Thursday 11 July 2013

The 'back green'

It's quite funny living in a town for a fortnight as Mr F to be has me kidnapped for decorating, in between the paint pots I'm often found in the scullery gazing oot the windae tae the back green. Lots of houses here have 'greens' rather than gardens, well that's how I think of them. A wee square patch of grass with a washing poles in each corner. Mr F's has a Rowan planted in his, shh, don't tell it its not supposed to be there, its in disguise between the washing poley's.
 
When I was little, my grannie didn't have a garden either, she had a 'back green', a wee patch with poles and tiny edged borders, I loved in in there, it was heaven. You went through the closey and out into the back green, stayed there for hours. Its funny being back in a town and seeing the 'greens' of folks houses with a border or so around the edge and the washing poles standing to attention in the corners. Your 'green' was functional for clothes drying, letting the wee bairns play and guddle in the mud. Walking the mutts about Kirkcaldy, there are a fair amount of old houses with closes like my grannies, (kind of alleyways, some covered some not) which lead to a myriad o' back greens.
 
I was reminded of this today as an auld wifey gave me a row for cutting across hers (public access way through) with my hoonds. To be fair I'd never mess with my grannies back green either, so we moved swiftly forward without citing the local access codes to her! Grannies and their own back greens are not to be challenged.
 
Wonder if its just a Scottish thing? Back greens....................??

4 comments:

  1. Certainly not a southern thing - although everywhere has it's own language for such things doesn't it. Back yard, Back garden, and up with you back Green - I like that one actually! xx

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    1. Reminds me of my grannie and plowtering in mud with my wellies as a kid :)

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  2. Kirkcaldy is near where we used to live in Cupar, and my girls were born in Kirkcaldy - you should hear the variations folk down here in the Fens try when they have to look at the birth certificates for anything official - one woman in the local bank tried to tell me that their birth certs were not birth certs at all so I had to explain that yes, they are, just Scottish ones! I will come back one day, I have promised myself, and I would love a wee cottage with a green at the back!

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    1. Morgan I'm so sorry I missed this what a lovely story - so your girls are from the 'Lang Toon' how interesting!

      If its any consolation whenever I take Scottish money 'south' its often looked at with the same manner and I get told its not 'real'!

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