Mr. Ian MacPherson-Blane’s 91-year-old mother, Margaret MacPherson has written about her childhood in Ardentinny where she lived for 19 years from 1926. Her parents, Cecilia and Jack MacPherson lived at Seaview Cottage from 1926 until 1954, prior to which they had lived at The Steading.
The photograph of schoolchildren at the jetty is c.1929 and Mrs MacPherson started school shortly after it was taken. 10th from the right is Jackie MacPherson, Mrs. Margaret MacPherson’s brother; 13th from the right, Donnie MacPherson, another brother; 5th from the right is Jock McIntyre. She thinks 12th from the right is Renee Gardener who was much older than her and who used to wear a lot of makeup.
She recalls she (Margaret) once plucked her eyebrows but didn’t say anything and her father looked at her for a while then said “there’s something different about you and I don’t know what it is but you look like Renee Gardener”. Margaret then confessed and got a row. Renee happily married a Commando and had a family. 20th from right is Ian MacLean “who was a nice, quiet lad who was taken prisoner at Dunkirk and at the end of the war died on the long walk home, too malnourished to make it.”
Further recollections are that “Jake Cairns, a widower lived in the Octagon (the row of cottages near the jetty) and Glencairn cottages although they let out Glencairn in the summer and lived in the Octagon, moving back to Glencairn in the winter and shutting up the Octagon.
Jack Cairns had two daughters, Nelly and Jenny and a son, Joe, who drowned in the loch as a youngster. They moved to Glencairn and the Octagon from The Bothie at Stronvochlan after Mr Cairns, who worked for the estate, had a heart attack, and lived there rent free, which was most unusual. Nelly married Jake Longmuir who had come from Carluke to Ardentinny in search of a wife after losing his second wife and Mr. Cairns went to live with them in Carluke. Jenny married Tommy Greer and, after working in Edinburgh for a few years, they settled in Newton Stewart.
Next to Glencairn was Blink Bonny but Mrs. MacPherson can’t remember the name of the end house (now part of Blink Bonny) although someone called Mrs. Rhodes bought it. She was a widow from England and had a son called John.”
We are grateful to Mr. Ian MacPherson-Blane who provided the photograph and his mother’s recollections.
Hi,
Mrs Rhodes was my granny. She moved to Ardentinny after her husband died in 1938. She moved there with her 2 sons – Thomas and John.
Thomas joined the RAF. He flew in Eritrea when his plane went missing presumed shot down. He is listed on the war memorial in the village.
John married Dorothy McIntosh (Angle Cottage) in 1960. Dot passed away 6 years ago and John passed away last week (24th May 2018)
Hello John McIntyre, thank you for your comment and good to hear from you. Mum has a photograph of Ardentinny football team circa1937 and she’s not sure if your father is in it but she’s pretty sure your uncles Donald, Calumn and Hughie are there along with her brother Donnie who was your uncle Hughie’s best friend at the time. Once we have studied the pic a little more we will send it to Ardentinny.org for their website but in the meantime if you write to Ardentinny.org and ask for my e-mail address I do not mind you writing directly to me (and mum).
Great picture Margaret that is my dad Jock in the picture I was a pupil at the school as well as did most of the McIntyre’s. Have you any more photos.
John McIntyre.