Henderson, David
Ae day I wis sittin in e squeel fin the teacher said, "I think you are wasting your time here. Why don`t you go and see Sergeant Jaffray at the Police Office and get a job with them?"
So I did, an that wis that. Aboot twa wiks efter I hid an interview at Lodge Walk an syne jined e force as a cadet fin I wis seiventeen. I did at for twa-three eer or I wis aul aneuch tae be a richt bobby, an syne workit in Aiberdeen for the neist twentysax eer.
Er wis five different shifts ower a the eers I workit; an ilka een wis some different fae the ithers. Early shifts yokit at sax an nine, lates at twa an five, an` nicht shift at ten an lowsed acht oors efter. Ere wis pucklies o sma changes ower the eers o days workit an rotations o days aff, bit neen o them wis affa guid fae a social pint o view because ye aye nott tae be bedded early or up early, an ye cwidna really settle tae`t afore e shift cheenged an ye wis on a different clock again. Aetin wisna muckle fun; yer belly nivver sattled tae ae set o times afore ye wis on anither een.
Yer wark kin o depended on fit shift ye wis warkin; early ye looked at vacant hooses far e fowk wis on holiday, or awa fae hame, an lates wis maistly hoose rows far a mannie had maybe hid a drappie ower muckle tae drink an fa`en oot on e wife, or clearin e pubs at shuttin time. Files ye got a pucklie overtime, maistly at Pittodrie fan there wis a hame game, or at e Torcher, or sic-like ither events. At mint, of coorse, at ye tint een o yer days aff an didnae see sae muckle o yer faimily an bairns as ye wid hae likit - I can aye min my loonie speirin foo I gaed tae my wark fan ither loons` daddies wis comin hame, an ere`s nae muckle o an answer tae yon at maks sense til a five-eer-aul.
Onywye, I feenished my time as a constable wi fower or five eer as a community bobby in Mastrick - same faces, same problems, nae answer! That gaed on til I got my Sergeant`s stripes, an syne I gaed tae Tulliallan Castle as a teacher at the police college for a filie. Fan I cam hame I workit in the Queen Street office, at the control room for a file syne at the front coonter - an ye met aa kines yonner - an at the cells far ye met aa the ither kines! Ye hid tae mak sure aabody lockit up wis aa richt throw the nicht, an ye nott tae get aa the cases reported for coort in the mornin, so ye wis fairly keepit oot o languour!
I left the bobbies fan I wis fortyseiven eer aul, an I wisnae sorry tae go because aathing hid cheenged fae fan I jined - ye cwidna scud a coorse loon i the lug nae mair, an maist o`s kent fine at trainin bairns tae be guid wis like trainin a pup - fan they made a sotter o things, ye nott tae rub their nose in`t.