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Bildeston Bugle – Ed’s comment (May)

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A lad who lived near Chamberlin Hall,
penned some sheep in the Square by a wall.
But his mind wasn’t quite sound,
‘cause when he looked around
He was the only one there – April Fool!

This is a Limerick, with a nod to last month’s April Fool in the Bugle. Wednesday 12th May is National Limerick Day. Limericks are linked particularly with Edward Lear, whose limerick fame rests on four books for children that he wrote and illustrated, the first being ‘A Book of Nonsense’ in 1846. Lear didn’t invent the limerick. In the 1830s, he often stayed at Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool, where he found a book of limericks by John Marshall called Anecdotes and Adventures of Fifteen Gentlemen.

It is probable that the book used a limerick form that was already current in popular culture. They may have given Lear the idea of writing limericks to accompany his illustrations for children. He called them nonsense poems.

But how did the name ’limerick’ come into use in the first place? Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer, although there are several theories. The most popular is that it comes from an 18th century song called Will You Come Up to Limerick? At parties, guests would compose verses of this song, with the entire company joining in for the chorus. “…come to Limerick!” Several publications, dating from around this time, refer to this song and its connection to the limerick.

Limerick is a style of poetry that traditionally has 5 lines and has an AABBA rhyme pattern. This means that in a limerick, the words at the end of the first, second and fifth sentences rhyme, while the words at the end of the third and fourth sentence rhyme with each other. Traditionally, the first line of a limerick introduces a person and a place and the rest of the poem describes a humorous, often strange, situation involving the subject or the place.

Here are a couple more as the Bugle’s contribution to National Limerick Day!

There was a young fellow named Guy
Who just saw the world through one eye.
He says, if you ask,
“It’s because of this mask!”
And this virus is the reason why!
A young man whose face was bright red
Said I feel like I’d rather be dead.
Months have gone by
And my throat is quite dry,
I just need to be in the King’s Head!
Just a laugh, which is what we need as we near the end of Covid restrictions. It
might inspire you to compose a limerick. Send your ‘clean’ ones to the Bugle!!

Read the May Bugle in full online.

Bildeston Bugle – Ed’s comment (March)

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March is when certain events seem to be combining to help make sure the mood of the nation changes from despair to delight, sad to happy and from gloom to laughter. A definite pattern is emerging. For example the Post Office has issued a set of ‘Only Fools and Horses’ special range of stamps, showcasing the classic comedy of Only Fools and Horses. They are issued to celebrate forty years of this classic comedy. The 12 designs feature Del Boy, Rodney, Grandad, Uncle
Albert and other favourites. The stamps show some of Only Fools and Horses most iconic moments. One is where Del Boy falls through the bar as he says to Trigger: ‘Play it nice and cool son, nice and cool.’ A scene which has been voted one of the funniest ever, along with the wrong chandelier smashing to the floor!

The hit BBC comedy, which began in 1981, followed the lives of wheeler-dealer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter (David Jason), his hapless brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and their other family members and friends living on a Peckham estate. The series was followed by occasional specials until it ended in 2003, with Sir David and Nicholas reprising their roles for a Sport Relief special in 2014. Another March milestone is the centenary of Tommy Cooper’s birth. The hilariously unique comic was born on 19th March 1921. Although he was a respected member of the Magic Circle, it was the way he engineered his tricks to be unsuccessful that added so much to the comedy. Tommy Cooper was one of the most recognisable comedians on the stage and TV circuit, wearing a fez became his trademark, until his sad death on live TV in 1984. He wrote his own gags, such as:
I met my wife at a dance. I thought she was at home with the kids.
My wife complained that her feet hurt. I said: “You’ve got your shoes on the wrong feet.”
She said: “But these are the only feet I’ve got.”

I bought some HP sauce the other day. It’s costing me 20p a month for the next 2 years.

Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating
fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.

A man walked into the doctor’s, he said ‘I’ve hurt my arm in several places’. The doctor
said ‘well don’t go there any more’.

A statue of Cooper was unveiled in his birthplace, Caerphilly, in 2008 for Red Nose Day. This is the link to the third event in this theme of comedy in March 2021. This year on Friday 19th March, Tommy Cooper’s centenary, it is Red Nose Day. Comic Relief, which runs the event every two years, aims to “bring the UK together” by focusing on “laughter and helping others”. Lenny Henry says “we want to make you smile and bring you some laughter over the coming weeks!”
Comic Relief will launch ‘Share A Smile’. The idea is to display your favourite joke in your window. They explain: “Laughter can offer some temporary release from problems and so by encouraging people to put their favourite joke in their window, people power can get the nations laughing right across the UK, one home at a time.” How true, along with vaccination, laughter remains the best medicine!

You can read the full version of the Bildeston Bugle as a PDF, along with archived editions, on the Bildeston website Bugle page.

A selection of articles from the magazine will also be published in HTML versions on the news page.

Bugle Ed’s comment – June 2020

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Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone
Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody,
but nobody
Can make it out here alone

This is by the American writer Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014). It is an abridged version of her poem first published in 1975, but the sentiments are very appropriate for us in lockdown. Human beings, of all ages, are not meant to be alone, isolated, separated from each other by walls, windows or even a couple of metres. It’s unnatural because we are social creatures who thrive on simple, regular contact with friends and family. Keeping our distance is hard, not being able to shake hands when we meet friends or hug our dear ones, has been the hardest to bear. Of course we understand the reasoning behind the term ‘social distancing’ (more accurate would be to call it anti-social distancing!) and people’s obedience to it has been superb. But just when we need the close comfort of those we love the most, that is exactly what we are denied. Just when we need the combined strength of those around us, we cannot access it in the way we used to. Just when we need to get together, face to face, to share how we are all managing, and to laugh too, we are prevented.

If it wasn’t for the technology most of us now enjoy, the situation would be far worse. Some people have Smart phones, Facetime, Houseparty, Zoom, Facebook and other social media sites. At the very least we have what the phone was originally invented for, and just talk. But for families riven apart to keep their elderly and vulnerable relatives safe, it is excruciatingly hard not to be able to physically meet up. Many have missed special occasions, birthdays and anniversaries. All we know is that the catching up with all those we hold dear, and from whom we have been parted, is going to be one hell of a very special occasion!

The British way is to ‘keep calm and carry on’. Carry on by keeping our spirits up and having a laugh together. The British way is also to be creative, inventive and quick to get organised. Our village has demonstrated, along with many others, all those attributes. Our local community has pulled out all the stops to help ensure those in lockdown are not forgotten and not suffering any more than is necessary. Delivering food, medication and other basic supplies has been fantastic. Local shops and food businesses have been quick to adapt not only to help out people who cannot travel, but to stay viable as a business. We need our local outlets more than ever and hope their increased trade will continue long after lockdown is sorted out. Bildeston has pulled together proving Maya Angelou’s point that, ‘nobody, but nobody can make it out here alone.’

We are social distancing, keeping apart, but, ironically, we have never felt so together. Thank goodness we live in Bildeston, where no-one needs to feel alone.