SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 79 Title : Fishin Quotas Author(s): Robert Fairnie Copyright holder(s): Robert Fairnie Text Ivver syne he haed been a wee laddie, Geordie Jooks haed aye kent the wis juist the twa kinna fowk in the warld; fisher-fowk an the ither kind. Thon wis brocht hame tae him afore the New Year whan the Scottish Fisheries Meenister, Rhona Brankin MSP, wis fair blawin aboot hou weel her negotiations wi the EU aboot fishin quotas haed gane. She threapit that she’d won success for the fishermen in key areas. It wis juist the opposeetion MSP’s – an the fishermen – that didna gree wi her. Aw this pit Geordie in mind o happier times whan his uncle “Stookie” Rob MBE BEM, wis the Preses o the Firth o Forth Fishermen’s Associe an o ae time that he haed been speirt tae jyne a delegation gaun ower tae Brussels tae lobby a better dale for the Scottish seine-net fishermen. The delegation wis heidit bi Winnie Ewing MEP, “Madame Ecosse” hersel. Weel, efter aw the ongauns at the EU wis ower an duin wi, Mistress Ewing thocht she haed won yin or twa inlats for the fishermen. They’d haed tae gie up a wheen forbye but no as muckle as it micht hiv been an she wis feelin quite joco waitin in the airport for thair return flicht whan she went ower tae Uncle Rob an said, “Well Robert, what did you think of my speech yesterday afternoon?” Uncle Rob taen her gently bi the elbae, leuked her in the ee an said, “Weel Mistress Ewing. A micht as weel be honest wi ye hen. A think ye ken as muckle aboot seine-net fishin as ma erse kens aboot snipe shootin!” Geordie daesna ken for shuir but he thinks thon wis the end o the conversation but he daes ken the’r juist the twa kinna fowk in the warld an he haes lat it be kent that this wis a true story. He haed gotten it strecht frae Stookie’s guid-dochter. Juist yin or twa o the names haes been chynged tae proteck the guilty. 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: Males: Females: Audience size: 3-5 Text details Method of composition: Wordprocessed Year of composition: 2001 Word count: 345 Text setting Leisure/entertainment: Text type Prose: nonfiction: Author Author details Author id: 95 Forenames: Robert Surname: Fairnie Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1930 Educational attainment: College Age left school: 16 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Consultant Marine Structural Engineer (Retired) Place of birth: Musselburgh Region of birth: Midlothian Birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Musselburgh Region of residence: Midlothian Residence CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Fisherman Father's place of birth: Musselburgh Father's region of birth: Midlothian Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Fishwife Mother's place of birth: Musselburgh Mother's region of birth: Midlothian Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work Language: German Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In Germany to communicate with two grandsons Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Wherever Scots is understood