Binsted When I Was A Child 1950 60s

A Memory of Binsted.

SUMMER IN BINSTED

I remember summer!
It was more than one week in May
I remember it lasted six whole weeks

I remember summer!
It started with a train journey -
I remember great clouds of steam!

Haymaking, harvesting
Mice running for their lives!
Corn stooks, threshing
Juddering and jarring

Playing cricket non-stop
Stalks scratching little legs
Mr Bunce’s horse and cart
Secrets in the village shop

Long walks and church bells
Visiting the cousins
Rooks cawing, cows milking
Farm sights and country smells

The river where I learnt to swim
The little general shouting
He may have ruled a battlefield
But not my life and limb!

Hop picking, green fingers
Great fires, drying rooms
Swinging over slatted floors -
And still the smell lingers!

I remember summer
It ended with a train journey -
I remember great clouds of smokey steam!

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