An ABC visit to Faithlie Care Home

A grand visit tae Faithlie Care Home in the Broch on Monday daen Doric ABCs for Doric Books🙂

The theme this wik wis “Skweel” an we hid some grand songs an tales an blethers. We spoke aboot fit wi got intae trouble for fan wi were bairns. Aene quine got the tawse for forgettin her pencil!!

(An then it turned oot aene o the carers hid my mither as a teacher fan she wis a bairn!!)

The Scots Tawse used for corporal punishment (aka “the belt”) in schools. Photo from Wikipedia.

Doric ABCs at Kintore!

Fit a grand visit tae the residents o Overdon Care Home in Kintore wi Sheena on Tuesday! This was a session organised by Doric Books far we’ve been daen oor Doric ABCs

Active, Blethers an Community Singing!

The theme this wik wis “Hame” an we hid stories aboot a wifie fa winted a bigger hoose (an mair aifter that), Purley Wurley Puddock an a hale bunch o sangs includin Sheena’s Washin Machine sang!

(Photo fae a ghostie nicht wi did a couple o year ago – we were ower busy tae tak photos on Tuesday!)

Annie Shirer – Doric Rhymes

I’m gey chuffed to be able to share the news that the Annie Shirer Doric Rhymes web page (https://annieshirerrhymes.co.uk/) has been updated with rhymes and illustrations from pupils at Strichen and New Deer Primary schools!

P3/4 (Strichen) and P3 (New Deer) worked with me as a class to create some new Doric rhymes about Mormond Hill, the Culsh Monument and things they did and didn’t like as well as illustrating these rhymes and some of Annie’s original collected rhymes from over 100 years ago!

The P6/7s worked with Pauline as a class to create new seasonal rhymes about coming back to school after the summer holidays, the hairst (harvest) and rhymes about farm work and the New Deer Show. They then went off on their own into groups to create new Doric rhymes based on some of Annie’s original collected rhymes. All of this came with some excellent illustrations which you can see on the web page!

Thanks must go to Ewan McVicar who has converted me to one of Annie’s No1 fans and to The Doric Board who funded this project.

If you’d like a Doric rhyme creation workshop in your school, please get in touch with me (see “contact/links” above)

Here’s some of my favourite illustrations from Strichen and New Deer!

Strichen School and the Loons an Lassikies Project

Auld Deer, New Deer, Strichen and the Broch
Syne we’ll hae a straucht road,
An that will gar me hough

It’s my fifth visit to a North East school as part of the Loons an Lassikies project! The P6/7s and P3/4s at Strichen School will be creating new rhymes based on those collected over 100 years ago by the wonderful Annie Shirer (who can be seen in the photo below on the right wearing a wonderful corsage ).

You can find out the rhymes created so far by going to https://annieshirerrhymes.co.uk/

The project has been funded by The Doric Board and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the pupils come up with!

It’s all about the planning…

It might be the weekend, but I’m busy busy busy planning upcoming projects!

First of all, I’ve been preparing my plan of action for the next 6 weeks with my Promise Group. We’re creating a story, working with hand puppets, making shadow puppets and filming it all before showing the film to their grown ups and the rest of the school at the end of the term!

I’ve also been planning ABC visits to care homes across the North East with funding Doric Books have received from Hands Up For Trad! The sessions will be based around Work, School and Home and will aa be in Doric – the Activities, the Blethers and the Community Singing. Three of the visits will be with Sheena Blackhall, so I’m really looking forward to that!

I’m delighted I’ve still got two visits to local schools funded by The Doric Board – working with the rhymes of Annie Shirer, a project thought up by Ewan McVicar – you can find out more about that here – https://annieshirerrhymes.co.uk/

And I’m chuffed to be covering three weeks of Scots Song with SC&T Youth – the songs have been chosen and the fun warm ups are being sung around the house!

I’m also planning the rest of the term’s stories and activities for the GREC Language Cafe. These are free weekly sessions for New Scots, those seeking immigrant status and abdy else learning English as a new language. Each session has a theme and there are often visitors who talk about what they do and what services they provide. My job is to tell a story and come up with ice breaker questions and activities for the Cafeistas. The cafe meets weekly (during school term time) at the Arts Centre on Thursdays between 11 and 3pm. Find out more here – https://grec.co.uk/language-support/

Oh! And the Guiding organisation in the UK has created some new interest badges for Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers. Including… the Brownies’ FOLKLORE BADGE! So I’ve had fun planning some stories and activities for that.

Aye, I’ve been a busy quine!

Peterhead Tours and Stories over the Summer Holidays

A fantastic turn out for today’s Peterhead Tour and for the storytelling session afterwards! Thanks so much to everyone who came along and of course to the kids and big kids that participated in the stories!!

“Thank you to everyone who attended our Peterhead Trail guided walk and storytelling session today by Pauline Cordiner, A Scottish Storyteller.

The guided walk and storytelling sessions take place again on Tuesdays 15th & 29th July and 5th August. Book online via https://www.peterheadtrail.co.uk/blog/step-into-the-past-free-family-friendly-peterhead-trail-guided-walking-tours-and-storytelling-sessions-this-summer-at-peterhead-drummers-corner?fbclid=IwY2xjawLbqgdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBycXZpeUJDQXBSeVRrdDFCAR402sU5z9SiWhj8VhuIUGbpp0GQQu09AUJ8oCKo8zuIcwaoPKDnyYovwpRsVA_aem_kyn6q34LMGBCkmKTG4KX6g

Launching – Fan the Loons an Lassikies Cam Oot Tae Play – Auld Rhymes Intae New

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!

By Sheena Blackhall – My CV in Doric Poem Form !

I’ve got a couple of weeks for working on upcoming projects, working at GREC‘s Language Cafe and visiting some schools! So no public events coming up in the near future.

Instead, I’d like to share this amazing CV in Poem Form written for me by the wonderful Sheena Blackhall, fa’s praises I canna sing highly eneugh! Photie taen on the wiy tae last year’s Portsoy Haal!

Thanks Sheena! 😃❤

The Pauline Cordiner Rap– A Scottish Storyteller

Hae ye heard o a quine fa’s tales can be scary?
Wi a frien that has attitude, Fizzy the Fairy
Up at Banff Castle, sic jinkies, her ploys
Hae bubbly bairns fair kecklin wi joys

Princely puddocks, a gargoyle fas christened Marischal
Her hoose is fair hotchin, wi broonies incredible
Her hair it is reid as a Halloween flame
An a coo, contermacious whyles jynes in a game

Her events are excitin, fun an educational
Her traditional stories are verra inspirational
She can sing ye auld ballads or a cornkister
Wir you at Forvie fun day? Ye’ll be sorry ye missed her

Nature tales an folklore, tho the rain did doon pelt
Aden’s Fantasy Festival , her Vikin Tales telt
As an audience o littlins an drookit Alpacas
Stude in the doonpish an shook their maraccas

At the Northern Frichts, dragons heezed bi the score
At Tillydrone Librar there wir littlins galore
Fizzy’s fun pairties, Rhynie wifies, a crone,
The kelpie café aa cam intae her zone

Banchory St Ternan fair, Orkney’s Skara brae
Saw history cam alive far the stormy clouds stray
Castle Fraser, or rinnin adults’ ghaistie toors
Storytellin is oorie at the witchin oors

Dobbie’s Busy Beasties, Yuletide special day
Fur siller tae help fund a bairns’ charity
She’s run broomstick trainin skweels, fur trainee witches
An wizard hat craft – usin glue, glitter stitches

Her face peintin’s legend, wi speecial tattoos
She’ll makk the dourest bairn shakk aff the blues
She is fully insured, wi a PVG chitty
Is a member of equity, sings a mean ditty

Here’s a roll call of some of her festival showing
Cambridge and Glastonb’ry, reviews are glowing
Stonehaven and Girvan, Belladrum Tartan Heart
The Wizard performance, next, Science and Art

Spectra, Across The Grain, Banff’s bracin air
Strathern, Aiberdeen, an Perth Prehistory Fair
Glen Nevis, Portsoy, the Broch, Tarland as weel
The Doric Film Festival, a wide appeal

BBC Radio Scotland, an Radio fower
SHMU, Banchory Museum, the Maritime Tower
Aden , Drum, Crathes, an Fraser’s stoot waas
She cams intae her ain in historal haas

Muir of Dinnet , Arbuthnott , Duff Hoose, Peterheid
Turriff, Macduff, Duthie Park, jewels indeed
An the skweels! Tullos, Scotstown, Arduthie, Kaimhill
Robert Gordons, St Margarets, Banchory Hill

Skene Square an Auld Machar, Lairhillock, Meethill
Ferryhill Primary, Bracoden, Newtonhill
Ontae Projecks an ither community wirks
Pitscurry, an Mastrick, the quine niver shirks

Maryfield West Care Hame, Albyn Rainbows
North East Sensory Services, her talent shows
Persley Castle, the Phoenix Club, Inchgarth -nae lack
Future Choices, an Hilton, they aa wint her back

Dyce Caravans, Inchgarth, an Roxburgh Hoose
The Garioch, Inchmarlo, she’s couthie an douce
Portlethen, Kinellar, an Northfield’s rainbows
Pauline an Fizzy spreid joy wi their prose

Syne there’s Grand Circle Tours, tag team tales an the jyle
The World Storytelling Café, her stories beguile
Musica Workshops, Elphinstane’s Institute
Her sessions are thrillin’s a Cadona’s shute

Peacock Visual Arts, an the Bairns’ hospital
Hogmanay at Stonehaven, this quine musical
Wi her puppets an sangs she’s performed tae the best
The Seven Incorporated Trades , wi sic zest!

Shell Uk, Charles Michies, Diageo, Drummuir
Hidden Aiberdeen; she is a whizz at a tour
James Hutton Institute, Scottish Kids Show
Standard Life, an the Stompers, she’s rarin tae go

Aiberdeenshire Geocaching …noo there is a thing
She’s a haun on the pulse , fit the future micht bring
Sae dinna be blate…ye maun rin oot an book her
As fairyfowk gae, Pauline Cordiner’s a looker!

May be an image of 3 people, people smiling and car