The Project

I’ve been keeping this one to myself for a couple of months now but it’s now time to tell the world about this fantastic project I’ve been involved in!

I posted previously that I was involved in the Fae Fishie Tae Aikey project with Ewan McVicar and many others -well when The Doric Board put out the call for funding applications, I got in touch with Ewan, asking if there would be any chance of working in schools with some of the stories Goldstein recorded. Ewan almost immediately got back – “ANNIE SHIRER!”

And so began my love of the rhymes and humour of one Annie Shirer.

Annie was born in 1873, educated to the age of 13 and lived in Kininmonth with her aunt and uncle who brought her up. Along with her cousin Maggie, she became a dressmaker. But Annie had a hobby! She would escape the hard work at home – by the 1900s she was caring for Uncle Kenneth and latterly for Maggie as well – by heading off on her bicycle collecting songs for Gavin Greig but also collecting many Doric rhymes, proverbs and riddles. These were published by the Rymour Club in Edinburgh and latterly by her Great Nephew Jim Shirer in 2000.

The New Web Site:

Happily, I can now direct you to this brand new web site – https://annieshirerrhymes.co.uk/ which showcases the work in the four schools I’ve visited so far.

For the past couple of months I have had a wonderful time visiting primary schools in the Mintlaw area – sharing Annie’s life, sharing her rhymes, creating Doric vocabulary lists and then – creating new Doric rhymes! Some of these have been brand new rhymes created with the pupils and myself as a class, and some have been “New For Auld” rhymes based on Annie’s original collected rhymes.

The results have been fantastic and I’ve been fair tricket to be involved in such a project!
Now the web site is to be launched (along with https://annieshirercollector.com/ which tells more about her collecting for Gavin Greig and the Rymour Club) and I’ve also put together a wee exhibition of the pupils work. It will be on display at the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, Aden Country Park from Saturday 3rd May to Sunday 18th May during Museum opening hours Thur-Sun 11am-4pm). 

I’ll end this post with some rhymes and images from the pupils and my thanks to Ewan McVicar for introducing me to Annie Shirer and to the Doric Board for supporting this project!

Some Rhymes:

Kittlens, dugs, yowes an shelties
They are the best o craiturs
Bit wi dinna like wee beasties
Like midgies, flechs an slaters!

I widna hae a fisherman ava va va
I widna hae a fisherman ava va va
For he’s a bowfin moustache
Has a yokey rash
He guffs o fash
He’s got nae cash
And I widnae hae a fisherman ava va va

Skweel is ower, simmer’s here
We’re aa on holiday
We’ll climb up trees, an brak a leg
An humsh oor gulsh aa day
An aa the loons an lassikies
Can camp, an sweem an play

Gies ma breeks, ma bunnet, my tackety beets and sark,
I’ll loup on my sheltie an ride aroon at Aden park!

Annie’s makkin marmalade
Pittin oranges in a pot
She pit it on the stove tae bile
An get it gweed an hot

A wifie spak “Pit in a neep”
Spiert Annie “Are ye kiddin!?”
It tasted mingin, the fowk cried “Gadz!”
An it endit in the midden!