“I first left home and set off for Glasgow in November 1933, aged 18.  I was accompanied by Kate Mackenzie from Aird Dell (later she married Donald Smith, 6 Knockaird). Her sister, Christina, and my own sister, Maggie, were to meet us in Glasgow but, unfortunately, I had told my sister we would be arriving at  Central Station, rather than at Queen Street.

"Obviously, when we arrived at the Queen Street railway station there was no sign of Maggie.  We waited there for a while to see if she would appear.  The other girls assured me that they would get word to Maggie who was working in Bearsden at that time.  We took a tram to New City Road, where the other girls worked.  During our journey Christina happened to point out J.D. Williams’ shop, and who did I spot on the street there but my sister!  I can still picture her in her grey collared blue coat.  I momentarily forgot where I was and I shouted in Gaelic, ‘O mo chreach, siud Magaidh!’  Christina departed at the next tram stop and told me to carry on to St. George’s Cross and wait there for Kate and Maggie. 

"Maggie soon took me under her wing, so to speak, and we went to where she worked in Bearsden.  Her employers were very nice people; they let me stay there until I got a place of my own.  The following day I had to go and register for work - for which we had to pay 2/- 6d.  Some of these registrars would try to send you anywhere, especially if they thought you were unfamiliar with the city.  They'd send you to the houses other girls had refused to work in.  Anyway, I was despatched to a house in St. Vincent Street.  My sister, Maggie, and cousin, Gormelia Smith, accompanied me there.  They used to taunt me about the owner of the house - an old, fat, former sea captain.  When he introduced us to his wife, he put his arm round her waist and proclaimed, ‘This is my wife, the most wonderful woman in the world!’  Dear, dear, I'll never forget that.  When the girls left that night and I eventually went up to my bed, I felt really homesick.  I nearly cried.

"It often used to be midnight before I'd get to bed because, if they were out for the evening, I had to wait up until my employers came home.  I had to get up every morning at 6 am as there was lots of work to get through in a day.  I remember one time, there was going to be a function on the following morning.  I was so worried about it that I went to bed the previous night in my wrapper instead of my nightie so that I would be ready in time for the morning's work.

"Being the only servant in the house, I had to lay and light the fires first thing in the morning.  I also had to ‘hoover’ the floor and lay the table for breakfast before the family got up.  The lady of the house would cook the breakfast herself; she did all the cooking when I first went there.

"The couple had a young son who was in the Academy.  The oldest worked with his father in the family business.  Sometimes the mistress  would go out but my duties were always planned for me each day: Monday was for washing, Tuesday for cleaning the silver,  and so on.  I was kept on the go until the afternoon.  My wage for the month was 30 shillings (£1.50) but when I was given my first wage there was an extra 5 shillings (25p) in my pay packet, because they said I was a ‘hard worker’.  It would not buy much these days. 

"I used to get a day off on Thursday and Sunday.  On my first Sunday off, my sister could not meet me as she was working.  As I did not know my way around Glasgow at that time, two friends, Annie Murray from Dell and Margaret Morrison from Scalpay, promised to call for me.  This they did and we all went to church, and they later accompanied me safely back to the house. 

"The following Sunday I said to myself, ‘I'll study which way the tram goes and hopefully I’ll manage to make it home by myself.’ However, I soon got confused and found myself lost for the rest of the afternoon.  To this day I don't know where I was, probably, in every slum in Glasgow.  I was so ‘green’ that I would not even ask a policeman the way because I was fearful of anyone in uniform.  Eventually, I met this old lady and asked her the way to St George’s Cross (where I had intended to meet my sister Maggie).  Unfortunately, the lady could not help me - she was from Hamilton and was only in Glasgow for the day!  She suggested that we ask a policeman who put me on a tram and told the conductor to let me off at St. George’s Cross.  When I eventually got off the tram and saw Maggie waiting for me at the corner of ‘Duncan's’ shop, I cried with relief.

"My employers had a summer house in Aberdaron, Wales.  They would go there on holiday at New Year, Easter, and during the summer.  I remember the first occasion I accompanied them.  The Captain’s wife and son would usually drive down the night before us in order to prepare the house.  I would accompany the Captain the following day in their chauffeur driven car.  When I got dressed in the morning for the journey I wore my black frock and new shoes so that, when we eventually reached Wales, I would only have to remove my coat and put on my apron to be ready to serve the evening meal.  I thought I looked rather ‘posh’.  I'd also bought a pair of black patent shoes the day before in the five shilling shop in Cowcaddens, so that I’d look smart in my uniform.  I had also been asked to carry the family’s big grey cat down to Aberdare on my lap.  It was in a straw bag with a narrow opening

"We were due to leave for Wales at 4 am.  I was so sleepy that I slipped at the top of the stairs, cat and all!  I didn't stop until I hit a wall at the bottom - the cat was still in the bag, but my new 5/- shoes had split down the sides.  I did not tell the menfolk - I tried to do a quick repair but I had to leave the shoes behind.  Shortly after starting our journey south, I felt car-sick.  However, I did not have the courage to ask the chauffeur to stop. I was wearing fur-lined gloves which I'd got as a present from my sister, so the only thing I could think of was to be sick into my gloves!

"The car stopped off in Wigan - there was a pork canning factory there from which the family purchased pork in bulk.  The captain took us inside; there was a restaurant attached to the factory where we were served coffee and pork pie.  It was a long time before I wished to set eyes on either pork pies or coffee after that as I was sick again - although this time there was a nearby toilet. 

"I had a great time in Wales.  I did not have to do any housework, just the cooking.  The people living nearby were so nice.  Some of our neighbours took us to visit local sites, such as; Caernarvon Castle and Lloyd George’s house.

"New Year's Eve soon arrived and I was very homesick.  I remember going up to my bedroom, up in the attic, and laying down on the bed and crying myself asleep.  The family noticed that I was absent and they went in search of me.  I woke to see my mistress, her son and the chauffeur standing above me in the bedroom.  When they realised I was so homesick, they were very supportive.

"One evening, when the mistress was away, I was boiling cabbage for dinner.  The potato peelings were still in the sink and, when I went to sieve the cabbage, the lid came off the pan and the cabbage fell amongst the peelings.  Oh, my goodness, what a job I had trying to rescue the cabbage out of the peelings.  They ate every scrap of the meal - they didn't even notice what they were eating half the time.  I was only working there six months as my sister, Catriona, wanted her turn away from home in order to go to the herring fishing.  Unfortunately, the Captain died shortly after I left.

"The following February, I got a letter from my former mistress, asking me if I'd come back to Glasgow to work for her.  However, I had to decline and wrote to her saying that it would not be worth my while as I would have to be back home to help my family in May.  I received an answer from her by return post requesting me to still come for these three months.  She offered to pay my travel expenses and raise my wages to £3 per month.  This was a lot of money then, so off I went.  Since the Captain had died, fewer servants were required and I was the only person working there then.  The one day the mistress would help me this time was on Mondays - I would do the washing while she would hoover.  One good thing was that I had plenty to eat, which wasn't every one’s lot in those days.  I stayed the three months and, as she had promised, she paid my fare there and back home. 

"After I left that house I remained at home until 1935.  I then went to work for a Mrs MacIntyre at Park Circus.  There was a girl from Mull working there as a temporary cook.  However, they wanted somebody on a permanent basis and also a house table-maid.  The lady took me on as a cook but, as long as Kate (the other girl) remained there, I also had to be house table-maid until she got someone else.

"It was more like a prison dungeon than a home.  You had to go down outside steps to get to the back premises.  The kitchen floor was laid with big stone slabs and our bedroom would make you shiver just to look at it.  Kate gave me some background information about our mistress - I decided there and then that I would not remain there long.

"One night they were going out to dinner - it must have been a Monday as Kate had finished a huge washing, and I had to iron it all.  The mistress had said that, even if it was 3 am when she came home, she would visit the kitchen to examine the ironing.  At this point I did not care, as I had made up my mind that, at the first opportunity, I was leaving.  Later that night we heard her arriving home and, sure enough, she went straight to the kitchen.  She was a rather tall lady and not particularly tidy herself, although extremely strict about neatness as far as her employees were concerned.

"When I got up the following morning, she had only set aside one garment which had to be redone.  I can still remember what it was: a huge pink night-gown which looked like a boilersuit with flowers round the collar.  In the morning she came down to scold me but by that time I had re-ironed it.  I told her that if it was not acceptable this time, I would certainly not do it again - I got a pass!  She was a ‘targer’ to work for.

"Later that day she told us what our duties were for the afternoon.  She instructed me to phone the grocer with an order.  She thought that I couldn’t use a phone, but I proved her wrong as I had used it in my previous employment.  Another time she asked me to do the dusting.  The house had a large cloakroom containing a rack of clothes pegs which went right round the room.  When I had finished the dusting I noticed she was carrying a white envelope in her hand.  She went over the rack with this envelope and, of course, it became black.  She asked me if I had finished the dusting.  I replied that I had, but she then produced the envelope and asked, "Do you call that dusted?"  I immediately told her that it wasn't dust but sheer dirt, and that you couldn't take it off with a duster! The clothes rack needed washing, not dusting.  She went brick red.  Her husband, Dr McIntyre, was nice however.  They had one small son.

"The day that I decided to leave, Kate told me that she had to take the boy to his music lessons.  She said that I should go while she was out so that when the mistress returned, Kate would tell her she did not know where I was - only that there was no sign of me when she returned.

"Our mistress, Mrs McIntyre, usually went to the ‘Corner House’ near the circus to play whist.  Kate had advised that I should go down the nearby lane so that she would not see me through the window.   But, as I was unsure of the correct route, I did not take her advice and took a chance on the main road.  I managed to make it safely.  Unfortunately, as I was nearing Sauchiehall Street, where I intended to get a tram, the handle came of my suitcase.  I had to carry it under my arm from there on.  When I reached the tram stop, the conductor saw the condition of my case and said, ‘There is someone running for her life!’  I responded, ‘You couldn't have said a truer word.’  He returned, ‘It happens all the time, hen!’

"I eventually arrived at a friend's house, Mr and Mrs MacDonald (Froig ‘s a bhean) from Ness.  My sister, Effie, was there at the time as she was in Glasgow for a holiday.  When they heard my story they were in hysterics, at my antics.

"The worst thing about running away from an employer like that is that you're always scared that you will meet the person one day - that's exactly what happened to me!  I was window shopping with Maggie when, lo and behold, who was looking through this shop window in Charing Cross but my former employer.  I said to Maggie, ‘Run!’  She turned and asked, ‘What on earth is the matter with you?’  I told her that there was nothing wrong with me - apart from the fact that Mrs McIntyre was over there.  We quickly fled the scene and I don't think she saw us, but many a time after that I was afraid I'd bump into her again.  Later, I worked in a house in Sauchiehall Street, and I remember still being worried in case they could be friends of Mrs McIntyre - because my new employer was also a doctor.  As luck would have it, I never met the McIntyres again.

"After that, I was employed in a house in Queensgate. We often felt hungry there as we only received bare rations - they bought everything in ounces!  There were a few of us working there: a girl from Islay worked there as a nanny; there was another girl called Mary, from Govan; the house table-maid, Bunty, came in daily, and I got a job there as a cook.  I immediately struck up a friendship with Bunty. When the Govan lass was away Bunty slept in my room - without our employers’ permission.  She had a boyfriend from Uig and, this particular evening, she arranged to meet him.  She intended to be out late so I gave her my key to the back door.  When she got back I was asleep in bed and did not hear her come home.  Suddenly, I was awakened by the hall light going on and our master shouting, ‘Are you in Mary?’  I opened my bedroom door and impersonated Mary, ‘Yes Sir!’ Satisfied, he responded, ‘Oh, all right.  I thought I heard a door banging.’  Somehow, I must have left the kitchen door ajar and when Bunty opened the back door the draught slammed the hall door shut and woke the master.  Fortunately, The family never came into the kitchen because, when I got up in the morning, I could see the imprint of Bunty's shoes on the tiled floor - and a size 7 at that!  I came back home to Lewis shortly afterwards when my sister Catherine got married.

"Our employers rarely paid our travel expenses to and from Lewis.  We were supposed to receive holiday pay if we were in their employment for a long period, although not everyone did so.  The fare from Glasgow to Stornoway at that time was £1 13/4 but if you went via Inverness it would be 2d dearer.  If you chanced on a good house and nice employers you were lucky - if not, look out!  Sometimes the dogs were more important than the girls.

"I was never at a dance in Glasgow.  We spent our days off visiting friends and on Sundays we went to church, followed by a visit to the Botanical Gardens.

"I remember when my cousin got married, I bought a new pair of shoes from J.D. Williams for the occasion - the fashion then was shoes with ankle straps.  This evening at work, I had just served the soup and, as I came down the stairs, the shoe-strap broke.  They were my only pair except for a pair of flat ‘ward’ shoes  I owned. So the only remedy was a bit of DIY, which I did with a hammer.  By Jove, I repaired them before the second course had to be served!  The strap never came off again either!

"I recall another time in Lenzie, I needed to buy new working shoes.  So, on my next day off, I went in to Glasgow and bought a pair for 7/6.  The shop would also fit protectors or studs into the soles and heels to keep them from wearing out too quickly, if you asked them to.  On this occasion, the woman in the shop had put the protectors on the wrong shoes.  I refused to take them, insisting on getting the pair that I wanted.  Eventually, she gave me the shoes I had originally ordered, and I told her that I'd put the studs in myself this time!

"When an Calaman got married in Clydebank, Maggie and I went to the reception.  While walking there, we stopped at a hairdresser’s salon in Dumbarton Road and we got a 'Marshall Wave'. We had decided not to wear hats so that we could show off our new mop of curly hair.  Unfortunately, when we came out of the hairdressers, it was pouring with rain and by the time we arrived at the wedding reception our hair was as straight as a poker.