SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1394 Title : Divinin for cables Author(s): Laureen Johnson Copyright holder(s): Laureen Johnson Text It's joost da wye, isn' it? Funny things happens at naebody lippens. I mean, I never towt dey wir onything in it, aa yon owld trash. An I'm heard dem on aboot watter divinin. Me faider wid caa it a kind o a gift laek playin da fiddle or draain a picter - some fokk can dö it, an some could fin watter, nae idder as dat. Noo, he couldna dö it, an I'd never tried it - weel, poncin aboot wi a branch o a tree or a bit o bent wire - weel, I'd feel a föl! (Widn' du?) An onywye, why wid you need ta fin watter? It's no laek you hae ta dig wals nooadays! An God knows, da watter at comes fae da heevens is mair as anyoch every year at we see! But onywye, it wis da year I wis drivin da peerie Kubota ta Anderson's men. Dey wir makkin a rodd ta da pier at da Leeans inbye da hooses, an as du weel kens, when you're diggin roond hooses der pipes an der cables, an du haes ta watch when du sets in da bucket at du kens what du's doin, or dey'll weemen be plötin an neebors be yallin an cooncil officials aa swaarmin aroond! So, here we wir waitin ee Wednesday moarnin for someen fae Lerook ta come wi a scanner an mark oot da places for wis ta steer clear o whaar cables wis lyin anunder da grund. Dey wir Tammie an me an a fellow fae Glessgow an peerie John Alec (just oot o da schöl) an we waited an waited an got kinda scunnered. An hit wis aa Tammie, he aye haes ideas, he says, ‘Boys, I tink we sood try finnin cables! Dey say it can wirk, an we're döin naething idder. We'll try for a fun!’ An fae da cut fence, he took twa bits o wire - an bloddy owld wire hit wis, I can tell dee - straight bits o wire at he bent at right angles an held dem laek dat! Dan aff he sets walkin an we wir aa watchin an laachin an skyimpin dan all of a sudden da wires swang tagidder an fairly crossed ower an Tammie stöd grinnin. ‘John Alec,’ he says, ‘come an pit in a marker. Da cable is here!’ An we aa stöd an gaakit, an said he wis lyin an dan we aa tried it. An wid du believe - weel, I daresay du widna - but we could aa dö it, every last wan! An da last wan wis me, for I widna believe it, but it wis a pull du could feel trow dy airms right oot o da grund. We wir markit tree cables an aa in agreement when here comes da fellow fae toon wi da scanner. He lookit an listened an towt we wir halfwits. (He didna joost say it, but lookit da pairt!) But he got a sook-in when him an his scanner wis forced tae agree wi wir bits a aald wire. He only could tell you da depth o da cable but he never shifted a wan o wir markers. I never saw Tammie sae plaised wi himsel! I ken at it most be some kind o magnetics But I can fin cables. Nae budder ava! This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience Adults (18+): General public: Audience size: 1000+ Text details Method of composition: Wordprocessed Year of composition: 2004 Word count: 571 Text medium Magazine (e-zine): Text publication details Published: Publication year: 2004 Place of publication: Shetland Part of larger text: Contained in: The New Shetlander, No 229, 2004 Editor: Laureen Johnson and Brian Smith Page numbers: 10-11 Text setting Journalism: Text type Poem/song/ballad: Author Author details Author id: 969 Forenames: Laureen Surname: Johnson Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1940 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 17 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired teacher Place of birth: Lerwick Region of birth: Shetland Birthplace CSD dialect area: Sh Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Voe Region of residence: Shetland Residence CSD dialect area: Sh Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Clerk / crofter Father's place of birth: Voe Father's region of birth: Shetland Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Sh Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Machine knitter / housewife Mother's place of birth: lunnasting Mother's region of birth: Shetland Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Sh Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In formal situations, or wherever required Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: As appropriate Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Incl. Shetland dialect. At home and elsewhere