Contents
Poetry
The Poems of Thomas Thorpe
The poet Thomas Thorpe was born on 9 March, 1829 in Milton, Dunbartonshire, son of a block printer at the local works. When he was five, he moved with his family to Strathblane. One of his earliest childhood memories was being with his sisters in a wood where wild primroses were growing – testament to…
Revisiting Strathblane (1881) by William T McAuslane
This poem was first printed in the Lennox Herald on 10 September 1881 and was “inscribed to AP Coubrough Esq, Blanefield Printworks”. McAuslane was clearly a friend of the Coubroughs, who owned the Printworks. It may be intended to voice the thoughts of Anthony Park Coubrough as the poet himself does not appear to have…
The Poetry of Murray O’Donnell
Murray O’Donnell was the embodiment of a “man o’pairts”. Panto dame, dramatist, local historian, bowler, mason, mechanic, family man and friend to those in need. The list could go on much further. He was born in Ballewan Crescent, Blanefield in 1943 to Winifred and Charles O’Donnell, whose Irish grandfather had moved to the area in…
Song
The Braes of Strathblane (Anon)
This is a typical “Broadside Ballad”, printed on a single sheet of cheap paper, often with a woodcut illustration, as here. They were a common form of printed material in the 19th century. This one was published by James Lindsay between 1860 and 1880. Firmly based in the oral tradition, there is no known author.…
Literature
Home to Strathblane (1993) and Strathblane & Away (1996), Argyll Publishing by Helen Lillie
Helen Lillie produced historical novels, Home to Strathblane in 1993 and Strathblane & Away in 1996.
