SNIPPET: Pauline GUCKIAN recalls: "I was born and reared on a farm in County Roscommon and I remember how hard we all of nine children had to work, but it did none of us any harm. At times my parents had it difficult if there was a bad summer. This summer, which was lovely and warm, my daughter had a few days of her holidays left and we decided to drive to Arigna and see the museum and Arigna Experience. It is a wonderful place and if the weather is good, as it was this summer, the scenery and the views are just fantastic. It also brought back memories to us of the time when my father went to the coal mines for coal for the winter. He would tackle the horse and cart and set off at 2 o'clock in the middle of the night and drive to the mines. There he would get the coal on the cart and be careful not to put on too heavy a load or the horse would not be able to continue the long journey home. We were all delighted to see man and beast home safely with the coal as it was a long journey of fifteen miles or so. It was a great comfort to our parents to have fuel for the long winter months secured. We had lots of trees growing on our farm and after a storm, we had lots of storms in those days, we were sent out to gather "cipins" (sticks) for kindling the fire. We always had great fun collecting them. Well now we are in a modern world. Nobody would ask a child to collect "cipins" for a fire now. I have lived to see some massive changes happening on the land. In the long summer evenings we always milked the cows in the field and if they were quiet, as they always seemed to be in those days, it was the most enjoyable experience in the warm weather, and if you were out at hay making all day, I felt you were resting while sitting milking a cow." -- Pauline GUCKIAN, 'Winter's Coal', "2005 issue "Leitrim Guardian" annual magazine (with her photo). If you "google" Arigna you will find several websites including a very nice one by Ian GALLAGHER with photographs and history of that area.