My crazy Dundee adventures continue: yesterday I was down at the McManus Galleries getting a prize thanks to Bonnie Bling! I had entered their Slang Bling contest with the word “Oary” which I of course learned from Gary Robertson and The Cundeez long ago on Twitter.
There were other folks there, too! But somehow I ended up getting my picture in the paper because of my story: this word of course led to my being in Dundee — Gary being my punk rock Cupid is how I met my sweetie, Mark.
So despite all the photos they took of everyone there including fellow contest winner Kevin McGinley and the retail co-ordinator for the McManus, Daniel Grey, they used this goofy one of me in the Courier story.
(>_<)
Thanks to photographer Alan Richardson for coaxing me into such a silly pose. Thanks to Hazel Saunderson for coordinating things. They misspelled my name, alas, but the slang words were the important thing (though I’m sure my publishers would have been happy if I’d managed to get a mention of one of my books in the story…)
Test your Dundonian! Do you know what they mean?
Dinghies
Glaikit
Teckle
Fairdeegowk
Oary
K. A. Laity 
Hahahaha Your life continues to unfold in strange and delirious ways!
Same ol’ same ol’ in other words! 😉
Love this and LOVE the photo!
Merci, mademoiselle!
Lacking a Dundonian dictionary, I don’t know what any of the words you mention mean, including your personal favorite “oary.” Even having read most of Christopher (and Chris) Brookmyre’s output is not helpful.
And, in case I’m not as organized as I try to be, let me offer best wishes for a Happy Birthday a week in advance.
JD
Aw thanks, John! It’s good to ‘see’ you here. Brookmyre did a reading at the central library this autumn and was quite the favourite.
“Oary” really means the way people speak here — the slang and the Celtic words all mashed together with that particular lilt, but it also means honoring that verbal heritage and not trying to sound posh or ‘southern’ i.e. English.