Fisherman My Story

This story belongs to Fraser and his dad - called Donald.

It's a tiny tale about Donald's life as a fisherman

and the things he used to do when he was younger.

Now it's time for Donald to share his memories

and take Fraser on a journey of discovery.

And they went for a walk

to talk some more about life for Donald

as he grew up by the sea on the east coast of Scotland.

I grew up very close to the sea.

My family's always been involved in fishing.

My dad, your grandad, was a lobster fisherman.

I spent most of my life at the harbour helping him

and your Uncle Tommy on the boat.

And just when I was old enough,

I couldn't wait to go out to sea and help them.

Look, even as a baby, Donald loved being by the sea.

He just couldn't keep away from fishing.

In fact, he was so good at fishing, he won lots of trophies.

Doesn't Donald look proud?

Fraser wants to find out all about his dad's life.

Fraser and his dad, Donald, are in the garage.

Donald is showing Fraser a creel.

A creel as a special basket used to catch lobsters.

-What are you doing, Dad?

-I'm fixing this creel.

-Why?

-You know how the lobsters go in here to eat?

-Yeah.

-They go in here and get stuck,

but this one's got a big hole - the lobster can get out.

This is called a net needle. I tie it round the netting

and tie it round onto the creel to close the hole up.

It's like when you get a hole in your jumper,

you get the knitting needle and knit the hole back together.

How did you learn to do that, Dad?

Watching your grandad and uncle fix creels.

When I was your age,

I used to go down and watch them fix the creels and help them.

But what exactly are lobsters? Let's find out.

Wow. So that's what lobsters look like.

What big claws they have! Incredible!

Some people like to eat lobster

and lobsters are sold in restaurants and shops all over the world.

Donald's job is to catch lobsters

which he sells to restaurants and shops.

Look at these old pictures from all around the British Isles.

For many years, people have been fishing

for all sorts of different types of fish and shellfish

using big boats and little boats.

They used nets very similar to the ones they use today.

And they used to use creels then, too.

Everyone used to get involved. It was hard, hard work then.

And still is now.

So, how do they fish for lobster?

In the olden days, they used rowing boats to go lobster fishing

so you couldn't travel too far from the shore.

The lobster creels were thrown into the water

and pulled out by hand, just like in these old pictures.

But as the years went by, the boats became bigger

and bigger boats meant more creels.

Wow. What an interesting job.

Dad Donald is taking Fraser to a very special fishing museum.

They're going to find out

how Fraser's grandad used to fish for lobsters in the old days.

This is an old boat they used to use for fishing for lobsters

You used to have to pull up all the lobster creels by hand.

It was really hard work.

-Do you want to see if you can pull the creels up by hand?

-Yeah.

The creel has been weighed down with a stone

to make sure it sinks to the bottom of the ocean, where lobsters live.

-Do you want Dad to give you a hand?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Hold the rope here. Right, let's pull.

It also means it's very, very heavy to pull back up.

Oh, this is heavy.

There we go.

Was that easy?

No, that was very hard.

That was just one creel. In the olden days,

you used to have to pull 80 creels.

Wow, that's a lot.

Fraser wants to know more about the olden days.

It wasn't just the fishermen out at sea that worked hard.

Look at these old pictures

and see how hard everyone worked back on the shore.

Look at these girls. They were called the herring girls.

Herring is a type of fish.

And the herring girls worked hard

getting the herring ready for people to eat.

What a lovely smile.

Fishing is a very messy and cold job.

So what did they wear way back then?

Nice caps. Keeps your head warm.

Scarves to keep your neck warm.

Warm jumpers. Yeah, good idea.

Long white wellies. Perfect.

Oh, that jumper looks scratchy.

Oh, yes. Full waterproof and wellies.

Big boots to keep your feet warm.

Nice yellow jacket, too.

Wow. And look who this is in an old-fashioned fishing outfit.

These are called oilskins.

This is a sou'wester and the jumper you have is called a Guernsey.

-Is anything missing from our clothes?

-A lifejacket.

-That's right.

They didn't used to wear lifejackets so it wasn't as safe as it is now.

What fun.

There has been so much talk of fishing in the olden days,

it must be nearly time to get on the boat now.

This is my Uncle Tommy.

Uncle Tommy is Donald's big brother.

He works with him on their boat, fishing for lobsters.

They're taking Fraser out towards the deep blue sea

to give him the chance to catch his own lobsters.

Where do you normally catch lobsters and crabs?

All over the place out here.

All the places with rocks out here. That's where lobsters are staying.

-Fraser, do you want a shot of steering the boat?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Can you see where we're going?

-No. I can't. Oh, is it on there?

This computer shows a map which will tell Fraser which way to go.

The red flashing dot is their boat.

The fishing boat is heading towards this float in the water

with a black flags on it. The float sits on top of the water

and that shows Fraser and his dad where their creels are.

Look, they've caught their first lobster!

Here comes along another creel.

You know, years ago, Fraser,

they pulled the creels up by hand into the boat.

Now we've got this winch,

which pulls the creels into the boat and makes it easier.

And the winch makes it faster. Has Fraser caught anything?

-Have we caught anything, Fraser?

-Yes, we've caught a lobster.

-Do you want to help get the lobster out?

-Yes.

-Right, pull on this here.

If the lobsters are too small, they go back into the sea.

-Will we check this lobster's big enough to keep?

-Yeah.

Donald checks the length with a special measure.

This one is big enough to keep.

Uncle Tommy looks pleased with what they've caught.

Now it's time to get back to shore

but not forgetting to drop the lobster creels back in the water

for tomorrow's catch.

After a hard day at sea,

let's find out what this young fisherman likes to do next.

-This is my big brother, Kyle. He likes ice cream, too.

-Come on.

Come on, boys, let's go get that ice cream. It's been a hard day.

Fraser, Kyle and their dad Donald

are off to get some well-earned ice cream.

I wonder if there's a fishy flavour. I don't think so.

It looks like mint for the boys and strawberry for Dad.

-Let's go to the beach.

-Come on.

The beach - excellent idea.

It's meant to be in your mouth, not on your nose.

You got it on your nose.

-Let's go and play football.

-Yeah.

Oh, unlucky, Fraser. Keep trying.

Well done, Kyle.

Goal!

Oh, good goal.

-I am the champione!

-No, you are not.

Yay!

So, this fisherman and his son have worked very hard and they like

nothing better than a good game of table football.

I wonder if Fraser woul rather be a footballer than a fisherman.

We'll have to wait a few years to find out.

Have you had fun, Fraser?

-Yeah.

-And have you enjoyed finding more out about Dad's story?

-Yes.

What an adventure for Fraser.

He found it all about his dad Donald's love of fishing

when he was young and what he does today - lobster fishing.

Donald showed him how to mend a lobster creel

and took him to a special fishing museum

where he tried to lift a very, very heavy one.

They had a lot of fun trying on the clothes fishermen used to wear

and then it was time for Fraser to take to the sea

with his dad and his Uncle Tommy

to see if he could pull in some lobsters of his own. And he did!

Come and give Dad a high five.

What a fabulous heap of fun.

That was Fraser and his dad Donald's tiny tale about the things

he used to do and still does today

and why he has a lobster creel.

Donald has shared his story with Fraser

and Fraser is starting his own story.

Do you know someone who has a story to share?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd