A Trip Down the Aisle!

Posted on July 13, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

I used to enjoy a trip to the supermarket and used to ‘reward myself’ with a milk drink plus something from the biscuit aisle. However since I was recently diagnosed as being diabetic, all I seem to see when I walk down the aisle are things I’m no longer allowed…

I wandered down the aisle,
(not in a wedding dress!)
looking at labels on biscuits,
tempted I must confess.
No more Wagon Wheels,
nor Kit-Kats or Party Rings too,
Club Biscuits and Digestives are out,
My predicament I now rue!

The other night I dreamt,
a whole packet of biscuits I munched,
I even dreamed about the taste,
as through the lot I crunched!
When I woke up in the morning,
and did my first blood test,
I was surprised to find it normal,
I suppose it was for the best!

A little of what you like does you good (or not in my case), have one for me!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 25 YEARS!
It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

2017 Season
EVERY SATURDAY MORNING!
until mid-October
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

The Confused Dragonfly!

Posted on July 11, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

In life, every day can bring surprises! The other day, while Mrs Bard and I were near the river, a dragonfly landed on my outstretched hand! I was stunned by its beautiful lace wings and delicate but long body and surprised at its weight. A truly memorable brush with a large elusive insect…

The dragonfly landed on my hand,
not a move that it had planned,
“What a pink branch, rather warm,
no obvious flower, nary a thorn!
Lots of wrinkles, plenty of lines,
been around the block, no end of times!
Time is precious, so they say!”
With that the dragonfly flew away.

© Baldock Bard 2017
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“Got Any Military?”

Posted on July 11, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Ever since I started running a Saturday car boot sale I became aware of a select group of early-morning buyers who trawl the stalls for specialist collectables. Some collect records (or Vinyls as they are now known!), some search for gold and some are simply looking for that obscure Lalique vase or similar! However there is also John! I would think that he is coming up to having repeated the phrase “Got and Military?” nearly 40,000 times…

Saturdays wouldn’t be the same,
without “Got any military?”
up and down the rows he goes,
the height of civility!
Sometimes you’ll see him,
on his way back to his car,
a rusty helmet in his hands,
or pictured Churchill with cigar!
Sometimes sellers try to fool him,
with an Action Man and Jeep!
but he just smiles and says,
“I’ll see you all next week!”
To all our wonderful buyers, without you, sellers wouldn’t come and the field would be empty!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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The Inconvenient Customer!

Posted on July 9, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Anyone who provides conveniences for customers will know what I mean by ‘Inconvenient Customers’. At my Saturday car boot sales I’m proud of the level of praise our portable toilets receive. Hardly a week goes by without a compliment like: “your loos are so much cleaner than that at that *other* car boot sale!” Last Saturday, for the first time in 25 years a customer let me down…

I’d love to meet the customer,
who left my loos in such a mess,
I wish you’d come and told me,
manned up and just confess.
You left it oh so filthy,
I had to lock the door,
later cover myself in overalls,
and steam-clean the filthy floor!
You’d better see your doctor,
that is if you can still walk,
failing that you may consider,
investing in a cork!

With many thanks to the nice people at Toilets+ who service the loos every week, a necessary but unpleasant job.
Want help cleaning the portable loos after a festival or large public event? Don’t bother calling me, I have been there and it’s not a pretty place!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Crop-Spotting with the Drone!

Posted on July 7, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

This is a fascinating time of the year on the farm, crops are changing colour and harvest is on its way! This year it looks as if we are about six weeks early, mainly due to the lack of rain in the spring. This week I flew the drone over the farm and the land revealed some secrets from 400ft…

I flew the drone from the top of West Field,
to spot irregularities that might affect yield.
What was that line that stretched across the crop?
then I remembered: a former bird nesting plot!
To try and encourage the ground nesting bird,
we left some field un-cropped (about a third),
The other year it was so wet,
cultivations made a mess I won’t forget,
but come this year with a lack of rain,
the area seems more productive again.
But we won’t know until we erase all doubt,
when harvest starts and we get the combine out!

Never a dull moment when you till the soil (or fly a drone!)

© Baldock Bard 2017
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The Farm Walk

Posted on July 6, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

There are many rituals in the farming industry that are unique. Amongst the most bizarre is something called ‘The Farm Walk’. You open up your farm to a group of like-minded farmers who not only ‘ooh and ah’ at your successes but long to discover weaknesses in either your weed control or knowledge, in order to make them and their own farms seem better! I used to get numbness of the brain whenever I was host and forget even basic facts about my own farm. However there is always an exception to the rule and last night I went on a farm walk that almost made me want to step into the host farmer’s shoes…

John, Paul and Alexander,
showed us around their farm,
despite some strange agronomy,
t’was no sense of alarm.
Using old and new practices,
‘cover crops’ and ‘mob grazing’
the overall effect,
was not far short of amazing.
They don’t plough the fields and scatter,
no cultivating at all for them,
everything seemed so obvious,
a bottom-line-saving gem.
Their cattle seemed contented,
nearly organic stock,
I almost considered cattle for home,
needed a wine to quell the shock!
So thanks to all involved,
sixty farmers open-mouthed,
Serious considerations,
for ditching scattering and ploughed!
With thanks to the local NFU branches and Weston Park Farms. Their innovative ways can be seen at http://www.groundswellag.com. I am now convinced that theirs may be the way ahead during difficult times to come.

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Alice at Eighty!

Posted on July 5, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Yesterday evening Mrs Bard and I went to an 80th Birthday Party. Nothing unusual you may think, however as people get older these days they seem to get younger. Back in the day, when my grandmother was 80, she looked positively ancient, dressed in black or grey and confined to a chair. These days bright colours and a positive outlook seem to be the order of the day, particularly with Alice…

At a party in her garden,
(resembling The Palace!)
a young and spritely eighty,
we sang “Happy Birthday Alice!”
Wearing a brightly-coloured dress,
made for her daughter’s wedding,
added to a broad wide smile,
led to the years a-shedding.
Later when she opens,
her pile of birthday cards,
she’ll become aware,
all hold her in high regards.

When I was a child she hosted the most amazing children’s birthday parties, I’m pleased to say she’s not lost her magic touch! Happy Birthday Alice!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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The Brutality of Nature!

Posted on July 3, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Most people regard a Monday as the start of a new week. As Mrs Bard and I run the car boot sale on a Saturday, when we aren’t too busy on the farm, Monday becomes our Sunday! This morning we have been peacefully watching tiny ducklings on the river when the brutality of nature becomes apparent…

A duck with ten ducklings,
floating down the river,
a hungry pike sizes them up,
thinks ‘one would make my dinner!’
Suddenly there’s a splash,
the pike has said ‘come hither!’
now there are just nine of them,
floating down the river.

May your Monday be peaceful and calm and may your predators stay away.

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Servicing the JCB!

Posted on July 1, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

During harvest, when it’s all rush, rush, rush and the weather could turn at a moments notice, breakdowns are unwelcome! As my level of mechanical expertise is similar to pre-school Applied Science, I call in the experts. This week Johnny arrived on the farm to prepare the JCB Fastrac for the coming onslaught…

Johnny wears gloves that are JCB Yellow,
when servicing the tractor, clever fellow!
His service van is yellow too,
(not Massey red nor New Holland blue!)
He pours new oil (nice and clear),
climbs around the tractor like a mountaineer!
Ready for harvest along with the trailer,
now less likely to breakdown or be a failure!
Apparently some have started harvesting barley already. Thankfully our harvest looks at least three weeks away. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on the other side.

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Baldock Bard

Verse and Worse from the Baldock Versemonger

Monthly Archives: July 2017

A Trip Down the Aisle!

The Confused Dragonfly!

“Got Any Military?”

The Inconvenient Customer!

Crop-Spotting with the Drone!

The Farm Walk

Alice at Eighty!

The Brutality of Nature!

Servicing the JCB!