Jean Blair's Memories

Jean Blair (née Petrie) was born on 18th July 1928 and has lived in Kirkmichael all of her life.  She and her late husband, Jock Blair, ran the Kirkmichael garage for many years until they retired in 1987.

In the audio clips below, she talks about her life growing up in the village, refugees who came to the area during World War Two, the buying of the garage in Kirkmichael, and much, much more!

This interview took place on Wednesday 24th July 2013.

The interview was conducted by her grandson, Richard Stratton.

Childhood
Childhood
Jean talks about the house that she grew up in and her early life.
Childhood (part 2)
Childhood (part 2)
Jean's grandmother kept lodgers during the summer months - this was not atypical. Local people could make a bit of extra money by letting holidaymakers stay with them them. These were people who came up from places like Dundee for their holidays.
Childhood (part 3)
Childhood (part 3)
Jean talks about where the best places were to buy sweets when she was young. She also talks about the way her great grandmother treated her and her experience of the church as a youngster.
Community and school
Community and school
Each village had its own separate social life and identity. This meant that many children only met their peers from the surrounding villages when they went to high school together.
Estates and employment
Estates and employment
The large estates used to employ locals as maids and farm labourers. Jean worked for a while at the manse and at Balvarran House.
Garage
Garage
Jean and Jock Blair took over the Kirkmichael garage about 1970 and ran it until they retired in 1987. Jean did the bookkeeping for the business.
Strathardle Gathering
Strathardle Gathering
Jean talks about the Strathardle Gathering and Evans family who brought the shows with them.
Kirkmichael's fortunes
Kirkmichael's fortunes
Jean talks about a mysterious Brahan Seer who apparently predicted that Kirkmichael village would almost die and then reawaken.
This page was added by Sally Gingell on 07/11/2013.

Comments about this page

  • Sadly Jean passed away in 2017. She was a true glenner, born in Kirkmichael, lived her whole life in Kirkmichael and died in Kirkmichael.

    By John Milne (16/08/2017)

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