Continuing on the theme of the Grandparent Project...
HOLLY
When Papa was about eleven or twelve, he noticed that the holly trees near where he lived had really good berries. This was quite unusual. Most years, the berries made a pretty poor showing but this particular year was a good one.
As Papa and his friend Gordon gazed at the berries on the holly trees they had an idea and the idea they had, entailed making some money. They decided to cut the holly, make it into lovely bunches and go up to the homes at Tannoch Loch and sell the holly.
The homes up at Tannoch Loch were where the posh people lived so Gordon and Papa felt they would have a good chance of getting plenty of people willing to buy their bunches of holly.
Then Gordon's older brother Ronald heard about the success Papa and Gordon were making with their wee business, especially as it was near Christmas and everyone was very happy to buy holly and put it around their house.
Ronald and his friend who were a few years older than Gordon and Papa more or less took the business from them and decided to cut the holly and sell it themselves. However when they made their way up to the Tannoch Loch houses, who do you think was waiting for them? Yes! It was the Police! Before Ronald and his friend could say "Holly for sale!", they were dragged off to the police station along with their lovely bags of holly.
Apparently one of the residents of Tannoch Loch had reported Papa and Gordon which I think, was a pretty poor show considering it was Christmas and all and poor Ronald and his friend were the culprits who were arrested. Perhaps it was their comeuppance for taking the business from Papa and Gordon. After Ronald and his friend were told off for selling without a license and sent home, they sadly made their way to the front door of the Police Station to head for home. As they were leaving, they turned around and looked back to see the policemen gaily placing holly all around the Police Station.
CAMPING
When Papa and Gordon were quite young, they decided to climb the Campsie Fells and camp out for the night. This was quite an adventurous decision for two little boys but apparently Papa's mother was quite all right about Papa's proposed camping trip. I'm not sure about Gordon's mother but she must have been fine with the plan too.
So, off went Gordon and Papa carrying all their camping gear in their school bags and their mothers' shopping bags. They had a tin of baked beans, a tin of ambrosia creamed rice, some tea, one pot to cook everything in and a blanket each. They had also borrowed a tent from someone (with no groundsheet) to sleep in through the night.
The hike up to the Campsie Fells took two to three hours and at the top glen near the Falls of Balagan, they pitched their tent and got a fire going. They were very thankful for the fire, especially the smoke from the fire as Papa said the midges were just dreadful. After eating their baked beans, washing out the pot and then making some tea, they gathered some bracken to put inside their tent for sleeping on. While they were doing all this, they noticed a herd of cows in the distance but didn't give them too much thought.
Once they had finished eating and had everything organised in the tent, they settled down for the night.
Some time very early in the morning when it was still dark, all the cows came down from the hill above and were crashing all around the tent. Papa and Gordon quickly jumped out of their tents and dragged lots of branches to place around the tent to help protect themselves. Finally when they felt themselves a bit safer, they crawled back into the tent and hid themselves from the marauding beasts.
Finally it was morning and they crawled out of their tents early and lit the fire. Papa pulled out his Ambrosia creamed rice and began heating it in his little pot over the fire. The smell of the creamy rice made Gordon feel sick so Papa scoffed the lot. After packing up and dowsing the fire, the two boys started to head for home. On the way home when they were crossing the moors, they decided to make another fire when suddenly they were surrounded by about fifty soldiers. The soldiers were from a Highland Regiment of the Army Reserve and couldn't believe that these two little boys had climbed the Campsie Fells and had camped out overnight. Finally Papa and Gordon said goodbye to the soldiers and as they headed off, the soldiers gave them some chocolate to eat on their way home.
BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT
I asked Papa what his biggest accomplishment was and he said there are two:
1. Marrying me.
2. And having a wonderful family which includes nine grandchildren.
When Papa and I were younger we had two dear friends called Margaret and Roy. Uncle Roy used to always say that our Heavenly Father and our relationships with others is all that is really important. "All else" he said, "is stubble and hay."
INFLUENCE IN BECOMING A BUILDER
Papa said that as far as he can remember all he ever wanted to do was to be a carpenter. Even as a very young child, he would wander around his mum's home with a wee toolbox asking what he could repair. Also whenever he passed workshops, of which there were a few in the village, he would go in and ask if they had any scraps he could have. He would take these home and make things like shelves for his mum.
Papa said that becoming a prize-winning Builder of architecturally designed homes has only been a bonus in his initial desire and achievement in becoming a carpenter.
