Out to the peats!
Posted: Tuesday, 15 April 2008 |
Comments
Good work, Peatstack, I'd like to think that I'll be keeping you company in spirit if not person. Sounds a bit like hard work.
Barney from Swithiod in sunshine
I agree with you all the way peatstack
carol from over here and feeling cold
Having the misfortune to live in a chimney-less house, I think it should be put into building regulations that a) insulation should be Norwegian standard and b) every new-build should have a chimney.
Flying Cat from Santa comes in the catflap
smirk,smirk: i couldn't live in a house without a fire to me its the soul of a home as do 5 cat gang and oor wullie
carol from sitting by a roaring fire
let it be known that when it has been revealed to me by the Grazings Clerk just where my own peat-seam is, I shall be out there cutting and throwing with the best of them this year ...! I shall be using a spade, because I don;t have a proper peat-iron ... The Wildfire fuel I was using went up from £5.50 to £7.50 for 25kgs recently, so I switched to ordinary coal ... But this is set to go up also next month ... I tend to use the oil CH only when there's not time to build a fire ... I think with the rising cost of oil and the current tendency towards a more sedentary lifestyle, it would be a positive step if more people followed ... :-)
soaplady from just kindling a fire RIGHT NOW ...!
Peatstack It maynot be relevent but i shut of my fireplace 10 years ago, too ineficient and installed a standoff slow conbustion heater. The advantages, 95pct of the heat is retained in side the building(70pct up the chimney on the old fire place) then the spin off, fryups, stews and bread from the trusty camp oven(cast iron) So from loading the Hardwood into the firebox i get both heating and cooking, a very economical system. Regards
roy from Sofla.Oz
Roy from Sofaland has just made someone here very very envious indeed...
Flying Cat from baby you can light my fire
FC, I will send you a very sensitve firebolt which you can apply as long as needed, as winter is comming on my fire is always kept up to heat.
roy from Sofala.Oz
Soaplady - The Peatstack became very interested in different peat-cutting methods from around the UK, and the variety of tools for the job. Strange how these mirror society / communities. The torrasgeir used on the Outer Hebs and elsewhere in the north of scotland requires a communal effort, it is almost impossible to cut peat well with it if you're on your own. Elsewhere (fens, somerset etc) they perfected a smaller spade-like tool that had a lip on one side to make the throwing part easier if working alone. But the best has to be the Irish Slan - a spade with a long, thin blade. I've always wanted to have a go cutting with a slan. When I was younger my parents (of Irish stock) had an old slan in the hall - it was never used and has now gone for good. I cannot find anyone who makes or sells these things, probably easy to get locally but not from afar or over the internet. The Peatstack has considered going into business making tools for such jobs, and encouraging the return to the land by making it as easy as possible for those who want to give it a go.
Peatstack from The hearthside
We've got our tuskers out & getting an oil up in prep for cutting at the start of May. I love going to the peats !
Angie from Fair Isle's sun lounge
I hadn;t considered the technicalities, never having done it before, and relying upon being taught whilst out there ... I have something which seems similar to how you describe an Irish Slan - it was used by careless workmen (who left it with me) for digging narrow but deep holes ... The head is approx 14" deep, and not more than 6" wide, so not much (3" or so) to put your foot on ...! I shall take it with me if I ever get to find out where my peat-seam is ... I think you'd certainly sell a few if you started making such tools ... You'll have to tell us if you do ... Certainly many more people are currently out on the moors than ever have been before ...! But they've all got their own peat-cutting irons, with the wooden bits, which must be stored in water ...
soaplady from would happily support the peatstack
So, in fact, it seems the Shetland 'tushkar' descends directly from the GAELIC torrasgeir. Oh joy! A breaking down of barriers! (in Orkney we are SO proud that 'We dinna spik gaelic here you ken'). Let's please stop this nonsense and stand up for the gaels' last stand before their language joins Manx and Cornish in the quaint unspoken backwaters of liguistics.
Flying Cat from a sturdy soapbox
Aye Flying Cat, sadly I think it's all the otherway about. Our tairsgeir (that's the most proper spelling I know of, but there are many others) is actually a word that derives from Old Norse and shows the close link between Gaelic and Norse languages, especially in the Outer Heb islands the languages have really crossed mixed. It means, of course, earth / land knife / blade. So the Tushkar is same thing word wise, and pretty close sound wise as well. Nice to think that the tools of the peat have been in use that long, there's been peat cutting on the moors here for more than 1000 years. Viz Gaelic, but also Norn / Shetlandic / Orcadian / Scots / Doric we must keep them all!
Peatstack from In the phrase shed
Soaplady - that's very interesting. There is, of course, a trench spade but what marks the slan out is also its long handle. Viz getting a peat bank. My advice is to go out on the moor, find a still standing old bank and ask about as to who it belonged to. There should be plenty in good accessible positions and if they're not being used, find out who had them and ask directly. Most people will be happy to let you use them, some might be spiky about it but I wouldn't wait for the Grazings to help you - I'll probably be carted off in the night for such blasphemy. Good to hear you've a few locally going for it as well.
Peatstack from Knee deep in...
...sharn...
Flying Cat from in Doric
I remember the peats as a full scale war with the mudges!
Scratchy & Itchy from the peats
It is fantastic to see someone still peat cutting. We have our own peat bank here, somewhere on the common grazing, not sure where though! We have a wood burning stove which heats the bothy just nicely, and we have burned wood on it throughout this winter. The cost is in effort to collect the dead wood from around the croft and some petrol for the chainsaw. It is great to see that the Jan storm of 2005 actually had a use albeit a small one as it brought down many of the very old, wekll past it, dead trees. Given the shocking price of oil, it is little wonder people are turning to peat. Yes its hard work, but it is worth it. I suspect we will be doing the same in the near future. Funnily enough having demolished the old hen shed we found a few bags of peat... great stuff... our eyes lit up as if we had struck gold..... the highlands black gold.
Very Sunny Skye from Skye
Peatstack, that was my first impulse ... On Lewis we have a road called the Pentland Road, upon which I have totalled two cars so far, due to it being single-track, and there's banks all over the place, which do not get worked ... I asked a few people if I could just go out there and cut a bit, but they were all thunderstruck that I should even consider that action ...! No, no you *CAN'T do that ...!!!' they told me ... Meanwhile, I understand that all newly-assigned peat-banks are miles away from the main road, meaning you have to have a tractor to come and get your peat, and deliver it to your house ... I suppose I could look for a spot behind a hill, so that even passing cars don;t see me ... But I cannot believe that it would not get out eventually - there's no cctv there, but there are walkers, and besides people seem to know everything that's going on, and I don't want to be shunned or anything (in the quaker sense I mean :-)
soaplady from feeling a bit cheeky
Soaplady - I think the key thing is to find out how they belonged to and ask them directly if you can use their peats, maybe just yera by year rather than being given them, but don't just cut anythign without asking anybody - as per my comment! Most people very happy to help.
Peatstack from Home
Oh the peats! Oh the price of oil! but is oil now to be rationed. Oh what a thought because we all need the damned stuff.(sorry if I spelt damned wrong as I dont swear that often) but it was necessary . Wouldn't it be great if you shove a couple of peats into your car tank and off you go. Next filling station would be a peatsack! You would be gobbled up in no time. To end on a serious note at the moment 25-04-08 £1.32 per litre of diesel and petrol £1.28 per litre the Golden Eagles will have a field day but the endangered species will be man on these islands
Fir Chlis from Its blowing a South Westerly
According to a rather super documentary on the Western Isles, one can distill various petroleum fractions from peat! There was even an industry for a couple of decades on Lewis, towards the end of the 19 century. Probably not very enegry efficient but there may come a time when we cannot afford to be choosey.
Barney from Swithiod in a distilling mood
Anywhere in Stornoway where you can currently buy a peat-knife of any description? Have the banks to cut, the enthusiasm of youth(!), the financial incentive (oil prices) and a romatic notion of a 'day at the peats' to fulfil. Just need to find the tool for the job and we're go! Thx
Glen from The Great Isle of Bernera
Glen - sorry don't know of anywhere that does them just now. Some used to go the forge or metal worker in town and ask them to make one.
Peatstack from stoking the boiler
Calum MacLeod of Stornoway is making them as we speak...
Flying Cat from see today's Grauniad (5/5/08)
Peatstack Given the fantastic weather across Scotland I would think that its been good drying for the moor and your peats. Are they ready and fit to BBQ?
Fir Chlis from Working in the Bahamas weather here
Barbecued Peats, new in at Charley Barley's incomparable emporium!
Flying Cat from a culinary cul-de-sac
am looking for a peat knife - anyone know where i can get one. Ta
jan@scoraig.com from wester ross
Hello Peatstack, I was wondering if I might be able to have a chat with you some time. I'm hoping to come up to Lewis over the next month or so to do a radio piece about life on the island and the peat cutting.
Tom Allan from Edinburgh
Hi Tom, yes would be very happy to do so, if you would leave a contact e-mail here.
Peatstack from Home
What you do is get an old shovel and using oxy-acetylene cut and bend it into shape to make the blade with a right-angled knife (blade about 5" and knife about 7". The ends of the blade are turned back to grip the rear of a shaft with a flat, formed end, with a foot-step. and the blade when formed is fixed to the shaft by burning it on and then pinning it through the wood. Larch is best
teuchter from Wester Ross
The Quaggins have hit the peat claims on the Island for the past 4 years. I was hoping to buy a peat iron/spade for my Outlaws for their Christmas gift (what greater gift could their be!) Does anyone know where I could get one/get one made or any advice. I have spoken with local metal workers who seem greatly perplexed by request. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Digging I can do - making a shovel I cannot?!
Angela Quaggin from Isle Of Man
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