It’s awfie hamely o ye tae gie me a wee shottie fur the simmer. Yer a guid man Mr Flowerdew.

I ayewis thoucht I’d like a go at butlering efter retiring frae gairdnerin.

The extra siller’ll come in handy, I’m frae Aberdeen ye ken.

Fine bitty o land yiv goat here.

Translate:

hamely: courteous, kindly, friendly.

It is awfully courteous of you to give me a short trial over the summer. You are a good man Mr Flowerdew.

I always thought that I’d like a go at being a butler after retiring from gardening.

The extra money will come in handy, I’m from Aberdeen you know.

It is a lovely parcel of land you have here.

′hemlɪ
The Scottish Word: hamely with its definition and its meaning illustrated and captioned with the word used in context in the Scots language and in English.

Jim McColl Gardener.

I came across Jim McColl (the white haired butler in tackety bits with the watering-can) hosting BBC TV’s Beechgrove Garden along with fellow gardener George Barron. It was their couthie banter that caught my interest and I have watched the programme off and on since.

Jim retired this year hence his tribute appearance in the drawing above.

Sadly one of the reasons for his retirement is a condition that makes it difficult for his hands to grip which means I’m taking a bit of a liberty in having him hold a heavy watering can.

You can read a short BBC article about Jim and his career here. I don’t know if he ever met Bob Flowerdew in real life.

Bob Flowerdew Iconoclast.

I first saw Bob Flowerdew (his real name) on Gardeners World when it was hosted by Geoff Hamilton and I was taken by his style of gardening. Full on organic, not afraid of untidiness and always a questioner of conventional wisdoms.

In his own words: “…I am not a joiner but a disrupter, an iconoclast & staunchly independent thinker, I refuse to accept anyone else, or any spurious idea of a god, has any authority or restraint on my musing…. I tend to monopolise conversation, introduce bizarre & inappropriate thoughts, tread all over anyone’s sensitivities and indulge in spontaneous, often in bad taste, humour.”

If you are into gardening a compilation of Bob Flowerdew’s best gardening articles can be found on his site here.