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John Waddington Feather was born in 1933 at Keighley, Yorkshire, a mill-town in the Aire Valley. His verse-plays "Garlic Lane" and the longer "Easy Street" were first performed at Leeds Civic Theatre in 1973. This edition of "Garlic Lane" is a new version of the original. The author based both plays on Lawkholme Lane, where he was brought up in the post-war 1940s and '50s. Community life was strong and closely knit. There were still lively churches and chapels, pubs and choirs - and a rugby league team at the bottom of the lane, not one of whom was a full-time professional. Pigeon-racing, dog-racing, brass bands and glee clubs were vigorous. Bingo clubs and their ilk were only just making their appearance as new affluence spread. price £2.50 |
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USING Yorkshire dialect as his model, Mr. Waddington- Feather
shows how his dialect and other early Englishdialects developed
and how Standard English has evolved from them. The history of
dialect not only reflects the changing social history of Yorkshire,
but also of England. The author has written books on local history and education His plays have been produced both in his native county and througout Britain, and reveal a life-long interest in regional speech. He is a Life Member of the Yorkshire Dialect Society in which he was secretary and editor for many years. He is also a Life Member of the Bronte Society which awarded him its annual prize in 1966 for his paper on the dialect of Wuthering Heights. Mr. Waddington-Feather grew up in a dialect-speaking community in Keighley and Silsden, later graduating at Leeds University, where he studied under the late Professor Harold Orton, who pioneered so much dialect study in Britain and the United States. In this book he has tried to evaluate the worth of dialect study and literature, selecting examples of Yorkshire dialect which have appealed to him personally and quoting extensively from the long tradition of Yorkshire dialect literature, which extends from the 7th century poet Caedmon to the present. It is a literature which is varied, rich and vigorous —like the people who still write and speak it. Price £6.99 To read an extract from Yorkshire Dialect click here |
| HERE IS A SHORT TALE WRITTEN IN YORKSHIRE DIALECT |
Ira an’ t’Alderman Alderman Joa Oxenheead hed a tight pocket but a loose gob. He wer slow at payin’ but fast wi’ his tongue. Ivvery Sat’day morn he went to t’Conservative club i’ Keighworth an’ was reight pleased when he’d muscled in wi’ onny on ‘em suppin’ an’ got off baht payin’ his round. “Well, lads, Ah’ll hev to be off,” he’d say pullin’ aht his watch as t’ others supped up. “Ah’ve a committee meetin’ i’ ten minutes.” An’ he was off in a flash leavin t’others wi’ empty glasses. One Sat’day Ira Fothergill telled him straight aht, “Joa, Ah’m suppin’ baht.” An’ shoved his glass under Joa’s noase. He didn’t like that one bit ‘cos he hed to pay up. He still muscled in but nob’dy bowt him a drink onny more, soa he hed to buy his own – one glass of cheap sherry which he made last all t’ morning. Oxenheead hed a thrivin’ mill i’ Keighworth. His father hed fahnded it and Joa managed it through t’ war, when he made a lot o’ brass wi’ t’ contracts he picked up frae t’Ministry o’ Defence. Ira at that time wer in t’ RAF like mooast o’ t’ others ‘at supped in t’Club an’ it didn’t goa dahn so weel wi’ em, him makkin’ all that brass an’ them in t’ forces. It wouldn’t ha’ been soa bad if he’d ha’ kept his maath shut, but he wer allus braggin’ abaht how mich brass he wer makkin’. An’ my! how he liked t’ saand ev his own voice! He’d ram’mle on for ivver once he got to his feet to spaht. T’ year he wer t’ Mayor o’ Keighworth he upped t’ number o’ speeches he hed to give. He wer in his element! Once on his feet he’d spaht for hours: at schooil speech days, at civic dinners, at Rahnd Table do’s an’ the like. He allus started, “Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to be ‘ere today…” then he’d ram’mle on an’ on. Bi’ t’ time he’d done hawf o’t’audience wer asleep an t’other hawf thinkin’ o’ ther beds. It wer Ira ‘at shut him up. It wer at t’ Conservative Annual Dinner. As usual, Joa got up to speik an’ pushed his chair back soa fowks could see an’ hear him better. “Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to be ‘ere tonight,” he started. Then Ira acted. He scribbled a noat, folded it carefully, an’ passed it to his neighbour, tellin’ him to pass it up t’ table to Joa . Ivverybody saw it goin’ to Joa an’ wondered what it wer. Joa didn’t oppen it at once, but when he paused to tak a sip o’ watter, he picked up Ira’s note an’ read it. I’ two minutes he’d shut up an’ sat dahn red i’ t’face. Ivvrybody wondered what wer in that noat an’ Ira telled ‘em afterwards. “Oh,” he said wi’ a wicked smile, “Ah just said, ‘Joa, thi flies are undone an’ tha’rt showin’ t’ Crahn Jewels!’ ” Joa nivver lived that dahn, for if he started his jawin’ ageean, a flurry o’ notes’d come his way an’ he nivver dared ignore ‘em. Nor did he ivver forgive Ira.
John Waddington-Feather © |
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Somewhere along the line, I suspect one of the Waddington
Feather genes is that of a roaming Viking invader from his native
Yorkshire. For John’s Muse is never still. A poet of many
moods and matching styles, he reflects so much of his own up-bringing:
a familiarity with medieval literary tradition from his university
days, steeped withal in a longer tradition of Yorkshire dialect,
narrative verse from Old Norse and Old English sagas - and finally
an unwavering love of North American lore and people. (Former Dean of Education, P.E.I. University, Canada. To read an extract from Wild Tales click here |
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Somewhere along the line, I suspect one of the
Waddington-Feather genes is that of a roaming Viking invader from his native
Yorkshire. For John's Muse is never still. A poet of many moods and matching
styles, he reflects so much of his own up-bringing: a familiarity with
medieval literary tradition from his university days, steeped withal in a
longer tradition of Yorkshire dialect narrative verse from Old Norse and Old
English sagas - and finally an unwavering love of North American lore and
people. |
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If you like Yorkshire Dialect then you are sure to love this book. Revd. John Waddington-Feather captures the very best of John Hartley's Yorkshire Dialect works within this book. Including a biography of John Hartley, Yorkshire Dialect poetry including "Bite Bigger", "Plenty o' Brass" and a fine selection from the Prose of John Hartley, including "Mally's Kursmiss Party", "Chaitin a Landlord" and many more. John Hartley's profile is written very well by Revd. John Waddington-Feather who captures the "True Yorkshire Gentleman" John Hartley was. ISBN: 9-780955-645402
price £6.99 plus £1 postage |