Joe Gowran (Part 2)

In the second recording, Joe Gowran describes the process of wattling with willow, and how it was done. He talks about the use of wattle buildings in the past and the speed with which they could be made. They vanished in time because it was difficult to collect rent from the tenants of these buildings because they could pick up and go at any time, in contrast to those who lived in a stone dwelling. Joe describes how they would smoke houses long ago by closing all the doors, so that the smoke would neutralise the smell of the sheep wool in the walls. He talks about dry stone wall maintenance today and the decline of forestry due to land values. He also gives his view on the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS). His love of nature and woodland management is very clear in this recording.