Mee-mawing

SONG - The Weaving Song by Stick in the Wheel

https://youtu.be/7IGsGUVkUKg?si=oyMA6mM05OQRuWzC 

Day 20 - Sun. May 19

One section of the stained glass windows in our hotel staircase 

Today we were planning on going to the Kelvingrove Museum but we both woke up feeling like taking some time to relax.  I even took a three hour nap and those of you who know me well, know I detest naps.  I leave those to Mr. B who adores naps! We read and planned our next few days and by about 3:30 we decided to venture out over (or under in our case) the River Clyde and into the town of Paisley.  

We found Shuttle Street where people & families were eating outside and enjoying the sunny day.  My 3rd great-grandfather, Henry Grieve (1810 - 1865) was a hand loom weaver in this community and although I don’t know where he lived exactly, I do know that he was baptized & married in the Low Church across the street from here and that he most likely worked here on Shuttle Street.  

These were the cottages that the weavers worked in and most likely lived in (upstairs) and have been preserved by the Paisley Historical Society.  Unfortunately they were closed on Sundays. 

These are named the Sma-shot Cottages of Paisley.  The Sma’ (small) Shot was a cotton thread which bound all the colourful weft threads into the warps of the famous shawls. Later in the 1850’s it was the name of the weavers uprising against the owners who refused to pay for this tiny thread because they could not see it on the finished shawl but the weavers needed it to hold the shawl together.  The weavers won and every first Saturday in July there has been a celebration in honor of this day since 1856.

This statue was donated to the cottages and shows a lion with the loom on his side and various tartan fabrics.  And yes Paisley fabric was produced here in this town but they did not invent it.  It was used in India for thousands of years but the weavers in Paisley copied it and produced so many shawls with is this design it has been called Paisley print for many years.

And just across the street is Low Church where Henry was baptized and married to my 3rd great-grandmother, Isabella Dalziel. It is now used as an Arts Center  

The view of downtown Paisley from the church 

We then drove over to the town of Govan to a church that had Vikings graves on display inside but they had closed at 4 so we ran a few errands and then headed back to our hotel for a wonderful dinner. 

I had chicken with a crust of leeks & mushroom and Mr. B had fish & chips. 

The we shared dessert which was amazing - Apple Cobbler Soufflé with Carmel topping  & ice cream!

“You must be from across the pond?”

- locals ask us multiple times each day

Aye

And you probably want to know about the title of this post, Mee-mawing. It’s a form of talking in the weavers shed as the noise was so loud that you couldn’t hear so they used a form of mime & exaggerated mouth movements that could be understood by the other weavers and it was called “Mee-maw”

New Beginning

 

After a lot of deliberation I finally came to the conclusion that I need to "branch out"......he he....

I love doing my personal blog but I have also put years (about 50) collecting family history.  My own family, Mr. B's family as well as his bio-family, friends and family members trees, documents and photos. So I have decided to cut back on my personal blog to give "Twigs on my Branches" room to grow.

 

 

It is still uncertain how the new blog will develop but I need to get some of this information organized and out there for others to enjoy.  I thought for a long time about doing a small book but realized that it might be boring to pour though pages and pages of data and sources.  Several weeks ago I came across a woman's blog that resonated with me.  It was organized in a way that made it fun to read as she put the facts together along with some history.  For instance her relatives worked in the weaving mills in England and Scotland as did mine.  BUT...she found that they spoke their own dialect in each mill.  Apparently it was so noisy in the weaving sheds that they developed a form of speech with exaggerated movements to allow lip-reading and it was called Mee-mawing.

 

 

This is my 3rd Great-grandfather Henry Grieve, he is 50 years old in 1851.  His occupation is listed as HLW Cotton, meaning Hand Loom Weaver in Cotton.  

Come along with me for the fun. I know we will meet some colorful characters and you & I may even turn out to be cousins!

Twigs On My Branches