Category Archives: Traffic Jam

The Road-Mending Fairy!

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Yesterday was a lovely sunny and warm day. In fact it was just the sort of day to sit in a pub by the river with an ice-cold glass of beer! As I am lacking in any sort of common sense I chose the day to mend the pot-holes on the back drive leading to our industrial units…

Being stupid,
and devoid of common sense,
I chose the warmest April day,
to mend the roadway by the fence.
The back drive is now,
like an ‘effin motorway,
all the pot holes have disappeared,
the Road-Mending Fairy’s gone away!
He built up a thirst,
a few beers cannot quell,
and now he doesn’t care,
he’s legless (can’t you tell?)
So next time you see a pothole,
spare a thought for the guy,
who shovels in the filler,
under a furnace April sky!

Enjoy your day and may there be no potholes to give you a bumpy ride!

© 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!
Season starts 7am Saturday 14thApril 2018
It is the friendliest bargain bonanza anywhere!
Feed your hungry sat-nav with SG7 6RD


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The Bride’s Verse!

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Every morning when I get up at around 7am, I wonder how I’m going to fill the blank computer screen for my daily blog. Mostly it depends what has happened the day before, or what is about to happen or what photo I can find. As I blunder down the stairs my mind is desperately searching for a topic. This morning it was blank until it remembered a dream and at the same time my phone went ‘ping!’. About fifteen minutes later (my daily time limit) the job is done, all thanks to a future bride…

I have a strange imagination,
which when asleep causes consternation.
I have these dreams almost always weird,
I woke up this morning – barmy I feared.
I stumbled downstairs grabbed a mug,
carton of milk (you notice no jug!).
Started to think about what to write,
remembered my dream overnight!
I’ve been asked if I’d chauffeur a bride,
On her wedding day – a tractor ride!
In my dream there was deep snow,
(highly unusual for July I know!)
Then to make my morning weird,
a message on my phone appeared:
I nearly choked on my tea,
the very same bride a friend request for me!
So thank-you Emma for my daily verse,
there won’t be snow or anything worse,
I’ll clean out the cab for your tractor ride,
and all will be perfect when you’re a bride!

Emma is a nurse so I may be asking for stronger medication!
(She is also special as she was born on the farm and was a wonderful nurse at a time when we most needed help).
Have a good day and stay safe.

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

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Revenge of the Punt Gun!

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A punt gun is a spectacular piece of armament. It was made to attach to a small canoe-type boat which when fired was akin to putting an outboard engine into reverse at full throttle. It was particularly popular in the sparsely populated East Anglian Fens…

I was chatting to a neighbour on Tuesday,
who said he’d held a punt gun,
he showed me a photo of him holding it,
I agreed it looked kind of fun!
Later I drove up the high street,
a ‘Yoof’ cut me up at the lights,
proceeded to give me the finger,
and suggested he knew all his rights!
I imagined I’d mounted the punt gun,
behind my Mitsubishi grill,
pulled the trigger and blasted him,
and his poxy car right up the hill!

…and they say size isn’t everything!
Thank you David for the inspiration

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

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An Outbreak of Cones!

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Last night when I went to bed, I noticed something odd about the doorway to my Granddaughter’s bedroom. Looking rather like the approach to roadworks on the M1 motorway, the whole carriageway was coned off…

We have a no-go area upstairs,
it’s called Grand-daughter’s room,
the cones are there for all to see,
‘No Entry’ for us I presume.
What lies beyond the barrier?
What secrets does the room contain?
We haven’t dare enter for over a week,
a bedroom entry refrain!
We’ve been searching for someone brave,
a knight on horseback would do,
a man in high-vis from top to toe,
or a motorway maintenance crew!

Have a great day and avoid those roadworks if you can!

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

 

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Mum’s Exclusive Taxi!

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Some months ago a friend asked ‘If I could be given any car in the world what would I choose?’ Apparently he had always yearned for a Mustang! I had more boring yearnings, a Tesla! As I was driving through a local town last week I spotted one dropping kids off at school…

Tessa drives a Tesla,
to take the kids to school,
glides up to the pavement,
Thinks “Wow! This car is cool!”

The gull-wing doors rise open.
out the children climb,
as if they’re both time-travellers,
to arrive at school on time.

Dad works in the City,
he goes up to town by train,
by the time that he gets home at night,
the kids are asleep again.

Tessa does a lot of driving,
she thinks her life is cruel,
she does so many miles each week,
she’s grateful there’s no fuel.

On Fridays Suzy has ballet,
Colin plays in a Junior Band,
she’s the only mum whose ‘taxi’,
cost over a hundred grand!

On second thoughts I’ll stick with what I’ve got as knowing my luck I’d be the first person to be stuck on the side of the motorway with a truly ‘Flat Battery!’ Whatever you drive, do it safely today and always. BB

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

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No Headline…

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There’s one noise that drone flyers hate, and that is the sound of an approaching helicopter. In the main, planes are far higher than the maximum height of 400ft that drones fly. The near-misses so often quoted in the media are almost always at over 1000ft (a height my drone won’t fly, being electrically restricted to 395ft), so when I heard a noise I recognised while flying, I took immediate measures…

While flying my drone,
having some fun,
a noise made me shudder:
‘Dun Dun Dun Dun’
I looked around,
and I could see,
a Chinook helicopter,
flying towards me!
In a flash,
I landed my drone,
as the flying machine,
flew over my home!
It was one of those moments,
I won’t forget,
particularly thanks,
to the clammy cold sweat!
It was not a ‘near miss’,
no journalist story,
no breaking news,
not a hint of furore!

If you’re flying out there today, take care and watch out for a media headline event!
I was lucky to be trained by RUSTA – ex military instructors who taught this old farmer what a helicopter looked (and sounded) like!

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

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard

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‘Snow Bomb’ Sunday!

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Yesterday, unusually for a British December, we had around eight inches of snow! Having seen the forecast on Saturday evening I had found the snow-blade in the yard and put it ready for attachment to the JCB Fastrac tractor should the need arise. In the past it has raised much mirth when I was prepared but to no avail, this time I was ready, willing and able! Unfortunately some of the drivers I encountered had obviously never considered snow when they bought their expensive Mercs, Audis and BMW’s…

Out on the Baldock Bypass,
the traffic grinds to a halt,
a tyre-spinning expensive car,
doesn’t think that it’s his fault!
I pass them on the inside,
over the bank beside the road,
they look surprised to see me,
“We can’t believe it snowed!”
The blade goes down in front of them,
just misses a Mercedes bonnet,
they wave a grateful thanks,
(or a finger says ‘sit on it!’)
Most days they swear at tractors,
“Get out the ‘effin way!”
But they seem pleased to see me,
on ‘Snow-Bomb’ Chaos Sunday!
© Baldock Bard 2017
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: simon.holtom@btconnect.com

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The Fencing Team!

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Yesterday a local fencing team were in action on the roadside near the town. Not being livestock farmers, the art of erecting a fence doesn’t come naturally to this arable team. Thankfully son-in-law John, who has much experience of such things in a previous incarnation, was there to guide us along and make sure the new post-and-rail fence was presentable…

The local fencing team,
(I’ll not mention any names!)
is hoping for a place,
in the next Olympic Games!
Who will tell them?
(they’re bound to be bereft)
the closest they’re likely to get
Olympic Breakfast at the Little Chef!

© Baldock Bard 2017
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: simon.holtom@btconnect.com

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The City Fox!

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Yesterday, on our way back from Addenbrokes Hospital in Cambridge, the old passenger in our car was delighted to see a city fox cross the road in front of us. Thrilled that it had been caught sauntering across the road on our dash-cam I rushed to download the footage when we reached home. Unfortunately the image was blurred and not a fraction as impressive as in real life. Therefore the words have to attempt to make up for the inadequacies of the picture…

He strolls across the road,
although he wouldn’t risk it,
or he’d end up brown and flat,
like a Foxes Ginger Biscuit.

He has no need to run,
for lunch to provide,
his chicken always comes,
in a box and deeply fried.

As cool as they come,
but as sharp as a flint,
you just know that he’s sucking,
a Fox’s Glacier Mint.

His parking space is small,
but he wouldn’t drive a box,
it’s his perfect city car,
a red VW Fox!

He is well informed,
always has his views,
sits down in the evenings,
watching the Fox News!

He doesn’t need to hunt,
doesn’t ride a horse,
doesn’t give a damn,
He’s a City Fox of course!

© Baldock Bard 2017
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: simon.holtom@btconnect.com

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The First Driving Lesson!

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Can you remember your first driving lesson? Driving through Baldock the other day I came across a sign of a possible new career for me post-tillage. This prompted me to recall the embarrassment of my first lesson on ‘L’ plates many years ago…

At the age of twelve my Godmother said,
“I’ll get you an old car to keep in the shed,
to drive around the fields on the farm,
so when you start driving you don’t cause alarm!”

Five years later I had my first lesson,
a frightened look was the instructor’s expression,
“You just show what you can do,
And then I’ll start afresh with you!”

I revved the engine and slipped the clutch,
didn’t think the tyres squealed that much!
All at once the dual controls activated,
0/10 my skills were rated!

In an instant I felt a fool
And realised that I knew nothing at all
The instructor lived to drive another day
Unfortunately his hair had turned mostly grey!

Have a great Monday and drive with care!

© Baldock Bard 2017
For more from the Baldock Bard click on ‘Home’ above

Facebook: Baldock Bard
Twitter: @baldockbard
E-mail: simon.holtom@btconnect.com

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