The Denburn viaduct behind one of "Kelly's Cats," Aberdeen.
Another installment from the “overheard” series now. You have to imagine the following spoken in broad Aberdonian, if you can:
“Every time I went to Doha [in Qatar], I used to buy about ten watches… Aye, they werenae dear back then…. Well, if I’m in the airport I just switch off, ken fit ah mean? If there’s a delay, people start ragin’ and I think, ‘At least you’re nae stuck in Saudi!’ Only time I was jealous – this guy in the queue had his laptop and he was bookin’ flights while we was waitin’. Wee jammy git!”
It is a fact that this city in the North of Scotland has always had commercial ties to places far away. As early as the 15th century, Aberdeen traded with the Baltic; since the 1970s the oil industry has meant that many local people are familiar with the Middle East and indeed with life on the oil rigs in all sorts of far-flung parts of the world.
* Wee jammy git: loosely translated, a wee lucky you-know-what.
I love the loose translation, Christine.
By: Martin H on July 24, 2011
at 3:00 pm
Love reading such a smiling post on a rainy and dull Sunday…
Thanks and hugs
Erna
By: Erna on July 24, 2011
at 3:53 pm
lol .. priceless. these litle pieces of conversation are terrific. thanks, Christine.
By: ajb47 on July 25, 2011
at 6:15 am
‘Wee jammy git’ indeed for booking those flights a lot cheeper than anyone else!!!!!!!!!!!! and that drives any scotsman mad, as they like to save their pennies
By: Knitsister on July 25, 2011
at 9:19 am
I do believe I’ve learned a new phrase. Wee jammy git. Completely priceless.
By: Mags on July 25, 2011
at 2:10 pm
Too funny! I love the translation – never would have guessed what that phrase could mean! I can just hear the lilting accent in my mind when I read your post, as if I were there. xx
By: Karen on July 25, 2011
at 8:16 pm
Dear Everyone,
How fun that you enjoyed that! I will be an even keener eavesdropper in future. I should probably say that ‘git’ isn’t the equivalent of a bad word, it basically means ‘idiot’. So feel free to use ‘wee jammy git’ in front of the children.
By: christinelaennec on July 27, 2011
at 11:13 pm
What fun! Just as my heart beats double-time when I hear the pipes, it seems I can hear the words in my head.
By: Dianne on July 30, 2011
at 8:21 pm
[...] I wrote here, Aberdeen has many links to the Middle East because of the oil industry. There are some people, [...]
By: Very targeted advertising « Writing from Scotland on August 22, 2012
at 7:33 pm