Category Archives: Loss

The Setting Sun!

Posted on by
Share

Sky at NightYesterday Mrs Bard and I went to the funeral of a local farmer. Last night there was a wonderful sunset complete with ‘Mares Tail’ clouds. I’d like to think that the two were linked in some way and that Mother Nature had put on a special light show as a fitting ‘fond adieu’, but modern knowledge can easily spoil the wish. As agricultural practices become more scientific we seem to become more remote from the very land that we work, however we’re never far from the soil…

There goes the farmer driving by,
One eye on his crops,
The other to the sky.

Will it rain or will it be fine?
Would like some rain,
But need sunshine!

But come the time we’re not around,
Eyes are firmly,
On the ground.

Dedicated to David (Divid) Hodge, a Scotsman, friend and farmer who brought light when he entered a room.

© Baldock Bard 2013
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above



The Baldock Boot Sale is open every Saturday at 7am
www.u-boot.co.uk
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard(at)u-boot.co.uk
Replace (at) with @

Share

Chinese Burns!

Posted on by
Share

Birmingham fireThere is a great fear amongst farmers at this time of year, of a fire that sets crops alight and cannot be easily extinguished. I have attended enough field fires in my time to know that the arrival of the fire brigade is sometimes not the end of the flames as forest fires show. I remember driving into a burning field and ploughing a wide firebreak through the smoke. On exiting the dense smoke I caught sight of a fireman leaping out of the way to avoid the tractor and plough. Luckily the fire was extinguished by the plough and crops were saved. That was from a bearing on a baling machine overheating. These days it is more likely to be caused by the letting off of a Chinese Lantern by a wedding party. As a founder of the Killjoy Party (farm division) I’d like to see them banned for use over land…

There’s a big fire up in Smethwick,
Chinese Lanterns are to blame,
One was seen on cctv,
Before a burst of flame.
100,000 tonnes of plastic,
Flames seen for miles around,
Bride and grooms celebration,
Cost £6m pound!

My crops are starting to ripen,
I can’t afford the loss,
So please curtail these bloody lanterns,
Or I’ll get mighty cross!

© Baldock Bard 2013
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above



The Baldock Boot Sale is open every Saturday at 7am
www.u-boot.co.uk
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard(at)u-boot.co.uk
Replace (at) with @

Share

Time Travel Back to 1980!

Posted on by
Share

Hatcheck GirlHave you ever been listening to the radio and suddenly a song comes on that transports you back in time? I was driving down a farm track the other day listening to the radio, when I was immediately transported to the time I last heard the song that was playing. Luckily I wasn’t on the road as I could do nothing more than stop the car and let the emotional memories that the song provoked wash over me.

I was transported back to a journey I’d completely forgotten about!

It was August 27th 1980, we were in the middle of harvest and my son had been born early that morning. I was driving home from the hospital tired yet exhilarated, tears of joy streaming down my face and singing along with the radio at the top of my voice!

Unfortunately the feeling of exhilaration and surprise of reliving such a moment can’t ever be repeated. Because by the time you find, download and play the song again (this one isn’t available anywhere but U-tube), the moment has gone and the grey present has returned. You’re back in the room…

So this morning, instead of a verse I am passing on a long-forgotten song. As far as I know it never made the charts and is not particularly remarkable, except for the memories it stirred in me! As they used to say way back when, give it a spin!

‘Hatcheck Girl’ by Eddie Howell
http://youtu.be/eNFtsBVhd-8

Thanks to Graham Norton on Radio 2 for the memory!

Baldock Bard 2013
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above



The Baldock Boot Sale is open every Saturday at 7am
www.u-boot.co.uk
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard(at)u-boot.co.uk
Replace (at) with @

 

Share

West, Texas

Posted on by
Share

West Fire DeptYet again we are reminded of the bravery of the emergency services. Few had heard of the little town of West, Texas before yesterday’s explosion at a fertilizer plant. In the UK this morning it has already become yesterday’s foreign news, despite the loss of twelve with hundreds injured. Being an end-user of fertilizer at this time of year I shall be ever mindful of more firefighter deaths, particularly when we come to fertilize the fields in the next week or so…

They run towards,
while we run away,
they risk their lives,
every day.
Fire crews are awake,
so we can sleep nights,
thank God for the comfort,
of emergency lights.
Every so often,
just like yesterday,
we are reminded,
of the price they can pay.

© Baldock Bard 2013
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above



The Baldock Boot Sale is open every Saturday at 7am
www.u-boot.co.uk
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard(at)u-boot.co.uk
Replace (at) with @

Share

Sheltering from Rain!

Posted on by
Share

Sheltering from rainIt’s strange how we all shelter from the rain. So great a percentage of our bodies is made up from water that you’d think we’d dance around in a shower to celebrate the fact! Yesterday I wrote about loss, following on from the tragic events at the Boston Marathon and my own experiences. I received a number of e-mails asking why I hadn’t mentioned the injustices that exist all over the world. Places were quoted such as Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan (to name but three). This set me thinking, as any comment should. I came to two conclusions. Firstly: There is so much injustice caused by man in the world, that it is physically impossible to even begin to consider them all. Secondly: In my very limited experience of the world I can only write with conviction about what I know and leave higher topics to those with the knowledge to do so. I thank the writers for those e-mails as it has made me think. That is all…

We all shelter from the rain,
whether in Baldock or Delhi.
We all turn up our noses,
at subjects that to us are smelly!
Everyone writes with agenda,
sometimes they write ‘cos of pain,
But there’s one thing we do all together,
we shelter out of the rain!

PS. There used to be a comic called Dave Allen. He would end his TV show with the phrase: May your God go with you. Amen.

© Baldock Bard 2013
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above


The Baldock Boot Sale is open every Saturday at 7am
www.u-boot.co.uk

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard(at)u-boot.co.uk
Replace (at) with @

Share

A Father’s Wish

Posted on by
Share

OwlsImagine the scene: A father has just finished running a marathon. He stands just across the finishing line, bent double, hands on knees, chest heaving and gasping for breath. He looks up and sees his eight-year-old son excitedly dodging through the crowds to get to him. They embrace. After a short moment the father says: “Son, you’d better get back to your brother, sister and mom, I’ll come and find you in a minute.” All I need to add is Boston 15th April 2013.
My heart goes out to Bill Richard. He lost his son Martin, 8. His wife is fighting for her life and his 6 year-old daughter has lost a leg, while his 12 year-old son apparently escaped injury.
On the 15th of August 1998, on the day of the bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland, four and a half years before I lost my own son, I wrote a piece about loss from the perspective of a father. I naively thought it would be topical only once, how wrong I was…

A Father’s Wish

Turn back the clock
To before they were gone
So we can put right
All that was wrong
Turn back the clock
To sunnier days
When peace was a promise
In so many ways
Turn back the clock
I know it can’t be
Turn back the clock
AND LET IT BE ME

© Baldock Bard 2013
For more verse click on ‘Home’ above


I always try where possible to use my own photographs or at the very least, attempt to contact and ask permission from the owners of any I may use from the internet. On this occasion there was no information regarding the owner, so if you do know who owns the rights I’d be most grateful to know so that I can make contact.

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard(at)u-boot.co.uk
Replace (at) with @

Share