Neeps and
Strae, Forty-four very short stories by Charlie Allan
£11.95 pp
free UK.
These stories have their roots among the folk of the North-east Lowlands
of Scotland. Some are apocryphal and have been told for centuries among
the watering holes and cattle markets. Even when they are pure fiction,
they echo the country
people, especially of Buchan and Formartine…..their attitudes,
repartee, witticisms and observations.
They were written for
a series of programmes on Radio Scotland. Each consisted of a poem by
Tim Douglas read by Allan Wright, a song from Jean Redpath and
Charlie’s story. The whole programme was only fifteen minutes so the
tales had to be short.
A Story a Song and a
Poem ran for four series and the stories were later broadcast on Radio
Four. They give a flavour of the Scottish countryside in the first
three-quarters of the 20th century.
Hardcover.
PP 188. 30 illustrations by
Rhoda Howie.
