Category: Bitties Fae Barrowsgate
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A Tale of Whoa
Barrowsgate pokes fun at the rise of the “leisure horse rider” and their lack of horse skills. The Mill Inn referred to in this Bittie was on the Crynoch Burn that fed into the River Dee at Maryculter, near Drumoak. It closed down in 2014 after flooding. Note: The anecdote about the “cavalier of ample…
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Pigs tae Perfection
An extravagant claim by the National Farmers Union that Aberdeenshire farms are evolving the perfect pig leads Barrowsgate to muse on what the perfect pig would be like.
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The Traffic Problem
Barrowsgate came across a report by the town council about the traffic congestion in Aberdeen city centre when there is a football match on. He responds sarcastically to the suggestion that all traffic coming in from the countryside should be halted some distance from the city centre on match days. Barrowsgate is amused that the…
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Eggs, Assorted
Barrowsgate reads a Board of Trade report showing that millions of eggs are imported every year. He reflects on the humble egg in its many forms.
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Love, a fyou Defineetions
A speech at the Geneva Conference of 1933 made Barrowsgate reflect on the true meaning of love and the different ways of expressing it. By way of example, Jockie Tamson writes his true love a poem by way of marriage proposal. Jockie’s love letter is almost identical to Barrowsgate’s verse “A Proposal”.
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The Colorado Beetle an’ Ithers
A cautionary tale of beetles, bugs and insects and how to deal with them. The context for this bittie was the Colorado Beetle (Scotland) Order of 1933, brought in to combat the Colorado beetle which, as Barrowsgate notes, could have decimated potato crop.
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The Repeal of Prohibition in America
In 1933, the USA repealed the alcohol prohibition laws that had been in place since 1919. Barrowsgate notes that Scottish distilleries are working overtime to keep up with the demand and that the repeal is good news for Scotland.
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The Scots – Their Reet an’ Rise
Barrowsgate is not impressed with an account of a talk given by Lord Raglan at the British Association (for the Advancement of Science) in which he suggests that the Scots are not an ancient race. With a combination of logic and the Old Testament, Barrowsgate demolishes Raglan’s argument. Like Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Lord Raglan was…
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Ase Backets!
Aberdeen Council is apparently making money from refuse – including ash buckets. An early example of refuse recycling.