Rural saga set in 1990 on a fictional farm in Banffshire in North East Scotland
In this Scottish three-generation rural saga of love, betrayal and resolution, the narrator is Bruno, a traumatised Polish refugee scholar. He has long been settled in the community. Kilbaddy Farm looks north over the Moray Firth and Old Kilbaddy is the nickname given to its octogenarian owner, Jock Wishart. Or was until he sold it to Matthew Grey, a ‘white settler’ from England. Whether Matthew will earn the soubriquet from his doubting neighbours remains to be seen. He is struggling during yet another farming recession in 1990 when the story is set.
Setting the Scene
After WW2 Bruno crept into the valley to be nursed back to health along with Jock by Jock’s wife, Kate. When Kate dies young, leaving clever, sensitive four-year-old Kathy in their care, the two men become loving if unworldly fathers. In time Kathy sets out for New Zealand with an adoring but possibly unstable husband. The story opens when her third child, Kit (whom Bruno prefers to call Katherine), arrives on a spectacular motorbike, shattering the peace in every sense. She brings her own troubles for Bruno to solve, or at least soothe – and forces him to face up to unresolved secrets in his own life.
What nobody expects is that Old Kilbaddy absconds repeatedly from hospital to end up at his old home. Still locked into the rhythms of the seasons he frets about what jobs should be under way at any one time, although the rest of his life is increasingly hazy. How can those around the old man help him? While coping with their own individual problems, can they make use of the experience he is so anxious to share? And can they give him the care and comfort he needs during the last phase of his life? Can Katherine, through Bruno’s memories, reach back through the generations to find her grandmother’s loving grace and patience? And can they all pull the farm through its difficult transition to the new owner?
Source material
This story was kick started by a catchy modern ballad, ‘Kilbaddie’s Bonnie Quine’ (girl), composed by a local singing farmer. Some of the lyrics have crept into the novel, with the composer’s permission. The spelling of the farm name was changed to emphasise that this farm is fictional, although it and its inhabitants are very like many others in the district.
