Loss

• "I was standing, crying - real big sobs."

  This reveals Alec's overwhelming grief at his mother's death. He is overcome with sadness and allows himself to grieve.
• “shove it to the back of your mind."

  Unlike Alec, Davie suppresses his feelings — he bottles them up. He's in denial, unwilling to give into his emotions and confront his grief.
• "Hardest wood in the world. Should burn nice an slow."

  Davie's fine tools, once the heart of his trade as a sailmaker, are burnt as fuel to heat the flat - worthless, just like Davie feels.
• "Naebody needs sailmakers these days."

  Davie is a broken man without hope — the shipbuilding industry is in decline; he is no longer in demand, and he struggles to find a new direction in life
• "Seems a shame tae break it up."

  Furniture Davie got when he was married is added to the fire. The past is gone, and any remnants of a better time are destroyed.