Historical novelist Beatrice Colin will be at the Burns Monument Centre on Monday 26th November ( 2 – 4 pm) as part of Book Week Scotland 2012. Beatrice will talk about using history in fiction, her researching and writing process, and look at some interesting stories of winters past.
We will also have an exhibit of material from the local history and archive collections, telling local stories of winters past. Photographs, newspapers stories, school and church records will paint a picture of what life was like during East Ayrshire’s harshest winters.
The image below shows a scene from a severe winter in Muirkirk.
Of course, there was plenty of fun and games during the winters season too. Curling was an extremely popular sport in the area. Archibald M’Kay’s History of Kilmarnock describes curling at the town’s Cross for 23 consecutive days in 1740. “The water was raised from a well… and was dammed up for the purpose. The winter of 1740 was very severe, and long talked of as the hard winter.”
The image below shows curlers at New Farm Loch, which was a popular rink well into the 20th century.
Ghosts of Winters Past is a free event but tickets must be booked in advance. Call .
