More Words From The Wild Wood: A Collection of Short Stories from Minnigaff and the Galloway Hills - Couverture souple

McClain, AJ; McCormick, Andrew

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1977033172 ISBN 13 : 9781977033178

Editeur : Independently published, 2018

Synopsis

DESCRIPTION My Grandfather Andrew McCormick 1857-1956 published a book called Words From The Wild Wood in 1912. That book is now out of print. With advances in modern technology, I can now republish his work. I have edited and rewritten some of the work to suit today’s reader. The original was written in local Scots and had a poetic, sentimental style that was popular at the time. Tales FromThe Galloway Wild Wood is a collection of eleven short stories about Minnigaff, a village in Kirkcudbrightshire and the surrounding Galloway Hills in SW Scotland. For several years my Grandfather, in his retirement after World War 11, would go to his Wild Wood Hut for the summer. For him' it was an escape from wars he had seen, business, and his many duties in the town. Possibly as a reaction to war he became much more interested in nature, the Galloway Hills, the poor, and travellers. The first story describes how his time was spent at the hut. At a time when there was no television his descriptions of nature fill that void. The second story his boyhood memory of a typical evening out around his favourite haunts in Minnigaff, and the people he met on his way. The third story is ancient folklore, possibly a story that would be told to children to scare them at Halloween. It concerns local characters of the time, the poor or unfortunate. The story has an important message. The fourth story describes a local character that was seen about town at the time. He was held in affection by those that knew him. Characters like him are still around but we do not get to know their stories sadly. We tend to keep ourselves to ourselves. The fifth story goes further afield to the Galloway Hills. It creates a sense of what it’s like to be alone in remote places in bad weather. The grandeur and mystery of a place with place names associated with a history of escape from conflict and dark secrets. The sixth story describes a special day for sheep farmers. Farming would be a lonely life if it were not for special days when they get together to help each other, for many hands make light work, and having a bit of fun together makes it all worthwhile. In the seventh story, we can read about another celebrated author of the time. The Galloway hills provided a great platform for tales of mystery, smuggling, flight, escape and hiding out in remote places. This story provides an insight into the life of the writer who wrote the stories. The eighth story describes a traditional outdoor social event. Hunting is outlawed nowadays. The story sheds some light on the hunts purpose as a gathering together of people and animals. In the past' it was a necessity to provide food but the instinct, the sport, the getting together, man and beast, in a region of isolated communities in remote places was and is an important part of a happy life. The ninth story is about a wild, hilarious, bawdy event that takes place as a prelude to a wedding in the district. Nowadays it is called a Stag or a Hen night. The local version at the time is almost like a Pagan sacrifice. I think many relationships in the region spring from those who attend this event. The tenth story is about one woman’s simple but hard life in an idyllic location by the seashore. Never having had much, lost her husband, a few animals to care for and wanting no charity. The eleventh story is a special day for travelling folk. In these days they could be found in the district camping, doing seasonal work on farms and selling their wares at the door. My Grandfather spent time with them, learning where they came from, their stories, songs, and poems learning their language, taking photographs and writing about them. I have recently returned to this district where I was born. I hope the reader will enjoy these stories as much as I do and use it as a reference to explore our wonderful district. AJ McC

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Independently published
• Date d'édition: 2018
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1977033172
• ISBN 13: 9781977033178
• Reliure: Broché
• Illustrateur: Copland John
• Nombre de pages: 103
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.fr/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg