Jock Reads “Him”
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007I don’t want to talk about the Twelfth of July, except to wish Knudsen a happy birthday. I’ve already done my bit for loyalism.
Instead, tonight I want to celebrate the passing of our dear friend, Jock, who died this day three years ago. He was a Scottish Presbyterian, and dying on the Twelfth was his way of expressing his opinion on loyalists everywhere.
Here he is, reading another Bock story.
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Previously Jock Reads a Fairytale
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PS, in passing, I might just mention that Tim Ruttledge has an illuminating little piece on the subtlety and nuance associated with 12th July bonfires in Belfast.
Stumble it!
July 12th, 2007
Link’s broken, hunny.
Here’s to your friend, Jock. I remember him form some previous posts - he sounds like a great old gent.
On the 12th - I come from probably the most Presbyterian corner of Britain - but nobody ever considered July 12th anything different form any other day. It just doesn’t register up there. I doubt anyone would notice it if i wasn’t from pictures of Belfast marches on the news. It would have passed me by today too had you and Knudsen not mentioned it. Proving that all the Troubles really have nothing to do with Catholics and Protestant doctrine differences but are purely a local phenomenon in NI - spilling over into Glasgow in a half-hearted way, right enough, but in neighbourhoods most people are too scared to go to anyway.
Bunch of stupid inflammatory carry on, in my view.
July 12th, 2007
Sam : The link works.
July 12th, 2007
It’s the last one I’m having trouble with. I’m clicking on the “story” link and getting your site but with a 404 Error on it. The other three work just fine for me - s’just that one.
July 13th, 2007
It worked for me. Haven’t listened to it all yet…….
July 13th, 2007
the link works fine….wonderful stuff!
July 13th, 2007
Enthralling, Bock. A wonderful way to mark Jock’s passing.
July 13th, 2007
“It contains a complete Ulster-Scots dictionary”
I will agree that a dictionary would be helpful for most Ulster-Scots. Or spell check. I’m not naming names, mind you.
July 13th, 2007
Sorry to hear about your friend, Bock. It sounds like he was a good soul.
July 13th, 2007
here’s to you, sugar! *raising a glass*
July 13th, 2007
That’s quite something Bock. How many more of those have you up your sleeve?
It’s only lunchtime in the US, but I’ll go to the cupboard for a glass of Drambuie in honour of your friend Jock now.
July 13th, 2007
the Scots are always the ones to ask,”are you a Rangers or Celtic fan?” they know its the 12th. Bands from all over the world go to NI to march, remember last year when someone had the smart idea to march to Dublin and were surprised when some Irish fellas threw rocks at them?
July 14th, 2007
Guys: No point in making individual replies to most. Many thanks for listening to the story. Enjoy if you like and pass it on.
Eolai: Sadly no. Jock died a few days after recording this one.
Knudsen: Our Twelfth is to do with Jock’s passing. Those other mad fuckers can fuck off, cos they have nothing to do with us.
July 14th, 2007
That was great, Bock. Great pacing and description. Jock had a great voice to tell it with too.
I was listening to it in a dark room with my eyes shut and feeling like a wee girl getting a story again when the screen went blank from my not moving the cursor for a bit. The glow stopped coming through my eyelids and I was plunged into a blacker darkness right as he was bricking up the wall with the lantern behind it. Then his torch went out. Spooky-making it was.
I can see why you miss a man like that. He seems not to have forgotten his sense of play and childhood wonder even at his age, when some people are never ever children again past age 18. He has the kind of voice you could listen to all day - sort of patrician crossed with avuncular.
Good on you for getting the recordings you did. That phonecall from him the day before he died must be poignant for you - and heartbreaking - it sounds like he knew what was coming. I’m glad he was a well-loved man. Did he have any family?
July 14th, 2007
Sam: We all knew he had only a short time, and even to record a single story was a great strain on him, so we were lucky to get what we got.
Having said that, after Jock finished reading the Sailor, Eamonn and I took him for pints of Guinness in our pub of choice and had a great night.
Many pints. Many tall tales. Long night.