In 1938 it was a
Friday:
The first edition of
the Beano & first cricket on TV
Chamberlains famous
meeting with Hitler;
“Peace for our
time” said he:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone,
& a certain
young colt aged four may have been there!
War now over, in
1947 it was a Tuesday:
Princess Elizabeth
got married To Philip
India & Pakistan
gained independence
The first nuclear
reactor in Europe was called GLEEP:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
At Martinmas Wroth
Silver was still paid.
In 1957 it was a
Monday:
Macmillan became
Prime Minister in Elizabeth II’s 5th year as queen
Norwich City Council
was the first to install a computer
In the Sky at Night,
Sputnik was seen:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
With hats &
wellies on.
In 1967 it was a
Saturday:
The Summer of Love
was come & gone in the Golan Heights & Vietnam below
De Gaul vetoed our
entry into the EU
& Sgt Peppers
Lonely Hearts Club Band are glad you enjoyed the show:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
One or two may have got mud on their
flares.
In 1977 it was a
Friday:
Queen Elizabeth’s
silver jubilee
Abba, Starwars,
Saturday Night Fever
& oh joy of joys
the Sex Pistols swear on TV:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
In the icy, frosty
morn.
In 1987 it was a
Wednesday:
We were still
reeling from the hurricane
Thatcher called a
snap election & won a third term
Peugeot began
building cars at Ryton:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
By torchlight, a
list of villages was intoned.
In 1997 it was a
Tuesday:
Tony Blair moved
into Number Ten
The
death of Princess Di
Welsh
devolution & bird flu were the talk of the town
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
Despite
the threat of rain.
In 2007 it was a
Saturday, not Sunday:
That Atherstone
Warehouse burned down
It was the wettest
Summer ever
& the birthday
of the Iphone:
While just down the
road
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
But we can’t smoke
our pipes indoors no more.
In 2017 it was a
Saturday:
Hoods & brollies
deployed against the wet
Plastic banknotes,
terrorist attacks &… Trump
Brexit continues to
divide us
While just down the road,
At dawn in a corner
of an English field
A group of people
gathered round a stone
Honour to David who
bore witness to it all!
This is my fourth poem celebrating Wroth Silver as it's poet laureate. This year was special because it was David Eadon's 80th year attending the ceremony. (He is the gentleman in the cap in the foreground.) Many thanks & congratulations to him!
To find out more about Wroth Silver, go here: http://www.wrothsilver.org.uk/
To read my previous Wroth silver poems follow these links:
2014: Martinmas
