Said the codlin to the flook ‘Foo does your mou crook?’
Said the flook to the codlin ‘My mou`s no been aiven since I swam by Johnshaven’
Foreword
You may well ponder why Betty and I felt it necessary to produce this little book: put simply - our return to the village in January 1981 coincided approximately with David’s flit from Church Road to 2 River Street, since when David became progressively neighbour, friend and family until his death in October 2002. His passing leaves a void which suggested the need to share our memories with as many as may be interested.
But there is at least one other reason. David was within 3 months of his 95th birthday, which made him one of the oldest Ferrydeners. His life spanned the last century of the second millennium, a century which was arguably amongst the most violent historically, and without doubt a period which saw the most accelerated rate of change to the way we live.
So David’s life is a snapshot of a significant period of history. His stories modestly reflect the views and attitudes of the times and seemed worth recording.
The material has been gathered directly from David since 1981. No one who knew him could fail to be impressed by the extent and accuracy of his memory. Nevertheless, there have been a handful of occasions when David’s powers of recall have let him down, and this is compounded by our own ability to remember the details as recounted by him. It follows that this modest example of oral history is offered in good faith with no refunds for indisputable inaccuracies! If there are mistakes and omissions, (as there will be) Betty and I would be grateful if you would bring them to our notice for purpose of information and correction.
The format of the booklet stems principally from the fact that the village lies on an East/West axis which makes the landscape format visually logical, and makes reference to the maps with North pointing upwards, visually easy.
The interleaving of transparent paper with the photographs and maps, is done to facilitate the addition of notes and identification of places and faces by readers. As before, Betty and I would be grateful for your help in adding to the record with your input.
David's Book is available as printed booklet from "The Sheddie" at 41 King St. Ferryden.
Alternatively, you may view or download as a pdf - David's Book