SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 240 Title : Daytime Author(s): Anna Blair Copyright holder(s): Anna Blair Text The magic hour before wir tea When Tam and Ben and Jake and me Goes down the back wi' jammy piece, To plot wir crimes, or play RELEASE! That time of day the green is ours Wi' midgie bins for pirate towers Fence-post swords and bucket drums And prison cells in wash-house lums. We've poles to sclim and sills to creep Coal-shed roofs to climb and dreep Paling-stobs and ridges...rones Play Mafia-men v Al Capones. But, Whiles the back-court jinkin' stops And us weans stands aside and gawps As other folk come on the scene To strut their buskin' on the green. There's this big dame in Irish clogs Hitches her skirts and jigs her jogs, A jauntin' hurdy-gurdy chap Wi' monkey sportin' velvet cap. Sand-dancers shufflin' in trays, Flutes, melodeons and plays Tin-whistles, jugglers, things like that, A wilkie-tumblin' acrobat. Your Ma throws pennies from the sink Cries "Mind it's not to go on drink" Or if she doubts they winnae heed She hurls a jeely-piece insteed. That's daytime stir in back-court life With weans and 'stars' and washer-wife. Then Dark brings midgie-men to comb The bins. But that's another 'pome'. 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: 212 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: