I am not generally very keen on biographies and autobiographies but this one is very well written, informative and entertaining. The author was born on the Isle of Harris in 1926. When he was about 4 years old his family moved to another part of the island when one of the large estates on the west coast of Harris was broken up on the orders of the government and rented out to 8 crofters, who had to build their own houses and farm the land.
Crowdie & Cream covers Finlay’s life up to about the age of 10. He also wrote 2 other memoirs – Crotal and White (1983) and The Corncrake and the Lysander (1985), which are currently out of print and which presumably cover the later years of his childhood. Crowdie and Cream is still in print. Under its Gaelic title - 'Gruth is Uachdar – it was serialised in a BBC Scotland drama production in 2002.The author has a remarkable eye for detail and a real gift for storytelling and the book is a joy to read. He was also a radio and television producer and died in 1987. For those who don't know crowdie is a type of soft cheese. 8/10
Islands covered - Harris
One of several glorious beaches on the west coast of Harris
This Land Raiders Memorial is actually at Balallan on the Isle of Lewis.
It is one of 4 on the island to commemorate the struggles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by impoverished local people to obtain land for them to farm from mainly absentee landlords, who used their vast estates for shooting and fishing. The land raiders are mentioned in Crowdie & Cream.
No comments:
Post a Comment