DUNCAN Ferguson offers, in Gaelic as well as English, this little reflection on the winter solstice, inspired by the close association between it and standing stones, especially on the Hebridean islands, and the festive annual shinty matches, also mostly on these same islands, about which he heard from tradition-bearers in his childhood in Portnahaven, Islay.
BRUMA/WINTER SOLSTICE MMXV
In the black midwinter
The sun stood still
Shadowless were the standing stones
At Cultoon (on Islay) and on Colonsay
As they prepared for the clash of camans
In the longest match
On the biggest shore
On the shortest day of the year
BRUMA/GRIAN-STAD MMXV
Sa gheamhradh dhorcha
Gun dearrsadh na greine
Cha robh faileas bho na tursachan
Aig Cuiltuin (air Ile) no air Colbhasa
Na daoine air doigh
Airson geam as fhaide na camanachd
Air traigh mhor
Air an la as giorra sa bhliadhna
Camans=shinty sticks
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here