A poem set in St Thomas
By John Barker
A friend of mine suggested, I should find the time to go,
To see a postcard collection that would shortly be on show.
It would be held at the weekend, so I found the time to spare,
Little did I expect to find the postcards I saw there.
A postcard caught my attention, I put my spectacles on to see,
And there before my very eyes, was my old primary class and me.
The picture was from nineteenth thirty seven. For the coronation of the King
We held a celebration tea party, with cream buns and everything.
All the children received a mug to commemorate the day.
Now sixty three years have gone, I still have mine I'm proud to say.
But the best part of this story is, most of the children of that class,
Could still fill those classroom chairs, all survivors of the past.
I saw lots of other postcards too, of great buildings now long gone.
All destroyed by bomb and fire, in my memories they live on.
Old open top charabancs taking people for a day out by the sea
And postcards of the seaside places they might be going to see.
Postcards of the River Exe. Weirs, bridges and the Quay,
Where I spent my boyhood fishing, a great adventure park for me.
Pictures of the old canal, where ships came through the lock
To unload petrol, coal and timber, in the Basin where ships dock.
But did I see a postcard of Dellers Ballroom in the City,
Where all the young men of the time danced with young ladies dressed so pretty?
And there playing in the band, a face I thought I knew.
I'm going to ask my friend Dennis, 'Was that your accordion and you?'
So my thanks to the ladies who arranged the Postcard Show.
It certainly brought back memories of my young days long ago.
People I had forgotten, brought back from obscurity.
I even met a girl from school, Christine, and she remembered me!
August 2000