to all, for good or ill. The church (the kirk) was much more significant in community life and a lot of humor in the stories is derived from scriptural misquotations, which contemporary readers, with their thorough knowledge of the Bible, would have understood. Reference is also made to schisms in the kirk, with the same humor, which could sting those who were overserious in defense of their splinter denomination. The stories give an insight into the life and attitudes of the Firth of Clyde, its sea lochs and the city of Glasgow. They were written as occasional pieces in the "Looker On" column in the "Glasgow Evening News" and were designed to be recognizable to Glaswegians with Highland backgrounds and also those who were city-bred but regularly escaped the smoke to go "doon the water" to the Clyde resorts of Rothesay, Millport, Dunoon and Tighnabruaich. The Vital Spark also makes it to Arran and Loch Fyne, which were more adventurous destinations but also accessible to city dwellers by the railway steamers that Para Handy often envies. Some of the stories were written during the First World War and give insight into the home front of the time, casting it always in a humorous light. Published collections The stories remain perennially popular and have been regularly reprinted since their first appearance. There are various miscellaneous collections, but the main ones are the three overseen by Munro himself and several more latter-day ones. The Collected Stories from The Vital Spark (1906) In Highland Harbours with Para Handy (1911) Hurricane Jack of The Vital Spark (1923) All three of these collections have been gathered together and reissued in single volumes: Neil Munro's Para Handy (Seanachaidh, 1986) The World of Para Handy (Seanachaidh, 1990) The Para Handy Complete Edition (Birlinn, 1992), introduced and annotated by Brian D. Osborne and Ronald Armstrong, contains 18 previously uncollected stories in addition to those above. In 2001 another story was rediscovered and has been included in all subsequent reprints. Film The Para Handy stories were the inspiration for the 1954 Ealing comedy, The Maggie (retitled High and Dry in the US), directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Television There have been three television adaptations of the Para Handy tales, all for the BBC: The earlier series updated the stories by giving them contemporary settings. The last series is set between the world wars. Theatre In 1995 Vital Spark Productions toured