Highland Clearances My Story


Highland Clearances

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This story belongs to Iona

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and her Grandad James.

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It's a tiny tale about how children just like you

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lived in the olden days over 200 years ago.

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And now, it's time for Iona and Grandad James

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to go on a journey of discovery.

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Together, they're going to find out

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what life was like all those years ago.

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Iona, could you please hold that while I get the tape?

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Who's the present for?

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We're going to send this present to my friend Ben in Australia.

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Why do people live in other countries?

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People live in other countries for many reasons.

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Some because of their work

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and others because they want to live in a warmer country.

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Others because they think it's an adventure

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and others because they think it might be better there.

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Did you ever want to live in another country?

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No. I love it here because I'm close to you and the rest of my family.

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I know a story about a little boy called Lachlan

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who had to move home.

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He and his family moved abroad a long, long time ago.

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Long before my grandad was born.

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Why did they move?

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Rather than tell you, I could show you.

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-Would you like that?

-Yes, please.

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But first, I think we should dress up like Lachlan

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-and his family would have done.

-Oh, yes!

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Hurry up, Grandad!

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-I beat you.

-You did indeed.

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-What do you think of my clothes?

-They're really nice.

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-And what do you think of your clothes?

-They're not my style.

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Did everyone dress like this?

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No, these are the clothes worn by the people

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who lived in the Highlands of Scotland over 200 years ago.

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They were called Highlanders.

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I'm a Highlander. I was born in Inverness.

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And Lachlan, he too was a Highlander.

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What do you think of your shoes?

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I don't really like them. I prefer my trainers.

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Back in the olden days, Highlanders like Lachlan ran about in bare feet

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during the week and they only wore shoes on a Sunday.

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-They must have had dirty feet.

-They did indeed.

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And they didn't even have showers then.

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Pooey!

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Now that Iona

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and Grandad James look like people from the Highlands in Georgian

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times, they're ready for their big adventure, but where will they go?

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Grandad James has brought Iona to the Highland Folk Museum to see

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how Lachlan and his family would have lived a long time ago.

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Iona, this is what houses in the Highlands looked like 200 years ago.

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I've never seen anything like this before.

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The houses have no windows and only one door.

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Let's see what life would have been like for Lachlan.

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This is what it was like in the olden days.

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Back then, they didn't have electricity.

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-It's a bit smoky too.

-It is indeed.

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The fire was used to keep them warm and also for cooking.

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-Would you like me to show you where Lachlan used to sleep?

-Yes, please.

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You come this way and I'll show you.

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This is the bed that Lachlan slept on. The mattress was made of straw.

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What do you think is underneath the mattress?

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Earth.

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Highlanders slept on earth beds. They were called turf beds.

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-Would you like to lie down and see if it's comfortable?

-Yes, please.

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What do you think? Is it comfortable?

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It's quite hard.

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I hope Lachlan slept well on the bed.

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I would like to think he did.

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But remember, the animals also slept in the house with them.

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It must have been smelly. Where is the toilet and sink?

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There's no toilets or sink in the house. They had to go outside.

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Or they used the same drain in the floor as the animals.

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Gross!

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This is Callum. He works here at the museum.

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He's been busy preparing some Highland food.

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HE SPEAKS GAELIC

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What did he say?

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Callum spoke in Gaelic.

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People like Lachlan, who lived in the Highlands many years ago,

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spoke a language called Gaelic. Callum welcomed us to the village.

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I'll speak in English, so you understand.

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-Would you like some oat cakes and crowdie?

-What is crowdie?

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-Do you like soft cheese?

-Yes.

-Crowdie is a type of soft cheese.

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The Highlanders would milk their cows and make cheese from the milk

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and the oat cakes they'd get from crops in the fields.

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-Would you like to try it?

-Yes, please.

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There were no shops for miles and miles in the Highlands,

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so people had to make their own food.

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Do you fancy eating crowdie and oat cakes every day?

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It's nice.

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This is Jane.

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She's a basket weaver and Jane is showing Iona

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and Grandad James how Highlanders made baskets long ago.

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Iona, I'm making a basket out of a pile of twigs here.

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These twigs all come from a willow tree,

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just like the one behind your Grandad James over there.

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They're nice and bendy and what I'm doing is weaving these

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sticks in front of the uprights and behind the uprights of the basket.

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So this one here goes in front of two and behind one.

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Would you like to have a go?

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Yes, please.

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That's it. It goes behind that one there. Yeah, and behind that one.

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And then push it right down.

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Baskets were really important in the olden days.

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They were used for all sorts of things,

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for carrying oats from the field, for bringing the logs for the fire.

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-Do you like weaving the basket?

-Yeah.

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Would Lachlan have made baskets like these, Grandad?

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Yes, I'm sure he would have, just like you've done.

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Well done, Iona. You're just as good as me.

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Grandad James and Iona are collecting pine cones in baskets.

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Lachlan and other children would have done chores like this

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to help around the house.

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Pine cones were put on fires to keep people warm.

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Grandad, can you please tell me more about Lachlan?

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Well, Lachlan's land and house belonged to someone else,

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called the landowner. He told people on his land to move out.

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-In fact, many landowners told the Highlanders to move out.

-Why?

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The landowners put sheep on the land

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to make more money from selling wool.

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This time in history is known as the Highland Clearances

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because families like Lachlan's were cleared out of the Highlands.

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-Everyone left?

-Yes, everyone had to leave.

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Many Highland families went to big cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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Others decided they wanted a new life in a new country, so they sailed

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to faraway places like Canada, the United States of America,

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and Australia.

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Families had to pack up all their belongings

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when they left their homes.

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They took oat cakes and crowdie with them

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for the long walk to the city or the harbour to take them abroad.

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What would happen to their animals?

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They had to sell their animals and furniture to pay for the boat trip.

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They didn't have cars or planes back in those days, did they?

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No, they didn't, so we need to pick up these baskets and start walking.

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It took the Highlanders many days to walk to the big cities.

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And it took them weeks and weeks to sail to Canada and Australia.

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Grandad James has brought Iona to a place called Tranquillity Town.

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The people here have built it to look like an old town in Canada.

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When they arrived in Canada and Australia,

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everything seemed very strange.

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Remember, the Highlanders spoke Gaelic,

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so they had to learn to speak English.

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Lachlan learned to speak English in his new country.

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Do you see anything different here?

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People are wearing different clothes and live in different houses.

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Lachlan and the Highlanders had to learn new things.

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-Do you like it here?

-Yes, I love it!

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Living in a new country seemed strange at first,

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but soon Lachlan and his friends got used to it.

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The Highlanders that moved to Canada and Australia were called settlers

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and they soon settled in to the new country.

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They did lots of different jobs and some even tried looking for gold.

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-Would you like to try?

-Yes, please.

-Good.

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That's what we're going to be looking for.

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That's gold flakes.

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And this is the pan that we're going to use.

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-And what does this look like?

-A cooking pan.

-A cooking pan.

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I'll scoop some from here and you scoop some from there.

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And then what you do, you shake it slowly

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from side to side until all the water's gone.

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Just make sure all the water's gone

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because you'll not see the gold otherwise.

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All the grit goes to the far end and if you've got gold, it'll be here.

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Do you see any gold?

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-Yes, I've found some!

-Very good!

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-We've had a great adventure, haven't we?

-Yes, we have.

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Thank you for telling me all about Lachlan and the Highland Clearances.

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Can you remember all the things we've done?

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We got dressed up like Highlanders from a long time ago.

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You looked really amazing, Grandad.

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We went to the Folk Museum and saw old Highland houses.

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I discovered Lachlan slept on a turf bed.

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Didn't feel very comfy.

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I tried crowdie and oat cakes and I liked them.

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Jane taught us how to make a basket. It was great fun.

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We collected pine cones, just like Lachlan would have done.

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Then we packed things up, left the house and went for a long walk.

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We visited a Canadian-looking old town.

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We looked out of place there in our Highlander clothes.

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We went looking for gold. And I found some.

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My! We have been busy! What did you enjoy best?

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I liked making the basket. What was your favourite thing?

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I enjoyed watching you make the basket, but most of all,

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I enjoyed spending time with you.

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Thank you for my great adventure, Grandad.

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-My pleasure. Now it's time for a big...

-Hug.

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What a fabulous heap of fun!

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That was Iona and Grandad James' tiny tale

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about the Highland Clearances

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and what life was like for a child over 200 years ago.

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Now Grandad James has shared this story with Iona,

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it's time for Iona to start her own story.

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Do you know someone with a story to share?

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