Keenigs New Years Eve by Alexandrina MacGregor

[trinkie]

Keenigs New Years Eve by Alexandrina MacGregor.
Taken from the book A Chapbook of Wick, Caithness , with Poems.


Keenigs awoke in ae morning an felt e deep silence a' aroon', she kenned at e snow must hev come doon in e nicht, she got oot o her beddie, an scraped e ice fae e window an blew on her hannies as it wis sae cald, but her eens wis filled wi glee as she looked oot at e snae.
'Mam' she cawed oot 'how deep is it?' an her mither said 'My it's aboot 4 foot yir faither will hev tae go oot an clear a passage for us wi' e spade as wi canna get oot o 'e door, come on an get yur porridge an then ye can help yir faither, I hev a wee shuffel for ye tae use. Nae school for ye today ma girl.'
Keens wis delighted at not heven tae go to school an quickly ate her breakfast an went oot tae help her faither. They piled e snae high up on either side o 'e pavement it wis so high ye couldna look over e top, an everyone in Argyle Square hed been oot clearing e snae, so they could walk along the passages at everyane hed laboured tae clear, Keens went along tae visit her cousins the Malcolms who wud get oot their sledge an race doon e Shore Road , in the company of the Budges, Beggs an e Millars a gran crowd o boyagies an lassigies.
It was the last day o 'e auld Year an her mither relied on Keens tae help get in the rest of the goodies tae celebrate the New Year, but id wis going tae be quite e struggle tae plod thro' ae deep snae, but tae Keenigs it wud be great fun as she loved e snae. The Bonfire nicht wi its beeg fire tae be held at Shilling Hill ane an a' wad be kept sae warm wi a' at heat comin oot. 'E mannies wud hev thur bottle o Whisky tae keep them warm inside. My, my Keenigs wis looking forward tae a' e' festivities.
She plodded through wi her mither 'e deep snow tae get e shopping or ae messages as it wis cawed in Caithness. First e visit tae Clynes e Butchers tae get e large lump o beef an a beeg chicken fur e pot, tae make a rich Scotch Broth wi scotch barley.
Her mither wis a canny wiffie an ae put a tanner a week in e New Year's club, so they would hev enough money for e New Years luxuries. The town of Wick was hit wi e depression lek all o Scotland an e New Year wis look forward to as a very special time for all.
Keenigs an her mither's next visit was tae Clyne's e grocer at e harbour, where e order for e messages wis pit in fur biscuits, Shortbread, Raspberry, Strawberry an Ginger Wine, along wi their usual groceries. Keenigs knew that the grocer wid pit in an extra large bag o sweeties free as wis e custom o Wick grocers wi yur orders, an she wud cadge one or two fae e baggie.
Keenig's Mam asked her wad ye lek tae hev a treat o ice cream fae Cardosi's, this was an Italian family who made e real hokey pokey an wis a very popular Ice Cream parlour. They hed a wee dish o ice cream wi e strawberry sauce an nae Ice cream in the years tae come tasted as good as idd. Oh how Keenigs loved New Years Eve it was the time of very special treats.
Keenig's wellingtons were not high enough an the snow came over the tops as she plodded in the footsteps of her mither, but it was a lovely day the snow was soft and powdery an it didna bother her she just laughed and slid along thinking about going tae e Bonfire which wud be lit at 2 mins tae 12 midnight tae burn oot e auld year an bring in e New Year, this wis an auld custom an all e families wud leave their homes tae see ane anither an the fireworks go off.
Every man hed e bottle an wid offer drinks tae ane anither at e fire, an efter they wud first foot each ither, bringing thur bottle o' whisky an e' piece o' coal. E wiffies wud say fan they knocked at e doorie 'Are ye black or fair haired if yur no yur welcome tae be ma first foot o'er iss threshold after 12 o'clock.''
Yes e far north wis steeped in superstition in those days , an still iss .
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this is a great little book and would make a good present for any Wicker !!
Trinkie.

E&OE

[Blarney]

I agree that the actual story is accurate but the dialect isn't true and irritated me throughout. Shame really.