Dunno, there is plenty of people on it, I imagine one of them could enlighten you.
I am becoming au fait with a lot of Caithness twang. The one phrase I cannot understand, is why you call being on the dole/unemployed being on "E'Brew". I have asked around and no one seems to know how it came to be known as this. Can anyone enlighten me?
Spring has sprung, the grass is ris', I wonder where the birdies is, the birdies is on d' wing, now thats absurd, everyone knows d' wing is on d' bird
Dunno, there is plenty of people on it, I imagine one of them could enlighten you.
............................AHOY HOY........................
Used to be the Unemployment Bureau..............the Bureau.......E Broo!
Though having said that, I've never actually seen Broo/Brew/Bru spelled out.......just said.
Not just a Caithness expression though.......except for the "E". It's certainly an expression we used to use in Morayshire before the Dole (E Dole) took over as a preferred term there.
Brew originated from Employment Bureau many years ago, I believe. Used throughout Scotland, not just Caithness.
Thanks for the info
Spring has sprung, the grass is ris', I wonder where the birdies is, the birdies is on d' wing, now thats absurd, everyone knows d' wing is on d' bird
In Glasgow, it was the buroo
The jobcentre, formally know as the DHSS, is also known as 'e bru'.
Why be a hard rock when you really are a gem!
''Ai Broo'' was indeed the Employment Agency - but nothing like the modern ones. There was a stigma attached to being On the Broo, and the onus was on getting you back to work as quickly as possible. There is no doubt folk felt ashamed and heads were held low.
''Ai Broo'' has nothing to do with making tea, as most likely you could not afford the stuff anyway. I have been told that folk would use bits of burnt old bread to make a cuppa.
Those were very hard times.
I have seen it spelt Ai Buroo, but nowadays it seems to be Broo.
I say again - Those were very hard times, the like of which is never known today.... thank Goodness.
Was known as the brew/broo/bru in Belfast too.
Ahh, the wonders of a dialect! Hehe. I love finding out about these sorts of things, and it's interesting that we think some phrases are Cathnesian, when people everywhere seem to have their own wee versions!
I'm origially from Ayrshire and it was always referred to as The Brew as far back as i can remember.
The nice thing about living in a small place is that if you dont know what you are doing....there's always somebody who does,or thinks they do! x
wHERE I COME FROM A LOT OF THE LOCALS CALL IT THE LABOUR EXCHANGE
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