On second thoughts, I'm going with mazie's suggestion - shade (well done mazie!) I've found shade defined in the Oxford Dictionary as 'a slight amount' - that'll do for me (can't wait to lob this crossword in the postbox!)
ah but thats what makes our Tuesday's, well until one starts to bang their head
against a brick wall because there is no rhyme or reason to the answers, but alas
I am not from Scotland ~ my Aunts, Uncles and cousins ALL are. I love them all.
Hi nactel I've looked up spale in Chambers: (Scots) a splinter; a chip. In my humble opinion I think that definition is too specific and I will stick with shade (anyway I may be arrested if I try to retrieve it from the postbox). If we each put in a different answer at least one of us might win. Good luck.