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Document 540

Craiters: 16 - Hairt Sorry

Author(s): Alexander Fenton

Copyright holder(s): Alexander Fenton

Text

A body dis a lot o things ey dinna wint tae dee. I left e hoose ae mornin, it wis intill e second wik o June, aifter a nicht o shooery rain. E day wisna bad, jist a coolness fin I opent e door. E leafs on e geen tree hid a drap at ilky pint, ere wis silver ballies o water on e heids o e girse, an e grun wis fine an sappy. E kinna wither at gangs tae growth, though I will admit ere's times ye feel aafa crivvt in fin aathing roon ye's jist a carant o green foggitch. I dinna ken bit fit I like e openness o winter better, haad awa fae e caal.

Onywye, I haivt up e garage door an got ma car oot. Ere's at muckle trock at e sides at ye've tae steer gey cannie, an ye've tae see tee at ye dinna knack e side mirror on e frame o e door as ye come oot backlins. Eence I wis clear, I stoppit in e run-in an climmt oot tae steek e door. I jist happent tae look doon as ma fit landit on e graivel an there begod wis twa snails wi eir bonny strippit shallies, linkit egither in a state o holy matrimony. Ye cd see e silver roadies ey'd made ower e steens at e rain hid sypit. They werena hashed bit I wis, so I shut e door an back intill e car, watchin ma feet nae tae disturb em.

Back I cam at nicht, wheekin intill e run-in at a fair lick, as I ay dee. I'm eest till't, bit it's ill for giein onybody wi's a fleg, an e openin looks tichter wi e growth o wallflooer an antirrhiniums at ilky side an up e middle. I jist minet on e snails fin I geed tae tak ma paperies oot o e back seat an aye, e craiters wis ay ere, niver an upple or divall e hale o e day.

‘Ye're deein weel, ma birkies',

said I tae masel, as I held in for ma supper.

Aa weel, it wis een o is nichts fin baby-sittin hid tae be deen at ma dother's. I saa tae ma ain tae, syne quarriet a file amon ma byeuks or e phone rang tae gie's ma mairchin orders. Aff I set till e far side o e toon, newsed a filie at e hoose, syne back again. Throwe e evenin, fin e traffic's lichter, it disna haad lang, though it jist braks up yer time fin ye're tryin tae get on wi things. Onywye, fit's deen's nae tae be deen; bit ma heid wis wirkin awa at fit I’d been deein, writin something at wis tae gang intill a byeuk, an afore I minet I pit ma fit on tap o e snailies. Een wis get flattent an e ither hid a crackit shall. I pat ma finger till em, bit baith hid eir sookers ticht till e grun. Nae eese tryin tae meeve em. I niver spak, jist pat e car in, leave em be wis aa I cd dee.

In e mornin I set aff again as I ay dee. Ae snail wis faar I’d left em. E idder, crackit shall or no, hid gotten craalt a maitter o gey near three feet, leavin its bonny trackie, an syne dee’t. Ir nicht e birds an e beetles hid clearet e lot. I wis jist hairt sorry.

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APA Style:

Craiters: 16 - Hairt Sorry. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 14 October 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=540.

MLA Style:

"Craiters: 16 - Hairt Sorry." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 14 October 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=540.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Craiters: 16 - Hairt Sorry," accessed 14 October 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=540.

If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2024. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.

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Information about Document 540

Craiters: 16 - Hairt Sorry

Text

Text audience

Adults (18+)
General public
Informed lay people
Specialists
Males
Females
Audience size 1000+

Text details

Method of composition Wordprocessed
Year of composition 1994
Word count 606

Text medium

Book
Periodical/journal

Text publication details

Published
Publisher Tuckwell Press
Publication year 1995
Place of publication East Linton
ISBN/ISSN 1898410739
Edition First
Part of larger text
Contained in Craiters. Or Twenty Buchan Tales

Text setting

Education
Other Putting the dialect on record, Aberdeenshire

Text type

Prose: fiction
Prose: nonfiction
Short story

Author

Author details

Author id 27
Forenames Alexander
Surname Fenton
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1920
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Academic/Writer/Editor
Place of birth Shotts
Region of birth Lanark
Birthplace CSD dialect area Lnk
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Edinburgh
Region of residence Edinburgh
Residence CSD dialect area Edb
Father's occupation Shoemaker
Father's place of birth Aberdeen
Father's region of birth Aberdeen
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Housewife\Crofter
Mother's place of birth Keith
Mother's region of birth Banff
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Bnf
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes At work
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes At home and wherever possible

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