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Document 788

Dipper: 51 - Annyntit

Author(s): Dr James A Begg

Copyright holder(s): Dr James A Begg

Audio transcription

M623 Anyntit

If ever there wis a pair o anyntit rogues that didnae deserve sic a Divine blessin, it wis the McGintys. They got ither 'blessins', mind ye, mair nor yince frae the byllies, whan they wrigglt their wey oot o yae caper efter anither - like the time they had the impidence tae net the Tidal Puil at the mooth o the river.

The grapevine had tellt us o a hunner seatroot bein liftit oot the Tidal Puil yae week in the middle o June, an while daunerin alang its bank, I had fand a couple o wee widden pegs lyin whaur they suidnae hae been, hauf-wey doun the puil, juist whaur a gill net cuid hing easily in the slack watter - an hing a wheen o fish comin in wi the nicht tide.

A public pad ran doun the faur bank, an ayont the thorn hedge at the back o it wis an estate o bonny big hooses wi fancy gairdens. But whit had made their ploy aa the mair impident wis that the hoose o Girvan the netsman stuid nae mair nor a hunner yairds awa at the fuit o the puil.

Twa nichts later, the Heid Byllie, Jock an Neil an mysel, efter walkin the watter since the darkenin, feenished up at hauf-past twae in the mornin by the road brig juist abune the Tidal Puil. It wis a still, bleck nicht, an as we left the bricht glare o the street lichts ahint us tae gang doun the pad, whit wi the trees abune us on yae side, the thorn hedge on the tither, an the roar o watter throu the dam dirlin oor lugs, we cuid see nor hear ocht. As oor nicht sicht cam back, the pad stuid oot a faint siller-grey, an as we cam roun a corner I stoppt deid - 'Somebody's comin!' I hissd ablow my braith.

Fower faint bleck sheddaes nae mair nor forty yairds awa an heidin oor wey, stoppt deid tae. For a lang hauf-meenit we aa stuid ruitit tae the grund then, kennin we cuid gae nae further withoot them rinnin awa onywey, we switched on oor torches tae try an at least identify them. Blurred faces an grey sheddaes scattert, then dertit throu a handy gap in the hedge wi the fower o us in hot pursuit.

The 'hot pursuit' didnae last lang, for they were aff like grews at a hare, lowpin ower laich waas an throu the fancy gairdens, wi oor middle-aged sels pechin ahint them like fower auld spaniels. Then we saw there wis yin no juist as skeich as the lave, an wi that the pechin auld spaniels turnt like magic intae a pride o lions efter the waikest o the herd. The puir bugger tried hard tae lowp a dyke but tummlt, an wi that we were in for the kill.

'Ma knee! Watch ma knee!' he cried.

'Ah ken that vyce!' I thocht, then wi my torch on him - 'T'Hell, Ah ken the face as weel!' It wis Sanny Todd, a committee member o the Fishin Club, an a regular in oor shop!

'Whit the hell are you daein here?' I speirt, dumfounert.

'Ah wis... Ah wis only oot a walk, an whan youse pit the torches on me Ah thocht Ah wis gaun tae get mugged... so Ah ran!'

'Ach! Tell us anither!' scoffed the Heid Byllie. 'That wis the McGintys wi ye, an ye were nettin the Tidal Puil!'

Wi that, Sanny kent fine he had been rummlt, an stertit tae mak his excuses - 'Oh, ma knee!.... Ah wish Ah hadne came. They asked me tae come wi them... it's ma furst time ever. Ah'm no workin, an Ah thocht Ah'd mebbe mak a few bob for the weans!'

'Whaur's the net?' demandit the Heid Byllie wi a hert o stane as he sent Jock tae phone the Polis an turnt a blin lug tae the hard-luck story.

Todd stauchert tae his feet an hirplt back across tae the watter like a lame dug luikin for a pat on the heid. 'Doun there!' he gestured vaguely throu a gap in the pylin fence. I jumpt doun throu the hole an Neil cam ahint. We shone oor torches doun an up the puil, but cuid see neither corks nor ropes - naethin!

Disappyntit, herts sinkin, we were juist turnin awa whan we spied, ablow the watter, the end o an orange rope. Tied tae an underwatter peg, it streitcht oot o sicht tae the faur bank. The fly buggers had been uisin submerged nets that wad niver hae been seen in a month o Sundays by byllies patrollin the banks.

For my sins, I began tae feel a wee bit sorry for Sanny, for I kent he had a puir wife an a hantle o weans tae keep on Benefit - tho it did cross my mind that if only his doctor kent he wis fit eneuch tae gang oot poachin, he micht no be 'oan the seik' ower lang wi his gammy leg!

But there he wis, forlorn an dowf, staunin on the yae leg an moanin aboot the tither, an I tuik peety on him at bein nabbed on his furst nicht oot.

'Och, awa hame oot the road, Sanny, an let us get on wi luikin for thae ithers!' I fand oot my mistake five meenits later whan Jock cam back.

'Ye silly bugger!' he cried. Ah've juist mindit on ma road tae the phone that that yin Todd has been bummin tae aa the ither fishers in the Club o aa the seatroot an saumon he's been catchin on the flee up the watter this year... an even showin them photies tae prove it!'

I cuid hae crawlt ablow a stane! 'Aw weel, we ken whaur he steys, an the Polis can pick him up later,' I excused lamely, 'but we'd better gang an get that net the nou.'

A sherp rug shuin freed the net frae the faur bank, an we poued it in haun ower haun, expectin wi aa the eager anticipation o poachers themsels tae see a guid haul o seatroot, but aa we got wis yae dumfounert wee flounder!

The Polis were nane too pleased ither, whan they had tae pick up Sanny Todd at hame - aa the mair sae whan they fand oot he'd been the driver an had left his caur doun a nearhaun street - nae dout wi ither nets in it! We aa learn by oor mistakes!

Nane the less, Sanny did come tae coort - withoot the McGintys - an the Sheriff wisnae ower impressed wi his bein 'oot a walk' at hauf-twae in the mornin, an fined him seeventy poun. An the funny thing is, despite it aa, Sanny's still a guid customer!

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Cite this Document

APA Style:

Dipper: 51 - Annyntit. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 11 December 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=788.

MLA Style:

"Dipper: 51 - Annyntit." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 11 December 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=788.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Dipper: 51 - Annyntit," accessed 11 December 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=788.

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 788

Dipper: 51 - Annyntit

Audio

Audio audience

General public
For gender Mixed
Audience size 1000+

Audio awareness & spontaneity

Speaker awareness Aware
Degree of spontaneity Fully scripted

Audio footage information

Original title The Dipper an the Three Wee Deils
Year of recording 1993
Recording person id 752
Size (min) 6
Size (mb) 23

Audio footage publication details

Published
Publisher/Broadcaster Scotsoun
Publication/Broadcast date 1993-01-01
Place of publication/broadcast Glasgow

Audio medium

Radio/audio

Audio setting

Leisure/entertainment
Private/personal

Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers

Friend
Speakers knew each other Yes

Audio speaker relationships

Friend
Other Co-authors of book from which recording was made

Audio transcription information

Title of original The Dipper an the Three Wee Deils
Transcriber id 689
Year of transcription 2005
Year material recorded 1993
Word count 1149

Audio transcription publication details

Published
Publisher/Broadcaster Luath Press
Publication/Broadcast date 1991-01-01
Place of publication/broadcast Barr, Ayrshire
ISBN/ISSN 0946487227

Audio type

Prose reading
General description From a recording of a selection of short stories and prize winning poems (Scottish National Open Poetry Competition)

Author

Author details

Author id 623
Title Dr
Forenames James
Initials A
Surname Begg
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Medical Practitioner
Place of birth New Cumnock
Region of birth S Ayr
Birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Ayr
Region of residence S Ayr
Residence CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Clerical Officer, NCB
Father's place of birth Sandbank
Father's region of birth Argyll
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Arg
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Primary Teacher
Mother's place of birth New Cumnock
Mother's region of birth S Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
Danish No No No No A little
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work
French Yes Yes Yes Yes Holidaying in France
Norwegian No No No No A little
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 623
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Medical Practitioner
Place of birth New Cumnock
Region of birth S Ayr
Birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Ayr
Region of residence S Ayr
Residence CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Clerical Officer, NCB
Father's place of birth Sandbank
Father's region of birth Argyll
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Arg
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Primary Teacher
Mother's place of birth New Cumnock
Mother's region of birth S Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
Danish No No No No A little
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work
French Yes Yes Yes Yes Holidaying in France
Norwegian No No No No A little
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work

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