Tranent

This story doesn't start with a king.

It starts with a servant girl in Trenent, a small town in East Lothian that's east of Edinburgh.

Her name is Galus Duncan.

She works for a man named David Senton, a deputy bailiff which makes him a minor local official.

John Fian, who was sometimes called Dr. Fian and also went by the name John Cunningham, for whatever reason, taught at a school at Salt Pans, which is now Preston Pans.

A lot of name changing going on here.

A few miles along the coast from Trenet.

Now, according to the confessions, his role at the Halloween meeting was clerk.

This isn't like 20 years ago when you could be bottom of the table, East Kilbride, year after year after year, and there'd be no consequences for you.

Like, if you get sucked down, we have seen now if a Clydebank or a, a, a Brora Rangers who are going great guns in the Highland League or a Tranent in the Lowland League East, they're gunning for a, an SPFL spot at the expense of you.

And we've seen with Queen's, we've seen with Berwick Rangers, we've seen with East Kilbride, we've seen with Brechin City.

It is very, very hard to escape once you get relegated.

Aye, it's kind of like the old...

I, I like the, the big, the big East v West ties, you know, like Clydebank against Linlithgow, Clydebank play Tranent in the next round of the cup.

That, that one there, Pollok, Camelon, they've, they've got a good feel to it, haven't they? There's a wee bit of, I don't know, a wee bit of West, West of Scotland pride that I feel when, when we go through there and win.

Aye, definitely.

And they've been sick as a pig, they, when they see Penicuik getting Clyde in the Scottish Cup and getting the telly cameras coming down and stuff like that, because they made a right few quid out of that TV, for, although I cannae believe it.

I wonder what's your take.

I cannae believe they're not putting Clyde-Bank v Tranent on the telly.

You wonder who picks them sometimes, don't you? 'Cause-

It found a case waiting.

In the town of Tranent, a maidservant called Geillis Duncan had been slipping out at night and had shown an unexpected skill at curing sick people.

Her employer, David Seaton, decided to find out why.

He tortured her privately, using a device that crushed the fingers and a cord twisted around the head, and when she confessed, he asked who else was involved, and she gave names.

Finding the devil’s mark required an expert, and experts appeared.

A pricker carried a set of long brass pins and worked over the body of the accused looking for a place that did not bleed or hurt when the pin went in.

The best known in Scotland was John Kincaid of Tranent, who traveled from burgh to burgh at the invitation of local authorities and was paid by the head for every witch he found, which is the entire explanation of his success rate.

Some prickers used a pin with a retractable shaft.

But you're not telling me that Auchinleck, Linlithgow, uh, Clydebank, to name, name but three, uh, probably I'm trying to think of teams in the East that have got their, their thing.

There's probably Tranent, Bonnyrigg-

Tranent will have, aye.

Bonnyrigg will have it I think as well

...

I thought that as well.

I think that...

Listen, I know Clydebank and Tranent is, but I think they'll...

Um, but Dylan, any ties for you in the second round that, that stand out? Always a good one for the old coupons, the second round, or certainly used to be before the bookies got a bit wiser.

Plydebank against Tranent might be quite a good game.

Uh-

Yeah, it's an interesting one, to be fair, and Cumbernauld Colts against Banks O' Dee caught my eye a- as well.