# And for that minute, a blackbird sang...



## Bloggsworth (Jul 24, 2020)

Today I read Adlestrop again, I say again, but it was just one of the many times I have read it; it resonates; I’m not sure exactly why, maybe it’s that it takes me back to a time that will never be again. I can almost smell the soot and steam of a country railway station, hear the squeal of cast iron on steel as the locomotive draws up, bringing with it an instant mist which shrouds the waiting passengers, quickly followed by the crash of carriage doors opening and closing. In my mind’s eye I see the guard, flag at his side, whistle to his lips, as he walks down the platform slamming shut doors left open, with a concomitant echo resounding through the station. Luggage stowed on the rack I sit and await the slowing cadence of chuffs as, iron on iron, the driving wheels struggle for grip accompanied by a concatenation of clanks as the couplings take up the slack, a movement quickly followed by the gentle oscillation of the carriages as the train settles into that old familiar rhythm. I remember gentle joy of releasing the leather strap on the carriage door, dropping the window and watching the world go by; we would wave to farmers cutting corn and bargees on the canal, call out to navvies working the embankments. On a longer journey, a walk down the corridor to the dining car, bouncing off the windows on either side - Steak and kidney pie followed by Jam Rolly-Poly with custard and, of course, coffee. Time was when travelling the railway was a proper journey not a frustration at the slowness of the Wi-Fi, the inadequacy of the sandwiches and the voluminous chatter of businessmen on phones trying to impress others with their relevancy. Time was…​


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 24, 2020)

Time was when you could go almost anywhere by train, not each in their own separate boxes. It's easy to be nostalgic, I remember the smell of the big stations, it seems nostalgic now, but to be honest it wasn't very nice. And there would be the occasional no smoking carriage. And those carriage doors took off fingers and dumped people on the track.

Bet that was fun writing it though 

I did think that maybe you should have quoted the poem for those who do not know it, so here it is,

Adlestrop
By Edward Thomas

Yes. I remember Adlestrop—
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop—only the name

And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.


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## ppsage (Jul 24, 2020)

I've been reading nineteenth century history for a while now, with frequent dips into original material. The grammar here sort of reminds me of that. Unabashed, I might call it; exultant in it's subtle finery. An age when telling people complicated stuff was the art. The vocabulary too, but not so much the words as the apparent care taken to make them settle down together fruitfully. Makes me nostalgic for the literature, especially if transmitted orally. I don't really share too much the author's nostalgia for the actual living. Back then there was way more proletariat than bourgeoisie, and I don't fancy the odds. And I don't like farming. Fun to read. Puts me a little in mind of Watson's Poacher if going the way of a longer composition were a consideration.


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## Bloggsworth (Jul 25, 2020)

Travel was, then, part of the whole experience, not merely an interuption between place A and B. Today the government is spending years and £Billions blighting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, devastating the country and wildlife, in order to get from London to Birminghan 20 minutes faster - Really! Just get up 20 minutes earlier you lazy b*****ds. The world will not stop turning and, incidentally, it would be cheaper to move Birmingham nearer to London. Mind you, nowadays Southern Rail has been known to provide an excellent view of the countryside, quite frequently without distraction of velocity...


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 25, 2020)

I suppose the idea of moving Birmingham closer to London is only natural to a Londoner. But wait! If we moved London closer to Birmingham it would also be closer to quite a large part of the country, not Devon and Cornwall, but nothing is close to them anyway. The added bonus would be that one could leave Heathrow behind, and turn the M25 into a toll circuit for nutters in fast cars to kill themselves on. Without London in the way the rail services could easily be linked north to south, Euston to Charring X, St. Pancras to London Bridge, Paddington to Victoria with main lines that went straight through using existing, and now redundant, road bridges.

I am not sure what lies about ten miles south of Birmingham, but I bet it would be cheap if we didn't tell them what it was for. Radical, new ideas, that's what we need to revitalise the economy, not high speed trains and face masks, the Japanese already did that.


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## petergrimes (Jul 25, 2020)

Solihull, Dorridge, Knowle, to be precise. Not quite central London. But house prices in Solihull can go from 125,000 to several million and then there's Birmingham International Airport, the NEC. I don't know if it would fly. And I'm not anti-southerner in any way at all (cough) but leave Brum alone. Stick that London place on Boris island or something. We don't want you southerners round our way with your webbed feet and pointy heads. My mam warned me about youse lot. Cockenknees and Morris Dancers. We built that M25 to keep youse lot stuck inside. Stay there or there will be a new Brexit. Birmingham First.


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 26, 2020)

You can't fool me petergrimes, We know it's all flat caps and whippets once you pass Watford, just north of Birmingham is where the ice tundra and polar bears start isn't it?


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## petergrimes (Jul 26, 2020)

Typical small brained southerner, always stereotyping everyone. Bloody Liberal Elite. Well I've got news for thee. Being dead clever like I've solved how we can get rid of London forever. See there was this thing called Brexit and it was like a divorce and we had to pay Europe loads of money. But they're bigger and richer than us. It's like they've got to keep the car and we got nowt in return. Just an abstract concept (whatever that means). I say we take Alsace Lorraine or Aquataine (Eleanor wouldn't mind) they were ours anyways and we could move London over to French Land or Disneyland Paris or whatever its called nowadays. Dig a tunnel to it. There see, I've solved Brexit and London. Now we just need to worry about those Nationalists with a socialist agenda and nuclear weapons north of the border. Socialist Nationalists, I don't trust em.


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## dither (Jul 31, 2020)

Bloggsworth, I can't tell you how your OP resonates with me but I shall try. First off, I do regret being born just too late to experience the " soot 'n' steam " era, although maybe I just hadn't been, fully aware, had neither need nor the opportunity to make use of it. It was just something that other people did.

Does anybody miss the old St.Pancras? How did that old Supertramp track go? You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone...... Just being there, smelling, tasting, the air. Okay, time doesn't stand still, and, I guess, it had to go,  let's be honest, it was a health-hazard. Life eh?

Closer to home, I only ever visited the old SP a couple of times.

The old Derngate  bus-station in Northampton, god knows how long it had stood there and big enough to house a football pitch I would think. There was a the seated waiting  area, wooden benches, that ran  the whole length of the station, with walkways on  both sides, and at both ends  subways that led you down to the public loos and/or up to the ground floor of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre.

Anyway, the old Derngate;

A steel and glass partition with doorways at designated terminals divided the waiting area from part where the buses actually came and went. Buses that were not in use idled there, they  refueled there and although that partition went right up to the roof, if you licked your lips they would sting because of the dirty air thick with the taste of diesel fumes, not to mention cigarette-smoke. My fondest memory was of two old downans who patrolled those walkways searching for cigarette butts. I often wondered if they met up and shared the spoils. Who WERE they? Where did they come from where did they go? Were those walkways   highly prized pitches,  fought over and defended , and at what cost?

Memories...... What I wouldn't give to go back there and just sit for a while.

Life eh?


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 31, 2020)

> How did that old Supertramp track go? You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone..



I am sure that's Big yellow taxi by Joni Mitchell, didn't Melanie do a version as well?


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## dither (Jul 31, 2020)

Olly Buckle said:


> I am sure that's Big yellow taxi by Joni Mitchell, didn't Melanie do a version as well?



You're probably right Mr.Buckle. JM would be favourite I think.


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## Bloggsworth (Jul 31, 2020)

petergrimes said:


> Typical small brained southerner, always stereotyping everyone. Bloody Liberal Elite. Well I've got news for thee. Being dead clever like I've solved how we can get rid of London forever. See there was this thing called Brexit and it was like a divorce and we had to pay Europe loads of money. But they're bigger and richer than us. It's like they've got to keep the car and we got nowt in return. Just an abstract concept (whatever that means). I say we take Alsace Lorraine or Aquataine (Eleanor wouldn't mind) they were ours anyways and we could move London over to French Land or Disneyland Paris or whatever its called nowadays. Dig a tunnel to it. There see, I've solved Brexit and London. Now we just need to worry about those Nationalists with a socialist agenda and nuclear weapons north of the border. Socialist Nationalists, I don't trust em.



Cheeky bu**er - I'm 50% Yorkshire and 50% Cornish - Metropolitan southerner indeed!


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## petergrimes (Jul 31, 2020)

Mr Bloggsworth,

please allow me to humbly apologise, I hadn't realised you were a mongrel  . The source of my displeasure was solely directed at Mr Buckle, southerners, the SNP, Euro Disney, Morris Dancers and Welsh Male Voice Choirs (although I realise i never mentioned them in previous post). I am shortly about to embark on a holiday, a very rare occurence, to Gorran haven, I dearly hope that my disingenous nonsense comments will not preclude me from being allowed to enter the county. Sorry for hi jacking your thread. All the best PG


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 31, 2020)

We used to go to Gorran Haven in the Spring bank holiday when the kids were young, had some great times there. Dunno if the beach cafe is still there, they used to do a great crab sandwich, thirty years ago.


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## petergrimes (Jul 31, 2020)

I used to go every summer. It will be strange going back. I'm very much looking forwards to it. I first went when I was 3 or 4 so I too would have been their over 30 years ago. I'm staying in a house for a week. Its got internet so you'll probably hear about it. No doubt I'll end up putting some dross in the poetry workshop about the sea. Cheers Olly. much appreciated PG


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 1, 2020)

petergrimes said:


> Mr Bloggsworth,
> 
> please allow me to humbly apologise, I hadn't realised you were a mongrel  . The source of my displeasure was solely directed at Mr Buckle, southerners, the SNP, Euro Disney, Morris Dancers and Welsh Male Voice Choirs (although I realise i never mentioned them in previous post). I am shortly about to embark on a holiday, a very rare occurence, to Gorran haven, I dearly hope that my disingenous nonsense comments will not preclude me from being allowed to enter the county. Sorry for hi jacking your thread. All the best PG




Talking of Peter Grimes, Benjamin Britten was president of our school choral society in sunny Suffolk - He autographed his photo in my Letts Schoolboy's Diary in about 1960.

My mother came from West Looe, which is where we lived in the second half of the 40s - Jeez I'm old...


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## petergrimes (Aug 1, 2020)

Mr Bloggsworth,

you are, to my knowledge, the first person who has ever made the connection on the whole of WF (I actually live on Curlew River) - despite my mentioning it in my hello message (although I assume not many read those). I read somewhere that he actually based the Opera on a poem! Which is weirdly fitting since I started writing poetry since I joined WF. To be honest I don't like Opera but I like the Sea Shanties from Grimes and I've gradually built up some knowledge of it from when Radio 3 and Classic Fm play Opera concurrently (should be a law against it). I do like Britten though, the Interlude in Ceremony of Carols sticks in the mind just now. I don't know much about him though, but much more now thanks to you. Cheers much appreciated. I suppose that car you drive must feel quite modern to you. Good innings, keep churning out the runs. All the best PG


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## Taylor (Aug 1, 2020)

Lovely imagery!  I could hear it and smell it.  You made me think of how grateful I am that I got to experience the world before cell phones, networks and internet.

One observation.  The title doesn't seem to match.  What am I missing?


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## Olly Buckle (Aug 1, 2020)

Taylor said:


> One observation.  The title doesn't seem to match.  What am I missing?


See the second post, first line of the last verse.


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## Taylor (Aug 1, 2020)

Olly Buckle said:


> See the second post, first line of the last verse.



Ahh...of the poem.  I enjoyed the narrative so much I didn't do my research on the inspiration!


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 3, 2020)

petergrimes said:


> Mr Bloggsworth,
> 
> you are, to my knowledge, the first person who has ever made the connection on the whole of WF (I actually live on Curlew River) - despite my mentioning it in my hello message (although I assume not many read those). I read somewhere that he actually based the Opera on a poem! Which is weirdly fitting since I started writing poetry since I joined WF. To be honest I don't like Opera but I like the Sea Shanties from Grimes and I've gradually built up some knowledge of it from when Radio 3 and Classic Fm play Opera concurrently (should be a law against it). I do like Britten though, the Interlude in Ceremony of Carols sticks in the mind just now. I don't know much about him though, but much more now thanks to you. Cheers much appreciated. I suppose that car you drive must feel quite modern to you. Good innings, keep churning out the runs. All the best PG



I learned to drive, in 1957, when I was 12, I've been doing it a long time now... That's me in my avatar, in a car I built with a friend (he did most of te real work).


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## petergrimes (Aug 16, 2020)

Hi Mr Bloggsworth,

(I would call you Joe but fear that might be overfamiliar), sorry I forgot to reply and then went on holiday. Yes, I very much like your car (I have the number 21 on the back of my Wolves shirts, great minds), I certainly can see the sense in building your own, lots of the poeple who are members of my Working Mens Club build Land Rovers. I know they have robot overseers but still, I'd trust your friend. I very much like the look of the suspension. 12 seems reasonable to me, for in those days it was naturally assumed that people had common sense and could think for themselves.

Being the first time I've randomly and rudely hijacked somebodies thread. I thought I should do the decent thing and read the original post. I really like it. The writing is excellent. Its so evocative of a world i'll never know, that one glimpses from within the pages of a book or on a TV show but one can never really know. For you it is as real as yesterday and me a ghostlike dream, like trying to explain to my Nephews my youth of a dial phone and no internet, it was just normal reality. Nothing changes but nothing stays the same, but the moon and the sun in the east.

PG


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