Carefree Childhood Days

A Memory of Auchtertool.

I remember 'guddling' for trout in the Teal Burn in Auchtertool.  Most of the lads in the village tried it at one time or another. When we caught one we would measure it by placing the nose of the trout on our finger tips and the tail along our arm towards the elbow. The aim was to catch one that reached all the way up to the elbow but of course we never did. After all we were growing lads and each year our arms would be a little longer. Anyway there wasn't a trout big enough in the Teal.
Also my brother Jack taught me how to catch rabbits bare handed. We would go into a farmer's field and there would be clumps of nettles all around. In most of the clumps would be a rabbit laying clapped. He would walk slowly up to a clump and after asserting that a rabbit was clapped, he would let himself fall on top of it. We used to catch quite a few that way.  We also got stung fairly badly but nothing a 'dockleaf' couldn't cure.
During the chestnut season, me and my wee pals would travel far and wide to get the best 'conkers'.  Throwing 'cudgels' up at the out of reach chestnuts were the best way to get them down from the trees but once when I had to climb the tree to get some, the branch broke and I fell and landed on the bank of a burn and broke my leg. My wee pal ( His name escapes me) run the two miles back home to tell my mum. My mum said to Jack,go and get  Harry as he might have broken his leg.  My big brother was listening to the radio at the time and said ''aye, just wait until I hear the end of Dick Barton''. My leg was in plaster for six weeks.

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