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Document 264

My Place in the Shawl

Author(s): Anna Blair

Copyright holder(s): Anna Blair

Text

The first thing I can mind of now
Ow'r ninety years and more
Me, girning-faced and snivelling
Outside my Granny's door.

For I had been supplanted now
Rejected once't for all.
Another wean was happit there
Inside my Mammy's shawl.

Now, not for me the soft and warm
The smell of breast and cheek
Safe and snug in the tartan rug
From the grey street, raw and bleak.

My Ma had swelled and borne this wean
That nuzzled there at her neck
And I was OUT and my blae knees sore
When my Granny opened the sneck.

She held out her arms, but no' for me
Like as if she wasnae care'n
Never ev'n said 'Hen' as she elbowed me ben
But just heeshie-bawed at the bairn.

Such times was to come again and again
As reg'lar as time and tide
The last wean out for the newest sprout
And whingeing there at my side.

But I hated my Ma and my Granny that day
And the wee yin I couldnae thole
All meuling and pewking and wrinkled red
And taking MY place in the shawl.

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APA Style:

My Place in the Shawl. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 28 March 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=264.

MLA Style:

"My Place in the Shawl." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=264.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "My Place in the Shawl," accessed 28 March 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=264.

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 264

My Place in the Shawl

Text

Text audience

General public
Audience size 1

Text details

Method of composition Handwritten
Year of composition 1998
Word count 195

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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