A Rhyming Midday Breakfast!

Posted on March 7, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

In hospital once again with an elderly relative, I had hunger knock at the door! Unfortunately these days there is so much choice in the motorway-style food court in a hospital that the mind boggles. From Burger King and the Baguette Company to Costa Coffee and Starbucks the choice of healthy food is endless…

I had a little Starbucks,
Nothing could compare,
Except a glass of champagne,
They hadn’t any there!

I had a breakfast panini,
In the middle of the day,
Hardly the height of decadence,
But it was ok!

So if you’re feeling hungry,
And you haven’t munching time,
Grab whatever’s closest,
And ‘Hey Presto’ there’s a rhyme!

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The Baldock Boot Sale is now closed for the winter
returning for the twenty-second season on April 26^th 2014
With more FREE parking and billions of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

We have Rotation and Take Off!

Posted on March 7, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

Recently I have spent too many hours in Addenbrookes Hospital at Cambridge with an elderly relative. This has led to much thinking time in waiting rooms. I suppose the surroundings have made me consider mortality. On Wednesday, I vaguely remembered something I’d heard at a funeral ages ago about a ship disappearing over the horizon. Not being able to ‘Google it’ I decided to write my own, updated version from what little I could remember…

DEPARTURE

I leave them as I collect my boarding pass to a distant land and board the plane.

Back where I existed,
Someone says,
“He’s gone.”
And one by one
they look to where I was
and say “goodbye.”

ARRIVAL

In the arrivals hall,
far,
far,
away.
People await my arrival.

Occasionally,
those waiting,
glance up
at the arrivals board.

Suddenly someone
in the crowd
shouts excitedly:
“Look,
He’s nearly here –
Landing in five minutes!”

They crowd around the arrivals gate,
excitedly leaning forward
over the barriers,
for a first glimpse.

The only difference to Stansted:
There’s no luggage to claim,
I arrive naked.

The Chocolate Rabbits!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

I was in Lidl the other day, marveling at the vast variety of random products they sell. I came across a large display of Easter Bunnies. How magnificent they looked in their gold and red, looking their best to attract customers. Then I noticed there were some that were hiding…

Twenty-nine golden chocolate rabbits,
Lining up in Lidl,
One of them is missing,
He’s hiding in the middle!

He’s come over all embarrassed,
Because he’s wrapped in blue,
If you were that colour,
What ever would you do?

But suddenly he understands,
No-one should he deride,
Because underneath the wrapper
They’re all the same inside!

Beyond the End of the Line!

Posted on March 5, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

Sara and Claire, co-ordinators from the Country Trust, recently visited the farm to prepare for visits from three London schools. Sara kindly brought me a present, a book of London Underground poems. Being a country-dwelling yokel, I have always been delighted to see such poems (by proper poets) on the rare occasions I have taken the tube. The gift set me thinking about the end of the line and what awaits intrepid visitors…

This morning’s verse is dedicated to all those who have worked so hard, since 1986, to make Poems on the Underground such a success.

Out beyond the final stops,
lie villages, woods, fields and crops.
And pubs where old men sit and chat,
with quiet streets, an occasional cat!
A ruck-sacked rambler wends his way,
past overgrown hedges filled with May.
The gentle clip-clop of hoof on road,
the smell of grass that’s freshly mowed.
A dog is barking a mile away,
in the playground children play.
All of a sudden a forgotten factor,
THE NOISE OF A FARMER’S GREAT BIG TRACTOR!
The Country Trust www.countrytrust.org.uk is a national educational charity dedicated to bringing alive the working countryside for children least able to access it.
It is through their hard work that many children have visited our farm. It has given us enormous pleasure seeing them exploring new surroundings. Sharing the countryside that we are so lucky to live and work in, is what makes life worthwhile. We are looking forward to seeing groups from three London schools later this month.

No Rain Today!

Posted on March 4, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

This morning I opened the curtains to a wonderful sight. After one of the mildest winters I can remember, with weeks and weeks and weeks of rain, there was a bright morning with frost. It was a truly wonderful sight that confirmed the true beauty of nature and its ability to surprise and delight…

Woke up this morning,
The sun is bright,
The frost has turned,
The whole world white!
All over the grass,
Where puddles lay,
Cracking ice,
Is there today!
Where was winter,
When it should be?
Just rain and rain,
And rain you see!
So here in March,
We have a frost,
It’s just a sign
That all’s not lost!
© Baldock Bard 2014
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above  

I’ve Been Framed!

Posted on March 3, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

I have new glasses. Suddenly my world is clearer and brighter, and despite certain people suggesting ‘you’ve been framed!’ and singing ‘you can see clearly now that the frame has gone!’ I am thankful that I have new glasses. Very soon the jokes will evaporate and people will pick on somebody else…

As you may have read the other day,
I lost my glasses loading hay.
I blundered my way through all my chores,
Hitting my head on lintels and doors!
So at Mrs Bard’s request,
I went to Alders for an eye test,
The wonderful people there were so kind,
Chased up my glasses in double quick time.
I’d been driving Mrs Bard around the bend,
Thanks to Alders she enjoyed her weekend!
Alders Opticians can be found at http://www.alldersopticians.com and provide an excellent local service. (By Appointment to The Baldock Bard!).

March 1st – St David’s Day

Posted on March 1, 2014 by The Baldock Bard.

Today is St David’s Day, the national day of Wales. It’s also the day when Welshmen all over the world wear a daffodil. There is also another symbol of Wales – the humble leek. Its origins as an emblem for the country go back to the time of St David himself…

St David was fighting Anglo Saxons,
Know as English plus other factions,
When suddenly he thought, right!
How can we identify who we fight?
So he gathered his army all around,
And said to them, “look what I’ve found!
Wear a leek from this allotment,
We’ll know who to spare and who is garrote-meant!”
As so up to this very day,
The Welsh have worn leaks on St David’s Day!

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!
or
Happy St David’s Day!

Baldock Bard

Verse and Worse from the Baldock Versemonger

Monthly Archives: March 2014