Category Archives: General Life Observations

50 Years On!

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1966to2016We finished harvest last night. While on my way back to the field to collect more beans in the afternoon I parked the JCB and trailer next to the drive. When I returned it’s positioning seemed strangely familiar, so I took a photo. It was then that I realised that it was parked in the same spot as an old black-and-white photo taken 50 years before!

In 1966 the Massey-Fergusson was being driven by my cousin, Bruce, in the trailer (pre-Health and Safety days!) were my brother, Jeremy, and friend James Trollope. The tractor was 65hp, top speed of 17mph and the trailer carried just over 4t of wheat. The farm employed 4 men full-time and a good living could be made from 450 acres.

In 2016 the JCB is 170hp, top speed is 40mph and the trailer carries just over 17t of wheat. Nobody is employed on the farm, a contractor comes in with a giant combine and apparently it takes over 4,000 acres and a good-sized plot of land with planning permission to be a successful farmer!

How times change, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!

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

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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

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Captured by Dashcam!

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Carcam1Have you ever invested in technology only to find it has a nasty vindictive streak? Like millions of others, we are proud owners of a dashcam. This cheeky little devil sits attached to the windscreen and records hour upon hour of road just in case you need the evidence for a future insurance claim. However this must-buy recorder has a nasty side…

Last Saturday morning,
just after 4.30,
a desperate phone call,
“you should be alerty,
the gate is still locked,
we’re parked on the road,
can you let us in,
to your bootsale abode?”

I grabbed the car keys,
How could I be late?
I’d forgotten to unlock,
the ‘effin green gate!
Later I remembered,
the camera-stored file,
no escaping my guilt,
until ‘delete’ in a while!

Have a great weekend and if you’re coming to the bootsale rest assured that the gate is well and truly open!

© 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

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The Creeper Festival!

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Creeper1In certain parts of the world there are celebrations to coincide with harvests of all kinds. Celebratory feasts are cooked, wine is consumed and fairgrounds spin! I’ve always thought there should be a festival for cutting Virginia Creeper. This fast-growing house-coverer was much loved by the Victorians. According to old photos they just let it grow. They obviously didn’t have a JCB with a cage…

Once a year around harvest time,
when the daily weather is fair and fine,
I put Mrs Bard into a cage,
and hoist her up, it’s all the rage!
Once hoisted up the secateured reaper,
trims the house of Virginia Creeper!
She cuts around the swallows nest,
they’ve flown out line abreast!
The job is done leaves a nice clear wall
now’s the time for our Creeper Festival!
Creeper2© 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

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My Father at 90!

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OM ScooterYesterday my father had his 90th birthday. At his party I was going to read out a silly verse ‘wot I had rit!’ However I chickened out at the last moment and substituted it with some inadequate words. Now wish I had taken the plunge…

My old man is 90,
Still wears a farmer’s cap,
He gets up at silly-o-clock,
To feed his purring cat!

He hasn’t got a horse no more,
He rides a scooter now,
He potters in his little garden,
A trowel replaced the tractor plough!

On his scooter to the shops,
He greets all folk with glee,
They all say, “What a gent,
He finds time to chat to me!”

So today he reaches 90,
And I’m very glad,
That all I really need to say,
Is “Happy Birthday Dad!”

© 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

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The Dusty Harvest!

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Combine1Yesterday, after a few set-backs, we started harvest. It always lifts the farmer’s soul as the giant machines bring to an end his annual toil. Whether the yield is good or bad, one can always marvel as these leviathans lay bare the fields, along with a little dust…

Air-conditioning is a must,
when you work in choking dust,
It can make a farmer frown,
and wonder why he washed the combine down!
In the morning it was showroom clean,
observe these pictures, know what I mean,
But you can guess how farmers are,
with something worth more than a Ferrari car!

Combine2© 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

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The Memory Lane!

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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

 

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Hold Onto Your Hat!

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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

 

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The Saturday Rose!

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RoseOccasionally, when I have no obvious subject for my daily blog, I choose a picture from my files at random and write. This morning’s picture is simple, however I think we all deserve something simple right now. Hardly a day has gone by recently without the horrific story of an attack dominating the headlines. We deserve a simple rose, have a great weekend, stay safe and enjoy…

A simple rose proud in the garden,
against the wall so white,
It has no need for media,
it’s world is simple and bright.
So this morning as we start up the weekend,
let’s forget the dark in the world,
share love with those around us,
and show them our petals unfurled!

August is just around the corner, stay safe, look after others 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

 

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The Return of Ding!

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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

 

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The Drone that Survived a Sinking!

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wetdroneTwo days ago, I told of how my drone landed in the water at the St Neots Regatta (http://www.baldockbard.co.uk/?p=8581). Following hours of being sealed in a vacuum bag with rice, it spent two days on the Aga. My hopes of it flying again weren’t great, I don’t have that sort of luck this year…

In May it was me, who took a fall into the river,
new i-Phone wallet and glasses, insurance deliver!
There followed a call to Alison my agent,
spilt coffee on my laptop, (Boy! was she patient!).
The prospect of another call, caused me to shiver:
“Erm, I seem to have landed, my drone in the river!”

Into a vacuum bag, half full of rice,
I avoided adding carrots (would have been nice!)
Drone AgaOnto the Aga just for two days,
If it flies again, it will amaze.
I took it outside, without all its props,
preparing to fail (I’m used to such flops).
But what is this? the motors are turning,
It’s back in the room, it is returning!
I attach the propellors, it soars in the sky,
I let out a yell, don’t need to know why,
Phantom 3So if you see Alison, and she wears a smile,
she hasn’t heard from me, in quite a while!

Thanks to all those UAV operators who have posted their ‘drowning drone’ stories online thus giving me the courage to attempt a ‘dry-out’. Strangely I could find no success stories, but thanks anyway!
Thanks to Alison at the NFU Mutual who covers my back when things go wrong …and thanks to Max, my advertising executive from Wroxham, who designed a new flyer…
WetUAV

© 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

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