Wick Gala - A Poem by Isabel Salmon
13th October 2011
Wick Gala Isabel (mckay) Salmon.
Div ye ae Week o' long ago
Or no 'at long id seems
When ae Gala id took pleyce in style
Doon on ae bleaching green
Ae processiom aye geed through ae toon
And up Kinnairdie Gran'
We thocht id wiss ae finest sicht
Ere seen in all ae lan'
Wey had all ae herrin' lassies oot,
An' ae owld box kert besides,
Boot ae "Dennis"wis ae best o' a'
She truly wis oor pride.
Weel now ids all much grander,
And we are very proud,
To see tradition carried on
For posterity to guide.
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There is wealth of poetry and writing in Caithness dialect if you can find it. Often of nostalgic nature looking back to happy days of childhood or memories of events or ways of doing things that have past or are passing out of memory.
AE "GROAT" by Isabel (mckay) Salmon. Ae "Groat" id cam' oot long time ago since, An' wi' ids weel kent face Brought tales o' joy an sorrow, And did id all wi' grace, For iss wir weekly paper Takes us back o'er land and sea A link wi' bonnie Caithness, Where we ever long tae be..
Home Rule Isabel (mckay) Salmon. Oh tell me fit yir mammy said When ye cam oot tae play She said "ye'll keep yir peeny claen Ids no ma washin' day" Then tell me fit yir mammy said When ye geed aff tae school She said "mind fit yir teacher says An' dinna act ae fool" So tell me fit yir mammy said When ye went till yir work She said "Mind ye get there on time An' see ye dinna shirk" Now tell me fit yir mammy said When ye brang hon' yir pay She said "ye'll get a sixpence noo Ae rest on new year's day!".
The Cooper Isabel (mckay) Salmon. If ye lived ower in Poltney Toon Way back in '22 An' yer faither wis a cooper An' he wisna on ae "broo" Then ye can hould yir head up high An' walk wi' honest pride For ae copper wis a journeyman An expert at his trade Ae coopers they depended Upon ae fishing crew Till catch ae bonnie herring An' keep ae barrels fu' Ae fisher girls were ready Wi' gutting knife in hand To dress the "silver darlings" For export to a foreign land Those days are gone for ever Yet may history relate Tales of Wick in all its glory With the herring in full spate..