Wednesday 5 August 2009

Padanaram


Driving around the Angus area, I'm often struck by some of the place names. Their pronounciations, their origins, their meanings. That kind of thing. This may or may not be the first in a series of place or town names which appeal to me. The subject matter may mean an increased number of drive by captures, thus increasing my chances of being 'rectummed by an artic'. (not my expression, but very apt, I think). Now you may be thinking I'm about to astonish you with some remarkable fact concerning the origins of Padanaram...... I wish I could but I can't..... sorry! If it's any consolation, the locals call it 'Paddy'. Makes sense I think.
Trying to get my tongue round Padanaram has the unfortunate effect of making me sound like I've had a stroke.

10 comments:

  1. I bet you'll find a good deal more you can't pronounce before long Neil, where is Paddy? My friend and I once spent all day trying to find someone who lived in a place called "Foggie", tuned out to be Aberchirder, needless to say we didn't find it that day

    ReplyDelete
  2. They're not in Angus but i like Muthill in Perthshire (i think) and Oldwhat in Aberdeensire (i think).

    Aberchirder's a beaute. Never head of it before.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I was looking for that Glen Esk church (from one of your previous posts) on a map I remember seeing a place called 'Inch of Amhall' and thought, awww, how cute. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chris - Paddy is about three miles west of Forfar. In between Forfar and Kirriemuir.
    Found out today that the name appears to come from the Hebrew bible.
    I like the ones which have no obvious connection between local name and reality. Aberchirder - Foggie..... brilliant.

    Naldo - I'd always loved Findo Gask. Obviously the band liked it too.

    Marnie - Inch of Amhall, that's a new one on me... and I feckin live here! It's quaint though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We drove past "Dingenberger Road" yesterday, and the word stayed with me all day. "Padanaram" I think is much the same, it's not ordinary but not foreign either, and sticks in the head because of that; I wonder why the town has a Bible name? 'Forfar' sounds like it came out of a fantasy paperback novel, honestly. I looove place names and their stories! My kind of post.
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Loads of places in Britain have biblical names. We're like that. Sometimes no one seems to know why...

    ReplyDelete
  7. lol i just been offered house in padanaram asked my gran about it as she was brought up in forfar and my grandad kirrie she too calls it paddy

    ReplyDelete
  8. The village was named by the " Knights Templar "

    ReplyDelete
  9. Its Hebrew, means plain of the high lands. |Syrian

    ReplyDelete
  10. There is a near by Zoar and Jericho. Is it Egyptian? Not sure, but Zoar is a farm in Egypt I think

    ReplyDelete