Interview with Walter Clarke about the Manx Folk Life Survey, Manx Gaelic and Manx dialect
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Date(s): August 1997
Scope & Content: Tracks 1 & 2: Walter Clarke talks to Breesha Maddrell about growing-up in the north of the island and how he got involved in the Manx Folk Life survey. He talks about organising exhibitions of photographs in church and school halls; his opinion of the Manx Museum and it's response then to Manx Gaelic; members of the Manx Language Society borrowing funds to buy a recording machine; working with Bill Radcliffe and Doug Faragher visiting older locals and having to find houses with electricity; visit of Professor Marstrander in 1953; Manx speaker Harry Kelly; different dialects on the island; travelling around the island to interview people; different dialect in Sulby and being ridiculed for his pronunciation in school in Ramsey.
Walter describes how to get people to tell interesting stories; shoeing horses and the increasing cost; mass production and storage of Manx bonnag; anecdote about Billy Christian and his supposed war wound; anecdote about Tommy Leece and the hen in the hedge; having the time now to listen to old recordings; use of tenses in Manx, differences and similarities of pronunciations; Manx Folk Life survey archive at the Manx Museum; preparing an overview of all recordings; raising money to pay for the recording machine; folk life survey by Kevin Danaher; recording people in Cregneash; the various types of recordings and transcripts made; the skipper of the 'Wanderer' in the First World War; cycling to the Curraghs; talking to the blacksmith and practising Manx; finding out about a Manx speaker on BBC programme; finding electricity to make recordings; navy kit bag re-purposed to carry sound machine with gear lever; playing 1950s 5 inch paper tapes on modern tape recorder.
He talks about building the cobblestone barn, shop, fisherman shed and dairy for display in the Manx Museum; an anecdote about a schoolboy and crayon marks on door; how the Manx Museum was interested in portraying the practical side of folk life; producing Manx Museum display photographs; fire in his house and lost paperwork and prints.
Breesha Maddrell then talks with two women about what will happen to her team’s work and the project; aim to widen the network; collating useful information by focusing on people’s interest rather than specific questions; volunteers learning how to interview; achieving continuity by showing how life changed; working on indexing and categorising all work collated; working with schools to fit folk life into the curriculum; analysing the work and hopefully making all available to the Manx Museum.
Language: English
Extent: 1 hr. 27 min. 55 sec
Item name: cassette tape
Collection: Sound Archive
Level: ITEM
ID number: SA 0407
Access conditions: All reasonable attempt has been made by Manx National Heritage to trace and request permission (where needed) from the copyright holder(s) in this sound recording. If however you think you are a rights holder then please contact Manx National Heritage.
Subject tags : #UOSH