Hen night

“One event Pat and I remember from our early days on Colonsay was Morag Clark’s Hen Night. As was usual we were staying with Peggy and Angus plus all the family (Morag, Dougie, Donald and Gavin) at the farmhouse at Baleromindubh. Peggy suggested that we might like to join them up at Charlie and May’s barn for Morag’s Hen night celebrations.

"When we turned up, everyone was sitting round on straw bales busily chatting and soon the carrier bags containing ‘carry outs’ were opened and the drinks began to flow. We’d noticed that several islanders had a hessian sack at their feet and we guessed that they’d brought a gift which embarrassed us somewhat as we’d not done so. Later on when things were starting to get quite lively, one of the islanders - maybe Charlie or perhaps Jessie, pulled out of their sack a chicken...

""...The birds were duly plucked and soon a pile of feathers accumulated in the centre of the circle whereupon Charlie dived into the middle, grabbed a handful and proceeded to stuff them down the front of someone’s shirt. This of course triggered a free for all and soon everyone was involved and covered with feathers and down.

"Later things developed into a ceilidh and there was plenty of wild dancing as the night wore on. Afterwards It took several days to get the feathers out of our clothes and for the itchy feeling to disappear. We were told later that the purpose of the custom was to provide feather stuffing for the bride and groom’s bed cover and fresh meat for the wedding breakfast the following day. What a memorable experience and we were left wondering if this was the true origin of the term ‘Hen Night’.”

As told by Alan Davis

Photo of Peggy and Angus Clark (mother and father of Morag) taken on Peggy's Hen Night

More information on visiting the area can be found here.