SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1486 Title : A Bonnie Fechter Author(s): Sheila Templeton Copyright holder(s): Sheila Templeton Text That winter, snaw flew its feathers thick smoorichin the hale Rannoch Moor. I thocht the warld wud be white for iver. Danny the Keeper said the stags wud have tae come doon, else they'd sterve tae death. We'd niver seen red deer afore. But these beasts wernae ony shade o red. Ivery day as the licht hid ahint the Black Mounth, they floated ower the high fence at the side o the line, sepia angels biggen a brig ower cloudy drifts against a grape slate sky. I thocht their hooves could niver touch the grun, until the day we heard a scraping ootside the kitchen door. He was big. His antlers telt a lang story, a hero's story, of territory defended and hinds protected. He eased back a bittie, but didnae flee. At my mither's nod, I threw the tattie peelings scudding intae the kirned up khaki snaw. And waited and watched while he took his time, his fine big heid lowered wi nae loss o dignity. And so he lat me feed him ivery day, as the licht left the sky. Nae to touch or stroke, but he'd lat me look intae his een and watch him, until the day he didnae come.The day I looked and shouted and poked aboot the frosty dyke. But nae use. My pail o slippy tattie parings frozen in the night where I'd left it. I splashed bilin water tae saften it for him. But nae sign. Winter gnawed on, until Danny the Keeper said ower a nip and a fag 'Thon's a grand auld beast deid doon by the burn. Funny that. How they hide awa, when they ken it's their time. Like an auld war hero. Like ony bonnie fechter fan he kens his time is up.' This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience General public: Audience size: 1000+ Text details Method of composition: Wordprocessed Year of composition: 2006 Word count: 305 Text medium Book: Newspaper: Periodical/journal: Radio: Text publication details Published: Part of larger text: Contained in: Slow Road Home (Sheila Templeton) / Running Threads (Jim Hughes, Rowena M Love, Michael Malone, Sheila Templeton) Text setting Leisure/entertainment: Private/personal: Text type Poem/song/ballad: Author Author details Author id: 1075 Forenames: Sheila Surname: Templeton Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1940 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 18 Upbringing/religious beliefs: upbringing Protestantism, now Eastern Yoga meditation practice Occupation: Retired Teacher Place of birth: Aberdeen Region of birth: Aberdeen Birthplace CSD dialect area: Abd Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Troon Region of residence: S Ayr Residence CSD dialect area: Ayr Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Railway Engineer / originally farm worker Father's place of birth: Stoneywood Father's region of birth: Aberdeen Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Abd Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Doctors' Receptionist Mother's place of birth: Dyce Mother's region of birth: Aberdeen Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Abd Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work, at home, writing Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At home, writing work mainly poetry