Category Archives: Past Times

Harvest Gold Rush!

Posted on by
Share

Harvest 50sIn just three days our harvest is almost complete. What would have taken weeks using horses and hands, now is gone in an instant. I discovered a picture that was taken in the fifties on my Great Uncles farm, it is a very different scene from today. All the grain was carted to the thrashing drum (early combine which was back at the farm) and the wheat and straw was separated there. What we do in a day with two drivers would have taken weeks with at least six men with pitchforks…

“During harvest”,
a farmer once said,
“there ain’t much time,
twixt work and bed.
From the grain to the sheet,
grab some food,
your day’s complete!”

Whatever would he think now?
only days between harvest and plough,
everything is rush, rush, rush,
little time to use hairbrush!

One common factor does remain,
we’re in it for the golden grain!

Harvest now

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

 

Share

The Memory Lane!

Posted on by
Share

2cvI have an admission to make. Many years ago I drove the world’s most boring car at the time, a Citroen 2CV. Looking back, in terms of being trendy, it was the motoring equivalent of a pair of hippy slippers. However, seeing one in a carpark the other day, I came over all nostalgic as I remembered the open roof, micro-engine and play-ground suspension…

I think I liked my 2CV,
it’s a very long time ago you see,
I’d drive long distances with a prayer:
‘No long hills between here and there!’
However when the weather was fine,
I’d open the roof and enjoy sunshine.
In the winter other’s smirked,
because the heater never worked.
Around each corner the little tike,
leant over further than a motorbike!
But in a carpark the other week,
I felt nostalgic for this memory leak!

Have a great day and enjoy the weekend sunshine, a perfect time for a ride out in a 2CV!

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

 

Share

Hold Onto Your Hat!

Posted on by
Share

Bert's HatI was by the road the other day when I filmed an old car driving past. At the time I couldn’t work out what was so special about the moment. Downloading the clip later I realized that very few people these days cling onto their cap when motoring…

Hold onto your hat Bert,
we’re doing nearly forty,
in the days of our youth,
such speeds would be naughty!
Youngsters these days,
have just no idea,
seatbelts and airbags,
never known fear!
You and I Bert,
we both know the score,
I bet they won’t be driving,
when they’re ninety-four!

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

 

Share

Honey Bees and the Naughty Pig!

Posted on by
Share

HoneySome friends came to lunch yesterday and bought a wonderful pot of honey from their hives. I’m afraid, like most things, I’m useless with bees, they seem to treat me like a pin-cushion and it hurts! Many years ago we were loading pigs when one escaped the lorry…

We were loading pigs up for export,
(for breeding abroad they were bred),
when one escaped from the ramp,
disappeared round the back of the shed.

It’s gruntings became ever quieter,
It was chased by the driver and Tom,
All over a sudden there was a shout,
“Look Out! The bee hives have gone!”

Back running came the driver,
old Tom was running with ease,
the pig overtaking them both,
All three being chased by the bees!

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

Share

The Return of Ding!

Posted on by
Share

DingDongIn our ancient local church we have two bells, one dating from the 14th Century, the other is two centuries younger. Some people affectionally call them Ding and Dong. For some months Ding has been absent and the only peal has been a funereal ‘Dong, Dong, Dong…’ Today there is a wedding in the church, urgent remedial works had to be undertaken…

Wearing my trusty boiler-suit,
not normal seen in church,
I positioned my tallest ladder,
breakage in bell-rope to search!
I carefully climbed each rung,
a bucket in one hand,
with every conceivable tool,
for a tower-repair unplanned.
Through the trapdoor I squeezed,
standing on ancient floor,
on the walls was scratched,
the names that had entered before!
I started up my i-Pad,
Googled ‘joining of a rope’
ended up with a giant knot,
skill-wise I’m beyond all hope!

…but at least it will mean that Ding and Dong will ring out today at the wedding!
With best wishes and many years of happiness to the bride and groom.

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016

With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

 

Share

The Yellow TR6!

Posted on by
Share

TR6It is strange how certain objects can resurrect memories that you thought were lost for good. Yesterday I saw a Triumph TR6 sports car parked next to a museum. It took me right back to a journey down the Cromwell Road in London, when my cousin gave me a lift to the now-forgotten West London Air Terminal where you could check in for a BEA (British European Airways) flight…

I seem to remember we were short of time,
I was Scotland-bound by air for the very first time.
My cousin Bruce, then in his early twenties,
Drove me down the Cromwell Road – acceleration plenty’s!
The roar of the exhaust I remember so well,
speeding down the road going like hell!
In those days speed was an exciting factor,
All I had driven was an ancient rusty tractor!
So this glamorous yellow sports car was an instant hit,
Forty-seven years later I still remember it!

I always promised myself such a car, never had one though and I doubt I ever will. The sixty-year-old me now looks for comfort, safety and reliability! Looking back it was probably my only experience of the glamorous Swinging Sixties!

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above
Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

Share

Lost in France!

Posted on by
Share

La FranceI went into a bookshop yesterday and was shocked rigid. The retailer, possibly prompted by the referendum and the England football team’s defeat to mighty Iceland, had taken a bold step in road atlas retailing…

The road to France is falling apart,
the Tunnel will be kept as a work of art!
Days of motoring abroad on vacation,
will be like visiting a far-off nation.
The French road atlas will soon be history,
no more complicated directions that become a mystery.
“Where’s the map?” a shout of the past,
the wrong direction getting there fast!
No muttered insults from a Parisian waiter,
cheap red wine to throw up later!
Visiting a street market can be such fun,
the brie cooking gently in the midday sun!
Stretched out on a beach in a post-lunch stupor
Sunburnt flesh you’re a Tourist Trooper!
But what is this? I wake up from my dream,
nothing’s changed or so it may seem.
The only difference that I can see,
we’ll be able to stock up DUTY FREE!

To all those heading off on holiday, Bonnes Vacancies and enjoy!

© Baldock Bard 2016

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

 

Share

Remembering Mars!

Posted on by
Share

Mars 21How do you feel and what do you remember when you miss somebody who is no longer around? Four years ago today, our great friend Marsya left us. She left behind a stern wave of such proportions that it is still swirling around the feet of her many friends. I miss her for many reasons, one being her liberal use of the English language in all its varied forms. As a result this morning I have already sworn with a couple of friends and I intend to do so in her memory with many more before the day is out…

Marsya used to swear,
enjoyed to turn air blue,
Anglo-Saxon vernaculars
in front of me and you!
But now she is silent,
but we will not forget,
how she touched our lives,
using the alphabet.
So swear along with me,
just for her today,
“That one’s for Marsya!”
you’ll explain yourself away!

Mars, you’re not forgotten, we were all so lucky to have you as a friend, Nos Da.

© Baldock Bard 2016

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

Share

Easy Rider (retired!)

Posted on by
Share

ScooterThe other day I watched a completely contented pensioner ride his scooter down the street. His relaxed seating position reminded me of the age-old poster for Easy Rider! Seemingly at peace with the world, for me he summed up all that was genteel back in the day, my only regret being that I only had my phone and not a camera to capture the moment…

My old man rides a scooter,
he drives it down the street,
raises his hat to passers-by,
who all think he is neat!

It’s his only mode of transport,
he thinks that it’s a horse,
He calls it Mr Ed,
(after a TV show of course!)

Some old folk drive their scooters,
chariot-riding Queen Boudicea’s,
pedestrians run to avoid them,
primeval recollection of spears!

Remember, what you judge today could be you tomorrow! Have a great day and if you’re on your scooter, stay safe.

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

Share

Vandalism in the Village

Posted on by
Share

DCIM100MEDIADJI_0073.JPGOur tiny village is in shock. Unwanted visitors to the church have removed part of the copper roof and left many thousands of pounds worth of damage. My (very un-Christian) thoughts wish that either they’d been stranded up there or fallen off into the churchyard. To have taken such risks for a roll of copper sheeting beggars belief and one must question their sanity…

Thieves have stolen the copper
from our village church roof
it’s enough to make one think
thoughts that are very uncouth
The church has been there
for many a year
witnessed war and disasters
sadness and fear
I wish I had caught them
up on the roof
removed their ladder
leaving them all aloof!

© Baldock Bard 2016
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: baldockbard@www.baldockbard.co.uk

The Baldock Boot Sale
SG7 6RD
is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Every Saturday
April – October 2016
With more FREE parking and a field full of bargains!
www.u-boot.co.uk

 

Share