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If you have read the story of Parcy Reed, you will understand why the Hall family gained a reputation for bad faith even though, on this occasion, only a small group of Halls were involved. Nevertheless, they were all 'tarred with the same brush.'
Thereafter, when any Hall sought refreshment, it became the custom to set the cheese before him bottom up to express his host's displeasure at his presence. |
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It
might be interesting to go to www.multimap.com
and print in your surname. You may get a surprise!
Don't forget to allow for variations in spelling.
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Tweed and tweed. The word 'tweed,' applying to the material of that name, has nothing to do with the River Tweed. The word was derived as a result of an error made by an English clerk who wrote the Scot's word 'tweel' (woolen cloth) as 'tweed.' Another associated word - twill.
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And finally Wearing the kilt The kilt, being a practical outdoor garment, failed him only once, and that occurred during a short lived interest in bee-keeping. J M Bannerman.
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My luve is like a red red rose That's newy sprung in June, My luve is like a melody That's sweetly played
in tune. But fair thou art, my bonnie lass So deep in luve am I; And I will luve you still, my dear, Till all the seas
gang dry, Robert Burns. |
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In a Selkirkshire Churchyard Here lies Tam Reid,
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Till meets Tweed The Tweed is essentially a Scottish river. Only at Berwick does it have English soil on both banks. There is only one major tributary flowing from England and that is the Till. They meet north east of Coldstream, about 14 miles from the sea.
Tweed said to Till ‘What gars ye rin sae still?’ Says Till to Tweed, ‘Though ye rin wi’ speed And I rin slaw Whar ye droon yin man I droon taw.’ |
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Advice to a reiver Never take to sawing on the branch
that's supporting you, unless you're being
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The Unblessed Arm The Reiver families had a tradition that when a male child was christened his right arm was excluded from the proceedings, so that, in later life, it was free to strike blows without conscience.
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Castle Dungeons Dungeons were intended to accommodate unimportant people. Usually, the nobility were provided with comfortable quarters, and they were often allowed a considerable amount of freedom. They might be allowed to roam around a castle, when a guard often accompanied them. This privilege was granted to Mary, Queen of Scots, during her many imprisonments. The main reason for such preferential treatment was that their prisoners were valuable and a ransom could be demanded for their complete freedom. The less fortunate, however, were incarcerated in appalling conditions, often with death being their only means of release. Purpose built prisons were often sited near the
castle gatehouse as the guards on duty could keep an eye on the
prisoners. The oubliette (from the French – to forget) was a
purpose built windowless cell, the only entrance being a grill in the
roof down which a prisoner would be lowered by a rope. Food was also
delivered in this way. The
roof was too high for the prisoner to reach. An even worse type of oubliette was narrow and
shaped like a bottle so that a prisoner could not lie down. Prisoners were at the mercy of their guards and
would often starve to death due to neglect. At the Border History Museum, the old jailhouse, at Hexham, look under your feet, through the grill, at the unfortunate creature below you!
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Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick is a town of conflicts.
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