A Peaceful Picture!

Posted on September 1, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

This morning I decided to have another half an hour in bed. Normally I dash out of bed, rush downstairs, do my diabetes blood test and get some hurried breakfast before getting on with my manic day. Suddenly I remembered a photo series I’d taken many years ago of our village, one of which showed a lone rambler walking down our main street. By some miracle I managed to find it and it still portrayed the sense of calm that I remembered…

A rambler walked through our village,
12th of May 2004,
I said a cheery ‘Good afternoon’,
as I’d not seen him before!
He just kept on walking,
perhaps he did not care,
perhaps he was in another time,
and to him I was not there!

I wish you all a peaceful and relaxed Friday

© 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
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The Burial Ground

Posted on August 17, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Sometimes you see something so often that you don’t notice it any more! In my world this mostly applies to drains that go on a list to clear and are only noticed when it has rained and there is a large lake. However it also applies to fields! When looking at a crop of beans by drone the other day to judge how much weed there was, I was reminded of the field’s history and why it’s called ‘The Burial Ground’…

Our village, 35 miles north of London, was the most northerly outpost of the London Garrison of the Roman Army. Being as far from the centre as possible, they used it for their disaffected and troublesome troops and their containment zone for those suffering from disease. These poor souls were often North Africans, brought over here as part of the Romans ‘Divide and Conquer’ regime (whereby those captured were sent to other colonies far removed from their home land).
I often imagine how these foreigners must have felt: removed from their temperate climate to a wet, damp and cold winter here in Britain, hated by both the population and their Roman masters.
This was of course not all. Many of these people had leprosy and were banished to outposts to await death while relying on local charity for food and water (and we complain about the NHS). Their compound was surrounded by a reverse moat (dug to keep people in rather than keep invaders out) and there they spent their days until relieved by death.
Hence The Burial Ground. Many years ago burial pots were ploughed up and sent to a local museum, but the constant reminder is now the moated and wooded area and the named field that tells such a sad tale.

Thankfully we are more welcoming to those from abroad these days, however we should all be reminded that tolerance is of utmost importance in our world today.

© Baldock Bard 2017
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The Last Day of the Pirates

Posted on August 14, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

In the mid-Sixties, as a small boy, my mother and father would take my brother and I on a bucket-and-spade holiday to Frinton in Essex. The town was famous for it’s ‘nothing-happens-here’ quality. One of the few things I remember from those holidays was the sight of two ships, three miles off the beach, with very tall masts.
It was on this day 50 years ago that the Labour government of the day saw their law banning these ships come it force against the will of millions of listeners. The so-called Pirate Radio stations were outlawed and replaced by a lacklustre state-owned copy in the form of BBC Radio 1.
I have often wondered what those who suffered the seasickness, supply shortages and foulest weather that the North Sea could throw at them think of their legacy – radio that is bland, identikit and soul-less, a far cry from their days on the high seas…

Its left to wonder,
what these pioneers,
think of their legacy,
after fifty years!

Who could ever forget the jingle: “Wonderful Radio London!”

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Memories in South Road, Baldock

Posted on June 28, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

It is said that many from a certain generation can recall exactly where they were when they heard of President Kennedy’s assassination. I have to admit I can’t. Yesterday evening while driving down South Road in Baldock I remembered only too well the evening of 28^th of June 2012…

A simple journey,
to fetch a take-away,
around 7.30,
five years ago today.
I had to stop the car,
through tears I could not see,
a devastating phone call,
in South Road came to me.

Marsya was a journalist,
mother and true friend,
supporter and encourager,
enjoyed her life no end.
Everyone still misses you,
(soppy verse you despised!)
you enjoyed shocking with vernacular,
damn these tearful eyes!
Remembering Marsya and her much-loved family with love

© Baldock Bard 2017
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One Man Went To Mow!

Posted on June 19, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Yesterday I went to mow some permanent pasture for hay. Like me, all of my hay-making machinery is old and knackered! It is also stored well away from the more modern machines so as not to spread a general air of malaise or rebellion amongst cultivators and other more frequently used machines…

One man went to mow,
went to mow a meadow,
took the mower from behind the shed,
and went to mow the meadow.
He greased up all the grease points,
checked the blades were sharp,
climbed inside the tractor cab,
took the handbrake out of park!
Up and down the field he went,
the air-con was on cold,
the dust was all outside the cab,
not like days of old!
Now the field is fully mown,
“Where’s the hay-bob metals?”
just then he spied the headstock,
poking above the nettles!
So tomorrow I’ll be turning hay,
the meadow is all mown,
if anything goes wrong in turning,
the fault will be home-grown!

Have a good day and be sure to make hay while the sun shines!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Farm Welding Prowess!

Posted on June 15, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

There are many types of welding: Mig, Tig, Gas, Arc and mine! I was taught in evening class over forty years ago and my instructor would be turning grey if he could view my prowess now! To be good at welding you need three things: practice, practice and practice. Despite practising for all those years, metal I weld is held together mostly by luck…

I needed to weld the cultivator,
I’d broken it back in the spring,
I’d found some suitable metal,
now I needed to mend the damn thing!
I clamped the metal together,
having ground the edge to a shine,
If the repair looked unattractive,
I’d deny that it was mine!
I attached the stick to the holder,
put some thick gloves on my hands,
attached the negative electrode,
and proceeded with my welding plans!
Through the mask it was hard to see,
the spark made me jump with surprise,
at the end I expected a straight weld,
I couldn’t believe my eyes…

I’d missed the repair entirely,
and blown a hole in the steel,
my overalls were singed and smouldering,
the mess I was in was surreal.

…I’ll have to wait until someone who knows what they are doing can come to my aid! I was obviously never meant to be let loose with a welder!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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Age Before Youth!

Posted on June 5, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

Over ten years ago Mrs Bard picked a kitchen clock out of the rubbish at the Saturday car boot sale I organise. She put in a new battery and since then it has kept perfect time as it is controlled by a radio signal from Rugby. Yesterday it failed. I put in a new battery to no avail, it was time to wave goodbye…

The old kitchen clock has run out of time,
it’s days in the house are through,
I gave up trying to restart the hands,
“no more can we rely on you!”
I replaced it back upon the wall,
until a replacement found,
and on the internet we did trawl,
for a clock with a wood surround.
The new replacement ordered,
the old clock whirred once more,
and suddenly both hands stopped in place,
Perfect time at ten to four!

So the threat of the dustbin works as a repair mechanism!
Old free clock kicks new £45 clock’s butt! For once age beats youth!

© Baldock Bard 2017
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38 Years Ago!

Posted on May 19, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

It is pure coincidence that my 1,500th blog posting has landed fairly and squarely on May 19th. This was the day, thirty-eight years ago, that Mrs Bard said those fatal words “I do” (or rather I think she said those words, as she was speaking Welsh at the time!) Fast forward to May 19th 2017 and she’s still by my side. Considering what I am like, this is no mean feat and one of remarkable courage and tolerance. It is ever-more remarkable when in those days I looked like an extra from the film ‘Planet of the Apes’…

Thirty-eight years today,
I stood beside a bride,
in a village in South Wales,
feeling most nervous deep inside!
When it came to say ‘I do!’
what I can’t ignore,
(I had expected the bride,
to make a dash out through the door!)

Thirty-eight years later,
she’s still by my side,
we’ve been through a lot,
but she’s still my amazing bride!

Have an amazing day and appreciate the one you love.

© Baldock Bard 2017
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above 
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: simon.holtom@btconnect.com
The Baldock ‘Boutique’ Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
2017 Season
EVERY SATURDAY!
until mid-October
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

The Barley Mow Lane

Posted on May 11, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

One of the advantages of doing form-filling for the EU’s Basic Payment Scheme is that you visit those often overlooked, but beautiful parts of the farm. One such place is Barley Mow Lane (TL2731, 5940, WO12 Woodland 0.2439ha, in case you were wondering!). Years ago, this wooded track formed the walk from the farm’s cottages to the local pub. Dis-use due to nobody employed on the farm, cars conveying the thirsty to places afar, closure of the pub in the late seventies and cottages sold off, means it has reverted to a magical small piece of woodland…

Tommy, Bill and Paul,
were in the pub’s darts team,
they’d walk up from the cottages,
double-tops were their dream!
The hard work of the day,
washed away with many beers,
dominoes and companionship,
and the echoing of ‘Cheers!’
Now the track is silent,
Nature has taken its course,
very few now visit,
except sometimes on a horse!

All was peaceful until the farmer arrived with his drone!

April Showers?

Posted on April 25, 2017 by The Baldock Bard.

This has been an extraordinary month. April showers have failed to materialise and fertiliser that should have been applied in late-March still sits in the shed a month later. The urea needs moisture to activate it otherwise it just evaporates and no nutrients reach the plant. Luckily we farm heavy clay soil that is well known (and often cursed!) for its moisture retention properties – mostly it’s either hard as rock or wet as muck. This year, despite the dry conditions it is ‘friendly soil’, however I could still do with some rain…

Like passengers at a bus stop,
bags of fertiliser wait in line,
they’ve been queuing for a month,
waiting all this time!
We can’t blame the weather on Brexit,
Trump or even Le Pen,
we want absent April showers,
would help the crops no end!
They say you can’t please a farmer,
no wonder they curse and shout,
lack of rain when needed,
will arrive when the combine’s out!

…despite some slight drizzle yesterday evening, this morning the sun shines like a summer’s morn! Oh well, the one thing nobody control is the weather, so I might as well sit back and enjoy it!

Baldock Bard

Verse and Worse from the Baldock Versemonger

Category Archives: Past Times

A Peaceful Picture!

The Burial Ground

The Last Day of the Pirates

Memories in South Road, Baldock

One Man Went To Mow!

Farm Welding Prowess!

Age Before Youth!

38 Years Ago!

The Barley Mow Lane

April Showers?