Thistle soup - Peter Kerr

'Hold on tight, peedie boy, thoo's safe enough, boy, I'll look out for thee - never fret. East Lothian, 'The Garden of Scotland' and the setting of a delightfully idiosyncratic story of country life. Often hilarious, always heartfelt and at times sad, here is unfolded the ups and downs of four generations of one farming family from the northerly Orkney Isles, who move to the little farm of Cuddy Neuk in the south of Scotland just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Through the candid eyes of young Peter, the peedie boy who sets his heart on following in his somewhat eccentric grandfather's footsteps, is revealed an endearing - and never dull - Scottish story. Growing up to step into his grandfather's straw-lined wellies to run the family farm, Peter becomes a farmer father to his own sons and puts his ability to see the funny side of things to good use, as adversities crop up with an intriguing regularity ...'Pawky' rural characters, drunken ghosts, bullocks in the bedrooms, practical jokes, obscure customs and country superstitions are all added to the historic pot: a brimming and lively broth of thistle soup!