Page 9 - Heart of the Travellers Vol 3 ed 2 May 2017

The Glens o Syne Pat Hutchison

Wully Smaa wiwiz een o the Tinker clan. He come fae the Cyack in Buchan far he wintered intae an auaal cotter

hoose at Rivenstipe and traiveled the highways an byways o the Noreast fae the month o Mey till near the start o

winter.

His real name wiz Wullie Brochan but on accoont o him bein sae lang aboot the back an there bein sae mony

Wullies among the Brochans aabody jist caad him Wullie Smaa. In his mid twenties he wiz strong and gey fit an it
wiz because he wiz sae fit he ayee came up here tae the Cabrach tae dee a bit o skipperin. Noo for them that

dinna ken fit skipperin is I'll jist set ye straacht at the ootset.

At the time I'm tellin ye aboot a lot o Tinkers wid ging skipperin jist aboot the eyn o September. It wiz usually

the unmairried loons that did it. They'd range far an wide collectin the rubbit skins fae fairmers, gamekeepers,
cotters and shepherds. The skipperin bit wiz the reason only

single loons did it because they wid bide in barns an sic like.

That's fit skipperin means mair or less- sleepin roch. on accoont o him bein
sae lang aboot the back
Onywye Wully wiz here in the Cabrach wi that in mind, the
an there bein sae mony
last season hid been een o the best he ivver mined on and this Wullies among the

year he planned tae cross ower tae the Glenlivet an micht even Brochans aabody jist
tak a look up at Mortlach. He wiz usin the same wee fairm for caad him Wullie Smaa

his base as he did last year. The man that hid it wiz an affa fine

chiel an let Wully use a corner o his byre tae store the skins he
collected. Scorranclach sat at the bottom o Glenfetter an wiz the maist fertile bit o grun for miles.

The fairmer gid by the name o Rab Thain, a wee stocky bit man wi a reid mop o hair an a cutty forivver stuck

intae his moo. They newsed for a fylie an syne Wully teen his leave tellin Rab that he'd be back in aboot a wiks

time. He aye teen his bike wi him fin he gaed the skipperin for it wiz handy for hingin the skins he got up the glens.

Nae only that but the bike wiz fair handy for cairryin his pack o swag that wiz full o bogey roll, spunks, pipes an
ither things a shepherd in the back o ayont micht nott. But best ava wiz the wee timmer box that held his Sunray

melodjin.

Wully wiz a fair haan at the box an fun it een o the handiest things a body could tak up the glens for the

shepherds were fair stairved o music an wid dee onything tae garr ye bide a nicht or twa. Whit a skins he'd gotten

the year afore mair or less for the takkin because o the box.

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