David Bridgeman-Sutton continues his poetical musings
Anthology Part 2
*Model train enthusiasts see footnote
Organists are not the only musicians to face difficult times, as these plaintive lines reminds us:
There was a young woman called Shampersand,
Cornet in the municipal bampersand;
Overcome by the heat,
She fell in the street,
But arose when heartily fampersand.
W Shakespeare (attrib.) :-)
Cornet in the municipal bampersand;
Overcome by the heat,
She fell in the street,
But arose when heartily fampersand.
W Shakespeare (attrib.) :-)
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They are cheered by a shared love of railways. Expert ears recognised a driver's style as readily as that of an instrumentalist:
K .C. pulled up that Reno hill,
Whistled for the crossin' with an awful shrill. Switchman knew by the ingine's moans That the man at the throttle was K.C. Jones. (anon) |
Pic. 1
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There is a vantage point where organists would gather at holiday time just to watch expresses. W.H. Auden may have stood there when he wrote in Night Mail:
Past cotton grass and moorland boulder,
Shovelling white steam over her shoulder,
Snorting noisily as she passes
Silent miles of wind-bent grasses;
Birds turn their heads as she approaches,
Stare from the bushes at her blank-faced coaches;
. . . In the farm she passes no one wakes,
But a jug in a bedroom gently shakes.
Shovelling white steam over her shoulder,
Snorting noisily as she passes
Silent miles of wind-bent grasses;
Birds turn their heads as she approaches,
Stare from the bushes at her blank-faced coaches;
. . . In the farm she passes no one wakes,
But a jug in a bedroom gently shakes.
Well-behaved to a man and woman, they turn, appalled, from the doings of The Everlasting Percy:
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For several years I was so wicked
I used to go without a ticket And travelled underneath the seat Down in the dust of people's feet. |
Pic. 2
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Things got worse with Percy:
From 1922 to 4
I leant against the carriage door
Without a-looking at the latch;
And once, a-leaving Colney Hatch,
I put a huge and heavy parcel
Which I were taking to Newcastle,
Entirely filled with lumps of lead,
Up on the rack above my head...
I leant against the carriage door
Without a-looking at the latch;
And once, a-leaving Colney Hatch,
I put a huge and heavy parcel
Which I were taking to Newcastle,
Entirely filled with lumps of lead,
Up on the rack above my head...
And worse. . .
I grew so careless what I'd do
Throwing things out, and dangerous too,
That last and worst of all I done,
I threw a great sultana bun
Out of the train at Pontypridd. . .
(E.V. Knox)
Throwing things out, and dangerous too,
That last and worst of all I done,
I threw a great sultana bun
Out of the train at Pontypridd. . .
(E.V. Knox)
John Betjeman was more decorous and reflective:
We knew the different railways by their smells.
The City and South London reeked like a changing room;..
The Central London, with its cut-glass shades
On draughty stations, had an ozone smell-
Not seaweed-scented ozone from the sea
But something chemical from Birmingham.
We knew the different railways by their smells.
The City and South London reeked like a changing room;..
The Central London, with its cut-glass shades
On draughty stations, had an ozone smell-
Not seaweed-scented ozone from the sea
But something chemical from Birmingham.
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Finally, Skimbleshanks, T.S. Eliot's railway cat travelling on Auden's night mail:
You may say that by and large it is Skimble who's in charge Of the Sleeping Car Express. From the driver to the guards to the bagmen playing cards He will supervise them all, more or less..... He establishes control by a regular patrol And he'd know at once if anything occurred. |
Pic. 3
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It's not all work, however:
In the watches of the night he is always fresh and bright;
Every now and then he has a cup of tea
With perhaps a drop of Scotch while he's keeping the watch,
Only stopping here and there to catch a flea
...........................
He gives you a wave of his long brown tail
Which says "I'll see you again!
You'll meet without fail on the Midnight Mail
The Cat of the Railway Train."
Every now and then he has a cup of tea
With perhaps a drop of Scotch while he's keeping the watch,
Only stopping here and there to catch a flea
...........................
He gives you a wave of his long brown tail
Which says "I'll see you again!
You'll meet without fail on the Midnight Mail
The Cat of the Railway Train."
David Bridgeman-Sutton,
November 2, 2003
November 2, 2003
Picture captions/credits:
1. Share Certificate in former NZR Ja locomotive1274.
2. "Shovelling white steam over her shoulder" (L.M.S./B.R.)
3. Inspecting the Passengers ~computer realisation Bessye Lechatte
1. Share Certificate in former NZR Ja locomotive1274.
2. "Shovelling white steam over her shoulder" (L.M.S./B.R.)
3. Inspecting the Passengers ~computer realisation Bessye Lechatte
Something special for model train enthusiasts:
We just happen to know that the Hereford Model Centre, (sales@herefordmodels.co.uk)
4 Commercial Road Hereford HR1 2BA - tel 01432 352809
is a marvellous, marvellous place to appreciate the finer art of trains and models. Just so you know...
Also, train poster enthusiasts can wallow to their hearts content in Railposters - A good site for people bitten with both the organ bug and the railway bug! Beverley Cole sells, buys and advises on railway pictorial art of all kinds and of all ages.
We just happen to know that the Hereford Model Centre, (sales@herefordmodels.co.uk)
4 Commercial Road Hereford HR1 2BA - tel 01432 352809
is a marvellous, marvellous place to appreciate the finer art of trains and models. Just so you know...
Also, train poster enthusiasts can wallow to their hearts content in Railposters - A good site for people bitten with both the organ bug and the railway bug! Beverley Cole sells, buys and advises on railway pictorial art of all kinds and of all ages.