Tea and tradition

Murdo and Joan, the owners of Castlehill, had been some of the last people to leave Tanera when at the end there were not enough fisherman left on the island to man a boat. They lived in a small cottage close to the end of the village.

Even in the first few weeks we lived in Polbain we had started what became a tradition - going down every few days to have tea with Joan and Murdo and telling them all the happenings and mishaps of our days. Murdo had suffered a stroke several years before and hadn't the strength to get out and about any more, so he sat by the fire with his dog and I think it brightened his day to get news from outside. His mind was still sharp. He was well-read and listened to the news on the radio every day so he had opinions about everything. But what we most loved were the stories he wove about the old days living and working on Tanera and the early days in Polbain. Joan would bustle about supplying cups of tea and biscuits or sometimes a wee dram and it was lovely. They became like surrogate parents to us.