Christina Hall was born into a crofting family on the Outer Hebridean island of South Uist in 1938. This is an autobiographical account of her childhood. At the age of 41/2 she was sent to live with 2 unmarried aunts, one of whom was the headmistress of a school on the island of Benbecula. She only returned home for school holidays. 2 years later she moved with them to the island of Barra and she lived there until she was 10 when she returned to her family on South Uist. The account of her family life, schooldays, crofting and a traditional 3 day hebridean wedding is similar in many ways to the one related by Finlay J Macdonald on the nearby island of Harris a decade earlier in his autobiography Crowdie and Cream. It is a very accessible and informative account of everyday life in the Outer Hebrides in the middle of the 20th century.
The second part of Christina Hall's autobiography is Twice around the Bay, which was first published in 2001. The 2 parts have been published together as one book called Tales from an Island. 7/10
Islands covered - South Uist, Barra, Benbecula and Flodda
Kisimul Castle, Castlebay, Barra
Barra Airport Runway - yes the planes take off and land on the beach!
Traigh Mor, Eoligarry
Near Howmore, west coast of South Uist
South Uist
Benbecula - causeway to South Uist - the completion of this causeway in 1942 is mentioned in this book.
Eoligarry, Barra
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