Mrs Fisher's parents' employment away from Barra, in fish-gu...
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1986.161
Original Tape ID
Summary
Mrs Fisher's parents' employment away from Barra, in fish-gutting and Glasgow docks.
When Morag Fisher was a child her mother worked at fish-gutting on Barra in the summer, then following the fleet round to Yarmouth and back home about Christmas.The neighbours kept an eye on the children while she was away. At that time there were more than twenty gutting stations in Castlebay, and four or five hundred boats packed so closely you could walk across the bay on them. Big Russian sailing boats came for the cured herring and mackerel. Mrs Fisher's mother worked in a crew of three, two gutters and a packer. They got £6 arles [earnest money] at the start, based on how many barrels they filled that day. She describes how the herring were gutted and packed in barrels.
Mrs Fisher's father worked on a grain elevator at the Glasgow docks. He sent £5 to his family in Vatersay every Friday, and a big box of groceries once a fortnight. He stayed in lodgings.
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Cd
Audio Quality
Good