37844: The Golden Wonder

On February 8, 1974, Margaret (Mairead) from Bernera married John Macleod (Shonnaidh) of Laxay and they settled at Laxay.

In the autumn of that year, they were lifting potatoes in their croft and to avoid losing her new wedding ring, Mairead gave Shonnaidh the ring for safe keeping. Shonnaidh put the ring in the breast pocket of his jacket where he thought it would be safe. A shower of heavy rain forced them to take shelter in an old ruin. When they finished lifting the potatoes that night, Mairead asked Shonnaidh for the ring but when he felt in his pocket for the ring, he realised he had lost it. For many days they searched the lazy bed and also the ruin where they had taken shelter but alas, no sign of the ring.

In the year 2002, Shonnaidh planted potatoes in the same lazy bed, a mixture of Kerrs Pink and a new class of seed potato. Three or four weeks later Shonnaidh broke up the ground with the croman and again went over the ground, twice cleaning and hoeing the potatoes. In the late summer he went to try the potatoes to see how they were coming on. After he pulled the second shaw, he saw something glittering and picked it up. It was the ring he had lost 28 years before.

When he came home, Mairead asked him what the potatoes were like. Shonnaidh picked up a potato and showed it to her saying, “that’s the Kerrs Pink”. He picked another one saying “that’s the new variety” and handing her the ring said, “that’s the Golden Wonder”,

She could not believe that he had found the ring she had lost so many years before. The ring was as bright as ever but would not fit her so she had it altered at the jewellers. She had done without a wedding ring for 28 years and wondered if they should get married again.