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An t-seachdain sa chaidh bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu Bhan-tighearna Labhair, The Lady of Lawers. Bha i a’ fuireach taobh Loch Tatha ann an Siorrachd Pheairt. Bha an dà-shealladh aice. Bha i beò ’s dòcha anns an t-seachdamh linn deug. Chuir i craobh ri taobh na h-eaglaise ann an Labhair. Thuirt i – duine sam bith a leagas a’ chraobh seo gheibh e bàs uabhasach. Uill, tha e coltach gun do leag fear a’ chraobh. Is dè thachair dha? Chaidh a ghaorradh le a tharbh fhèin. Agus chaochail e. Bàs uabhasach, gu dearbh. Thuirt a’ Bhan-tighearna iomadh rud mu sgìre Loch Tatha. Thuirt i gun robh muileann a’ dol a bhith air gach allt. Thuirt i gun robh crann-treabhaidh a’ dol a bhith aig gach gille. Thuirt i, às dèidh sin, gun robh na bailtean-fearainn gu bhith fad air falbh bho chèile. Cha robh comas a’ dol a bhith aig aon choileach an ath choileach a chluinntinn. Thàinig iad seo uile gu bith. Bha sluagh mòr ann. Bha tòrr mhuilnean ann. Bha na daoine a’ dèanamh àiteachas mòr. An uair sin bha na fuadaichean ann. Bha bàthadh mòr air Loch Tatha. Bha na daoine anns an sgìre brònach. Ach thuirt a’ Bhan-tighearna gun robh latha nas miosa a’ tighinn. Bha soitheach a’ dol a dhol fodha anns an loch. Bhiodh tòrr dhaoine air am bàthadh. Cha do thachair an tubaist sin fhathast. Tha mi an dòchas nach tachair. Agus thuirt i rud eile inntinneach. Bha daoine a’ sgitheadh air Beinn Labhair fada mus robh na goireasan sgithidh ann an àiteachan mar an Càrn Gorm is an t-Aonach Mòr. Thog Club Sgithidh na h-Alba bothan air Beinn Labhair anns na tritheadan. Ach, anns na beagan bhliadhnaichean a dh’fhalbh, chan eil an sneachd air a bhith cho math. Saoil an atharraich sin? Oir thuirt a’ Bhan-tighearna gun robh latha a’ tighinn nuair a bha Beinn Labhair a’ dol a bhith uabhasach fuar. Bhiodh i cho fuar ’s gum biodh i a’ dèanamh an fhearainn airson seachd mìle mu a timcheall na fhàsach. Ma tha i ceart, ’s dòcha nach e blàthachadh a tha romhainn ach fuarachadh. 

Last week I was telling you about The Lady of Lawers. She was living on Loch Tayside in Perthshire. She had the second sight. She was alive perhaps in the Seventeenth Century. She planted a tree beside the church at Lawers. She said – any person that fells this tree will have a terrible death. Well, it appears that a man did fell the tree. And what happened to him? He was gored by his own bull. And he died. A terrible death, indeed. The Lady said many things about the Loch Tay area. She said that a mill was going to be on every burn. She said that every lad was going to have a plough. She said, after that, that the farms were going to be far away from each other. Each cockerel was not going to be able to hear the next cockerel. These all came to be. There was a big population. There were many mills. The people were heavily engaged in agriculture. Then the clearances happened. There was a big loss of life from drowning on Loch Tay. The people in the area were sad. But the Lady said that a worse day was coming. A vessel was going to sink in the loch. Many people would be drowned. That accident hasn’t happened yet. I hope it doesn’t happen. And she said another interesting thing. People were skiing on Ben Lawers long before the ski facilities existed in places like Cairn Gorm and Aonach Mòr. The Scottish Ski Club built a bothy on Ben Lawers in the thirties. But, in the past few years, the snow has not been so good. I wonder if that will change? Because the Lady said that a day was coming when Ben Lawers was going to be very cold. It would be so cold that it would make the land for seven miles around a wasteland. If she is correct, perhaps it’s not warming that awaits [is ahead of] us but cooling.