One of the first things you will see on entering Lady Stairs' Close leading off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh is this paving slab commemorating Greenock's own writer John Galt.
The words on the slab read - "birr and smeddum" John Galt (1779-1839).
Birr and smeddum are Scottish words often used by Galt in his writing. Birr usually means energy or enthusiasm and smeddum can mean strength.
The courtyard called Makars' Court (makar is the Scots word for poet or author) contains many other slabs commemorating Scottish writers and among them was one for the poet William Sydney Graham - another Greenockian.
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The words on the slab read - W. S. Graham 1918-1986
"What is the language using us for?"
The quote is the title of one of Graham's poems published in the book "Implements in Their Places" (1977). (Read the full poem and a review here.) You can read more about W S Graham and Greenock on The Greenockian Blog here (there's more in this blog - just use the search box at the top right of this post).
The Writers' Museum faces the courtyard and has fabulous exhibits of the life and works of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. I asked if there was a display with information about John Galt and was told - no! Very disappointing! However the Museum is well worth a visit.
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