Scots Language Awards 2024: The Wee Gaitherin

Weel duin tae The Wee Gaitherin wha hae bin nominatit in Scots Educational Project o the Year in the Scots Language Awards. Vote now!

The Scots Language Awards are in the Cumnock Toon Ha, Cumnock in pairtnership wi East Ayrshire Cooncil on 14th September at 7pm. Tickets fir the ceremony are available tae buy here: https://eastayrshireleisure.com/events/scots-language-awards/.

We askit Lesley Benzie o The Wee Gaitherin thae speirins.

Tell us aboot yersel or yer ootfit.
The Wee Gaitherin is a charity and the excerpts of our constitution below reflect it’s purpose, as follows:
The advancement of arts through facilitation opportunities fur young people and adults to become engaged with literature, poetry and creative writing, paying attention to supporting participation by people who due to financial circumstances, cultural backgrounds and other intersectional forms of prejudice have been traditionally under-represented in arts and literary events and activities. The Wee Gaitherin will benefit the people of Stonehaven, the North East and also the wider poetry community throughout Scotland. And seeks to advocate fur and facilitate the participation of people and communities in poetry and creative writing workshops, mentoring, readings, spoken word performance, inclusion in anthologies and exhibitions, thereby building confidence, enriching cultural life and community spirit and cohesion.
The advancement of culture by both preserving, celebrating, and generating traditional, regional and newly assembling local cultures in Scotland through highlighting the vitality of Scottish and international poetry, and the diversity of languages-in-culture, including Scots, Gaelic and more generally the variety of languages spoken and shared in contemporary Scotland, to new and receptive audiences across the Northeast region and beyond.

Whit wis it got ye involvit wi the Scots leid?
Those o us brocht up in Scotland, ower a certain age, will mynd bein punished an telt tae, “Speak proper English”. Spikkin in, an spikkin up fur oor ain leid has gaen fowk a greater sense o worth in themsels an their ain identity, but we need tae keep on claimin it, spikkin oor ain wyes, makkin oor poems an stories an sangs oor ain and nae bein feart tae haud them up an say…this is airt…this is guid…this is excellent.
The Heritage Exhibition forms pairt o wider Wee Gaitherin Festival community engagement activities that are built aroon participation an supportin fowk tae express themselves in their ain wyes through scrievin an performin. In partnerships wi volunteers fae Mearns Writers, work wis daen wi the bairns in 3 local primaries tae gie them a fun learnin experience o scrievin an readin their ain work. Their original an marvellous pieces caad ‘The Craitures’ forms part o the Heritage Exhibition.

Why dae ye feel it is important tae use Scots in everyday life?
In Scotland we shuid be free an encouraged tae sustain oor unique heritage an identities bi spikkin oor ain native leids – It’s a vital pairt o fa we are. Suppression o oor mither tongues wis a key method employed tae destroy Scottish Identity, oor communities, oor culture – so keeping oor leids alive sustains oor unique identity, oor place in history an spiks tae the kinda future we wint tae be biggin fur oorsels.
Tae this end, we also undertaen several workshops wi young fowk in Mackie Academy, Stonehaven, baith in Doric an English. As weel as enjoyin them, feedback fae these sessions wis that they gave strategies, nae anely fur scrievin poetry but fur owercomin self-doobt, claimin better self-esteem an mental health. The calibre o their work wis amazin. Aa the poems submitted fur the Exhibition are displayed, an best of aa young fowk also attended the festival an performed their ain work.

Dae ye hae a favourite Scots phrase or saying?
On yonder hill there stood a coo, it’s nae there noo, it must hiv shifted;
Yer a sicht fur sair een;
spinn’l tams;
Lik snaa aff a dyke;
We’re aa Jock Tamson’s bairns;
Whit’s fur ye'll no go by ye;
Failin means yer still playin;
Gie it laldy,
Sataboot,
Haste ye back…

Is there a Scots speaker who inspires you?
Jessie Kesson and Sheila Templeton, Tom Leonard, Robert Burns, Mary Symon, Violet Jacob, Douglas Gifford, all deceased, but remain inspirational.

Too mony tae mention but these are some: Sheena Blackhall, Alistair Heather, Lynn Valentine, Shane Strachan, Jo Gilbert, Matthew Fitt, Irvine Welsh, Lynsey Gilmour, Don Paterson, Billy Kay, James Robertson, Ronnie Young, Len Pennie…

Do you hear Scots spoken regularly in your local area? Have you noticed any changes over time?
Scots o aa kind are heard across Scotland. We also hear English, American, Urdu, punjabi, Hindi, Eastern European languages an a meikle o Gaelic. The Northeast as across Scotland has undergone a muckle cultural chynge, becomin a multinational an multilingual centre o populations fae diverse heritages.
There are significant benefits o sic diversity… but equally its vital tae mak shuir that the richness o oor ain cultural heritage is celebrated throwe oor ain leids bein used in daily life, so they’re sustained an nae consigned tae ‘history’ or undermined an caad second rate. We need tae mak shuir we oor selves an oor bairns hiv the confidence tae spik oor mither tongue an thereby retain oor ain heritage an identities.
Oor adult community ootreach program, in the months leadin up tae the festival, demonstrates the deep need fur fowk o aa ages tae tap intae their ain resources an leids tae express themsels as scrievers. The poems fae these sessions are on display an show a high degree o spikkin in Scots, Doric in parteecular, wi powerfu poems aboot life, aboot the land an sea, aboot oor benmaist feelins. If we dinna offer this festival ootreach we lose the chunce tae hear these wirds an see the shape o them. The wealth o culture an experience in this section o the exhibition is sae unique.

Ony particlar career heighlichts
We hiv jist completed the 4th Wee Gaitherin Festival…best iver.
The Heritage exhibition displays a Borooch o Biographies that goes back tae 1300 an throwe tae the present day. We werenae able tae show ivry Northeast Writer but this display represents aroon 70 scrievers fa are weel kent, nae anely in the local area but throwe the hail o Scotland. The Display waa is visually stunnin, engagin, informative an educational.
There’s also a sma display on a local poet fa wis nivver widely recognised in his day but as a loon spent aa his money on poetry buiks. We scrieved extensively aboot him an we have his scrievin in his ain han, on display. Fan he died he left money tae Mackie Academy tae encourage young fowk tae scrieve, an this forms an annual prize fur the best student scriever o the year.
These are a puckle o highlights o oor work in the community o the Mearns.

Wha’s yer plans fir the days aheid?
We plan tae tour oor Heritage Exhibition aboot the Northeast an use it tae generate activities, readins an scrievin sessions in the wee coastal villages an beyond, invitin libraries an schools tae host us as weel.
Also makkin a start tae fundraise fur the next Wee Gaitherin Festival that will be as aa the previous festivals hae been…FREE tae aa fa cam.

The Scots Language Awards are in the Cumnock Toon Ha, Cumnock on 14th September at 7pm. Tickets are available to buy here: https://eastayrshireleisure.com/events/scots-language-awards/ There wull be some grand entertainmint oan the nicht tae, includin a recital fae Billy Kay, Susie Briggs, alang wi musical performances fae Claire Hastings an Sèan Gray.

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