# General > Literature >  Tatties an' Herreen   by Castlegreen

## trinkie

Tatties an' Herreen'    by Castlegreen.


Tatties an' herreen'!  By faigs, 'ats a feed
'At ye'll no fin' id easy till beit!
'At's aye been ma fav'rit denner, indeed,
Since iver A kent how till eit.


Man, fan A wis yowng an' ma aikles aal 'ere
A could gollop them up le a dowg,
An' till 'iss very day A can manage ma share,
Bit 'e bon's are a fair howmbowg !


We aye hed a barrelie, roon' at 'e back,
Stan'an in steit lek a gainer;
No matter fit  ither proveesions we'd lack
We niver need want for a denner!


Ma mither wid bile them both in 'e wan pot
Till 'e smell wid cerry till Dinnad!
'E table-cloth!  Hid wis a fowld o' 'e  'Grot'
An' id niver hed better stuff in id!


We got no knife an' fork, no' even a pleite,
An' a napkin !   We niver heared tell o'd!
Wan fing'erbowl did for a femly o' eicht
Bit hid held 'e fill o' a skellad.


Yur thoom an' yur corrag did most o' e' wurk,
Till yur nev wis aal in a smyagger,
No winder, till chudge by 'e bon's an' 'e mawk,
'At rose fae 'e boord wi' a swagger!


An' ma faither wad say   'Fan 'e Keeng wants men
Till fecht for 'im, brave an darin',
Ye'll nottice he sen's for 'e North chiels then
'At wis fed on 'e tatties an herreen.'


Bit 'at brave times hev gone ower wur heid,
An' 'e day id's a different story,
'E yowng chiels wid raither hev tea an  lof-breid
Than fillan' thur bowgs wi glory!


Lekly them in 'e sooth 'll be findan' 'e same
Wi' aal 'iss up-till-deite farin'
Bit A'll warran' there's hantle 'ats thinkan' o' hom
An' longan' for tatties an' herreen.'


Fan A get a knichthood, for ma coat o' airms
A'm hevan a couple of matties
Stan'an' oot bowld wi' scales o' pure gowld
On an ashad o' black-herted tatties!
~~~~~~~~~~~    ~~~~~~~~~~


Well, I've certainly been thinking about such culinary delights
since  my Caithness freend told me the Long Blues were in the shops !

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## golach

Once again Trinkie, you have highlighted the Caithness tongue at in my opinion at its best, I have my copy of Donald Grants (Castlegreen) Tatties an' Herreen sitting by my keyboard at all times.

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## trinkie

Golach,  I'm intrigued !  You say the bookie is sitting by your Keyboard - have you set any of the poems to music?  I'd love to know.
A great favourite by Castlegreen is the ''Post Office.''     I remember Willie Wilson the County Architect reciting this in many a village hall,  
how I loved it,  he brought the house down !
It must be the time of year, but I am going over so many Caithness poems just now .  I find if I type them out it helps me to remember and understand.
In the above poem there's a line  'Yur thumb or yur  coorag   ''    now whats 'coorag?'

Regards
Trinkie

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## golach

> It must be the time of year, but I am going over so many Caithness poems just now .  I find if I type them out it helps me to remember and understand.
> In the above poem there's a line  'Yur thumb or yur  coorag   ''    now whats 'coorag?'Regards
> Trinkie


Trinkie, your "coorag" is your fore finger, my favourite is the Ghost of the Hill 'o Forse, I have a cousin who now lives in Switzerland, and this is his speciality at reciting, he won prizes at school in Thurso for reciting in the Kaitness tongue.
And I wish I could play an instrument with a keyboard  ::

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## trinkie

Yes,  I love The Ghost of the Hill o' Forss too,   Many years ago I was on the train to Wick,  and as we went into Caithness a fellow passenger began to recite the first verse.   He smugly looked over at me - but I completed the next verse !!  Ha ha .

OCH  Golach - for Keyboard  I read  'piano'    -  do you mean there is another kind o' keyboard ??  I wonder ...

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