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From the mining village of New Cumnock to a new life in Australia

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  • From the mining village of New Cumnock to a new life in Australia

    “Mr Murdoch,” Willie called to the teacher who was now standing at the head of the class. “Why are ye teaching us in English, when ye should be teaching us in Scots?” he asked cheekily. Murdoch began to turn red again. Willie continued. “Are we no’ in Scotland, and not England, so why do we no’ speak in oor ain language? Why are we learning aboot Willie Shakespeare when we have oor ain Rabbie Burns, the greatest poet of all, who hails from right here in Ayrshire?”
    That was my father as a nine-year-old at his school in New Cumnock. He survived a serious accident in the pits, helped his mother through the hard times after WWII and travelled to Australia to fill his pockets - but he never returned home, and broke his mother's heart.
    Far Across The Sea is the sequel to Ours, Yours and Mines, but it is a stand-alone story so you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy the second. It's a good source of information about life in Scotland from 1913 to 1950 and the assisted passage scheme for migrants. It also provides a snapshot of Brisbane and Ipswich in the 1950s. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Across-Sea...ACROSS+THE+SEA

  • #2
    Re: From the mining village of New Cumnock to a new life in Australia

    Looks like a fantastic read, with plenty of Ayrshire humour. It may help the world remember what it was like when we depended so much on coal.
    Around fifteen years ago I was asked by a wee boy from Leeds why I was throwing stones on my livingroom fire. He had never seen a coal fire before and it really knocked me back. Now my ex-mining village is, more or less, a smokeless zone, everyone having gas or electric heating and I wonder if our youngsters know anything about coal and its history or even if they would recognise a lump of it.

    http://www.s1cumnock.com/news/sw-sco...ng-museum.html
    http://www.s1newcumnock.com/news/sw-...eum-in-nc.html
    Last edited by Aulyin; 9 August 2013, 04:53. Reason: More information added

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    • #3
      Re: From the mining village of New Cumnock to a new life in Australia

      I have a wee history of the coal mining industry at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../industry1.htm

      Alastair

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      • #4
        Re: From the mining village of New Cumnock to a new life in Australia

        Has this not been posted before?
        Seems very familiar to me.

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