Category: Writings
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The Gweed Samaritan
Dauvit likes a drink and helps a friend bury his wife (whom he had killed) with a toast of Glentackit, offering her skull a dram (from the closed bottle)
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His Character
A farmer asks Wullie for a reference before taking him on. Instead, Wullie finds out that the farmer’s reputation is not good and declines the job. Barrowsgate provided an English translation with notes for this one.
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“Saut”
A pig dies so the farmer gets his young farm-hand to brine it and they all eat pork for a while. The same happens to his cow but when the farmer’s wife dies, the farm-hand draws the line at brining and eating her
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“Nickums”
Twin brothers Rab and Tam cause havoc in the Tornaveen area. They stole the postman’s hens and let them loose in the church during a service. The ministers chase the birds from pew to pew through the church. They eventually grow up and possibly meet their end in Flanders (it’s not clear whether Barrowsgate is…
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Thrashin’ Day at Barrowsgate
A new threshing machine arrives at the croft and brother-in-law Adam comes along to “help”. According to Barrowsgate’s son Murray, this verse was based on real life events, where Adam is Barrowsgate’s brother-in-law Adam Corbett Taylor.
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A Helpin’ Han
A pedlar hangs himself and a passing poacher leaves him hanging in the tree because he wasn’t dead yet.
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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In 1933, the USA repealed the alcohol prohibition laws that had been in place since 1919.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.