Author Archives: tyldesleyboy

My mammy made munitions in the war Her labour needed Domestic service o’er And then she married Four children she did bear And brought us up with ever loving care   And when my father’s health Had broken down She went out to work In the local town   Auxiliary nursing first she found AndContinue reading “Care”

When my father died I did not know I had so many tears How I cried!   My father’s hands Coalminer’s hands Hard skin Miner’s pride   Those hands that held me as a child Arrested Himmler Brought war to an end   Held a pint And rosary beads A father and a friend  Continue reading “Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine”

Good pubs are sacred spaces To gather people in Log fire in ingle nook Tonic for your gin Proper pint to welcome you Sit and have your fill Solve the problems of the world Remedy for ill   Back room at the Oxford Arms Pint of Guinness then Real ale in the Greyfriar Chawton’s blessedContinue reading “Shall We Go For One?”

The price of butter has shot up See what Putin’s done! Cost of living through the roof Since Putin got his gun   And people die in Africa A war there in Tigray Northern Ethiopia A long long way away   And Boris Johnson played hard nut Twenty-five years ago Bulldog Johnson Churchill style WouldContinue reading “Where Are We?”

The child who escaped into Egypt Did not escape for long Thirty years or so Enough to end his song   Quiet days in Nazareth Happy peaceful home Suddenly are ended When he went to roam   Many lives are ended Long before they should Brutal crimes surround us Like the nailing to the woodContinue reading “Holy Innocents”

Images and pictures Stories written down Scriptures you can read And not alone Community of people We disciples all The Eucharist to gather us Feed us lest we fall   The Spirit moves within us Among us and abroad The power and the wisdom Of the living Lord And daily prayer to guide us ToContinue reading “Living Lord”

Every time they come Hide and Seek we play The joy of being found After clever hideaway   Peter and John come running They’ve taken him away Where now will they find him? On this Easter Day   Grave clothes here are lying Body did not stay Now the light is dawning Witness is the wayContinue reading “On the Feast of Saint John”

If I want what’s best for you And you what’s best for me There’ll be an end to warring And all hostility And even when we are at odds And cannot get along The very least that we can do Is avoid all doing harm   It makes no sense to harm and hurt SomeoneContinue reading “Find The Words”

Swindale Beck meanders as before Its gentle curves hold treasure at its core It ripples over shallows and rumbles in deep pools Back to its old self and rid of fools   Men rid it of its wander taking out its bends They straitened it – canal cut – a line that never ends AndContinue reading “Nature’s Highway”

The Lord himself We call the prince of peace He himself lived in the Roman Peace A peace enforced by soldiers A peace on people pressed A quiet life in Nazareth no less   But a quiet life of wood and nails Came one day to their end He set out on the preaching gameContinue reading “The Quiet Life”

Something has to happen On Christmas night it did The Lord was born a saviour From worldly eyes though hid   Something has to happen On Calvary it did He died to set us free From every sinful bid   Something has to happen On Easter morn it did Christ rose from the tomb EvenContinue reading “A Happening”

I’ve been to Rome for Christmas mass And listened to the Pope And then I went to Sligo To Collooney And heard a lovely sermon There tonight About a girl of five years old And a present for her dad Which when opened was found empty Not a thing   It’s not empty said theContinue reading “Secret Love”

When I was a boy The cotton mill loomed large Above the town And Ward and Goldstone’s factory At the bottom of Shakerley Road And coalmines by the dozen Were dotted here and there And coal-fired steam engines Ploughed through the dusty air   And men went into Paddy’s Hump To play a game ofContinue reading “Time Was”

People don’t believe Apparently Numbers now are falling So they say We are humanist or atheist Many say ‘don’t know’ Agnostic that’s the word And that’s the way   But lots of things we do know That’s a fact Science is a wonder Where it’s at And philosophy is good for us Helps us understandContinue reading “The Way”

A friend of mine from long ago Has died In a nursing home in Birkenhead On Merseyside A fanatical supporter of the Reds And a Red to boot Priest Redemptorist   Spent his life in Africa Most of Came home some years ago Retirement age Retired across the Mersey Where life had first begun NowContinue reading “Tony Hunt”