Fond Memories

A Memory of Twechar.

I lived at Mid Shirva Farm from 1950 till 1964. My father was the byreman, he was known as Wee Jock and my mum was Jan. I had a happy time growing up there; the summers seemed to be endless. I played in the fields during the harvest, following behind the workers with my dog trailing behind me. No shortage of babysitters, we always watched for the northern lights over the Campsie Hills, what a sight, I have never forgotten it. The winters were cold, we only had one coal fire, no gas or electricity, the winter frosts always made the trees look like fairyland. We saw many families come and go over the years we were there. The Smillies, Coulsons, Jim and Morag Roddan - they had just got married and I used to ask Morag if she was coming out to play, the Clellands and many more. I played for hours on the old mine pretending that it was a Roman fort. We always had people knocking on the door asking about the Antonine Wall. During the summer I remember my teenage cousins and their boy/girl friends arriving and my dad would get the mouth organ out and that was the entertainment. We would all congregate in the side barn and they would all dance the night away. My brother Geordie's pals, Tommy Law, Wattie Carruthers, Davie Robertson, Ian Marklow, Heckie Munro who joined the navy with Geordie. Bobby Clark was another, they lived on the canal houses. I have been away for many years and recently moved back to Scotland. I took my grandsons to see where I grew up and I can't believe how the main farm has fallen into disrepair. I remember it as one of the loveliest farms in the area. The Mid Shirva was always whitewashed in the spring. I remember my dad finishing the milking, coming home for his supper and him and my mum out with the brushes and the whitewash till last light. The scenery is still outstanding and nothing will ever change that. The village has changed as well, all the miners houses have nearly all gone. I moved to Alexander Ave when I was fifteen. That hasn't changed much. I had a drive round - the one thing that I noticed was the lack of people. When I was young the neighbours were always out talking to each other and watching the kids play. The engine yard has gone but I love the way its been made into a play field. The local shops have changed, no Coop Hamiltons or Paisleys shop, Teenie Boyd who had turned her front room into a little shop and could always be relied upon - you wouldn't get many shops nowadays giving you credit till the end of the week like the village shops did.
I often wonder what happened to my shool friends who left the village shool in 1965 same time as myself. I met my first true love there, Robert Wright, he worked at the farm and he lived along the road in Alexander Ave. I hope he married and lived happy ever after. I have so many fond memories of my childhood I could write a book and probably bore you all.