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Document 262

The School Photograph

Author(s): Anna Blair

Copyright holder(s): Anna Blair

Text

I can see us a' yet gettin' sorted and set
In the playground, by Heidie and Staff
They sized us and hauled us, and measured and mauled us
To pose for the school photiegraph.

Ah, the years have just sped since that day by the shed
Disappeared in a sepia haze.
When we stood in our rows, girls in pinnies and bows
Boys with ties pulled-round a' sidieways.

There was gawky big Sadie and Harold O'Grady
Tizzie Bell with her wee button nose
We'd weans that were plain and we'd weans that were vain,
And some that were neither of those.

We'd Andy the Brawler and Desmond the Scholar
The ringletted twins May and Sue
And Clancy McBride with his mouth open wide
And hair like a brush for the flue.

At the front Skinny Rob and Joe Thingummybob
And a real bonnie cracker called Bridget,
A toty wee chap that was prone to the strap
That the teacher called 'Midget the Fidget'.

There were jerseys in fankles and socks down at ankles
Big collars and pigtail skeewiff
We'd Specky McGinty, his glasses a' squinty
And his barley-fair hair in a quiff.

School photies produce, whiles, the wee ones that's douce
Feet together, backs straight, looking twee,
With everything neat and behaving a treat...
But none of them ever was ME.

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The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document.

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Cite this Document

APA Style:

The School Photograph. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 13 December 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=262.

MLA Style:

"The School Photograph." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 13 December 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=262.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "The School Photograph," accessed 13 December 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=262.

If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2024. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.

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Information about Document 262

The School Photograph

Text

Text audience

General public
Audience size 1

Text details

Method of composition Handwritten
Year of composition 1998
Word count 229

Text setting

Leisure/entertainment
Private/personal

Text type

Poem/song/ballad

Author

Author details

Author id 127
Forenames Anna
Surname Blair
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1920
Educational attainment College
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Teacher/author
Place of birth Giffnock
Region of birth Glasgow
Birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Glasgow
Region of residence Glasgow
Residence CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Business
Father's place of birth Glasgow
Father's region of birth Glasgow
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Business
Mother's place of birth Glasgow
Mother's region of birth Glasgow
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes
French Yes Yes Yes Yes Visits to France, correspondence
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes

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