Well known Skelmorlie raconteur Jimmy Law gave a lively and entertaining take on “My love of Scotland” as the subject of his recent talk to Largs Probus Club.

Members assumed it would be a colourful photographic tour of his favourite places to visit, but it turned out to be full of funny repartee and was a hilarious take on our home country.

He started with a reference to places he had stayed as the son of a Station Master on the railways and he certainly referred to various stops on his tour of Scotland, but this was merely an excuse to provide some hilarious anecdotes and poetry for a most entertaining talk.

Wearing a chicken, a duck and cockerel headgear in turn, he recited a poem, 'A Hen’s a Hen for A’ That', an amusing parody of Burns' poem 'A Man's A Man', by which an anonymous poet seems to admire the hen and her eggs instead of mankind.

He referenced his trips as a Scout, camping in various locations on the west coast, and to various local characters who worked on the railways, such as Joe Calderwood, who welcomed travellers to Inverkip railway station with the words “Inverkip, you lucky people”.

Jimmy had light-hearted views on the use of the Lochgelly tawse, by which corporal punishment was meted out in Scottish schools from the 1880s until it was banned in 1986, reciting a poem on this piece of classroom control by Robin Cairns.

Asking if members had heard of soap production on Barra. he replied to the doubtful looks with the comment: “Goodness, I thought everyone had heard of a Barra soap."

Jimmy’s recitations of works by Burns and W.D. Cocker were awesome, particularly his rendition of John Barleycorn with an English translation of the Scots included. Then he excelled with a rendition of the poem 'McAllister Dances Before the King', by D.M. Mackenzie, said to have been a favourite of the Queen Mother.

Largs Probus Club's next meetings are on Wednesday, April 10 at 10am in the Willowbank Hotel for a talk on the Ardgowan Malt Distillery, then on Wednesday, April 17 for a talk by Jim Walker on 'Treasure Trove', and on Wednesday, April 24 for John McLean’s talk on The Life of a Country Park Ranger.