My Scottish Accent

Tags

accent, Australian, cigarettes, Facebook, Scotland, Tasmania, tattoo

I emigrated to Tasmania with my family  in 1979  when I was 12 years old. This is an awkward age at the best of times. Every kid wants to fit in. I was a ‘novelty’ for local Tasmanian kids as it was. I figured that they didn’t need any more ‘ammunition’ with a Scottish accent.

Overnight I adopted an Australian accent. It was hard work but it was convincing. This accent would stay with me for well over 30 years. People knew that I was Scottish as I would tell them if it came up in conversation. When I got ‘Scotland’ tattooed on my right forearm I was about 40 (I’m almost 50 now) it became an instant talking point. I rather enjoyed this, not for the attention but for the break from the mundanity of normal small-talk. I enjoy talking to interested parties about Scotland as my memories are vivid and pleasant….and surprising to some listeners.

Two months ago, maybe it’s an age thing, I decided to revert to my Scottish accent after all of these years. I got sick of ‘trying’ when I spoke. I also felt that I was cheating people. I put a post on my Facebook page saying this and went back to writing my novel, so I didn’t know what I had unleashed. I was soon to find out.

Minutes later the phone rang. “Hi Bob,” an excited voice said. It’s XXXXX here. Say something Scottish.” What could I say? I replied, “Hello, how are you on this fine day?” The phone ran hot for an hour. I barely got to sit down. I’m not hard to find, after all. I’m the only ‘B Findlay’ in the phone book in my city. The penny eventually  dropped. I went to my Facebook page & their were comments galore. That, I can only assume, was the source of the phone calls. I instantly took the post down and and took the phone off the hook for the rest of the day.

Now I had the rest of the world to face. I’m lucky on that front though. The places that I go to know me pretty well. I went to the Pharmacy. I was asked by the Pharmacist about the accent. I told him the truth. I got sick of having to concentrate on my Australian accent. He and the other staff took it onboard without batting an eyelid. At the corner store where I buy my cigarettes, Cindy who works there didn’t flinch. Nor did Chris as the petrol station. I find myself very occasionally having to repeat myself. I have also found myself swearing a bit more. I keep it under control. The supermarket is not a problem as it’s usually a stranger who serves me and All I have to say is “Hello,” and “Okay thanks.”

Too easy.

Slices Of Life

Tags

Australia, court, drugs, homophobia, neighbours, news, pacifist, people, racism, sexism, Tasmania, violence

I went to bed last night with the aim of writing another blog today. I woke up just after 1am with the same thought. Bing! What could I write about? I  spent the next 5 hours, wide awake, thinking of ideas. I couldn’t think of a solitary idea but I did think of the notion of writing a blog comprising of snippets of things that had happened to me, had witnessed, had heard and so forth. Therefore, dear reader, as the title dictates this entry will comprise of snippets of life. In my case it is in Burnie, Tasmania.

I was walking down the street the other week. It was practically empty. I noticed a kid in his late teens walking towards me. I thought, ‘Here we go.’ Instead of any trouble he said, “Excuse me. Could you tell me where the bank had moved to?” I gave him directions. He was ever so thankful and polite. What a pleasant change from a youngster. It got me thinking, ‘That’s how easy it is to be civil.’ I’m a pacifist. Violence is hard work.

I can’t work out people who get aggressive when they drink or take illicit drugs. They know what’s going to happen. They must enjoy it or get some kind of kick out of it. In my opinion the laws should be tightened on offences involving not only violence but  illicit drugs, racism, sexism and homophobia.

Gormless people bring me down. I consider myself an upbeat person but talking to a gormless person brings me down. I feel myself sinking, as if I’m melting into Mercury. There’s no point trying to pep them up. Goodness knows I’ve tried. They must have been born like it. You don’t just wake up one day gormless. At least they’re easy to get away from and often they shuffle past you in thee street with a glum “Hello.”

I find over-enthusiastic people annoying. They seem fake and they tend to ramble on ad nauseam about things I don’t care about. Thank goodness I wear my Ray Bans a lot. They.can’t see my eyes glaze over. I just hope that they don’t ask me a question….because I’m not listening. I simply say “Pardon,” if they do ask me a question. They’re also very hard to get away from. I’ve been known to cross the street if I see them before they see me but they  have a knack for seeing you first….and talking you into a corner.

Small shop owners are different. If they’re busy then you just get in and out. If they’re not busy, from my experiences, they’re always up for a quick chat. I go to my corner store early so it’s usually quiet. One girl in particular, she’s a few years younger than me, talks music a lot with me. Even though it’s different genres, it’s music. We talk about other things too. She’s very objective and straight to the point. I try to time when I get my cigarettes for the days when she’s working.

Neighbours an important part of our lives. Most of us have them. They can have a profound effect on our lives, good and bad. Man, have I  heard some bad ones. Most pertain to noise. Some are worse. 2 years ago a placid guy I know  was set upon by his neighbours. They were  hard core drug addicts. My friend  was watching TV. The neighbours were high on goodness knows what but sneaked into his living room and took to him with a crowbar and pipe, breaking his arm in 2 places and badly bruising his face and head. The case went to court and the addicts were let off. Go figure(!).

I’m lucky. In the apartment there’s a 23 year old (I’m currently 49) and to my right is a guy and his wife who look to be in their early 50s. The young guy and I only see each other when we’re both leaving our apartments at the same time but we always stop and have a chat. The guy in  his 50s is a smoker like me so we encounter each other on the veranda more often. Being that bit older and with more life experience our conversations are longer and deeper. We solve the worlds problems in a humorous way. None of us are unruly or loud. I consider myself very fortunate in this department but sadly my older neighbour is moving soon due to work. I guess then It’ll be a nervous wait to see who moves in next..

I don’t know about the rest of the world but in Australia (maybe it’s just Tasmania), the news coverage could do with a good hard looking at. You watch the morning news and find out what happened yesterday. At each newsbreak throughout the day it’s the same thing, right through to the end off the day. The following day it’s the same thing. From dusk until night-time it’s yesterdays news. Shouldn’t they be updating the news as it breaks on the day? Is it  that difficult?

A Bit More About Myself

Tags

accent, alcholism, bipolar disorder, music, music recording, Nursing, Scotland, Tasmania

Greetings and thank you for dropping by. I thought that the ‘About Me’ section of this blog doesn’t really say very much about where I’m at so decided that I should let you know who is really behind these words. Much of what you’re about to read has not been published online so you may be in for a few surprises.

I was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1967 and was raised in the mining village of Cumnock in Ayrshire. In 11979 Margaret Thatcher closed most of the mines down in Ayrshire and the village of Cumnock has been left derelict by heroin. There goes a dream of taking my children to see where I was raised.

 I emigrated to Tasmania in 1979 with my family. I must say that it was initially something of a culture shock. I had never seen a wooden house with a tin roof before or roads without guttering. There were many more such surprises; too numerous to mention here Being at that awkward age of 12 I adopted an Australian accent to ‘fit in.’ Several years later I dropped it and reverted back to my broad Scots accent. It was too much of an effort to keep up. I have occasionally been mistaken for a tourist. In later years I had ‘Scotland’ tattooed to remind myself that I am Scottish and remind others as well. Ha Ha Ha!!!

Having always had an ear for music I began piano lessons when I was 9 years old. I took up the violin at age 12 and took lessons until the age of 14 when I first heard the song ‘Start Me Up’ by The Rolling Stones. From that moment on I have been primarily a guitarist but am a multi-instrumentalist. More of that in a later.

I began playing in rock bands when I  was 16 years old but by the time I was 22 years old I was a State Registered Nurse and found juggling shift work with band work too much so quit band work.As a multi-instrumentalist I was able to take to recording my own music in 1998 and found it much more enjoyable. In 2007 I entered the online recording world and have my music on various music sites, including iTunes, Amazon and the discount site Bandcamp.

I married my partner of  6 years in 1996 and my first child was born the following year. My second child was born two years later. Through all of this I developed an alcohol habit that led to my divorce in 2002. I moved into a single apartment and saw this as an opportunity to drink even more. Towards the end of my drinking I was consuming two bottles of vodka a day. I was vomiting an urinating blood….but this didn’t stop me. Two hospitalisations didn’t stop me either nor did rehab. To be honest I don’t know what stopped me. My only bad habits today are cigarettes and occasional coarse language.

After two years of sobriety I still didn’t feel well mentally. My moods were still swinging from high to low and I was suffering from levels of debilitating high anxiety. After several visits to a psychiatrist I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I took it upon myself to retire from nursing as, despite medication, my moods aand anxiety remain unpredictable at times.

Today I live alone in an apartment in a quiet area on Tasmanias’ north west coast. Between blogging, writing books and poetry which have been published on Amazon and writing and recording my music I manage to keep myself busy enough. My children live nearby and I see them frequently.

Diary Entry #1

Tags

doctor, medication, psychiatrist, seasons, Tasmania

I won’t bore you with the details of my background. You can view that to the right hand side of this page.

I have decided to include sporadic updates on what is happening in my life down here in Tasmania.

Currently is late Autumn but feels more like Winter. It’s 2,30pm, the sky is grey and the temperature is a shivering 15 degrees Celcius (I don’t know what  that is in Farenheit). Luckily there’s no rain or wind. I can tolerate the cold because it’s easy enough to get warm. I can tolerate the rain because all you have to do is look at it. For some reason, however, I cannot stand the wind. I think it’s  because you’re always made aware of its’ presence. The forecast tells me that the weather is going to get worse before it gets better. The bonus about  this time of the year is  that it gets dark early. I much prefer darkness to daylight.

I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. I see him once a month. Currently he’s trying to sort out severe headaches that I suffer from. They stem from the base of my neck and radiate to my frontal lobe until I have no option but to go and lay down. He has the dilemma of not being able to give me anything that is going to affect my co-ordination as I am on medication for bipolar disorder. The last painkillers that he gave me to try were as useful as lollies. One can only wait and see.

My bipolar is dealt with by my  psychiatrist via Skype who is at the other end of the state in Hobart. My next appointment with her is in August. If things go pear-shaped I can email her, as I have done in the past, hopefully get an early appointment or medication review between her and my pharmacist.

Until my next diary update I hope that you stay safe and well.

Home Matters

Tags

Family, Internet, Introduction, Lifestyle, Skype, Tasmania

This entry may sound a bit “me, me, me” but it is  purely to  set the scene so that you know where I’m coming from and who is actually writing to you.

I live in a two bedroom unit on a small dead end road. This may sound bleak but it is far from bleak.

I am close to my children, my family, friends and local amenities. I also have a greatviewand good neighbours. One neighbour, Tony, (not his real name) is always good for a chat. Always upbeat and has a great sense of humour. I like that in people. 

Most mornings I visit my parents where we solve all domestic and global problems. I still enjoy memories of my childhood and of their childhood in Scotland. We emigrated to Tasmania from Scotland in 1979. 

I spend my time in a variety of ways. My children visit and stay frequently. This always excites me but I still get a bit flat when they go back to their Mums. I guess  this is natural.

Recording my own music is my main interest. I do this in fits and starts. Messing about on the internet is another interest of mine. I find it much more informative and entertaining than television. I particularly enjoy Skype. For anyone who’s interested, my Skype name is: auchinock. The concept of Skype still blows me away.

Well folks, this is my situation in a nutshell. I look forward to updating you (not too frequently) on how things are in my world here in Tasmania and do feel free sign up to my blog and leave  a comment

Until then stay happy and safe. :