CAST-OUT

He leeches round, unwanted,
Sickening smugness through and through,
That never-fail two-faced smile,
Draped across his fat face.
You'd love to knock it off.
Well-chewed cliches he's heard around
Flow, like a sewer.
Yet he drags on, and on, and on,
Full of his own ignorance.

Alistair Hewgill, IV.

MY FUTURE

When I grow up
I wonder What the future holds for me
Will I join the Navy
And sail o'er all the sea ?

I don't fancy being a criminal
Trying to rob a bank,
I might play for Hearts in goal
And be like Jim Cruikshank.

Should I be a doctor?
And help to cure disease?
Should I join the circus
And swing on the flying trapeze?

No, I think I'm too young
To choose my profession yet -
I'll wait till later on and see
What certificates I can get.

Richard Davidson, 2A.

KNITWIT!

There was an old lady from Dover
Who decided to knit a pullover.
But oh, might me,
She knitted four sleeves
And now it will only fit Rover.

Andrew I. Crawford, IA.

THAT'S THE SPIRIT

There was an old man called Jose
Who poured some meths up his nose.
Along came his Gran
With a match in her hand
And that was the end of old Jose.

James Topping, 1A/B.

Story of the Blues
As a large John Mayall following has grown up in the School I thought it would be a good idea if some notice was given to the earlier forms of the Blues.
The Blues first appeared on the plantations of the deep south, where the primitive tribal rhythms of the Africans combined with American folk music to produce the work chant or "holler". As the negroes worked in the dusty cotton fields they chanted responsive songs. It soon became a convention for each plantation to have its own singer. Probably the greatest of these was Charley Patton, a small fair man who sang in an incredibly rough bass voice and accompanied himself on a six-string guitar. He sang the first line of each verse twice and then sang the third rhyming line. In his songs we can see the beginning of the classic twelve bar blues. The second birthplace of the Blues was the State Penitentiary: Huddie Ledbetter's vivid life gave him many in these hospitable establishments, where he learnt to play the twelve string guitar. He proudly called himself the "King of twelve string guitar". His blues were a curious mixture of the work songs and the more plaintive ballads of Mississippi John Hurt. He was also a great friend of the late Woodie Guthrie.
When the plantations collapsed after the Civil War many singers were left without support and had to go on the road, heading for the cities of the North. There were many blind musicians who couldn't earn their money in any other way and were forced to beg at the roadside. Blind Willie McTell was such a singer who travelled through many states and sang of his many journeys in his "Travellin" Blues". He was particularly accomplished in finger-style guitar and could imitate trains and many other things on his guitar.
By the early twenties the Blues had spread into the large cities and with a change of location it took on a different look, from a personnel form it changed into an entertainment form, many sounding like the "reels" and "rags" of pure country music. In the "juke-joints" and "barrel-houses" many small groups of musicians played. Although the names were different the places were the same: a large dance floor with a piano and a barrel. A typical band of this period is the Memphis Jug Band who used a piano, a guitar, jugs and cowbells.
Meanwhile the Blues were being used on the Vaudeville stage. There under the expert hands of singers like Bessie Smith and Bertha Hill the Blues were given the jazz treatment. The name of Louis Armstrong can be found on many 78s of this period.
Neither of these forms survived the Depression and the Blues re-appeared with a surprisingly polished smoothness, while still keeping a country