Dundee street poet Gary Robertson’s new book Skeem Life is flying off the shelves ahead of its official launch on Thursday.
Subtitled Growing up in the Seventies, the book explores hilarious episodes from Gary’s childhood when his family moved out of the Whitfield multis into Fintry.
Told in the Dundee dialect, Skeem Life might never have been published had it not been for the work of another native writer.
Gary said, “The book came about after reading a book by Willie Robertson On The Milk.
“It was hilarious reading him reminiscing from the 60s and his use of the Dundee dialect, which I’m a supporter of.
“I had already written about 4000 words on my memories of Christmas but I put it away until I read Willie’s book.”
Gary said his book belongs to a different time and many of the things he and his pals got up to would be frowned upon nowadays.
“Nobody had much money and you were really thrown out of the house to make your own fun,” he said.
“You were given licence to wander where you wanted.
“Once you got to know where some of the apple or pear trees were in the posher houses you got to doing plundering, getting fruit for free so long as you didn’t get caught.
“We also used to nick tatties from the fields and sell them round the doors.
“It really was a time before political correctness and wrapping kids in cotton wool.”
All of Gary’s childhood antics were carried out against the backdrop of the notorious Dundee gangs.
Loosely affiliated with the Fintry Shams himself, he said, “It wasn’t so much fisticuffs but if you got caught on someone else’s territory you were in trouble.
“There was never the knife culture which has crept into society but there was always pride.
“Even growing up, if guys had to move scheme they would always say where they were originally from. It’s tribal.”
In spite of the gang culture, Gary said the main theme of the book was the great sense of freedom children had growing up on the schemes.
“Although this was my memory of Dundee I think it could translate to anywhere in that generation,” he said.
Gary will officially launch Skeem Life at a book signing in WH Smith in the Overgate next Thursday from 6.30-8.30pm.