Tryst on Februar Fowerteen – A Scots Allegory

Pic: Rod Fleming

A fell cauld wind wis sauchin ower the muir as the bonny wumman gart her wey tae tryst her jo. For the necht wis Februar the fowerteen, an aabody kens at’s the necht for luve.

She wis winsome eneuch, tho the first blush o youth, it maun be said, was left ahent her a lang while syne. A body mecht hae speirit at himsel how comes a lass o sic natral attractions hidnae been wad this mony a lang year.

At last she reached the spot ablow an auld aik whaur she an her jo hiv met this necht mony mair years nor either of them wad care tae hink on. Her jo wis aaready there, a puckle fashit, ye mecht hink, wi the wye he wis stridin up an doon, his een flashin faniver he luikit up.

“Ah, here you are, at last,” he intoned, as the lass presented hersel.

Poaching the River in English!

[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignleft" width="200"] Poaching the River[/caption]

 Poaching the River is back on the shelves, both physical and virtual, so I have been addressing the next issue.

 

 Poaching the River was written only partly in English, or at least the Scottish version of it, and all the dialogue is in authentic Mearns Doric. That is my native tongue of course, although I didn’t really know it until I was at school.

 

 The book was written as a homage to that culture, but it is a sad fact that there are few of us left who understand Doric, or can speak it. Ever since Poaching was first published I have had requests to translate it into English, something I have always resisted, for a number of reasons.

Poaching the River Back in Print and Ebook

[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignleft" width="640"] Poaching the River[/caption]

Poaching the River was my first published book. It's back in print! (and ebook!)

Buy it HERE from Amazon.co.uk

or

HERE from Amazon.com

ISBN:978-0-9554535-0-2

 

Poaching the River tells the story of a sleepy Scottish coastal village where the tranquility of life is literally blown up in the air.

Acclaimed as a ‘true classic’ of humorous fiction, Poaching the River opens, after introducing the heroes, Big Sye and his pal Peem, with the return of the beautiful Rae Swankie to the village of Auchpinkie in Scotland.