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 ).
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.
Back hame from Glastonbury Festival and Tattie (i.e. KCR Trad Time host Natalie Chalmers!) had a chat wi mi about Annie Shirer and the “Loons an Lassikies” project – ye can hae a listen here!
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!!
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!
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!
Oh fit a lovely time Fizzy the Fairy and I had yesterday at Banff Castle – Banffshire!! Such a lovely audience of giggling grown ups, bubbly bairns and totty-wee toddlers who joined in with stories of daft loons, funny fairies and princely puddocks!
Weel fit a grand trip we hid tae Portsoy fur the Haal this wikend!
Sheena and I had a great weekend at the Portsoy Haal this weekend – heading off on Friday afternoon (with Wee Imp and the caravan in tow!)
After the concert our first session was the late night storytelling at the Town Hall – a grand 2 hours with folk sharing their tales from 11pm to 1am. Wee Imp enjoyed the late night walk back to the camp site!
Our storytelling workshop on Saturday morning went down a treat too – we had 16 enthusiastic attendees who heard stories and learned about how some famous authors got into a bit of trouble by putting their neighbours in their novels! Abdy then had a go at creating life stories from photographs and came scarily close to the truth in some cases!
Wee Imp and I went off with oor pal Tattie to hear some of the ballads sung at the Greig Duncan Collection competition – after which I was brave enough to have a swim in the North Sea (but there’s nae photies o that!)
A few sangs, many midgie bites and a fire on the beach on Saturday evening made sure I had a good nights sleep ready for our last storytelling session at the Town Hall bar at Sunday lunchtime. Then it was already time to go home – wi a few songs and ballads sung all the way home in the car. (Wee Imp had her headphones on by this point, preferring Eurovision over ballads!)
Thanks to Portsoy Haal for having us both along, fit a gran time wi hid! And thanks to everyone who came along to share their stories, songs, poems. And thanks to Sheena for having me laughing so much!
Well today was our last week in Aberdeen’s primary schools as tutors for SC&T Youth! Cornhill Primary School – thankyou for your amazing enthusiasm and wonderful singing!
Once again, pupils from three classes had 4 hours – only 4 hours! of tuition in penny whistle, clarsach, guitar and … Scots Song!
Despite my ever-worsening laryngitis, the pupils of P4, P4/5 and P5 learned to sing The Silver Darlings, The Fisherman’s Lassie and The Barnyards of Delgaty as well as learning all bout the history of the songs and how they describe life in the North East of Scotland. I’ve posted in greater detail about all of these songs in the past few weeks, but I’ve not yet posted about the songs the pupils have been learning for their grand finale!
It is of course Billy Connolly’s The Wellyboot Song – which probably doesn’t need much of an introduction! One of the teachers managed to find this recording of Billy singing it in 1976 -which I can share here cos there’s no swearing! 😀
It’s another busy week ! This time starting off with the pupils of Ashley Road School who we Scat Youth tutors are visiting to teach penny whistle, guitar, clarsach and Scots song!
I’m teaching the P3s The Barnyards O Delgaty and the P5s the Fisherman’s Lassie (both of which I’ve spoken about in previous posts)… but the P4s are learning The Silver Darlings – a song about the herring boom in Scotland which peaked in 1907. “The Silver Darlings” is a fond nickname for the herring.
The song was written by Jim McLean, Bob Halfin and Andy Hulskrammer and later on this week I’ll share a video of a recording of it with Alastair McDonald. (Find a discussion of the song origins here on mudcat: https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40414 )
The pupils are taught the meaning of the song they’re learning – as well as any unfamiliar Scots words. Many pupils in each school have families who came from farther afield, but no matter where they’re from, they’re all doing a grand job of learning and pronouncing the Scots and Doric!
The image I’ve chosen to illustrate this post is an etching by James McBey (1883-1959) from 1908. The title is “Herring Fleet, Aberdeen” – the etching has made its way across the pond where it is stored at The Boston Public Library Arts Department. James McBey was local to the area and may be familiar to those that visit Aberdeen Art Gallery where there’s a fantastic exhibition of his work. My daughter and I love the interactive display of how etchings were made! (Thoroughly recommended!)
Pauline Cordiner - Scottish Storyteller 