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A NEW exhibition, which will be mounted in Montrose Museum in June, is aiming to chronicle the life of one of Montrose's literary talents as well as a diminishing way of life.
Betsy Whyte was born into a traditional Scottish travelling family but settled eventually near Montrose and her autobiographies, The Yellow on the Broom and Red Rowans and Wild Honey, paint vivid pictures of travellers' lives in the 1930s and 1940s.
A well-known exponent of traditional music and storytelling, her books depict the lives of travellers as they move around Angus and Perthshire to follow seasonal work such as tattie howking, berry picking and pearl fishing, as well as highlighting traditional crafts such as basket and pot making and the door-to-door selling of items such as stationery and small household goods.
The exhibition is being organised by Betsy Whyte's great grandson, David Pullar, who is keen to track down any material such as photographs and hand-made artefacts relating to her and to the travellers' traditions in the local area.
These will be put together with an existing collection in time for the exhibition's opening on June 8 which will take the form of a fundraiser for the local branch of Enable.
The opening night will celebrate Betsy's diverse traditional talent and will include storytelling with Jess Smith and the vocal talents of Sheila Stewart MBE along with musical accompaniment from local musicians The Ryans.
The event will run from 7pm - 9pm and tickets, costing £6 including light refreshments, are available now from Montrose Museum and Hogg's newsagent.
The exhibition will run until July 21 and admission is free. Anyone who can help David with exhibits should contact the museum in the first instance on 673232.
11 April 2007
Courtesy of The Montrose Review
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