SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 246 Title : The Gem Author(s): Anna Blair Copyright holder(s): Anna Blair Text There was... Miss Anderson that mothered us Miss Brodie that amused Miss Callum wi' her adenoids Jock Donald who confused Miss Esk that ruled the corridors And Mistress 'Sad' Fedor (Not a 'Miss' because she was A widow from the war) Ned Graham with his sarky taunts Miss Hogg wi' dangly jewels. Kaiser Isa belted us For never-heeding rules Miss Johnson in her spotty frocks That taught us how to parse, We'd Lanky Kerr and Paddy Linn (Who couldn't say his 'Rs') You'd Martin, aye, and Nicolson And Irish Tim O'Toole You mind he ran the football team And tried to run the school? We done wir seams for 'Thimble' Pearce Wi' grubby thread and pin And never done a stroke of work For gormless Mister Quinn Ross and Smith (the faceless kind) I scarce can mind at a' But Miss Thom wi' her long hair-braid We used to call 'The Squaw' Big Urquart first, then Jerry Vonn Was Heidie at St. Mick's Ma Wills, Miss Cross and Patsy Young We roasted wi' wir tricks. Then Tony Zavaroni too (That's father kep' a caff) He jouked into the corners with The Biddies on the staff. Teachers! Och beyond the rest The one that topped the lot A wee wee smout, the plainest Jane Was magic Miss McWhat! Of maybe fifty through the years You loathed some; some admired. Some bored you, some taught well-enough But Miss McWhat inspired. She Wheedled, urged and kep' the heid A dandy, rare wee gem She was, without a word of doubt, The creme, aye, de la creme. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience General public: Audience size: 1 Text details Method of composition: Handwritten Year of composition: 1998 Word count: 272 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: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Visits to France, correspondence Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: