Nethy Bridge author goes from village to farmer to landscape
Strathy readers may well remember Jane Macaulay for her celebrations of local knowledge in and around Strathspey.
For more than a decade the Nethy writer has delighted her audience with her personal insight into local life and lives, initially with her story of the village itself and in 2016 with her handling of Madgie MacQueen’s formidable memory, capturing otherwise hidden aspects of farming life in and around Dulnain Bridge.
“The Story Of Nethy Bridge” (2013) detailed the village’s rise after Telford’s crossing went up in 1810, to create something of a mecca for tourists, sportsmen and wildlife enthusiasts.
She was born in the village - home to five generations of her family - and came to draw on local archives as effectively as she listened to members of her community.
Macaulay compiled an absorbing historical account of the area, cataloguing changes in land ownership, the influence of two world wars, the coming of the railway and the influx of new blood.
“One thing is certain: we can’t go back, but we can move forward without forgetting all the things that make up our heritage.”
Critics saluted her mastery in teasing out a local history that would otherwise have simply been overlooked.
Within three years Macaulay produced “Madgie: A Life in Farming” (again, published by Librario) which bequeathed to posterity the story of Marjory MacQueen from those childhood days on her parents farm of Achnahannet, three miles up in the hills above Dulnain Bridge.
The eldest of three girls, Madgie helped her father on the farm and took over after his death, emerging as a prominent member of the farming community, a breeder of Highland ponies and one-time president of the local agricultural show at Grantown.
Madgie died in 2016 at 92, but only after dictating her memoirs to the author, who transcribed them faithfully to allow her character through on each page.
Now we welcome part three: “Cairngorm, the story of a mountain” is out, courtesy of Grantown Museum, where copies are to be had. They are also available at The Bookmark on the High Street and other selected outlets.
Again, a fact-filled, easy, lucid narrative is well illustrated in encompassing what is an awesome history, beginning with a volcanic eruption hundreds of millions of years ago.
Once shaped by time, Cairngorm was there to be explored by those who lived on it, around it and thousands of miles away: they came to walk, climb, study the flora and fauna, collect semi-precious gems and finally to break their limbs on it for fun…or worse.
Also related are some of the tragedies which led to the development of the famed mountain rescue team.
But as she says herself: “The book is mainly about the people whose lives are tied up with the story of the mountain: shepherds, poachers, fleeding Jacobites, early tourists, ornithologists and many of those involved in the winter sports industry.
“The greatest character is the Cairngorm itself - a very special mountain.”
The book (100pp, £12) will be introduced by the author herself next week at the Nethy Bridge Community Centre. It’s on Friday night (19) starting at 7.30pm. Check out availability here: 01479 821272
