Not a bookworm

“As I approached the library the other morning, a large rat scampered across the path and disappeared into the shrubbery,” writes a Craigie regular.

“Perhaps this rat is a refugee from the hotel opposite, just recently demolished. The library cafe is close to where the rat appeared. It may have found another source of food among the kitchen scraps.

“A rat in a library? I’ve heard of bookworms, but never bookrats!”

“The second church was destroyed by fire when the schoolmaster went away curling and a boy started throwing burning peats which set fire to the church. The present church was opened in 1959 and the congregation celebrated 150 years in 2009.

“The Parish of Blackford was originally the Parish of Strageath and what is thought to be the bell from the abbey of Strageath was then used in the belfry of the Old Church on the hill. The inscription on it proves that it is preReformation.

“Blackford has always been famous for the quality of its water and the Highland Spring plant has grown to employ a workforce of more than 500. The distillery also produces a fine whisky from the water.

“In the past Blackford was famous for boots and beer records show that King James V1, after his coronation in 1488 drank ale at Blackford.

“There were three breweries and two boot factories in full production until the depression in the 1920s forced their closure. One of the boot factories supplied the Highland regiments during the First World War. During the Second World War Blackford was a garrison town.

“I will never forget the last Sunday in April 1944 when the soldiers, who were moving south the next day in the build up to D Day, occupied the entire body of the kirk with the congregation seated in the balconies.

“The last hymn was Onward Christian Soldiers and the swell of the music made you feel they were trying to lift the roof off. It was a very emotional occasion.”