An Angus man who started writing poetry when he was recovering from cancer has penned a poem from the perspective of the Oor Wullie garden ornament that went missing from Edzell.
Gordon Tosh, 63, was inspired after reading an article in Saturday’s Courier that an Oor Wullie statue that was stolen from the Angus village in February may have turned up in Banff.
Gordon, from Arbroath, was diagnosed with lung cancer eight years ago, but was given the all clear after chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Staff at Maggie’s Centre in Dundee suggested he take up writing as part of his recovery.
“The nurses thought that writing might help me get through the change in my life, that it would help me get to terms with things,” he said.
“It was also to get a new experience of something I’d never done before. Writing has helped me learn more about myself.”
Gordon, who worked as a coalminer for 28 years and then as a mechanic at Stagecoach’s Arbroath depot, subsequently joined a writing group that meets monthly at Maggie’s in Dundee.
He said: “When I saw the article about the Oor Wullie ornament in The Courier, it got my creative juices flowing. I’m looking forward to reading it out at the next meeting.”
A van containing 33 gnomes and other garden ornaments, including the distinctive statue of Oor Wullie sitting on his bucket polishing his shoe. was found in Banff last week.
Isla Johnstone, from Edzell, had her ornament stolen from outside her house in February and contacted police to claim him.
However, Wullie’s owner has been traced to an address in Banff, while 31 of the gnomes found are still to be claimed.
Mrs Johnstone said: “I’m disappointed that Wullie won’t be coming home, but delighted that the story inspired a poem.”