Blaraidh
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Bill: But this croft you're talking about, it was at Blaraidh up on the hill was it?
Jeanack: Yes, beautiful ground.
Willack: You know the minister's bridge at Blaraidh. Where he went down over the road with the car. The minister from Tibet.
Jeanack: Yes it's a good bit croft. It was as big as Dannie Ban's.
Willack: Fifteen acres.
Jeanack: A lovely croft.
Bill: Is that an old bridge off the main road?
Jeanack: It's on the main road.
Willack: When you go walk up off the main road it's eh, going to Blaraidh house coming down to the bridge, down this way.
Bill: Down to the main road.
Willack: Aye, it's about... 15 yards off the road.
Jeanack: It was a lovely piece of ground, there was a burn at the ??? ??? ???.
Willack: Lovely croft.
Jeanack: Oh yes, it was a shame. And it wasn't fenced.
Bill: And they lived in the house at the bottom, Blaraidh house.
Jeanack: They'd have ???? ??? ??? a lovely big house, Blaraidh.
Willack: .... the keeper's house. I remember he used to keep two or three horses. You know, he was breeding mares. He needed a pair o' horses steady for the gillie work and keepering and the coal. He always had two or three working and ....
Jeanack: And he had a lot of cows.
Willack: And he had plenty cows.
Jeanack: That was Willie Fraser's grandfather we're talking about and his uncle.
Willack: Do you know Willie Fraser from the street?
Bill: Uh-huh. And eh, were there any other houses at Blaraidh?
Jeanack: No, only....
Willack: Yes, Allie(?) Dot.
Jeanack: Oh yes, before that.
Willack: Yes that's up on the way... going up to the new croft. That was Johnny(?) Dot's croft(?). I'm not sure where he was.
Jeanack: He was there when dad was young.
Willack: Och aye, my uncle Domhnallan, everybody, the name they called him.... Sandy Dot, that's who you called him, or Sandy the farm, then others called him Sandy Blaraidh. And it used to go up my back. It was mixin Sandy Blaraidh with the other Sandy Blaraidh that would have the ???? on Blaraidh.
Bill: And what was does this Sandy Dot... what does Dot mean?
Jeanack: That was his brother-in-law's name and there were so many MacDonald's so they called him after his brother-in-law.
Willack: He married...
Jeanack: His brother-in-law had the hotel.
Willack: Yes but his sister was married to Dot that was in the hotel. And there were that many MacDonalds in the glen, there really are MacDonalds..... so he was called Sandy Dot. For a distinction.
Bill: I never heard the name Dot before.
Jeanack: It's a Badenoch name.
Willack: Big stout man. And.. Dot had a family, one boy and he died. He went abroad and he died there. Davy.
Jeanack: He died in Canada, two years ago.
Willack: Aye two or three years ago. He was my age. He used to play with me when we were doon here. Before we would go into school, Davy Dot.
Bill: But you don't remember any other houses up there. Or any ruins of houses. Was any ruined houses?
Jeanack: No, we didn't see. Only we saw plenty of the mill bothies afterwards about there.
Willack: Yes but they were Annie Dot's home.
Jeanack: Yes and some ????? Blaraidh, that's all.
Willack: Yes and I don't know who more. There must have been a few houses over thonder.
Bill: Were they all near the main road or were they up on the hill?
Jeanack: They wouldn't be far off the road I would think.
Willack: They wouldna be far up the hill. Because there were no road going up. He'd be about the croft thonder. Of course we did see other houses there. At Blaraidh in those days. But that was put up for the boobbin mill, wooden erection. What you call ??
Bill: Which bobbin mill was this?
Willack: Blaraidh bobbin mill.
Bill: Oh, there was one at Blaraidh.
Willack: Yes. Oh Lord aye, very business work.
Bill: Was it stone built.
Jeanack: No no. Johnny Smart was working at that bobbin mill with the other boys. Quite nice.