LL-L "Traditions" 2010.03.31 (02) [EN-SCO]

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*L O W L A N D S - L - 31 March 2010 - Volume 03*
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From: Sandy Fleming <sandy at fleimin.demon.co.uk>

Subject: LL-L "Traditions" 2010.03.30 (01) [DE-EN-NDS]



> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Traditions

> Hanne wants to know if there are other such traditions. To kick off
> the answer, let me refer to the corresponding English Wikipedia page
> on which a number of similar traditions are mentioned, including those
> in Dutch- and English-speaking areas:

Pictures aside, I suppose there were street balladeers in Britain and
America, who recorded and recited topical news stories in a poetic,
though often fairly formulaic, manner.

One fortuitous aspect of the English language in this respect was the
rhyming of the word "remember" with several months of the year, so many
a news item could be introduced with its date and an automatic rhyme in
the first two lines:

   'Twas in the year of 1886, and on the 29th of November,
   Which the surviving crew of the "Samuel Crawford" will long
remember,[...]

These pieces weren't particularly poetic, which I suppose is
understandable considering the need to pack in all the dates, places,
people, facts and so on, and get the whole thing ready for recitation
while the event was still news.

I think it's unfortunate that people like William McGonagall and Julia
Moore are mainly seen as targets for lampoonists. Although there's a
definite uneducated aspect to their works, they record a lot about the
events and attitudes of these times, and sometimes the "fresh off the
press" aspect seems to come across very strongly.

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/



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From: Tom Mc Rae <thomas.mcrae at bigpond.com>

Subject: LL-Traditions



Today being April 1st here at least I wonder if Scotland, which seems to
have lost so many traditions, will celebrate All Fools' Day

tomorrow in the old way. In Edinburgh and surrounds it is known as HUNTYGOWK
and runs from dawn until noon. Good example was

a friend riding his bike who came alongside a painter's flatbed van at
traffic lights many years ago. He called to the driver"Hey Pal, dae Ye no
ken

yin o' Yer paint cans is leakin oot a trail oan the road ?" Victim started
checking the street behind him as my pal rode off fast downhill yelling

"HUNTYGOWK" followed by a profane stream from the driver.

Anybody trying this on after 12 noon would get an old rhyme recited
"Huntygowk's past an Yewre a fewl at last (or 'Yewre a styoopit ass")

Up the tree,

An' doon the tree.

Yew're a bigger fewl than me !"

Aussie radio announcers have to be handled with care today I just responded
to our ABC Classical FM announcer who recounted on radio this morning that a
bassoon concerto written by an English aristocrat's second son had been
discovered in

an abandoned sheep shed covered in daggy wool. Composer allegedly came to
Ozland complete with his bassoon. I responded...



Lassie, dae Ye think that Ah cam up the Clyde in a bananny skin ? Music in a
sheepshed dun by a Pommy ? Pu' Mah ither laig Emma it's the yin wi bells oan
it. If Ye luik oot Yer windae Ye'll see coos fleein' past it.



Best Regards
Tom Mc Rae
Brisbane Australia
An honest man's the noblest work of God (Robert Burns)



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