The version sung by Ewan MacColl on _Bothy Ballads_ (FW 8759) is similar to this one. But it does say "strae an' neep", and he explains that as put straw down and dig turnips. "Strae her neeps" (put straw on her turnips) does seem more likely to me, but what do I know?

"There were some fun, and awa' the smell" appears in his version as "There was plenty of fun awa' at his mill", which I find easier to parse. One of them is surely a mistake for the other.

He also has "postie's shelty".