Memories

06/02/2021

A while ago Colin Thomson's daughter Amanda got in contact with us. Sadly Colin suffers from Vascular and Alzheimer's dementia. Amanda wanted to make a memory book for her Father and she asked us if we had any old photographs or newspaper clippings of him so that she could make a Memory Book for him. We put out a request on our Facebook Page and we had a great response and we found a few more photos of him. We were also delighted to receive a lovely detailed written account by Lindsay Mathewson. Lindsay was the son of the farmer at Shethin where Colin grew up. With Lindsay and Amanda's permission we've put Lindsay's memories about Colin and his family on this Heritage Blog. It really is a heartwarming read and we've heard from Amanda that her Father was extremely touched and happy to hear about some of his family and friends.

We're also grateful to Graham Simmers for getting in touch and sharing the photograph below of Colin and his family.

Lindsay wrote.......

"I am sorry to hear about your father’s problems. I’m the son of the farmer at Shethin at the time Colin was growing up there - I was a 'little boy' (6 years younger) and he was a 'big boy' so our paths did not cross much but here goes: The families living round about were The Camerons at Mill of Ythsie (Icy) had two boys Allan and Brian. Brian was older than me but younger than Colin. He used to snare and shoot rabbits beside the wood at Ythsie with a crossbow. At the bottom of the farm road were two families, the Addies and the Robertsons. Willy Robertson was the shepherd & grieve until he retired. My memory of him was that he was ancient and I don’t remember any kids. Willy Addie had a daughter called Elma, older than me so no stories there. Willy himself was a cattleman and looked after the ‘bottom byre’. He was a gentle soul and at ‘piece’ time always had a bap spread with jam made from wild raspberries: he trained robins to come to his hand to eat crumbs. His most memorable feature was his false teeth, with a groove worn out where he always placed his pipe. I think he smoked 'bogie roll' - powerful anyway. Living next to the steading were the Hardies and the Simmers. A total gender split there: Harry Hardie was a tractor man like your grandfather with two red haired daughters, Patricia, (about Colin’s age ?) and Margaret, (Muggie Hardie), maybe a year older than me; Sandy Simmers became the grieve and he and Rosie had 4? boys - James, Gordon, Eric and Graham. At the top of the farm road, a long way from Quarry Cottage where Colin lived, were the Baxters. I think Wattie Baxter was a cattleman with 2? Daughters - Susanne?? & Yvone ? Watty left for a farm near Newmacher when I was young. There was also a family of Shewins living at the top of the road and a family of Coopers nearby. At the farmhouse Jimmy and Nonie Mathewson had two daughters and me. Mum loved her garden and Colin might remember thick snowdrops and daffodils in the spring. I am sure that some of the Thomson family helped in the garden, building low walls, digging and doing jobs that I didn’t have skills for, (I was allowed to pick bunches of snowdrops and daffs for sale). I seem to remember that Colins older brother Ronald did a lot and maybe went on to be a gardener for Aberdeen hospitals? Did his dad Bill Thomson build the little walls round the vegetable garden. Colin made an impression on at least one of the two red headed daughters, Pamela and Sheila. Sheila remembers him as thin, handsome (& freckled ?). Coming home from Tarves primary school Sheila wanted to cycle with Colin and his sister Rosie - she was given permission only if she ’scrumped’ some apples from Mr Stewart the minister’s garden. She did but felt too guilty to eat them. I can’t be sure if it was Colin or Rosie who was doing the ‘leading astray’. It is funny how writing this makes me remember how much time was spent back then in growing and foraging for food. Gardening, picking wild fruit, (and domestic !), and trapping vermin for the pot. I’m sure Colin must have had chores related to the garden, collecting and spreading muck as free fertiliser, etc. At the time Bill his father would have got 21 pints of milk a week and half a tonne of potatoes as perquisites of his job. Feeding a family of eight people would have been hard work. Any spare milk might have been made into milk puddings, is that a memory ? Im sure there must have been plenty of less pleasant memories - neeps in soup maybe ? May used to help my mother in the farmhouse and all three of us kids (as we were then) remember that she was a dab hand at mint squares - chocolate over mint over a biscuit base. I hope you got some of them Colin because I am drooling right now. Bill Thomson, your grandfather, taught me a new expression. Colin might have heard this story ? When I was walking home from primary school one harvest day, Bill was turning out of a rough gateway near Raxton with a full cart load of grain. He was going very slowly so as not to spill on the rough bit and I decided to creep up under the cart and sit on the axle to get a lift home.This was very successful but I couldn’t get off near the farmhouse because by that stage he was going too fast. Bill had backed the cart onto the ‘pit' at the grain drier before I was discovered, when he was tipping the cart up. Right in front of my father who was manning the grain drier. Big surprise for both. Bill collared and said, “I've a craw to pluck wi’ you laddie…” He informed me of the error of my ways ! ‘Big boys' & ‘little boys' did not cross paths much in those days so I can’t provide anything more personal to Colin. I hope some of the above provokes a response."

Lindsay Mathewson

From left to right Rosie, May, Brian and Colin. Phot taken by Mrs Simmers at Raxton Wood near Shethin, Tarves.

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