Entertainment Dibhearsan

[Anna] Ruairidh Alasdair an toiseach, thug mi iomradh air an sin, air na cànanan a tha thu a' bruidhinn. Bha dualchas Gearmailteach gu math cudromach dhut ag èirigh suas.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Chan eil ceist sam bith ann mun sin agus gu h-iongantach 's e Gearmailtis a dh'ionnsaich mi fiù 's mus do dh'ionnsaich mi Beurla. 'S e Gàidhlig a bh' againn riamh san dachaigh 's thàinig Gearmailtis beagan an dèidh làimh ach bha sin a' ciallachadh gun do thòisich mi san sgoil, sa bhun-sgoil, gun cus Beurla agam 's tha mi a' smaointinn do mhòran gu bheilsin caran mì-àbhaisteach 's thuiginn carson a bhiodh ceist ann mun sin ach a' coimhead air ais chan eil mi a' smaointinn gun dèanainn fhìn dad sam bith eadar-dhealaichte.

[Anna] Agus bha sin ri linn 's gu bheil càirdean agad anns a' Ghearmailt.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Sin ceart. Àidh. Mo sheanmhair. Nise, tha ise gu bhith ceithir fichead 's a còig a dh'aithghearr ach tha ise fhathast a' fuireach anns a' Ghearmailt. Bha i a' fuireach ann an Alba deagh ghreis cuideachd 's mar sin tha beagan de cheangal aice fhèin ri Alba cuideachd, ach air sgàth sin bha mi riamh a' faireachdainn gun robh ceangal pearsanta agam fhìn ris na Gearmailtich, ri Gearmailtis fhèin, ris a' chànan 's air sgàth sin tha mi a' faireachdainn gu math cofhurtail 's anns an dachaigh anns a' Ghearmailt cuideachd.

[Anna] A thaobh an leughaidh a bha thu a' dèanamh nuair a bha thu a' fàs suas, dè seòrsa rud a bha a' còrdadh riut?

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Seadh, ceist gu math fosgailte a tha sin 's tha e caran doirbh a fhreagairt. Bha iomadh, iomadh rud, tha mi a' smaointinn, agus ann an iomadh cànan cuideachd, mar a thuigeadh sibh. Ach tha mi a' smaointinn a' chiad leabhar, tha mi a' smaointinn, a ghlac m' aire, tha mi a' smaointinn gur e Treasure Island aig Robert Louis Stevenson 's tha mi a' smaointinn gun cluinn sinn beagan mun sin 's dòcha nas anmoiche sa phrògram, ach dhòmhsa sin a' chiad sgeul, tha mi a' smaointinn, a ghlac m' aire gu ceart. Tha e doirbh, tha mi a' smaointinn, de ghillean no de nighean a tha a' fàs suas a bhith a' lorg an seòrsa sgeul a tha a' còrdadh riutha gu mòr, chanainn. Nise tha cuimhne agam leugh mi an stuth aig C S Lewis, mar eisimpleir The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe mar eisimpleir, 's bha mi a' smaointinn rium fhìn "chan e seo buileach an stoidhle agamsa, tha mi feumach air rudeigin eadar-dhealaichte" 's tha mi a' smaointinn gun d' fhuair mi sin le Treasure Island aig Robert Louis Stevenson.

[Anna] Nach toir sinn sùil air a' chiad leabhar a thug thu a-steach thugainn a-nochd.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Seadh.

[Anna] 'S e leabhar a th' ann a th' air, sgeulachd a tha air cliù a chosnadh bho chionn goirid ri linn filmichean. Innis dhomh dè th' ann agus carson a thagh thu e.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Seadh a-nis, uill seo The Hobbit aig Maighstir J R R Tolkien. Ainm a tha seo, tha mi a' smaointinn, a tha air fàs uabhasach fhèin ainmeil anns na bliadhnaichean mu dheireadh,tha mi a’ creidsinn, agus gu h-iongantach 's e seo seat de sgeulachdan a tha a' tighinn gu aire mhòran, tha mi a' smaointinn, tro mheadhan cinema 's chan ann tro mheadhan litreachais.

[Anna] 'S ann mar sin a thàinig thusa chun na sgeulachd.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Tha sin fìor. Àidh. Tha cuimhne agam nuair a bha mi fhìn sa bhun-sgoil bha a h-uile duine ag ràdh a-nis "ò feumaidh tu, feumaidh tu falbh a dh'fhaicinn Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring" 's bha mi a' cantail rium fhìn "cha dèan sin dad sam bith dhòmhsa" ach gun teagamh sam bith an dèidh dhomh am film fhèin fhaicinn bha mi a' smaointinn "'s mi a bha ceàrr, 's mi a bha ceàrr". An dèidh dhomh am Fellowship of the Ring fhaicinn aig taigh nan dealbhan cheannaich mi The Hobbit 's an dèidh sin na trì leabhraichean Lord of the Rings cuideachd. Leabhraichean gu math eadar-dhealaichte. The Hobbit, chaidh sin a sgrìobhadh airson feadhainn a tha pìos nas òige na tha mi fhìn an-diugh agus ...

[Anna] Ach dhan fheadhainn a tha a-muigh an sin 's dòcha nach cuala riamh mu dheidhinn an Hobbit dè tha a' tachairt san sgeulachd?

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Seadh. Uill 's e an caractar as cudromaiche fear leis an ainm Bilbo. Airson neach a tha air Lord of the Rings a leughadh bidh iad eòlach air an ainm sin, Bilbo Baggins. 'S e creutair beag leis an ainm hobbit a th' ann 's tha esan a' faighinn fiathachadh bho dhraoidh, Gandolf, agus o sheat de throichean falbh air cuairt, tha mi cinnteach gum b' urrainnear a ràdh, agus tron leabhar cha bhi sinn dìreach ag ionnsachadh mun chuairt a tha seo. Bidh sinn ag ionnsachadh tuilleadh mu dheidhinn Bilbo fhèin 's tha mi a' smaointinn gur e sin an rud as cudromaiche san leabhar a tha seo, mar a bhios an caractar fhèin a' fàs na phearsa, mar a bhios esan a' cruinneachadh misneachd cha mhòr. Tha e inntinneach agus math, math fhèin a bhith a' cluinntinn mu dheidhinn uilebheistean agus iomadh cultar agus smuain eile 's dòcha ...

[Anna] Dè bha cho tarraingeach dhutsa mu dheidhinn? Dè dìreach a bha tarraingeach?

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Seadh. Uill dhòmhsa, seo a-nis a' chiad leabhar, tha mi a' smaointinn, a chuir air bogadh mi ann an dòigh no saoghal gu tur eadar-dhealaichte, tha mi a' smaointinn. Bha sinn a' bruidhinn mu dheidhinn Robert Louis Stevenson mar-thà. Tha sin caran builteach a bhith caran fìor. Tha na leabhraichean aigesan fìor gu ìre air choreigin. Seo a-nis, na leabhraichean aig Tolkien, an saoghal aig Tolkien, 's e rudeigin gu tur eadar-dhealaichte ...

[Anna] Saoghal fa leth a bha sin.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Dìreach, dìreach.

[Anna] Saoghal fa leth.

Chaidh am prògram seo, Leugh Mi, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 2015.

[Anna] Ruairidh Alasdair firstly, I mentioned that, the languages that you speak. German heritage was very important to you growing up.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] There is no question about it and surprisingly I learnt German even before I learnt English. We always spoke Gaelic at home and German came a little afterwards but that meant that I started in school, in primary school, without much English and I think for many that is quite unusual and I can understand why there would be a question about it but looking back I don't think that I myself would do anything differently.

[Anna] And that was because you have relations in Germany.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] That is correct. My grandmother. Now, she will be 85 soon but she still lives in Germany. She lived in Scotland a good while too and so she has a bit of a link herself to Scotland too, but because of that I always felt that I had a personal link myself with the Germans, with German itself, with the language and because of that I feel very comfortable and at home in Germany too.

[Anna] With regards the reading that you did when you were growing up, what sort of thing did you enjoy?

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Aye, that is a very open question and it is quite difficult to answer. There were many, many things, I think, and in many languages too, as you can understand. But I think the first book, I think, that caught my attention, I think that it was Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and I think that we will hear a little about that perhaps later in the programme, but for me that was the first story, I think, that properly caught my attention. It is difficult, I think, for boys or for girls that are growing up to find the sort of story that they really enjoy, I would say. Now I remember I read C S Lewis' stuff, for example The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and I thought to myself "this isn't quite my style, I need something different" and I think that I got that with Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

[Anna] Shall we take a look at the first book that you took into us tonight.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Aye.

[Anna] It is a book that has, a story that has gained notoriety recently because of films. Tell me what it is and why you chose it.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Uh huh now, well this is The Hobbit by Mr J R R Tolkien. This name, I think, that become really very famous in recent years, I would say, and surprisingly this is a set of stories that come to most people's attention, I think, through the medium of cinema and not the medium of literature.

[Anna] That is how you came to the story.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] That is true. Aye. I remember when I was in primary school everyone was saying now "oh you must, you must go to see Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring" and I said to myself "this won’t do anything for me" but without a doubt after I saw the film itself I thought "I was wrong, I was wrong". After I saw the Fellowship of the Ring at the cinema I bought The Hobbit and after that the three Lord of the Rings books too. Very different books. The Hobbit, that was written for those that are a bit younger that I am now and ...

[Anna] But for those out there that perhaps haven't ever heard about the Hobbit what happens in the story?

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Aye. Well the most important character is a man called Bilbo. For someone that has read Lord of the Rings they will know that name, Bilbo Baggins. He is a little creature called a hobbit and he gets an invite from a wizard, Gandolf, and from a set of dwarves to go on a journey, I am sure could be said, and through the book we don't just learn about this journey. We learn more about Bilbo himself and I think that that is the most important thing in this book, how the character himself grows as a person, how he gathers confidence really. It is interesting and really really good to hear about monsters and different cultures and other thoughts perhaps ...

[Anna] What was so appealing to you about it? What exactly was appealing?

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Aye. Well for me, now this is the first book, I think, that immersed me in a completely different way or world, I think. We were talking about Robert Louis Stevenson already. That tends to be quite true. His book are true to some extent. Here now, Tolkien's books, Tolkien's world, it is something completely different ...

[Anna] That was a separate world.

[Ruairidh Alasdair] Exactly, exactly.

[Anna] A separate world.

This programme, Leugh Mi, was first broadcast in 2015.