0:00:21 > 0:00:25This story belongs to twins Zoe and Aidan
0:00:25 > 0:00:27and their Daddy Malcolm.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33It's a tiny tale about Daddy Malcolm's life
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and the things he used to do.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Fly!
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Wow. Go again.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50And now it's time for Daddy Malcolm to share his memories,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54and take Zoe and Aidan on a journey of discovery.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Daddy Malcolm works on an island called Lewis,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06off the coast of Scotland, in the Western Isles.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12He used to be a weaver, a bit like the lady in this old film.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Weavers use a special machine like this one
0:01:15 > 0:01:18to join threads together to make cloth.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22The cloth is then used to make clothes and other things.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44Look. Daddy Malcolm and the twins are all busy doing some weaving.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Zoe is using something called a shuttle
0:01:47 > 0:01:52- to weave the wool between the threads.- Wow, look at us, guys.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54We're a family of weavers.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I'm weaving with paper. What are you weaving with, Zoe?
0:01:57 > 0:02:02- Wool.- Wool? Wow. And, Aidan, what are you weaving with?- Paper.- Paper?
0:02:02 > 0:02:05The same as Daddy. I love weaving.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08When I was a boy, my mummy worked in the mill. She was a mender of cloth.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11And I used to look at all the different colours
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and all the different patterns,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15and I thought I would like to do that, because I liked art.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18And my mummy said, "Why don't you become a weaver?
0:02:18 > 0:02:20"Why don't you become a designer of cloth?"
0:02:22 > 0:02:26And then Daddy Malcolm talked some more about how he did just that,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29by going to learn about cloth at college.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36And look at this old picture of Daddy Malcolm - groovy hair!
0:02:36 > 0:02:39When I went to college, I learned lots and lots
0:02:39 > 0:02:42of things that I didn't know before.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I learned all about the colours of the rainbow, about red,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48about orange, about yellow, green, blue and lilac.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50I had to learn about what happens
0:02:50 > 0:02:53when all these colours sit next to each other.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55And it's like you, Aidan and Zoe,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58when you're colouring with your pens, how you have all your colours
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and you make rainbows and you draw fish, and you draw flowers.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03That's what I learned,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07was how all the colours work together to make beautiful patterns.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12This is one of the beautiful patterns
0:03:12 > 0:03:14that Daddy Malcolm has designed.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16And he wants to show Zoe and Aidan
0:03:16 > 0:03:19where he goes to get ideas for patterns.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26He's taking them to a special place on the island
0:03:26 > 0:03:28that is very, very old.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36This place that Daddy's brought you to today is called
0:03:36 > 0:03:40the Callanish stones, one of the most magical places in Scotland.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42And when textile designers are weaving cloth,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46they look everywhere for designs and ideas, and I got my ideas here.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48What ideas did you get, Daddy?
0:03:48 > 0:03:53I got ideas for the colours from the stones, and the mosses,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56and from all the patterns of the lines that the stones have.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- I've got another really good idea. - What is it, Daddy?- Hide and seek.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Who would like to play hide and seek?
0:04:02 > 0:04:04BOTH: Yeah!
0:04:04 > 0:04:08OK, then, I'll count to ten and then I'll come and find you, ready or not.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Oh, this looks like a great place to play hide and seek.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18One, two, three, four,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22five, six, seven,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25eight, nine, ten.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Here I'm coming, ready or not!
0:04:30 > 0:04:31I'm going to find you!
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Where are you? What rock are you behind?
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Where are you, Aidan and Zoe?
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Hi, Aidan! I've found you!
0:04:43 > 0:04:46There she is, there she is, let's get her.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Ah, Zoe, we've found you.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Come on, we've found you. We knew we would, didn't we?
0:04:51 > 0:04:53That was good hiding. Well done, Aidan.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Well done, Zoe. Give me a kiss. Give me a kiss.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57That's good.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02That was fun!
0:05:02 > 0:05:05And now they're off to see the mill where Daddy Malcolm works.
0:05:12 > 0:05:13He used to be a weaver,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17but now Daddy Malcolm designs cloth for a woollen mill.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21A woollen mill is a place that turns wool that comes from a sheep
0:05:21 > 0:05:23into thousands of colourful threads
0:05:23 > 0:05:25that can be used to make cloth.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28It's full of big, noisy machines.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31So Zoe and Aidan have to be very careful.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Look at all the bright colours.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44What I've brought to show you here, Aidan and Zoe,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46is some beautiful wool off the sheep.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48The farmer shaves the wool off the sheep
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and it comes to the mill to make the cloth.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53But first, feel it, feel how soft it is.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Here, Zoe, here's a piece for you to handle.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Aidan, would you like a piece?
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Here's a little piece for you to handle.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Isn't it beautiful and soft?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It all arrives at the mill in this white colour, this cream colour.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08And then it's dyed to all these beautiful colours
0:06:08 > 0:06:12that the designer uses to make his designs for his cloth.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15- What's your favourite colour, Zoe? - Bright yellow.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20- What's your favourite colour, Aidan? - Blue.- Blue. That's fantastic.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Well, what we do when we get the wool, the dyer takes the wool
0:06:23 > 0:06:28and dyes it in little vats of colour. Look. This is red.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32They get their wool, white wool, as it comes to the mill,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and they pop it into the dye in a big machine.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38It goes from white, and you put it in,
0:06:38 > 0:06:39and you push it in,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41and then when you bring it out again,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45it's changed to red. And you have red wool.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52But changing the colour of wool wasn't always so easy.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54In the old days,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58people on the island had to scrape special plants from the rocks
0:06:58 > 0:07:03and boil them in water, along with the wool, to change its colour.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Wow, that looks like a witch's cauldron!
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Once the wool is dyed into a lovely colour,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18it has to be turned into threads
0:07:18 > 0:07:21so it can be woven into beautiful cloth.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Today, big machines can do this really quickly.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29But a long time ago, it was done on something called a spinning wheel,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33which took hours and hours.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35That looks like really hard work.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Daddy Malcolm has brought Zoe and Aidan to a really old village.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58These houses are called blackhouses.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02A long time ago, the families who lived here shared their houses
0:08:02 > 0:08:04with their cows and sheep!
0:08:04 > 0:08:07That must have been a bit smelly.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10But they had lots of lovely wool from those sheep.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12CLACKING Can you hear Roddy's loom?
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Let's go in and see him weaving his cloth.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Daddy and the twins are going to meet Roddy, the weaver.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19He's going to show them
0:08:19 > 0:08:23what happens to the thread from the mill once it has been made.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26The special machine is called a loom.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Weavers have been using looms to make cloth
0:08:28 > 0:08:31on the island for a very long time...
0:08:31 > 0:08:33and still do today.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38- Hello, Roddy.- Hello. - Good to see you again.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43This, Aidan and Zoe, is a very, very old loom. It's over 80 years old.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47- It's older than your granny was. - How does it work, Roddy?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49I've got two pedals here.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51When I press this pedal on this side,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55the shuttle goes through the loom to the other side.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And when I press this pedal,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02the shuttle goes back to where it began on the other side of the loom.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04And that's what weaves the cloth.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08And Roddy's been weaving cloth on this loom for 50 years.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- Shall we sing Roddy the song that we've made up?- Yeah.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Right, here we go. One, two, three.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17# From deep in the sea to up in heaven
0:09:17 > 0:09:21# Any magic spell can be woven
0:09:21 > 0:09:25# Shuttle, treadle, weave, pick # Shuttle, treadle, weave, pick. #
0:09:25 > 0:09:27WOMEN SING
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Singing has always been an important part
0:09:29 > 0:09:32of making cloth on the island.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35To soften the cloth, women used to beat it on a table
0:09:35 > 0:09:40while singing songs. The songs helped them to get the work done.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44The women in this old film are singing in Gaelic,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46which is a language spoken on the island.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Daddy Malcolm and the twins have gone back to the mill
0:09:58 > 0:10:00to see some finished cloth.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03The cloth that the weavers make on the island is called tweed.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05It's a funny word. Tweed.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11And it comes in lots of different patterns and colours.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19Well, the mill has made the wool into all these beautiful coloured yarns.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24And then the yarns go into make the lovely cloth that the weavers
0:10:24 > 0:10:29- have woven. Aidan, what's your favourite colour?- Blue.- The blue one?
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- And what's your favourite, Zoe? - This one.- And why is that?
0:10:33 > 0:10:38- Because it's yours, Daddy.- Ah, that's nice, because it's Daddy's.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Wow. Look at those waves.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Daddy Malcolm has brought Zoe and Aidan to the beach.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03And he's going to set them a challenge.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05One of the beautiful things about being on an island
0:11:05 > 0:11:07is that you're surrounded by sea.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And on the sea, you've got lots and lots of beaches, and lots of lovely
0:11:10 > 0:11:13things and lovely colours that can give you good ideas for design.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16You get lovely shells and stones and everything.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17So what I'm going to do
0:11:17 > 0:11:21is ask you to go down and take some pictures of all the beautiful things
0:11:21 > 0:11:23that you see and show me them later on,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and I'll use them in my designs. Off you go, down to the beach.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Oh, Aidan, these are excellent pictures. Well done!
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Let me see yours, Zoe.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Wow. Beautiful!
0:11:57 > 0:12:01They'll be perfect for getting design ideas.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Shall I take your pictures now?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Yeah?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Wow. These are funny faces.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Thank you, Daddy, for bringing us to the island.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28It's my pleasure, darling.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Can you remember all the special things that we've been doing?
0:12:32 > 0:12:36We went to your favourite place to see the old stones.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And played hide and seek.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42We went to the mill to see where you work.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46We went to the blackhouse village and saw an old weaving loom.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51We went to the beach to get ideas and take pictures.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53What was your favourite thing, Zoe?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55The colours of the cloth at the mill.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57And what was your favourite thing, Aidan?
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Playing hide and seek at the Callanish stones.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02My favourite thing was bringing you guys to the island
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and telling you my story. And I've brought you a present.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07I've brought you a tweed teddy bear.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10One for you, Zoe, and all the different weaves.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14And one for you, Aidan, with your favourite-coloured bow.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Come and give me a cuddle.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Come on.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21And thank you for listening to my story.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24What a fabulous heap of fun!
0:13:24 > 0:13:29That was Zoe, Aidan and their Daddy Malcolm's tiny tale
0:13:29 > 0:13:33about the things Daddy Malcolm used to do when he was a weaver.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Now Daddy Malcolm has shared his story with the twins,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40it's time for Zoe and Aidan to start their own story.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Do you know someone
0:13:41 > 0:13:43who has a story to share?