LL-L: "Online resources" LOWLANDS-L, 27.JAN.2001 (01) [E/S]

[Lowlands-L]

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  L O W L A N D S - L * 27.JAN.2001 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Online resources"

[The following is in Scots and in English]

The latest on ScotsteXt is "A Edinburgh Alphabet" bi Evelyn Beale an
Winifred Christie. This is a collection o bairn's ABC picturs fae the
1900's in a Art Nouveau style conform tae the period. The verses is in
English an we didna think the war onything tae be gained in makkin Scots
translates o them. They dae hae some guid, eediomatic Scots intil them,
tho, an a fouth o interestin history an cultur adae wi Edinburgh an
thareawa, wi the answers tae weel-kent local riddles anent the exack length
o the river Forth, an Edwardian obsessions the likes o what wis tae be duin
aboot the peyed-for but unbiggable Usher Haa!

In fack, it can be interestin tae read this alang wi "Betty's Trip Tae
Edinbury" (ablo "Novels"), wi them bein written aboot the same time, an
giein different slants on sic things as the Usher Haa (at lang an last
staunin at the north end o Lothian Road), bairns bletherin nonsense at
tourists an the polissmen that wis postit at the heid o the Waverley Steps
tae kep wifies fae bein blawn oot intae Princes Street (we still hae the
unco blast at the heid o the steps, but weemen disna weer frocks like
parachutes ony mair!).

But faur the best is the pictures, the weel-kent Edinburgh streets an
closes foregrundit wi mediaeval, renaissance, regency an Edwardian
fashions. Interestin an aa is the Art Nouveau decorements tae the picturs,
the motifs waled canny conform tae the content: aften thistles, but whiles
a lugical tour-de-force, like the clock-gowans that frames the castle gun.

http://scotstext.org -> Poems -> An Edinburgh Alphabet

The latest addition to ScotsteXt is "An Edinburgh Alphabet" by Evelyn Beale
an Winifred Christie. This is a collection of children's alphabet pictures
from the 1900's in an Art Nouveau style befitting the period. The verses
are in English, but we didn't think there was anything to be gained by
translating them into Scots. They do, however, contain some excellent
idiomatic Scots and a lot of interesting history and culture from Edinburgh
and environs, including the answers to well-known local riddles such as the
exact length of the river Forth, and then-topical issues such as the
impossibility of building the Usher Hall!

It can be interesting to compare this with "Betty's Trip Tae Edinbury"
(below "Novels"), since, both being written at about the same time, they
give different slants on things such as the Usher Hall (now at last built
at the north end of Lothian Road), children misleading tourists with
nonsensical advice, and the policemen who were stationed at the top of the
Waverley Steps to prevent befroufroued women from being blown out into
Princes Street (we still have the wind, but no longer such women!).

But by far the best is the pictures themselves, with familiar Edinburgh
streets in unfamiliar mediaeval, renaissance, regency and Edwardian
settings. Interesting, too, are the Art Nouveau decorative borders, the
motifs thoughtfully chosen to match content: most often thistles, but
sometimes a logical tour-de-force, such as the blown dandelions framing the
castle gun.

Sandy

http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'

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