• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Eamon 1943

Eamon1943

Eamon1943

knowlegable brummie
The good old days

Sutton Park was just a lark swimming in Keepers Lake
Bunking in at Banners Gate chances we did take

Pat Collins fair was always there exciting & so funny
Summer long we'd play along spending all our money

The Midland Red from Perry bar was exciting as a child
Mystery lurked at every stop imagination running wild

The Outer Circle was great to ride, we rode around all day
Stop to stop we'd dream our dreams & seldom had to pay

Sandwiches & a bottle of tea we'd ride upon that bus
Learning of the world outside; mesmerising us

Birmingham trams & trolley's were an eclectic sight to see
Clattering along with ringing bells; where a delight to me

The House that Jack Built Aston, where mothers use to shop
The Orient cinema up the street where people liked to stop

The Aston Hipp was a special treat, where famous people played
Post war years growing up; fond memories that were made

Roy Rogers with his wife & horse, on a balcony in our town
Waving to the crowds below Trigger looking down

Handsworth Park around the lake besides the ornate stand
Ted heath & his music; Dennis Lotus in the band

Handsworth Park way back then was a pleasant place to be
Flower shows & funfairs; great times we had with glee

The West End ballroom Saturdays was where we use to meet
Chatting up the pretty girls; we danced them off their feet

Eamon 1943




Jack the hat
I once knew to two nefarious characters; twins of ill repute
An air of quiet foreboding dressed up in a Saville Row suit

They ruled their East End kingdom by the bullet & the gun
They never took no prisoners suspicious of everyone

Once a young ex paratrooper; who thought he knew it all
Delusions in 60's London ,awaiting a mighty fall

Jack the Hat was a character; especially when I stole his hat!
He chased me around a night club; what do you think of that!

I must admit what I've said above was excitement at its best
There's more to life than gangsters I hereby do attest

Eamon1943
 
Last edited:
1943

Germans dropping bombs in 1943
into the chaos pops little baby me

Down into the shelter dark & cold
a dank dark place full of mould

The second world war ends in 1945
people dancing happy still alive

An exciting time was had by all
people celebrating the german fall

Rationing was a fact of life
at wars end still the strife

The years pass by and off to school
reading & writing the golden rule

My father was a butcher
in a busy Bull Ring shop

He was a popular character
where people liked to stop

My early days as a teenager
in the Bull Ring selling flowers

I enjoyed the eclectic atmosphere
loving those long hard hours

I sat a Merchant Navy exam
as I wanted to go to sea

father refused to sign the papers
and that seemed the end for me

Around came my eighteenth birthday
now I could have my say

I joined The Parachute Regiment
and off to the army hooray !
 
Last edited by a moderator:
An ode to my beautiful wife Maureen

Your wonderful mother married a paddy
A tall hansome man you've always called Daddy

He was advenurous & dashing & ever so kind
A person of character the best she could find

The years slipped bye keeping aging at bay
He's still the same person determined to stay !

Our children grew up in a blink of an eye
We are so fortunate & don't want to die

There is a date unfortunately written for all
As everyday passes we're awaitng that call

Age is a fight we're destined to lose
However you live whatever you choose

Our lives are a projection of memory & mind
Remember these words & always be kind.

Eamon1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Those were the days !

I wonder where all those girls are the ones I used to know
A lengthy span of sixty years the ones I kept in tow

Leggy blondes and brunettes all shapely in their prime
Thinking now of happy days recalling back in time

Saturdays at the Westend a ballroom now long gone
We'd stand and eye the talent and dance with anyone

The Cedar Club late at night were people liked to go
Eddie and his brothers and characters in the know

My ice cream van parked outside most girls thought it great
I gave them all free ice cream and kept them out till late

The 60's was the time to live as you ponder on this riddle
Working in The Bull Ring and spending all the fiddle !

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dads gone down the boozer

Women drinking in the snug doing all the chattering
Men bragging in the bar doing all the nattering

Kids on the pub steps crisps and pop to share
Dads p....d up again as if he doesn't care

Mom doing housework polishing and a scrubbing
Dads sneaks off again now he's gone out clubbing

There will be hell to pay when he staggers in
My mother on the doorstep with a rolling pin !

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A good woman

Mother was born in dublin in the year of our lord fourteen
A beautiful city by the sea best place Ive ever been

The long hot summer holidays adventure every where
Down to the lido at Portmarnoc life without a care

Daytrips to Howth & Dollymount picnicing by the sea
My mother & my three brothers & not forgetting me

Life was simple & innocent travelling by train & boat
Travel never bothered us as long as we stayed afloat

She worked as a seamtress & grew veggies in the yard
An elder sibling one of ten when times were very hard

Her father spent years at sea sailing the oceans wide
He use to tell me stories before he upped & died

So many happy moments growing up in a chaotic world
Living isn't just for grown ups as my life unfurled

The moral of what I've written as I sit here reading this
It's all about who you are scoring bullseyes not a miss

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A sailors life

I'd like to live on a sailboat to sail across the sea

An exit from this life I know just the boat and me

I'd sail across all seven seas adventures in my wake

Calling in to many ports decisions I would take

Maybe I could write a book as I sail far out at sea

Pages full of happy times lived by a younger me

Sailing into the unknown a passion I've always had

Maybe I'm a dreamer some would think me mad

Grandad was a sailor telling me stories of the sea

He'd sit me on his lap this is what he said to me

"Always stay on coarse boy the way you want to go

Never fear of failure lad as the tide moves to and fro "

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joe Fecker

I once knew a guy named Joe Fecker a humpback of irish descent
People looked on in amazement and pitied him crooked and bent

He worked on a stall in the Bull Ring selling his fruit & flowers
Old Joe was exploited by everyone working those long hard hours

Finally he had an operation to straighten his painful bent back
Now hes normal like everyone and going along the right track

Upright straight and attentive people look on with respect & content
Joe Fecker works in the Bull Ring whos back now straightened not bent !

Eamon 1943

}
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Conundrum

Where are your thoughts for tomorrow
are they inside your head

Could they be thoughts of yesterday
or might be today instead

Yesterday is a thought for tomorrow
if you consider where you're at today

Consider my thoughts as you read them
And understand what i've tried to say

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Stormy weather

Sailing on my stricken yacht upon a stormy sea
Looking for a harbour the nearest one to me

Ragged sails engine gone upon an ebbing tide
Abandon ship no option all my crew had died

All went overboard the violent storm did take
My crew lost forever mournful in my wake

A lonely forlorn figure survived an awful night
Lucky I'm still alive through a desperate fight

Ordeal finally over the dawn came breaking through
Do you like adventure ? sign on as my next crew!

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited:
Wintertime in Birdlip

Wintertime in Birdlip the snow was raining fast
Jamie in his Tesla car came slowly whizzing past!

Turning a straight crooked island by the Air Balloon
Racing up the hill knowing he'd be home real soon

He tried to avoid a snowman standing at the side
Jamie tried his best but the snowman fell & died

If you ever see a blue Tesla slowly whizzing past
Think of Jamie driving it could be your very last!

Eamon1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Old Brummagem

If you are shopping in Brummagem today
beware of a big surprise

The old town hall has been renovated
transformed before your eyes

Strolling down Colmore Row you'll pass The Grand Hotel
back in the 1960's I used to know it well

Snow Hill where we use to meet under the station clock
People walking past like a wandering flock

The station a hiss of steam as the engines came & went
Evacuation in the war years not knowing where we're sent

We as little children made to wear a gas mask & a tag
Our clothes clean & tidy wrapped up in a carrier bag

Over & across the street in the Kardomah coffee bar
Meeting friends & family & treated like a star

The Burlington Arcade just around from the Rackham's shop
Posh people use to shop there spending till they drop

Corporation Street & fancy shops girls who where so pretty
I have fond memories of our town good old Birmingham City

New street with expensive shops the Odeon on the right
I saw Ray Charles performing there what a cracking night

Walking by the Rotunda the Old Bull Ring down below
People loved to shop there trader barrows in a row

Mary Kelly was "the flower queen " a good age at ninety four
Sadly now Mary has passed the likes we'll see no more

Next to the old Woolworth's was my father's butcher shop
The only butcher in the Bull Ring were people liked to stop

Councillor Robbie Pryke was a small & dapper man
he wore a carnation & a bowler hat
selling eggs from his van

The wholesale market was exciting & the greatest place to be
Pulling a cart up St Martins ramp was tough enough for me

Starting at three in the morning lucky if we finished at twelve
Some tales I could tell you legally some I'll have to shelve

These ramblings I have written above thankfully of a happier time
Don't think my task is easy putting these memories to rhyme !

1734864219574.png
The old Bull Ring Birmingham

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Getting old !

Doctors & hospital appointments the bane of getting old
Pills ointments & CT scans are necessary I've been told

First thing in the morning when trying to limber up
Satisfaction in that first sip as you fill your cup

Mrs in the kitchen sizzling breakfast in the pan
I've got all I want in life I'm a very lucky man

Cutting grass & gardening I can't do that no more
Walking stick & hobbling stumbling across the floor

Blue badge & driving car these I can't do without
My only means of freedom & that's my final shout

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Old Para

Maida barracks in the sixties square bashing one two three
A sergeant & a corporal screaming orders down on me

Weeks of basic training ways of making you a man
Trainasium test of strength & nerve that is who I am

Basic Wales & mountain runs they think you are a sheep
Shouting out their orders disruptive lack of sleep

The log race & the milling a gruelling test of you
Painful exhaustive training finally gets you through

Abingdon in the hangers as we dangled from up high
Loading us into a basket hoisted up into the sky

Blackburn Beverley aircraft seemingly rather slow
Shuffle along in your harness & out the door you go !

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A long life

I've had a very interesting & long life
done most of what I wanted to do

Two wives four children & several grand kids
maybe another one or two

I went to Jersey for a long weekend
stopped longer than most

Two friends got killed in a car crash
now their employed as a ghost

Always wake up alive in the morning
listen what others have to say

knowledge is the secret to everything
that's how I enjoy my day

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited:
The last leg

My best friend at the moment is my trusty walking cane
preventing me from slipping while walking in the rain

No more marathons dicky knees & a failing dodgy heart
I wouldn't stand a chance now from the very start

I've cancelled all my gym fees & running for the club
They park me in the corner while drinking in the pub

The Swan at Chaddesley Corbett I've drank there for years
Old friends & pals I know drinking Bathams beers

There isn't many of us left now those who have gone before
I try my best to prevent that & want to live some more

Eighty two is a good age some might think I'm vain
If I could live this life over I'd do it all again

The moral of this tale above is do what you think is right
Smoking drinking & partying & keeping up the fight !

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A Lottery win !

Houses cars & holidays that's what done the trick
A lottery win at long last getting cash so quick

Lying back on a sandy beach lazing in the sun
Spending all that money our family having fun

Growing old and graceful in a mansion on a hill
Direct debits in the bank taking care of any bill

Paid ourselves a stipend a million pounds or more
Sufficient for all our needs , and holidays galore

I treated myself to a Bentley a Range Rover & a Jag
A suite in a five star hotel with your Hermes bag

All these lottery millions money we didn't earn
Relaxing in a bubbling spa spoilt at every turn

Maybe I'm a dreamer in the autumn of my life
Listen to the gatekeeper Maureen my patient wife

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Conundrum 2

Have you lived the day before tomorrow
is it the future or the past

Or is it the day after yesterday's tomorrow
the one you're living at last ?

Answer: tomorrow's yesterday !

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Springtime in Perry Barr

It was springtime in Perry Barr
the snow was raining fast

A barefooted local with wellies on
came slowly whizzing passed

He turned a straight crooked corner
to see a dead elephant die

He pulled out a knife to shoot it
and the elephant spat in his eye !

Eamon1943
 
Last edited:
“Simms is a fascinating figure who began by writing humorous verse and ended up as a voice for social reform. Under the pseudonym of Dagonet, he wrote a weekly column for The Referee called ‘Mustard and Cress’ beginning in 1877 and not missing one week until his death 45 years later.”

Another parody (Anon) on the monologue ‘It was Christmas Day in the Workhouse” by George Robert Simms (1847-1922)

It was Christmas in the workhouse,
The snow was raining fast,

A bare-footed man with clogs on
Came slowly whizzing past.

He turned a straight crooked corner
To see a dead donkey die,

He pulled out his gun to stab him
And the donkey spat in his eye.

Next day he went to the pictures.
He had a front seat at the back.

He fell from the floor to the gallery
And broke a front bone in his back.

(Anon)
 
Last edited:
Pedrocut said:
“Sims is a fascinating figure who began by writing humorous verse and ended up as a voice for social reform. Under the pseudonym of Dagonet, he wrote a weekly column for The Referee called ‘Mustard and Cress’ beginning in 1877 and not missing one week until his death 45 years later.”

Another parody (Anon) on the monologue ‘It was Christmas Day in the Workhouse” by George Robert Simms (1847-1922)

It was Christmas in the workhouse,
The snow was raining fast,

A bare-footed man with clogs on
Came slowly whizzing past.

He turned a straight crooked corner
To see a dead donkey die,

He pulled out his gun to stab him
And the donkey spat in his eye.

Next day he went to the pictures.
He had a front seat at the back.

He fell from the floor to the gallery
And broke a front bone in his back.





(Anon)
Click to expand...
Thanks, thats the one I remeber as a kid.
 

Albert Einstein: 'Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.'​

 

Some years ago we had just seen a "Dr John " gig at the "The Junction in Harborne" At 3 am in staggers Ozzy Osbourne
worse for wear ! With nothing more to do he goes behind a palm type plant & defecates !
Pat Kelly the [ late ] pub owner noticed this & flung Ozzy out into the middle of Harborne high street -hilarious
"Pop super star ejected out on his axxe " LOL

Eamon1943
 
Old Mug

I've just took a slug from my new King mug
a delightful experience for me

It improves the taste of that first sip
a beautiful mug of tea

As a present I couldn't wish for better
given at Christmas time

I'll take a last slug from my new king mug
and put these words into rhyme !

Eamon 1943
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top