Dreich (dreech) has been popping up fairly regularly recently on the BBC weather reports and I’m sure by now it must be quite well understood by people in England. It means really grey, dull and dismal weather but I suppose you can use it to describe anything grey and depressing.

I’ve been quite impressed by the pronunciation of the forecasters, they are managing the ‘ch’ sound well, as in loch. It would be terrible if they said dreek.

Here are a couple of dreich photographs of the coast at Kirkcaldy. As it is like this and even worse most of the time, it is a mystery to me why anyone would want a sea view.

Kirkcaldy rollers

More Kirkcaldy dreich

There are always a few ships about but to me the most interesting thing is that this is the exact piece of the coast which the famous economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) looked out on from his home. Then the area was packed with sailing ships and it was the coming and going of the ships which set him thinking about economics, and led him to write The Wealth of Nations.