In total, there were over 300 short-form pieces, or “Bitties”, written in Doric. These generally fell into the category of “wry observations about country life” or were humorous anecdotes, with a handful of verses thrown in. The value of these pieces is that they record and preserve a way of life that is now long gone, and together they form one of the largest bodies of work written in Doric by a single author. They are linguistically important because, as Douglas Kynoch observed in the Preface of his Doric Doctionary, Doric poetry is more readily available but may not be the purest form of the language, as the poet uses it creatively and can change the meaning of words, or borrow terms used in other parts of Scotland.
Unless otherwise indicated, all the works listed were published in the “Bitties Fae Barrowsgate” column in the Aberdeen Bon Accord and Northern Pictorial Newspaper (the “Bon Accord”). The date shown is the earliest known date of publication. Where the publication date is not known, a current date (e.g. Nov 9, 2024) is shown.
Where a newspaper cutting is not available, screenshots and photos have been taken from the microfilm readers in the British Library. The quality of the original film is in many cases poor, and it has been difficult to capture a decent image.