Survivors and Sorcerers
A wee note on survival and a short story. Once upon a time there was a hidden settlement way over the hills above Loch Fyne called Allt Beithe. Now long forgotten, it was a cluster of little stone houses looking over the loch by a burn, and in a plot of fertile land. The story goes that one day a stranger ,a Macfarlane appeared, and asked the inhabitants for a cup of water. Now, the Macfarlanes were known as sorcerers, and the inhabitants refused, at which the Macfarlane spun round and cursed the village. In 1845, the cholera plague descended upon Argyll. The wee settlement of Allt Beithe was miles over the hills west of Tarbert, and the villagers began to notice that they’d seen no visitors from there for some time. A rescue party set off along the rough track. Arriving at Allt Beithe, they found everyone dead or dying of the cholera plague, other than one little two year old boy, Archibald Leitch. Archibald Leitch was carried back to Tarbert and grew up to be a boat builder. He is my great great grandfather, and the great grandfather of John Smith, former leader of the Labour Party. My Seanair, my grandfather, the grandson of Archibald Leitch , was a fisherman, and a marine. He married a Macfarlane, my beloved grandmother, Peggy. Within our family, there was always an inherent fight for social justice, for survival , for long walks over the hills, and...apparently...for spells. The wee stone houses at Allt Beithe were set alight in order to cleanse the place of infection: only the ruins remain and I have always dreamt of restoring them and reclaiming my family settlement. Meanwhile ...as you know, I burn incense. Here I am with my grandfather, leaning against his strong shoulders, safe, on a visit to Trafalgar square. We are survivors. And sorcerers.🖤🕊
#story #survival #scotland #spells #incense #socialjustice
#story #survival #scotland #spells #incense #socialjustice