THE STOURBRIDGE WAR MEMORIAL: VICTORIOUS PEACE & THE FURTIVE GLANCE... A NEW POEM...

Victorious Peace & The Furtive Glance

She leans, clutching a furled flag  

And a bronze wreath which proclaims peace;

She exudes confidence and drama,

Her blessing of the dead and the trauma

Now permanent, resolute, heartbreaking

And the benevolence in her pose is curiously striking…

He turns, furtively eyeing the viewer

And raindrops bead upon a rueful expression,

Like sweat about tired, strained eyes,

Which display disdain for all the lies

Or the cruel reality of the undertaking:

And resigned, he trudges behind a tank, unyielding…

A smirking infantryman turns and leers,

A despatch rider grimaces his determination;

An officer checks his charges, assessing their fears

And the advance continues in silent contemplation…

A heavy naval gun for firing prepares,

A grim, grafting crew hauls each heavy shell;

An officer through his binoculars stares

And barefooted sailors await the onslaught of hell…  

Pete Ray

July 2020

Stourbridge’s war memorial which features in Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge.

Once situated in the High Street, the memorial’s main figure represents Victorious Peace, whilst the fine images of infantrymen, engineers, a despatch rider and a tank on one bronze panel are splendid.

On another panel the excellent scene is aboard a ship and the sailors are preparing shells for the large naval gun…

Impressive… 

   

   

BRIERLEY HILL'S WAR MEMORIAL: WEATHERED, ENDURING... (A NEW POEM...)

Weathered, Enduring…

Weathered, like an ancient limestone figure,

Disfigured, as if mutilated

By enemy shrapnel,

The infantryman lurches forth still, 

His bayonet fixed with vigour,

His determination and rigour

Towering over hometown Brierley Hill…

For freedom, for homeland,

For kindred, for righteousness…

Weathered, like ancient marble reliefs,

Disfigured, as if damaged

By historic whim,

The tableaus tell wartime tales still,

Their depictions faded like grief,

Their raw truths and beliefs

Commanding, over modern Brierley Hill…

For freedom, for England,

For kindred, for consciousness…

Pete Ray

July 2020  

Brierley Hill’s war memorial which towers over the town on Church Hill…

The four phrases ‘FOR FREEDOM, FOR HOMELAND, FOR KINDRED, FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ appear on the four faces of the memorial…

The scenes have been badly damaged by weather and also probably by the area's industrial past but the main feature, the attacking stone-sculpted infantryman has also become disfigured, almost ironic in that so many servicemen were disfigured during First World War combat…

The soldier is reputed to be based on Stanley Harley, a Brierley Hill chap who won a Distinguished Conduct Medal during World War One…

Work is being carried out around the memorial at present which made photography on a dull and showery day rather difficult…

FALMOUTH: A NEW POEM TO ACCOMPANY GILLIAN JANSEN'S ARTWORK...

Then & Now: Lolling Like Floating Barrels

(from a picture by the artist Gillian Jansen)

Then the tubs rolled and lolled,
Like they were shaking their sterns

With a rhythmical momentum, 

The Jack Russell having gained its sea-legs,

Whilst the gull’s expression sours
At the lifting and shifting of the hold

And its bobbing and throbbing ad infinitum…

Now the vessels wrench and lurch in sprightly

Manner, as if performing for the huddled

Seafront dwellings, the congregation

 Of the parish church nestled, stony grey;

Yet overseeing this display of a brightly

Hued harbour and seabirds, befuddled,

Lies Pendennis Castle, a fascination,

Its dominance impressive above Falmouth Bay…    

Pete Ray

July 2020 

WILMCOTE: THE CANAL NEAR STRATFORD UPON AVON TODAY...

KERB COURT SOCCER: SHARD END, BIRMINGHAM...

Kerb Court Soccer

Lines of tar marked a makeshift court

Upon a road then bereft of vehicular obstructions;

I defended my kerb with such pride and fought

To beat a Blues fan, despite the restrictions…

Scoring goals, the first to ten, was a race

Of folly, accuracy and unpredictability;

Kicking a tennis-ball to hit the face

Of the opponents kerb took more than ingenuity…

Struck hard and low enough, the ball

Might rebound across the centre-line

Which regained possession, to the Blues fan’s gall,

For his margins of defeat were rarely fine…

Hours of sets were played in Nearmoor Road

But despite his extra reach, the Bluenose, taller

Never won and thus was unable to goad:

But that game honed my skills as a footballer…

Pete Ray

July 2020

WHERE WE PLAYED...
THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN THIS WEEK...

Nearmoor Road, Shard End, Birmingham, where I lived and played as a kid…

AN OLDER LAD, JOHN AND ME, BUT THE IMAGE SHOWS IAN'S HOUSE OPPOSITE AND THUS THE AREA WE PLAYED IN... 

The game was so good to play, shooting and defending only with one's feet, in a match a little like tennis…

OLDER AND OFF TO CORNWALL WITH BRIAN, WHERE HIS MUM'S CAR APPEARS TO BE DEFENDING MY KERB...

The best was when one could rap a hard shot to slap against the opponent's kerb and make it return across the centre-line, enabling a second attempt…

PRIMARY SCHOOL (HILLSTONE JUNIORS) KIT.
GREEN AND WHITE AND A LARGE NUMBER 6 ON THE BACK, WHICH I LOVED...

If the ball bounced against the kerb and over onto the pavement, it was no goal…

YES, SADLY, I'M WEARING A WOOLLEN VILLA HAT...

Blues = Birmingham City, of course…

IAN AND HIS SISTER HEATHER PLAYING CARDS WITH ME IN MY GARDEN...
(I'M IN THE LIGHTER SHIRT AND MY CAT RICKY IS SPRAWLED UPON THE GROUND...)

Amazingly, those markings are still in place on the road, for I drove over to Shard End the other day and took a picture…

BIDFORD ON AVON TODAY...