Aly's clogs

Dunscore Church has a small museum (Heritage Centre) attached to it, which is open on Sunday afternoons and at other times by appointment. It focuses on the history of the church, the village, and the life and death of Jane Haining, a local woman who was imprisoned in Auchwitz because she had looked after Jewish children in Budapest.

When I was in the Heritage centre this morning, I noticed a couple of pairs of clogs which had appeared since my last visit, donated by fellow blipper Alyrobbo.

The clogs have wooden soles, a leather upper and steel reinforced toes. Underneath is what looks like a horseshoe - it's called a "cacker". On the panel behind under "service and repair", there is a note that in the past, people could get their clogs "re-cackered" in the village.

Archie, who was in the Heritage centre this morning, told me that he wore similar boot clogs as a boy. He said that the wooden soles kept one's feet warm by insulating them from the cold, and that the cackers were great for sliding on ice! He also said that snow tended to cake under the soles so after a long walk you might end up 6 inches taller :-)