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Jill

J

Jill

master brummie
Gossip

Tittle-tattle, idle chatter,
Truth to the gossip doesn't matter,
"What do you think? - no smoke without fire",
Just pass it on and then retire
With quiet glee the better to hear,
The malice pass from mouth to ear,
And as they damn, with voices hushed,
A reputation bites the dust.

As you read this, search your mind,
Have you been similarly so unkind?
Have you passed on without a thought,
A snippet of gossip? You really ought
To consider the impact, the lasting effect,
And forever resolve to be more circumspect.
 
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A Day at the Lickey Hills.

We’re off to the Lickies for a family day out,
We travel by tram, how it shakes us about,
I’ll probably be sick, I usually am,
But that’s one of the perils of going by tram.

When we arrive we rush to the fair,
Have a go on the swing boats, the wind in our hair,
The dodge ‘em cars next then off to the shop,
For a packet of crisps and a bottle of pop.

Watch candyfloss made; it appears from thin air,
Gossamer threads like fairies hair.
An enormous pink cloud, delicious to eat,
No calories to count, just a wonderful treat.

Hill to be climbed and woods to explore,
Trees and flowers and insects galore,
Look very closely, face in the green,
See all the details not usually seen.

Grass stained and dusty we return down the track,
It’s been a great day but it’s time to go back.
Now sleepy and quiet, little said,
Soon be home and straight to bed.
 
That's really how it was for most of us Jill. It seemed for ever to get there
from Erdington and we were dead tired when we finally arrived home. I have a friend who lives in Rubery and whenever I come home he takes me to the Lickey's for a walk round. Last time the bluebells were everywhere. Thanks for posting.
 
Lickey Hills.

I used to go to the Lickeys on the tram and spend every last penny so I had to walk back home to Coleman Street ( quite a walk ) but during the "conker"
season it was'nt so bad and went home with a rucksack full of conkers.
One time I left them on a tram, I went to see if they had been found but never did get them back, lost them rucksack and all
 
Ger22van. My Mom did the same as you once. Spent every penny then had to walk all the way back to Farm Street. She didn't alf cop it when she got home late.

Luckily we live in Rubery now so not so far to walk bck home. She's 71 now but we still go walking over the Lickey's, it's our back yard.
 
Beatrice. You are in a great area. I cannot walk too far as my hips begin to ache, I shall have to take a drive around the area come the summertime as its the only way I seem to get about much these days. I was around there just a few years back and I cannot say that much had seemed to have changed apart from the trams had disappeared of course. Oh and I noticed that the conker trees were still around on the way up the Bristol Road.
PS. I did see the Photograph with you and your Mom outside the Cemetery.
 
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Jill, just a wonderful little poem. I enjoyed it very much. Took me back to the days of trams with open ends going full out down the tracks in the centre of the road and yes they did rock about a bit at speed. Was not the same day out, somehow, when the trams dissapeared.
Well done indeed and I hope there will be more.
 
Many thanks for all your responses. I'm not very good at poetry but tried very hard to capture the flavour of how things felt back then.
Postie: What a great picture. Jill:)
 
That picture of the Tram Loop helps to conjure up lots of memories about visiting the Lickey Hills all those years ago. You couldn't hang about when you went on this outing. Off the trams and following everyone as they made their way up the hill to reach the woods and picnicing areas. If you lagged behind you could easily lose sight of your family and would have to run and catch up. There were so many areas to explore and no one seemed to be in a hurry unless it started raining which it did on one visit on a Bank Holiday.
The rain was pouring down and everyone headed down the hills at once to the Tram Loop to get out of the rain and on to a tram.
There were so many saturated people arriving at the Loop and no trams in sight. Mom's with armfuls of bluebells, bags and children. The Transit Inspectors trying to find a telephone box to get through to the Garage to send out more trams, which literally arrived all at once, sending people down the tracks for several hundred yards in order to climb up the steps and into the tram.
The heavy wet atmosphere inside when the tram finally started it's
long journey. The rain drumming on the roof and everyone hoping it would stop before they alighted from the tram. Such memories you never forget.
 
Can't think why the trams were not retained on that route. It was straight and for a large part of the trip the trams were separated from other traffic on their own central unpaved strip. An ideal situation really.
 
Rupert. I did feel the same about them being discontinued, I think I had read somewhere that it was because they became too costly to run. It would have been great if they had kept them on that particular route.
When I remember those long queues along Navigation Street there never seemed to be enough trams to clear the queues.
 
Gerr, One route and the rest of the trams from all over Brum. They would have had enough spares for our lifetime. They would have hed to give the drivers something to sit on though. Trams still run in Blackpool the Birmingham Riviera.
 
Rupert. Thats right, Why is it they could not think of that? What an attraction it would be in Birmingham today.
 
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