Years ago when there was no television or radio, people on Islay and elsewhere, spent their evenings in an entirely different way. The older people told tales and the young ones listened, breathless and sometimes scared to death. Those were the times that superstition and folktales had great impact on peoples' daily lives. Many of the myths have survived into present times for some people made the effort of writing them down. Being separated from the mainland, Islay, of course, has its own share of tales and many of them are preserved in a wee booklet by Peggy Earl, which can be obtained at C&E Roy in Bowmore and is very pleasant to read.
I found this little story inside about calling the Doctor... Before roads were made, there were mostly tracks and people were isolated, and often the doctor was not within easy reach. Should there be a sick person in the house, and it was not certain whether the doctor should be called or not, a test was given which decided whether a doctor was necessary. Someone from the house would go outside, find a large stone, and turn it over. If there was any living creature under the stone, then the doctor should be called for there was hope for the patient; if there was nothing, there was no hope, and the patient would die in any case, so there was no need to go for the doctor.
That reminded me of something Jeremy Hastings showed us on our birding trip this year. He took us to a very remarkable stone just outside Port Charlotte, called the Tooth Stone or Toothache Stone. This little rock has a tale to tell... Toothache is also called 'the hell of all diseases' and the only sure cure is to have the offending molar extracted, except for the people in Port Charlotte, for they had a better idea. When they felt the first pains coming up they headed for the Tooth Stone in the glen just outside Port Charlotte. Armed with nails and a hammer they hammered the nails into the stone and at the end of their hard labour their toothache was supposed to be gone. - Considering the amount of nails and the extend of how far they were beaten into the stone, one can only guess HOW much pain people had to suffer back then. However, when you take the road to Kilchiaran from Port Charlotte and pass the water station on the right, have a good look in the glen on your right. Here you will find the Tooth Stone, about 200 meters away from the road and almost any crack is filled with old nails. Anyway, if you get some trouble with your teeth, beter try the local dentist first: leave the hammer home and just hope for a good sedation.
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