Stewart Ennis was born in Bridge of Weir in 1961, and began his career as a journalist and a nurse, but now he works as a writer, actor and tutor. Stewart was a founding member of the acclaimed Benchtours theatre ensemble with whom he co-created many touring shows throughout the nineties and noughties. For several years Stewart was creative writing lecturer at HMP Shotts and he has just finished editing Visiting Time, a new anthology of prison writing. Stewart has also had short stories & poems published in, Gutter Magazine, The Curlew (Wales) The Caterpillar (Ireland), The National Poetry Day Anthology (UK) and various other anthologies at home and abroad. He was an early recipient of a Playwright Studio Scotland Ignite award and has written a number of works for theatre including, The Darkroom, Robert Burns’ Celtic Complex, One Straight Line, The Taking of Zena Charbonne and The Monster & Mary Shelley. (touring Scotland and England this autumn) In 2019 Stewart was awarded the Aberdeen-Curtin Alliance scholarship to study a PhD within the creative departments of Aberdeen University & Curtin University, Perth, Australia. His first novel, Blessed Assurance (Vagabond Voices) will be published in September 2019.

Tapselteerie Day

by Stewart Ennis

It’s tapselteerie day the day.

It’s mixtie maxtie, topsy-turvy

hirdum-dirdum and heelie-go- leerie.

It’s tapselteerie day.

It’s a day fur pittin oan yer flipflops

and playin ootside in the snaw – how cool!

A day fur pittin oan yer dufflecoat

and lowpin in the swimmin pool.

It’s a day when the ainly rule in school

is tae act the goat and play the fool.

It’s tapselteerie day the day

It’s tapselteerie day.

It’s tapselteerie day the day.

It’s rummle-tummle, tersie-versie

doonside up and heelster gowrie.

It’s tapselteerie day.

It’s a day when yer dug taks yer da fur a walk.

When yer da wees doon the leg o’ a chair

When the cat eats its denner wi a wee knife and fork

and yer ma eats hers oan the flair.

It’s a day when the ainly rule in school

is tae act the goat and play the fool.

It’s tapselteerie day the day,

an unco kwerious boorachie,

a day o’ joukerie -pawkerie,

a dwamie, widdershins kin o’ day.

It’s tapselteerie day the day.

It’s tapselteerie day.

A Puddock Turns intae Queen Margaret Drive

By Stewart Ennis

It wis rainin last nicht

oan Queen Margaret Drive.

The puddock wis tryin to stey wet.

A’ wis tryin tae stey dry.

It wis hoppin taewarts yon pond

that isna there onymair.

A’ wis howpin agin howp

that the pond micht appear,

jist ance mair.