Document 333
Myl-gruel at da millenium
Author(s): Christine De Luca
Copyright holder(s): Christine De Luca
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In Norrawa, we had a dish o rømegrut
ta mark midsimmer: sweet mylk an bleddick
cookit tae a gruel. You supped again
your boyhood: aye myl-gruel in Vidlin
at johnsmas time: a treed spun
owre a thoosand simmer seas, at we,
wan generation, hed riven in favour
o low fat fromage frais.
You telt o johnsmas fires: emmers
o Viking taands at burned
on ness an taing, an still burn ta dis day
in Norrowa, atween fiords.
You minded stories tö o Dutchies
an der johnsmas foy in Lerwick,
da hidmost day afore dey set der sail
ta follow shoals o simmer herrin;
an hearin o da gig at cam at johnsmas
fur da gutters. Bi da saison's end
dey'd hae penga i der peenies, a string
o jet black beads, a laad, a haert-stane.
* * * * *
Neest johnsmas we'll mak fine gruel
wi creme fraîche fae Isigny.
Wi a spön o honey hit 'll mak a feast
fur John da Baptist's day.
Wir peerie foy 'll see nae Dutchies
dirlin doon da street; nae gig
o gaffin lasses, arles lang ta'en
afore da aggle o da creel.
We'll no let johnsmas come an geng
ithoot a bonfire, an wir myl-gruel.
We'll celebrate da langest day, an trivvel
till we fin dat tinnest treed ta tie secure.
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myl-gruel: oatmeal porridge made with milk instead of water; da: the; Norrawa: Norway; rømegrut: midsummer porridge-type treat made with sour cream; sweet mylk: fresh milk; bleddick: buttermilk; tae, ta: to; johnsmas: June 24th; treed: thread; owre: over; wan: one; hed: had; riven: torn; telt: told; emmers: embers; taand: a firebrand of peat; at: that; taing: flat promentary; dis: this; atween: between; minded: remembered; tö: too; der: their; johnsmas foy: the celebration which was held by Dutch fishermen in Lerwick before the herring season began; hidmost: final; afore: before; dey: they; cam: came; bi: by; penga: money; i: in; laad: boyfriend; haert-stane: hearth; neest: next; spön: spoon; wir: our; peerie: little; dirlin: vibrating (clogs); gaffin: laughing; arles taen: having made a commitment to a season's work for which a retainer fee was paid; aggle: mess; geng: go; ithoot: without; trivvel: grope; fin: find; dat: that; tinnest: thinnest.
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Myl-gruel at da millenium. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=333.
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"Myl-gruel at da millenium." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=333.
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Myl-gruel at da millenium
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