Author Archives: The Baldock Bard.

About The Baldock Bard.

In 1997 a scruffy untalented poet started to write verse for the Baldock Car Boot Sale adverts in the local papers on a four week trial. Before long his attempts at verse was being discussed in bars across the South East of the UK. A regular buyer at the car boot sales was in his local pub in Barnet when he heard two men at the bar discussing a car boot poem they had read in the local paper by someone they called 'The Baldock Bard' (after the town where the car boot sale was held). From this moment on, the un-named verse-writer was known far and wide as 'The Baldock Bard'. He lives in a cave carved into a hill just outside Baldock in Hertfordshire, living off the land. He is addicted to Cheeselets, Twiglets and Cola and has a long-suffering wife, a granddaughter, a daughter, a son-in-law, two dogs, geese and chickens

Our Wonderful NHS!

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On Sunday I returned from holiday (reports of the Bard’s demise had been exaggerated!). I immediately went to see my elderly father and discovered him with a badly infected foot. This resulted in a Monday A&E day and much waiting for tests etc. I’m not very good with medical stuff and the terminology tends to confuse a simple soul like me…

Sitting waiting in Ambulatory Majors,
surrounded by doctors with bleeping pagers!
In a room with adjustable bedding,
Emma, a nurse, (I’d tractored her to her wedding!)
Overworked staff back and forth they zoom,
no wonder they call it the Darting Room!
Confusing terms wouldn’t have been complete,
without a sign to the ‘Fluoroscopy Suite!’

The staff and service trumpet success:
We’re so lucky to have the NHS!

Have a great day and stay safe and well

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

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Cherry and Ian

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Without people, this would just be another rock in space.

There are some people who’s mere presence can make your day and make you smile.

Cherry and Ian seem to have always have been visitors to our Saturday car boot sales, whenever I met them there was a cheery “Hello Simon!” and a quick story, more often than not concerning their latest exploits in their world of vintage cars. Cherry had recently taken over as an office-holder in their vintage motor club and they never seemed to miss either a meeting, rally or event.

On Saturday 11th of August, they came to the car boot sale earlier than usual as they were off to a rally. Sadly, on the way to that rally, somewhere near Oxford, they were involved in a collision and tragically, Cherry lost her life.
When my son was killed in similar circumstances, the first time that I saw them afterwards, Ian mumbled and Cherry simply held my hand in a gesture full of the utmost kindness and concern. She always thought of others first.

Ian is now back at a local hospital and is making a recovery, how he’ll cope without his true soul-mate I can’t even consider. They were such a well-matched pair that it is inconceivable to think of one without the other.

I consider myself truly privileged to have known them.

They will be sorely missed on a Saturday morning.

Simon (aka Baldock Bard)

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The First Blackberry of Autumn!

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Yesterday I was strimming some unruly brambles when I came across an early blackberry. Being one never to miss an opportunity to savour a moment, I took the photo above and then popped the fruit into my mouth. When any sweet fruit is verboten because of my diabetes, such a moment was evermore sweeter…

Yesterday I ate a blackberry,
the first of the season,
I picked it because it was ripe,
that was the only reason.
Once I had picked it,
seemed such a shame to waste,
I popped it In my mouth,
was rewarded by the taste.
T’was like the finest Merlot,
a vintage I am sure,
the only problem being,
it left me wanting more!
…and so I ate the other three!

Have a great day and enjoy the fruits of the fields!

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD



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The Bathroom Duck!

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Recently my five-year-old granddaughter gave a present for the bathroom. It is rather a fine duck that has acquired the name: ‘Bathroom Duck’. Unfortunately we haven’t heard it speak or sing or seen it dance, but we are ever hopeful…

Bathroom Duck,
is full of luck,
as she sits beside the soap.
She wants to say,
that today,
will be a day of hope.

At dead of night,
when stars shine bright,
she sings a merry song,
I haven’t heard,
a single word,
but maybe I am wrong!

Have a lucky day full of hope and resolve!

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

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In Case of Emergency!

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What do you carry in your car in case of emergency? The other day I made an attempt to clear out the back of my trusty Mitsubishi Shogun Sport farm car. It was way overdue and I found myself troubling over what constituted important and was was superficial…

There’s a landing pad in the back of my car,
just in case my drone goes too far.
A wire hand winch to lift where I can’t,
a spade for planting a colourful plant.
Assorted tools for mending when stuff broke,
a spare high-vis from a car boot bloke.
There’s also a box of fencing nails,
a spare light-board in case one fails.
But most important a heap of loo rolls,
in case I’m frightened by zombies or trolls!
If none of them were in my car,
I’d need each one before I went far!

Have a good week and if you need any of the above you know where to call

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

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Heavy August Rain!

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Yesterday it rained! I’m not talking about a girlie titter after half a glass of sweet sherry but a full-on drunken oaf who can hardly stand on the way home after a night of non-stop ale drinking. This was something that we hadn’t seen for months and months. However I did manage to stop myself running naked through the stair-rods in celebration, instead I stayed indoors and ploughed through paperwork…

It’s raining elephants and hippos.
falling from the sky,
the brown scorched grass welcomes it,
as it’s parched and brown and dry.
The threat of wild fires lessens,
pressure on unharvested crops mounts,
and all I can do to celebrate,
is stay inside and do accounts!
Enjoy your day, looking good for the weekend!
Stay happy and safe.

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 27th October 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

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Sending in ‘The Heavies’!

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Very occasionally we have a tenant in our light industrial workshops who expects continued occupation whilst withholding rent. If there is no communication or attempt to pay I have to take action. This happened for the first time in many years recently and so I was forced to send in ‘The Heavies’ otherwise known as Sumo…

“I can’t seem to enter my unit,
there’s something in the way,
I don’t seem to be able to shift it,
It weighs much more than hay!”

“There is a simple answer,
it involves a pound or two,
then my JCB will shift it,
hand the unit back to you.
‘Oh dear!’ you’ve mislaid your cheque book,
you’re waiting for others to pay,
your customers car is inside,
he can wait another day!”

“What? You’ve found some money?”
I say with thinly veiled shock!
“Your customer’s on his way,
I’ll remove the concrete block!”

Have a good day and may those who owe you money race to pay their dues!

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

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The Space Saver!

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There is a Welsh legend that in the early days of motoring a Welshman had the idea of carrying a spare wheel in case of punctures. From then on he was known by the name ‘Stepney Spare-Wheel’. Fast-forward to yesterday and his antecedent ‘Sven Space-Saver’ was the target of my angst when I discovered a flat tyre…

Bloody Sven and his poxy space-saver wheel,
bet he never changed one for real,
everything hidden under piles of shopping,
designed to make the moment heart-stopping.
Once you’ve found yourself a jack,
(about as much use as a bent toast-rack),
then you remember the locking stud,
thank heaven’s it’s dry without any mud.
Finally you replace the wheel with the spare,
50 miles an hour to drive anywhere,
you stand back to admire your skill,
“What shall I do with the punctured wheel?”
It won’t fit in the spare-wheel well,
the dirt will make the shopping smell.
So thanks a lot Sven for the space you save,
you’ll make Stepney Spare-Wheel spin in his grave!

Have a god day and I do hope you avoid a puncture.
Thanks to Baldock Tyres for promptly repairing the puncture so I could hide the space-saver until the next time!

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD


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The Harvest Fire

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This picture illustrates every farmer’s nightmare this year, a harvest fire.
Yesterday we noticed a column of smoke rising from our neighbours farm. I got the cultivator out of the nettles and headed off to help.
When I arrived at the scene I was greeted by the sight of ten fire engines and crews, farmers who had abandoned their harvest and brought along tractors and cultivators and even local gamekeepers towing water bowsers behind their quad bikes. Others had just turned up to weald fire-beaters or help where they could.
In a previous life I studied disaster management, I learned that all situations require a modicum of luck: Yesterday the wind was only at 1-2mph, considering how recently the wind has blown, this could be called miraculous.

But what I shall always remember is how seeing the emergency crews in action reminded me just how we rely on the men and women of our Fire Service in times of need. They are always there for us. It was also refreshing to be reminded that even out in the sparsely populated countryside, the local community pulls together in times of need.

All those who helped deserve a Gold Star!

Stay safe out there, today and always.

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

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The 10k Fun Run

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I have never understood the connection between the words ‘Fun’ and ‘Run’. For me running inevitably involved an escaped pig when I was younger or errant drone when of more advanced years. Yesterday I watched the start of two Fun Runs and if I’d have been a million years younger, might even have been tempted by the 10km myself…

Watching all ages,
On a gruelling run,
Torture themselves,
Under a burning sun.

From five to fifty,
families having fun,
I can now see why it’s called,
‘The 10k Fun Run!’

If I did enter,
I think you’d find,
I’d end up finishing,
Three and a half miles behind!

Have a great day and enjoy the sunny weather, if you’re running don’t overdo it!

© Baldock Bard 2018
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
STILL HERE AFTER 26 YEARS!
starts 7am Every Saturday
until October 20ththOctober 2018
Buyers Park and Enter FREE!
www.u-boot.co.uk

It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD

 

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