Below are some samples of sound recordings from our vast collection.

Mr. McNaught was recorded in 1987 at his home near Auldgirth in Dunscore Parish. He was known as a joiner, but he much preferred trapping moles. In his youth he had also trapped rabbits. His knowledge of the natural world and the effect of farming practices on wildlife drew on his experiences in the Dumfriesshire countryside .

He talks about the necessity of trapping moles, the use of their skins, and the leck of the Blackcock on the moors. His narrative is anecdotal about, local people, farms and gives us an insight into his indigenous knowledge in these recordings.  This is the first clip of this series on rural vermin control.

Jimmy Routledge or Papa as he was affectionately known, was a craftsman in sandstone. He was a weel  kent figure in the streets of Thornhill, Dumfriesshire , a character rarely encountered now!

Alyne made a radio programme about his working life and poetry in 1984 for BBC Radio Scotland called the Quarryman Poet.