The founder of an online project that aims to have Doric better represented on screens hopes to “lift us out of the doldrums” in 2021.
Doric TV was launched in August by Jill McWilliam from Cruden Bay in an effort for the language to “be seen and heard better by future generations”.
Ms McWilliam has suffered from a bipolar condition over the last 27 years and in 2020 was left with no other choice but to give up her full time job as a pupil support assistant to look after her partner who has myeloma cancer.
The 60-year-old said her bipolar condition has affected her “life in many adverse ways” and at times she “struggled to see the light of day”.
However, after working closely with the mental health team for many years and being inspired to launch an online Doric project, she was able to “bring focus and meaning into life”.
Doric TV was launched on August 2 and it’s hoped it will be used as a learning resource for schools, universities and libraries in years to come.
Ms McWilliam said: “When lockdown came and shielding with my partner became a way of life, I began to tap into the outdoors and looked to the bigger picture of things to receive strength to face the challenges which lay ahead.
“To survive through difficult times you need to pull on all your inner strength and think out of the box.”
Doric TV also aims to showcase talent from across the north-east and has had appearances from Scottish stars including Dame Evelyn Glennie, Huntly folksinger Iona Fyfe and The Trybe, a Scottish Pictish Band from Aberdeenshire.
Ms McWilliam hopes to interview more people this year who are “visionaries , positive thinkers and those with good old fashioned values and common sense to indeed lift us out of the doldrums”.