MORE than 50 short stories are at the heart of a new book released by a former electrical engineer.

The Trials and Triumphs of a Simple Minded Country Laddie has been put together by Arthur Greenan.

The East Linton resident, who was a fierce campaigner for the county’s former MP John P Mackintosh, has already released two books – The Robeson Tree and From the Heights of Drylaw Hill.

He said: “A few years ago, in about 2001, I really felt that I wanted to do like a wee booklet on the Greenan family tree.

“Then, I felt there was still something to be said for looking at the other side of my life.

“I sat down and drew up a list of all the things I would like to write about.

“I discovered there was something like 50 or so family things I could write about and discovered there were about 150 other little events or people I wanted to remember and were entitled to be remembered.”

The collection of short stories, which range in length from about 120 words to 2,000 words, has now been compiled.

The stories have been split into 10 different sections and cover a range of topics, from horses on a farm and Robert Burns through to the Scottish Parliament, Kenny MacAskill and Rosa Parks.

Arthur, 84, told the Courier that when he originally compiled the book, he found it ran to 500 pages and opted to cut it down.

He said: “There was a long, long story about all the farms which encircle Tranent and those that worked on them.

“I had to put all of that on the backburner and I really was left with the stories that I thought were alright for this point in time.”

Anyone looking for a copy should contact Mr Greenan.