Scottish history – Teacher Joseph's Sound Archive

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (15): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1238)

Part 15 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. Neil helps sell the last of the timber at market and sees an unexpectedly cheerful side of Uncle Robert, before a slip about Neil’s father and Thomas brings the family’s unease back into view.

Episode 15: Market Day

By the time they came to the last of the wood, Uncle Robert had stopped being careful.

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (14): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1237)

Part 14 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. At the timber market, Neil learns what happened to Thomas and sees how Uncle Robert uses whisky to numb the pain of exile, family and loss. A historical fiction audio story about Scottish emigration, Canada, family and belonging.

Episode 14: A Drink to Numb the Pain

As they unloaded the wood from the wagon, there was a silence between them. Neil hadn’t yet found out where Thomas was or exactly what had happened. He had already learned that information in the family was shared strictly on a need-to-know basis, so there was little point in asking, at least not yet.

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (13): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1233)

Part 13 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. Thomas fails to return home after a night at the inn, while Neil and Uncle Robert take timber to market and learn that trouble has followed him. A historical fiction audio story about Scottish emigration, Canada, family, faith, and belonging.

Episode 13: Where Is Thomas?

Suddenly a shaft of light hit Neil’s eyes. He looked up to see Uncle Robert standing there.

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (12): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1228)

Part 12 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. Neil and Esther encounter a mysterious masked horseman whose appearance is linked to local stories of death. A historical fiction audio story about Scottish emigration, Canada, superstition, mystery, and belonging.

Episode 12: The Horseman

As Neil and Esther got ready to leave the cemetery, they both heard a noise. Looking towards the road, they heard a horse galloping, its hooves thumping against the ground. In the distance, they could make out a figure dressed in black, riding a black horse that was drawing ever closer.

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (11): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1225)

Part 11 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. Esther helps Neil uncover Maggie’s final months and the hidden grave marked by a pebble. A historical fiction audio story about Scottish emigration, Canada, family, grief, and belonging.

Episode 11: The Pebble

Esther and Neil playfully sat on the ground on a summer’s day. “Oh, my mother’s the same, Neil,” muttered Esther with a deep sigh. “Even the mention of the Catholic Church can throw her into a rage. I think it was a Lowland Scotland thing. Around Glasgow it became much worse because of Irish immigration. My mother’s family came from Kilbirnie, but my father’s people were from Skye, and they never seemed to carry the same bitterness.”

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (10): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1223)

Part 10 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. Neil confronts three silences around grief, religion, and the Keating threat. A historical fiction audio story about Scottish emigration, Canada, family, and belonging.

Episode 10: The Three Silences

After feeling more settled because of the café visit, Neil was thinking of ways he could help the family move on from the death of Thomas’s sister Maggie. Thomas clearly couldn’t speak of her except when he was upset and the rest of the family seemed to have forgotten her, but it was simply their way of grieving.

1222 Neil McTaggart’s Crossing Returns | A New Home for the Story & Audiobook

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing now has its own permanent home. Read and listen to the complete story so far, follow every chapter in order, and continue the journey from Scotland to Canada.

After a break, Neil McTaggart's Crossing is returning.

Continue reading “1222 Neil McTaggart’s Crossing Returns | A New Home for the Story & Audiobook”

1221 What Exactly Is an Orange Parade? History, Purpose and Tradition Explained

What is an Orange parade? Learn the history of the Orange Order, the Battle of the Boyne, Protestant tradition and why Orange marches continue today.

What exactly is an Orange parade, and why do these marches still take place today?

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1210 The Paisley Witches: Remembering the Victims of Scotland’s Last Witch Trial

Teacher Joseph remembers the victims of the Paisley Witches, Scotland’s last witch trial, and explores the local history of Paisley and Renfrewshire.

Teacher Joseph tells the story of the Paisley Witches and remembers the victims of Scotland's last witch trial. This episode explores Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scottish history, local memory, witch trials, folklore, and the dark history behind one of Scotland's most haunting local stories.

Continue reading “1210 The Paisley Witches: Remembering the Victims of Scotland’s Last Witch Trial”

Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (9): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1125)

Part 9 of Neil McTaggart’s Crossing. Neil visits town, meets Mrs Brant, and begins to feel that Canada might become home. A historical fiction audio story about Scottish emigration, Canada, family, and belonging.

Episode 9: The Town

The frost had lifted a little by the time Robert said,
“You’d best come with me to town today, lad.”