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Writer and broadcaster Billy Kay had a ‘braw nicht’ at John O’Groats Book Festival





From left: Rognvald Brown, chairman of John O’Groats Mill Trust; Billy Kay; Jeri Cormack, general manager of the mill; and book festival organiser Ian Leith. Picture: Alan Hendry
From left: Rognvald Brown, chairman of John O’Groats Mill Trust; Billy Kay; Jeri Cormack, general manager of the mill; and book festival organiser Ian Leith. Picture: Alan Hendry

Billy Kay said it was an honour to have been invited to give a talk at the newly refurbished John O’Groats Mill.

The well-known writer and broadcaster, a passionate advocate for the Scots language, declared that he’d had a “braw nicht” at the opening event of the 2025 John O’Groats Book Festival.

An Evening with Billy Kay came less than a month after the historic mill was reopened as a heritage attraction and community venue following a £4.9 million project led by John O’Groats Mill Trust.

Billy (73) gave an entertaining, enlightening and amusing insight into his books The Scottish World, Knee Deep in Claret, Scots: The Mither Tongue and the latest one, Born in Kyle: A Love Letter tae an Ayrshire Childhood.

“I loved my visit to the mill,” he said afterwards. “What an honour to be here in this fantastic community resource.

“I’ve put my name down for the first time beremeal is made in the mill again. I want a wee bag of it.

“And what a pleasure it was to talk to a Caithness audience who are all from a Caithness dialect-speaking background and who therefore found my Scots easy to understand and loved every minute of it. So it was a braw nicht.”

He covered themes such as the influence of Scottish people around the globe, the history of wine and the Auld Alliance, the development of the Scots language and what it was like to be part of the last pre-television generation.

Born in Kyle is mainly about growing up in Ayrshire in the 1950s and ’60s, but he pointed out that many of those childhood experiences would have been shared by others in small towns throughout Scotland.

One story Billy told involved a much-anticipated visit to his home town by the legendary Wild West figure Davy Crockett… which turned out to be a huge let-down. On a happier note, it inspired the book festival audience to join with Billy in an impromptu rendition of “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier”.

Billy answered questions before signing copies of his books.

Festival organiser Ian Leith said: “It was a very successful night and it is great to be in the John O’Groats Mill, which we would hope will be a home for the book festival in the future.

“It has been great to have Billy Kay here.”

Concluding remarks were given by the chairman of John O’Groats Development Trust, Walter Mowat. The book festival is a subsection of the development trust.

An Evening with Billy Kay, held on Friday, was supported by Scottish Book Trust.

Billy, who now lives in Fife, had enjoyed a coastal walk to the Stacks of Duncansby earlier in the day.

“I loved my walk – the spectacular scene with the stacks is just memorable,” he said. “It’s one of the most awe-inspiring places I’ve ever seen.”

Speaking ahead of the event, Billy had described himself as “just somebody who has studied the history of their culture”.

He explained: “I was able to study Scots at university and I was so astonished by the riches that I found. I just want to tell folk, especially working-class people who missed out on their history and their language and their culture, what their true history is.”


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