Some Childhood Years In Sorbie 1932 T0 1937

A Memory of Sorbie.

The family moved from Reay in Caithness to Sorbie in 1932 - I was 2 years old and had a sister who was 12 years old and a brother, 10 years old, so there was a huge difference in ages and I was brought up as a sort of "only child." My recollections begin when I was about four years old. My father was the Headmaster of the village school and he had two teachers under him. We lived in the Schoolhouse which was a very substantial building close by the school in its own cul de sac. My first recollections were of two ladies who lived across from us behind a very high fence. They were very kind to our family over the years. They were both single women, the elder was a Justice of the Peace and sat on the Bench in Wigtown. The other lady had been an ambulance driver in the front line area during World War 1 - a very dangerous undertaking. Next door to us was Mr Dixon the Joiner (Carpenter), who could built anything in wood from farm carts to coffins. I was fascinated by his workshop and I spent many hours standing in the doorway watching him. He made farm carts from the first plank of wood, making the box, shafts and wheels. When he had made the wheels he took them over to the blacksmith (Tommy Woods) across the street and he would put on iron rims. When the cart was completed Mr Dixon would paint it. And then in a few days a farm labourer would arrive astride a large Clydesdale horse. He would hitch up the cart and off he'd would go, back to the farm.
My mother would do all her shopping in Whithorn, some five or six miles away and I would be taken with her. First of all we would visit the grocer, Mr Laurie. He had a couple of assistants and my mother always hoped that she would get one of them to attend to her instead of Mr Laurie as when he took a bag to put her purchases in, he would blow into the top to open it. My mother feared that he would blow his GERMS on the contents of the bag!! The next stop was to the butchers, which I hated as there were carcasses of animals hanging from hooks in the roof of the shop. From these carcasses the butcher would slice off the portion ordered. There were other shops to visit depending on what my mother needed. When we were finished we would go to the drapers where you could buy cloth to make dresses, aprons, or whatever, and needles and thread etc. The shop was run by Miss Niven, a relative of Miss Niven in Sorbie. Then we went to the back of the shop and into the main part of the house, to have cup of tea (milk and a cookie for me). A good gossip for my mother, and then we caught the bus back to Sorbie.
We had a maid. She was usually a an older girl or a young woman from the village who my mother would train to make beds, clean floors, silver and furniture - this in the mornings and in the afternoon, the maid would change into a uniform of a black dress with a white starched apron and a frilly cap on her head. She would open the door to visitors and then bring in all the necessities for my mother to serve tea and cakes to whomever was visiting. I was NOT present and stayed with the maid in the kitchen which was much more fun. My father was usually home around 4.45 and we sat down to dinner at 5.30 which was served by the maid. Afterwards she tidied up, washed the dishes and left for the day.
Sorbie was a country village and was located in a mainly farming area. The children who came to school were mostly the children of the farm labourers. I have to say that they were not paid very much and lived in cottages provided by the farmer. Many of these "tied" cottages left much to be desired. My father put on an operetta in the village called "Agatha" it was a musical story about a child kidnapped by the gypsies and had a happy ending. Between my mother, the two teachers in the school and a couple of women from the village, costumes were made, Mr Dixon made the scenery and my mother played the piano. My father found some men with good voices in the village (they had had no idea that they could sing!) and the performance was huge success. The Director of Education for Wigtownshire came and was delighted with what my father had done with the children. Dr MacIntosh came from the same part of the North as my father, so they were friends and he remained a very good friend of the family for many years after my parents had retired and lived in the South of England. One last word on the Jubilee in 1935 of George V. There was a great celebration in the village with fireworks and dancing.
We left in 1937 for Perthshire and another school. I have fond memories of my youngest days in Sorbie. Returning many years later, I found that it had sadly changed But so had I!

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