Hairy MacFerry
This intimidating lad is but one of the long line of MacFerrys that hail from the wee coastal village of Plockton, near Kyle of Lochalsh. along Scotland’s northwestern shore.
The MacFerrys gained their family name from their generations-long trade of ferrying their countrymen to and from the Isle of Skye (and supposedly a few times even as far as the Faroe Islands, far out in the North Atlantic). Hairy here supplements his ferry earnings with regular winnings in the caber toss at the Scottish Highland Games and local competitions.
So, be careful not to anger bull-strong Hairy with any obvious jest regarding his name. For though he’s wearing a kilt, evening pumps and delicate mesh stockings, he’d be happy to pound you to a pulp in a heartbeat if ridiculed.
Hairy’s name was actually intended to be Harry (or, rather, Harold, after his notable great-uncle). But, upon spying the furry wee child at the time of his baptism, the village vicar — who also tended all of the settlement’s civic records — mistakenly recorded his name as Hairy, not Harry. Thus, he has been Hairy MacFerry to this day.
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Comments
AUTHORHey, Alan! I'm glad you liked my burly Scotsman. I'm aware of the Scots games throughout North America. My mother's family had roots in the Isle of Man several generations back, so they always considered themselves Scots-Irish-Englanders *(aswell as part Germanic). As you may have noticed, I like sketching 'round the globe, often depicting Ukranians, Greeks, Aussies, Slavs, Tamil, Hutu, Hindi, Portuguese, Martians, Argentinians . . . well, you get the idea. — Regards, Rick
Hi Rick,
Alan from Scotland, I do not toss the caber, that's a bit like a telegraph pole, but I did notice a lot of those 'heavyweight guys' have hairy arms and shoulders like you and me, BUT their physique is much larger than I am, much more. Scottish Highland Games are not just held in Scotland, there are many in North America, USA and especially Canada where a lot of Scots settled especially in the 19th and early 20th Century.
That was a great post and drawing of 'Hairy MacFerry'
Regards
Alan in Scotland
