Those Were the Days

during the Forties I was just a lad growing up was not so bad Summer evenings lengthened long clambered trees with birds in full song across nearby fields &over the brook studying in nature's real-timebook scaled branches for my egg collection wild flowers then pressed to perfection fishing for stickleback with jamjar and net oftimes slipping &getting wet boys' club in the old school hall indoor hockey i with a ragged ball gathering conkers on Chestnut Crescent for annual contests adolescent blue-paper fireworks fifth November, baked spuds in glowing ember around the streets carol singing boxes rattling lanterns swinging indelible magic memoir remembered scenes from afar Year first Posted 2007