Nostalgia: Snapshot, 29/12/1983

TED Lourie was a braw lad when it came to guid Scots tongue. He had been sharing his enthusiasm for the Scottish language at the building site where he worked in St Giles’ Street.

The Evening News told on this day in 1983 how each day Ted chalked different Scots words on a blackboard for passers-by to see – and hopefully learn. And in recognition of his efforts, the Scottish National Dictionary Association had presented him with a copy of its Concise Scots Dictionary.

Ted, 58, a stonemason’s labourer from Dunfermline, was working on stone restoration in the street, near The Mound. His blackboard was positioned so people climbing the steps from Market Street could see “today’s Scots words” when they reached the top.