Un peu d'anglais

                   Kay Dunnett m’a fait parvenir hier la première partie de la traduction destinée à la newsletter des Sinclair. Il manque une petite partie que je vais essayer de compléter avant demain. Rena ne trouvait pas qu’elle soit nécessaire. Je ne suis pas de cet avis car elle approfondit la trame narrative du « Ceilidh », alors qu’à mes yeux, la première partie est plus anecdotique. Voilà en tout cas la partie traduite par Rena (Rappel : la version française et intégrale de cet article figure dans ce blog, je l'ai mis en ligne récemment).

 

Eric Bertrand, who lives and teaches in Loudeac, Brittany, is so fond of
Caithness that he has written both a narrative and dramatised version of his
story "Le ceilidh", set in & around the Clan Sinclair strongholds.

Discovering Sinclair & Girnigoe Castles when I arrived in Wick in 1983 to
teach French as an "assistant" in Wick & Thurso High Schools, I wanted to
'discover' this area of the North of Scotland with its wild scenery which I
found so attractive. At this time I was completing my literature studies and was very fond of
reading Shakespeare & Victor Hugo.
I was immediately attracted by the area of Sinclair Bay, the cliffs, the
wildlife, the castles which I discovered one after the other: Old Wick, 
Sinclair & Girnigoe, Ackergill Tower, Keiss, Buchollie...
During my year in Caithness, I travelled the roads on an old bike kindly given
to me by a Wick gentleman.  At Sinclair & Girnigoe it was like falling in
love....
I was staying in Wick, in Glamis Road, only three miles away from the Castles.
 That year, I went there regularly, at least once week.  I took photos, 
watched the light changing, t he passage of the seasons, Autumn ,when the
moorland is purple with heather, winter, in the snow,  the wind...spring,
summer. The bird colonies, the flowers in the rocks, the brightness of the
long summer evenings. When people came to visit me, I made sure, of course,
that they had a guided tour of the Castles! One evening, we even camped
nearby. Fascinated by the feeling of mystery which seemed to be all around me,
I researched local history & legends, read different literary works, 
consulted old editions of the John O' Groat Journal in the library, questioned
people..........
I can still see myself in the house of Mr Miller (Old Stirkoke), a bowl of
porridge in my hands, discovering all the details of the story of John
Sinclair "starved to death" at the bottom of his dungeon. The story stayed
with me. I told it to anyone who wanted to hear it.  When I was setting off to
tour the Highlands on board 'The Orcadian', I was already missing Caithness. 
My friends, the other French "assistants" in the Highland Region, nicknamed me
"Master of Caithness". And then,  my placement over, I went back to France.
In 1986, I was appointed lecturer in Aberdeen University, and came back
several times to Wick, on pilgrimage to my old ruins!
And, since then, so any times...summer 1990,on honeymoon, summer of '92,
withfriends, February'95, April'97,'98,'99,2001,2003. At present, I am settled in Brittany where I teach literature and direct
theatre workshops.  With my two children -Yann, 6 and Nolwenn 10, and my wife
Jennifer who are as attached to Caithness as I am, we are planning our next
trip back.


Sky so near in Caithness