Digging up the past for book ideas by Victoria Williamson

The national tourism organisation for Scotland, VisitScotland, has since 2009 been running themed years to celebrate aspects of Scotland – its people, culture and heritage – that deserve recognition. 2022 has been designated Scotland’s Year of Stories and, as an author with a passion for history, this past year has provided a number of opportunities for me to explore the intersection of local history and archaeology, and the stories they inspire.

Children trying some traditional spinning and weaving at Auld Kirk Museum 

(Copyright: Kirkintilloch Herald)

My love of the past began as a child on frequent visits to Kirkintilloch’s Auld Kirk Museum, which housed a collection of historical objects such as Roman soldiers’ uniforms and household items through the ages. Staff also put considerable effort into engaging children through activity days and, growing up, I got to try out everything from traditional crafts such as carding wool, spinning and weaving to attempting shoemaking on a cobbler’s last.

Children try their hand at weaving (Copyright: Kirkintilloch Herald)

These visits sparked lots of story ideas which I scribbled down on bits of paper with hand-drawn illustrations, stapling them together to form my first ‘books’ which usually ended up in the bin when a better idea came along. There was one story idea that stayed with me for many decades, however, inspired by my memorable year in primary four when I was eight, when I learned about the poems of Robert Burns for the first time. That year we read Tam o’ Shanter, and I still remember the thrill of hearing the spine-tingling tale of witches through the medium of Scots poetry and learning about the early life of Burns and the world he grew up in.

The story of witches dancing to the devil’s music in the Auld Kirk at Alloway stayed with me, and when I turned to Scottish stories for inspiration for my books as an adult, that was the first tale that jumped straight into my head. Researching the life of Burns, I came across accounts of the young Burns hearing folktales of kelpies, wraiths and bogles round the kitchen fire, and I could imagine him being just as spellbound by the stories he was told by adults as I was as a child. That got me thinking about a fictional account of how his own adult poem Tam o’ Shanter could have been inspired by a childhood encounter with witches in the Auld Kirk. The story of Hag Storm is therefore a metafiction of the young Rab having a spooky Halloween experience which later becomes the basis of his own supernatural poem.

But it isn’t just books, poems and my own childhood experiences which I’ve drawn on to come up with my own novels. As a member of Archaeology Scotland, I’ve been lucky to have had the chance to get involved in local archaeological digs, and over the past year have got out and about in Denny, near Falkirk, and Cathkin Park, Glasgow, exploring Scotland’s past. Not only do community digs like these teach volunteers the basics of field excavation – from topsoiling, mattocking, trowelling and surveying techniques, to cataloguing finds and interpreting evidence – they also give us the opportunity to experience history in a hands-on way which is very different from the experience of reading about it in a book. I’ve been amazed on these digs just how exciting it is to uncover little pieces of the past, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant-looking. Bits of broken china, glass and bent nails can seem every bit as thrilling a find to an amateur historian like me as digging up stashes of Roman coins or a new dinosaur bone is to a professional. Uncovering the foundations of strike-breakers’ houses in Denny and the original Third Lanark football team baths and changing rooms in Cathkin Park were wonderful experiences, and it felt to the volunteers like we’d found our very own ancient Egyptian tomb or Mayan pyramid.

Uncovering the foundations of strike-breakers' houses in Denny

One of the best things about engaging in local archaeological digs is getting the chance to hear the stories told by excavators, volunteers and visitors to the digs sites about their own experiences of the site as children, or about their ancestors’ experiences. Visitors to the Denny dig site who looked at the displayed ‘Virol bottle’ we’d found recalled being given Virol as a supplement, either by their parents or at school. Passers-by and museum staff at the Jimmy Johnston Academy at Cathkin Park recounted tales of their visits to the football stadium when it was still standing and shared their memories of their time in the park as children. The finds at these sites represented real links not just to the past buried under a layer of ash at Milton Row in Denny and years of soil and infill at Cathkin Park, but to the childhoods and lived experiences of local residents who took part in these digs or who visited the sites. It also emphasised for me the ability of community archaeology to connect the everyday experiences of people alive today to those who lived in the past.

Victoria using a mattock to remove the soil from an excavation area in Cathkin Park, Glasgow

Archaeology Scotland has long been providing fantastic opportunities such as these for volunteers to engage in local digs and find out all about the history on their doorstep. My own journey as an author was started in childhood by enthusiastic historians who passed on their knowledge and encouraged me to explore all of the stories my local area had to offer. But it’s not just children and young people whose imaginations can be sparked by local digs, and whose early experience of history and archaeology might set them on the path to becoming the authors of the future. It’s never too late to embark on your writing adventures, so why not get involved in one of Archaeology Scotland’s digs in this Year of Stories, and see what local tales you can uncover?

Writing Challenge

Imagine you find a hag stone, either by a river or by the sea. Have a think about the location where you find it – can you describe it? Is it by running water in a deep, dark forest? By a stream in a sunlit glade? By a stormy sea with wind-tossed waves? On a sandy beach with warm waters lapping at your toes? See how many interesting adjectives you can use to describe the place where you find your hag stone, as where you find it might just influence what you see through the hole!

Now…

Put the hag stone to your eye and look through the hole. What do you see?

Describe the ‘other world’ that you can see through the hole. This place can be anything you like – a fantasy world, a futuristic science fiction world, funny, spooky, scary, weird or magical – it’s up to you! I’d love to read your hag stone tales, so do get in touch on Twitter or through my website to show off your writing!

Watch Victoria's YouTube video by clicking here

Victoria Williamson is a children’s author who grew up in a small town north of Glasgow, surrounded by hills and books. She started writing adventure stories from an early age, with plots and characters mostly stolen from her favourite novels and TV shows! These days the stories are all her own, featuring the voices of some of the many children she’s met over the years on her real-life adventures around the world.

Victoria was a teacher for many years, working in all sort of exciting places from Cameroon, Malawi and China to the UK. She now divides her time between writing and visiting schools and literacy festivals to talk about books and run creative writing classes.

Website: www.strangelymagical.com

Twitter: @strangelymagic

Would the Real Robert Burns Please Step Forward… by Barbara Henderson

I live in Scotland. Every January, primary schools return from their Christmas break and, for the next fortnight, focus on the Scots language. They recite poetry in preparation for one of Scotland’s most iconic festivals. No, it’s not a saint’s day. No, it’s not religious or seasonal in nature. It is a day to celebrate an iconic poet – Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns. 

Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet

Schools hold Burns-themed assemblies, households up and down the country empty supermarket shelves of haggis, neeps (swedes) and tatties (potatoes). The radio warbles with My love is like a red, red rose. Tartan is everywhere. School lunch halls echo with head teachers reciting The Address to the haggis.

Other than the ‘ploughman poet’ label, I was surprised how little people knew of Robert Burns. As a writer of historical fiction, had a hunch that a children’s novel about the poet could do well, particularly in the schools’ market in Scotland. Time to do some Time tunnelling. What could I dig up?

It’s true, Robert Burns spent much of his life farming. However, he also worked as an Exciseman on the infamous Solway Coast where smuggling was rife, due to its proximity to both England and the tax haven of the Isle of Man. At first glance, the poet’s day job sounds almost boring – working for the tax office doth not an adventure make! I wondered if he had ever been involved in anything interesting.

And, oh my goodness, did I strike lucky!

A side note on a museum website briefly mentioned that Burns was involved in the seizure of the Rosamund, a smuggling schooner which had run aground near the coast. 

  

An extract about the seizure of the Rosamund

The ship was full of contraband which had to be confiscated. The Exciseman in charge of the operation was one Walter Crawford, an Excise riding officer whose job involved riding up and down the coast and reporting any suspicious activity which may point to smuggling. The size of the stranded ship meant he needed reinforcements, and fast. Over forty horse-mounted soldiers marched into the freezing sea in three parties, led by three Excise officers. Burns was one of them.

Because Crawford was relatively new in post, he kept a meticulous diary of the operation: dates, times, people present and a blow-by-blow account of what came to pass that February. To me as a writer of children’s fiction, it was a kingly gift!

The Excise officers and the soldiers arrived on horseback and attempted to ride into the sea. But the local beach was famously dangerous for its quicksand. 

Quicksand is very dangerous, and is found along the Solway coast

They had no option but to leave the horses behind and proceeded on foot. According to Crawford’s diary, they waded into the wintry waves in February 1792, while being shot at with the ship’s carronades (small cannon) and with muskets. Despite the dangers they were under strict instructions: to mount the ship ‘with pistol and sword’ and to seize the cargo, arresting the dozen or so smugglers on board if possible. 

 

An etching showing smugglers

They approached from angles on which the ship’s cannon could not be brought to bear and eventually succeeded, with the smugglers abandoning ship and fleeing across the narrow stretch of water towards England.

Gosh, take a breath! What a story!

A painting depicting smugglers

All I had to do was to throw a young apprentice Exciseman into the mix – a children’s story needs a child protagonist. I didn’t have to invent any of the jeopardy like I normally do – it was already there in real life. 

But it was also important to me to create a little balance – the smugglers were not always the villains, of course – much of the smuggling took place because of genuine need and poverty. I invented Old Finlay and his granddaughter so that their perspective could also be included.

I pitched the book to my publishers. They loved the idea, thankfully, but offered me some unexpected advice.

‘Barbara, schools only do this for a couple of weeks in January. They start after Christmas and they finish on Burns Day, the 25^th of January. You need to give them something that they can read in that time. Not a novel – a novella.’

Nothing for it. I cut my proposed manuscript by two thirds. 

Barbara finishing her Black Water manuscript by the Solway Firth

The result is the smuggling novella Black Water. It’s a  story of sea and smuggling, of quicksand, cannon fire, musketry and bravery, but of poetry too.

 Anyone who thinks that learning about Robert Burns is boring would be wise to take another look.

 

Extract from the Cranachan's (Barbara's publisher) catalogue