Why is there a split in the title of this poem?
Because one of the titles refers to the past and one is about the future
Because this poem combines two different subjects
To show the contrast between nostalgia and reality
What does Lochhead associate with nostalgia?
She associates it with fond memories of her childhood
She associates it with memories that she finds painful
She associates it with untruthfulness, unlike memory which is more honest
Which of these Hogmanay superstitions is NOT mentioned in the poem?
First Footing
Cleaning the house before midnight
Having a new calendar ready to put up
What does the "sunburst clock" symbolise?
"sunburst clock"
The relentlessness of the passing of time
How quickly fashions and tastes change
The poet’s desire to turn back the hands of time
How many years have passed between stanza one and stanza three?
32 years
None – she is still dealing with the same memory
30 years
According to the superstition, how many heads were meant to stare back at you if you looked in a mirror on the last day of the year?
None
One - it is a trick
365 - one for every day of the new year
What technique is employed in the expression "familiar strangers"?
"familiar strangers"
Paradox
Hyperbole
Oxymoron
What kind of buildings are mentioned in the final stanza?
Highrises and tenements
Churches and hospitals
Pubs and corner shops
The steak pie crusts are described as "like quilts on the double bed". What figure of speech is used here?
"like quilts on the double bed"
Personification
Metaphor
Simile
What do all three events described in the poem have in common?
They all involve the speaker and her mother
They all take place at Hogmanay
They all involve the speaker and her lover