Clear of dust

David Orr has been in touch and says: “A reader said that ‘nicky tams’ were strings tied below the knee to stop creepy crawlies.

“But my understanding is confirmed by the dictionary definition that states they are: ‘A of a pair of straps, (or a piece of string in lieu), tied by farmworkers over the trousers-legs immediately below the knee to keep the legs clear of the soil and dust, etc, blowing up or relieve the weight of mud at the ankles’.

“This was particularly useful when they were ploughing heavy soil in wet weather as you can imagine the weight of wet earth on the heavy trouser legs.”

Rab Stewart adds that they were often made of leather and could be obtained from saddlers.

“I never heard the words sung, but I remember as a child in the 1950s listening to a farm worker in Spittalfield recite several stanzas from memory. I later succeeded in obtaining some of the words, although far short of the 50 verses claimed for it by Fergusson.

“The following extract records just a few of the shop’s commodities:

‘For butter kits an’ herrin’ barrels, John’s shop is never empty;

An’ baskets fou o’ rows an’ farrels; O’ everything there’s plenty; Nails an’ tackets, clamps an’ peas, An’ leather for your shuin; Likewise there’s skeps for haudin’ bees, And shuttles for your luims.

Pencils, paper, pens, an’ ink, Sealin’ wax an’ braces;

I’m no mistaken when I think There’s buit, shae an’ stay laces. Rum an’ brandy, gin an’ wine, Whisky, ale, an’ vinegar, Bits o’ worsted, balls o’ twine, Walkin’ sticks an’ ginger.’”