Coventry Poetry

It wasn't out of a comic it really happened Kaga Glen Cinema disaster

morgana, good heavens, what a tragedy, no wonder it made such an impact on parents. How do you track these things down, it was just a very old memory to me, like the submarine but I've been trying to think back, was the submarine the Thetis or some such name, I've tried the library, found nothing, and I have no idea where to look, and too old anyway, am I asking to much? Thank you for that link. regards Kaga.

Yes terrible tragedy Kaga, I would dread such a thing happening to my kids when they were little. The secret of tracking things down is to think and write into google like a commoner as normally it is commoners who put information on google, lol my university educated brother asked the same question when he had been looking for ages my dads RAF records and I found them straight away.

Excellently composed Kaga, thank you.

Really enjoyed your poem, Kaga, and will share it with my mother with whom it will strike a chord. Well done!

Hi Everyone It's been a while since I saw any new poems here, so I thought I would contribute this one...... The local poets' club I belong to here in Australia decides on a "theme" for each monthly meeting, and this month it will be "traditions". Of course, phrases like "true blue" are supposed to be part of the Australian tradition, so I put my thinking cap on, and came up with this..(for those that don't follow the sport, the Waratahs are the New South Wales rugby team, and the Brumbies are the team from Canberra; Blue the Shearer is a local poet, a favourite of the radio stations, who seems to have been writing poetry for centuries!)..... True Blue What? Hey, true blue! You know the phrase – as Aussie as meat pies! We use it to describe a guy who doesn’t tell us lies. We use it as a compliment to people that we find Are honest folk, and genuine – and importantly, “our kind”. But do you know the origins from which these words arise? Cause I do! And possibly that comes as a surprise To you - an Aussie, born and bred, to hear these words from me, A Pommy migrant, long ago, from the town of Coventry. It isn’t hard to see why truth and honesty are linked. The connection there is evident and really quite succinct. But what on earth have truth and honesty to do With anything connected to the primary colour blue? We use the word whenever someone gets into a fight, Or when we’re feeling miserable – those “Blues in the Night”! And blue is for the Waratahs, that Brumbies love to beat, And then there’s Blue the Shearer, whose poetry’s so neat! It turns out that the answer lies buried in the soil Of my home town, a place where skilful weavers used to toil. Around the fifteen hundreds – a bit before my time, When Coventry’s great weaving trade was in its lusty prime. You see, the dye they used in other towns to make their fabrics blue Was highly prone to fading, more than other colours do. But Coventry’s blue fabrics were renowned across the lands. Maybe it’s the sandstone or the coal on which it stands. The saying was, in days of old, “as true as Coventry blue”, And this tradition – modified – comes down to me and you. Ironic that you think of it as Aussie through and through. Just as I came here from Coventry, this saying came here too!

Kaga prompted this one, with his lovely story in the "Early Memories" thread. I took a few liberties about the story, but it seems so familiar to my early life as well as his.............. Bathtime for Grandma We had it tough when I was young, but at least we had four walls. All six of us in a tiny house, three bedrooms for us all. Three up, one down, a kitchen, and a freezing outside loo! There was me and sis, and mum and dad, and gran and grandad too. Grandma wasn’t well, and so had been in bed for weeks, Upstairs in their back bedroom, with pallid, deathly cheeks. But one day, feeling better, she called as loudly as she could, For us to bring the bath up, ‘cause a bath would do her good. So father took the tin bath from off the kitchen wall, And with the help of my big sister, we lugged it through the hall. So up our narrow twisted stairs we struggled with this tin, Then my sister fell back down the steps, and the bath smashed father’s shin. He howled in pain, but we struggled on, our patience wearing thin, Until we got that bloody bath to the room grandma was in. So next we had to heat some water on the open grate. A full bath took twelve buckets, but for grandma, we did eight. And then we had to lug the water up those twisted stairs. So dad and I, and he and sis, worked best we could in pairs. But though we took the greatest care to keep those buckets straight, The water kept on sloshing out at an alarming rate. The room got wet, the stairs got wet, dad got in a right foul mood. I learnt a few new words just then, and some of them quite rude! But anyway, we filled the bath. Left grandma to her treat. And stumbled down those twisted stairs to find something to eat. Well, dad was pleased with me and sis, and gave us each a bun! But all too soon heard grandma shout “it’s OK now, I’m done!”. We couldn't tip the water out the window to the street, So we re-employed the buckets ‘til we’d emptied it complete. We tossed the water out the back, just like a waterfall, And carted the tin bath back down; hung it back upon the wall. But when we’d finished we came down, and found the back door wet. The living room was soaking and yet, and yet….. This was my family – we made things work. It might seem quaint today. That’s how it was back then, and nowt would e’er get in our way. A problem like a flooded room was met with “what’s the fuss?” And we would work it out – that’s the way it was with us!

Hello there Canberra. Yes, I like. Not your standard, but I try.

John, Kaga - both terrific "Well done" to you both!

It's getting very entertaining reading your prose, thank you John and Kaga. Christmas is coming would it be asking too much to get us all in the mood.

Your wish is my command, Dreamtime................... Replacing Rudolph "A thousand years ago”, he said, “the stars were all so bright They illuminated everything as we travelled through the night. With Dasher and Dancer at the front, followed by Prancer and Vixen, Then Comet and Cupid in the third row, then finally Donner and Blitzen. Oh, what a team we made back then, on our annual Christmas spree. But over the years, the stars grew dimmer until we could hardly see! Young Rudolph then to our rescue came – ah yes! He was only a fawn! But with his red nose, he lit up the sky – as if to the job he was born! There was some dissent, I recall, at the start, from some of you here today, But that was quickly forgotten, and Rudolph was with us to stay! For centuries now, he has been at the helm, with commitment that we all admire. What would we have done without him, eh? But sadly, it’s time to retire. The years of exertion, the pressures of work, might have gotten a lesser deer down, But you, my deer Rudolph, have led us throughout, with never a hint of a frown. I’m sure you’d be willing to stay on for ever, faithfully bearing the brunt, But the Department of Transport has issued new rules that prohibit a red light in front! It’s scandalous that your career is cut short by a bureaucrat’s stroke of a pen, It’s required, they said, to align our road rules with those in the domain of men! Rudolph, my friend, we all wish you well, as you enter a new stage of life. We know you’ve made plans, including, I’m sure, that you’ll spend some more time with your wife! As you know, we’ve been busy recruiting for staff who are willing to take on this role. We’ve interviewed all the best candidates, in the office up near the North Pole. We had glow-worms apply, and in some ways they’re good, but they simply can’t race through the sky. And a cheetah, while fast, would upset all the deer, with that predator gleam in his eye! We finally settled on someone who came with credentials we couldn’t resist, Like you, she was born with the skills and physique that matched our exhaustive checklist. Like yours, her proboscis lights up in the dark, but hers is a brilliant white. She has full Motor Registry certification, for sleigh rides in daytime or night. She’ll bring one new skill to our Christmas Eve runs, that even old Rudolph can’t match, If there’s not enough room for the toys in the sleigh, she can fit the excess in her pouch! So, Rooby, the White Nosed Kangaroo, please step up and meet my great team. You’re now our new leader, to show us the way, fulfilling all good kiddies’ dreams!"

Thank you JW, absolutely the 'tops', and what a great name Rooby. I will definitely be extra good from now on.