THERE are some press releases which just cannot be ignored – and one such example comes from a renowned Scots broadcaster.

Billy Kay is promising “memorable moments” as his book, Scots: The Mither Tongue, is released in audio form for the first time.

The press release said: “Ower monie’s the lang year, fowk hae spierit at Billy Kay whit wey he hadnae gotten roond tae record a soond version o the quair he’s kent best for – Scots: The Mither Tongue?

“His repone wis aye the same: ‘Kennin the wark that gaes intae recordin a seiven-meinute script for the radio, I wis aye awaur o whit an undeemous darg it wad be tae dae a guid recordin o a book that’s nearhaun eicht oor lang.’

“Houaniver, like a wheen ither things, the muckle scunner o Covid chynged things wi the lockdoon garin us aw bide langer in the hoose an finnd projecks that we cuid dae fae hame.

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“‘Noo’s the day an noo’s the oor’ thocht Billy an breenged intae pittin a professional hame studio thegither an stertin oot on the lang-awaited projeck in Januar 2021.

“It’s noo duin, an he’s vauntie aboot recordin aw the braw Scots passages that gie the quair its virr an smeddum.”

Switching to English, Kay added: “It will be the first time that iconic passages from the great Scots literary tradition have been recorded and made available in the one place.

“For most people it will be the first time they have heard the work of writers from Barbour’s Brus to RL Stevenson’s Thrawn Janet read out loud by someone steeped in that tradition, who has a deep knowledge of Scots as both a living and a literary language.

“The combination is powerful with memorable moments from e.g. MacDiarmid and the Border Ballads, from Burns’s only letter in Scots and from rich examples of every Scots dialect.

“Scots and Scottish literature enjoy a global following, but outwith Scotland few people know how the language sounds, so this will fill a big gap in those people’s knowledge and appreciation of a great tradition.”

The audiobook is now available on Audible.