helped by a Housing Action Scheme run by the local authority in the 1980s which encouraged the renovation of existing houses rather than the building of new ‘kit’ houses.
Colour photograph of Taigh Raonaild in Brock in 2003.
Taigh Raonaild in Brock photographed by Dr John Holliday in 2003.
