Sir Walter's Baffies

The author of The Waverley Novels and Tales of a Grandfather, wasn't doing too well at the end of his life, and a grand friend o his fae Leamington Spa, a Mrs Cadogan, was shocked at the state o the owner of Abbotsford's slippers - once back home, her daughters got oot the knitting needles and made Sir Walter Scott a brand new pair o baffies!



The well-travelled Mrs Cadogan had been inspired by a Tartar design which she had been shown by a member of the Polish royal family! So the great author had bonny slippers tae warm his tootsies as he scribbled away in that great cauld stone hoose with no money for coal!



So why are these baffies so famous? Well, they are being auctioned at Shapes' Auctioneers, Edinburgh on March 1st, and are expected to go for £5,000! Sadly, the cash flow problems that plagued Walter in the 1830s, still plague his old house's owners to this day! The managers at Abbotsford say they'd love to have the slippers back home again, but cannot afford it, having a £10 MILLION pound bill to meet to keep Ivanhoe's creator's home in good nick!


Jackie Wright, the current exec. manager at the house wishes that some rich benefactor would buy them and gift them back to them to preserve for posterity.


Now, they don't have mountains to sell (Cf. MacLeod and the Cullins for Dunvegan's roof bill), so surely to peace some rich booklover can help them oot?


If you'd seen the coverage on BBC 1 Scotland, you'd've seen the clever CGI which made the slippers appear as if they were hopping around the house themselves!! How cute! If they could speak, obviously, they'd have even better stories than the man himsel!


What a great thing! 178-year-old slippers wanderin aboot on their ain! Aw! Maybe there's a pair o auld socks that once graced Sir Walter's feet just hiding away in a laundry basket at Abbotsford waitin to be reunited wi the slippers!


So, weel-aff Scots - put yer hands in yer pooches and bring oot yer siller!


Also, Happy Birthday in advance to my mate Andrew Shepherd, who will be 35 on the day of the auction - 10 days before I reach the same age!