Best Meccano Poems
I remember those days when just a kid,
the old ten shilling note, and the odd quid.*
Teddy boys in their drain pipes, fur collars
smelling of nicotine, street wise scholars.
Conkers,* glass alleys* and comics as well,
bow and arrows, gat* to ring the school bell.
Electric tram, trolley bus and steam train
holidays in Blackpool, not yet in Spain.
Left over stew, dripping dispersed on bread,
a choice of marg or jam, not both was spread.
Roly-poly pud with custard, oh yes
school dinners, oh the ridicule the stress.
Journey in to space radio drama,
while bathing in a tin bath pure karma.
Medicals at school and nit nurses too
combing for the eggs, washing with shampoo.
No drugs, only cigs in small packs of five,
fifty fifty dance halls, old and new thrive.
Outside loo, oh them freezing winter nights
oil lamps, a candle to enhance one’s lights.
High street fish and chip shop charging nine pence,
potato crisps, tab* of salt to dispense.
Tanners,* hape’ny’s* and those threp’ny* bits,
meccano sets, clockwork trains came in kits.
Motorbikes, British pride on just two wheels,
Triumph, BSA, a nation reveals.
Alas long gone these balmy days of laze,
happy to have played a part in this phase!
*Quid:::: A one pound note (UK)
*Conkers:;;; Game played with the fruit of the horse chest nut tree.
*Glass Alleys::::: A type of Marble for the game of marbles.
*Gat::::: A catapult, or slingshot..
*Tab::: One brand of crisps in the UK, place a small blue pack of salt in each packet
*Tanners:::: A sixpenny coin
*Hape’ny’s::: A halfpenny coin
*Threp’ny bit::::: A Threepenny 12 sided coin, also called Thrupence depending where one resided in the North of England
.
© Harry J Horsman 2012
Categories:
meccano, nostalgia, school, old, old,
Form:
Rhyme
AGE OF TEN
Way back then when I was ten
Things were so very different then
I wrote with ink in a fountain pen
Whenever we could we would build a den
And I loved to help my dad in the garden
Way back then when I was ten
I walked to school and was never late
Always ate everything on my dinner plate
Played hop scotch by the garden gate
And was not allowed to go to bed late
Way back then when I was ten
No television colours only black and white
Real Christmas trees and a glass fairy light
We all had a different size of trike
Then I got my first two wheeled bike
Way back then when I was ten
We had so much freedom to roam
But must be in for meals at home
Only a phone boxes with a dial phone
And no phone in many a home
Way back then when I was ten
Latest craze was roller skates
And hula hoop with your mates
Skipping ropes and Meccano gates
But lots of fun with wooden crates
Way back then when I was ten
Coins were in pounds shillings and pence
Mothers talked over the garden fence
Scooters that you could make go at such a pace
Noisy steam trains that always seem to race
Way back then when I was ten
With friends you played out doors
Toys for your imagination scatted on the floor
Skipping ropes, skates and many things more
Sledges of wood, a dolls house with opening doors
Way back then when I was ten
Fun was had with blackboard and chalk
Clay dolls that you could walk
And new plastic ones that wouldn’t talk
Then babies came by way of the Stork UNSUPPORTED CODE
Categories:
meccano, childhood, children, nostalgia,
Form:
Blank verse
Candles and nightlights flickering bright,
blackout curtains shutting out the moonlight.
Snuggle down cosy with blankets tight,
perhaps the war will end to-night.
Dripping setting from Sunday's roast,
spread so thick on Monday's toast.
Meat bones simmer on the old gas ring,
Pa's homemade soup,the 'real thing'.
Paper chains cut and glued,
beer in glass bottles brewed.
Christmas puddings with threepenny bits,
the Meccano present made to fit.
Sunday school outings upto Coombe hill,
my first ever train ride,so quite a thrill.
Walks over corn fields to the Bugle Horn,
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn.
A weekly soak in a round tin bath,
towelling off by a fire in the hearth.
A viewpoint from childhood scene,
growing up at sixteen,Beech green.
Categories:
meccano, childhood,
Form:
Rhyme
A TOUCH OF NOSTALGIA (Fitton Hill Story Group)
When we were little we would all gather our favorite toys – a fireman and ladder, an aircraft carrier and RAF plane, a wooden top and whip, with marbles in the rain.
We’d make our own toys, from shoeboxes and planks, houses and go-carts – whatever we could chance.
The best toys we ever saw were wooden bricks and Meccano, a walking, talking singing doll, Tin Can Alley and Lego. We’d peer at the train-set through the window of the toyshop with a slot outside where your coin would drop.
Our favorite games with friends we’d play. Snakes and ladders, hopscotch, darts on a rainy day, in the house and on the street. Through army games we’d make believe - “Gather the troops, prepare to battle bring your sticks, perfect your Sten Gun rattle!”
Categories:
meccano, introspection, kid, life, memory,
Form:
Verse
Toys from Yesteryear
Sitting very quietly, looking at a blank page
Prompted me to pen a poem about toys that were all the rage
I had some wooden jigsaw blocks when I was only two
In a wooden box with a shiny brass clasp
And a picture of Winnie the Pooh
I remember at the age of six, when I was given some stickle bricks
Plastic shapes so colourful, with brushes of small plastic fingers
Making a train of red, yellow and green, the memory of it still lingers
Then at the age of seven, I remember ‘coming a cropper'
When dared by my cousins to bounce up the street
On their big and orange space-hopper
When I was eight, my favourite toy was a plastic daredevil skydiver
Many parachute jumps from the top of the stairs, that guy was a true survivor
When I was nine, the Spirograph, a drawing toy based on gears,
Was my favourite toy to play with, watching marvellous patterns appear
At ten years old I found building with Meccano lots of fun
Metal strips and gears and nuts and bolts, invented in 1901
When I was eleven the Rubik’s Cube was really all the rage
With coloured squares, six sides of nine, a puzzle for any age
At the age of twelve, Shinsai Mystery was my fave
Two eight-hinged polyhedra could be folded into many shapes
At the age of thirteen, my baby brother was born
His favourite toy was Lego, my love of building things was reborn
There are many toys of yesteryear, would take ages to mention the rest
But for me, after all these years, Lego will always be the best
Categories:
meccano, childhood, nostalgia, remember,
Form:
Rhyme
A poet lost for words with writer’s block and barrage
Playing with Lego in Copenhagen
Anderson’s mermaid hard on the rock
Casting away the human soul
The artist failing construction in a mechanistic world
Retrieving Meccano
The pea shooter’s jammed and sour gun
Squirting marmalade
A philosopher's dislike of wisdom
Playing in Epicures’ garden
A pantomime screaming at a Buddhist retreat
Having a silent make over
The adult child lost in fun and peculiar games
Anticipating adoration
Homebound heaven’s firmament
Right below some funny grounds
22th July 2018
Categories:
meccano, encouraging,
Form:
Free verse
CANDLES&NIGHTLIGHTS
Candles and nightlights flickering bright,
blackout curtains shutting out the moonlight.
Snuggle down cosy with blankets tight,
perhaps the war will end to-night.
Dripping setting from Sunday's roast,
spread so thick on Monday's toast.
Meat bones simmer on the old gas ring,
Pa's homemade soup,the 'real thing'.
Paper chains cut and glued,
beer in glass bottles brewed.
Christmas puddings with threepenny bits,
the Meccano present made to fit.
Sunday school outings upto Coombe hill,
my first ever train ride,so quite a thrill.
Walks over corn fields to the Bugle Horn,
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn.
A weekly soak in a round tin bath,
towelling off by a fire in the hearth
Listen to me read this poem on youtube under name ichthyschiro
Categories:
meccano, childhood, nostalgia,
Form:
Bio
Candles and nightlights flickering bright,
blackout curtains shutting out the moonlight.
Snuggle down cosy with blankets tight,
perhaps the war will end to-night.
Dripping setting from Sunday's roast,
spread so thick on Monday's toast.
Meat bones simmer on the old gas ring,
Pa's homemade soup,the 'real thing'.
Paper chains cut and glued,
beer in glass bottles brewed.
Christmas puddings with threepenny bits,
the Meccano present made to fit.
Sunday school outings upto Coombe hill,
my first ever train ride,so quite a thrill.
Walks over corn fields to the Bugle Horn,
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn.
A weekly soak in a round tin bath,
towelling off by a fire in the hearth.
A viewpoint from childhood scene,
growing up at sixteen,Beech green.
Categories:
meccano, family, nostalgia,
Form:
Quatrain
CANDLES&NIGHTLIGHTS
Candles and nightlights flickering bright,
blackout curtains shutting out the moonlight.
Snuggle down cosy with blankets tight,
perhaps the war will end to-night.
Dripping setting from Sunday's roast,
spread so thick on Monday's toast.
Meat bones simmer on the old gas ring,
Pa's homemade soup,the 'real thing'.
Paper chains cut and glued,
beer in glass bottles brewed.
Christmas puddings with threepenny bits,
the Meccano present made to fit.
Sunday school outings upto Coombe hill,
my first ever train ride,so quite a thrill.
Walks over corn fields to the Bugle Horn,
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn.
A weekly soak in a round tin bath,
towelling off by a fire in the hearth
Categories:
meccano, childhood,
Form:
Rhyme
CANDLES and NIGHTLIGHTS
Candles and nightlights flickering bright,
blackout curtains shutting out the moonlight.
Snuggle down cosy with blankets tight,
perhaps the war will end to-night.
Dripping setting from Sunday's roast,
spread so thick on Monday's toast.
Meat bones simmer on the old gas ring,
Pa's homemade soup,the 'real thing'.
Paper chains cut and glued,
beer in glass bottles brewed.
Christmas puddings with threepenny bits,
the Meccano present made to fit.
Sunday school outings upto Coombe hill,
my first ever train ride,so quite a thrill.
Walks over corn fields to the Bugle Horn,
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn.
A weekly soak in a round tin bath,
towelling off by a fire in the hearth.
A viewpoint from childhood scene,
growing up at sixteen,Beech green.
Copyright © Brian Strand | Year Posted 2012
Categories:
meccano, childhood, nostalgia,
Form:
Rhyme
When I look back on my childhood
the pre-school days were the best
living as an only child in the country
although adopted was treated as a guest
In my bedroom, I played with my toys
lots of farm figures were such fun
felt like I had my very own farm
took a break when I went out to run
One of my favourites is Betta Build
to build little houses just like new
also loved my Meccano set
spent endless hours doing all I knew
AS a loner I loved my own company
spending quality time with just me
such sweet contentment to enjoy
gives you a feeling of being free
Having a stammer caused to be alone
but don't regret it, no not at all
for learned such a lot about myself
years later, able to ride over many a fall
(This is about autobiographical account of my childhood. The life I remember from my pre-school memories which were my favourite years.)
Categories:
meccano, childhood, memory, preschool,
Form:
Rhyme
Start life in a pushchair
end up in a wheelchair
that
doesn't sound fair to me
I'd like a parachute.
but we rise as we fall
keep our eyes
on the ball and
the game plays out as it will.
If life is a 'Gif'
I wonder if
but then I don't.
So for me
it's back to the Weetabix
the Sticklebricks
and plasticine
and taking forty winks in
the time it takes to
take five
because
I have a microwave bed,
(old jokes are the best)
modernity's killing me
but slowly and in an
old fashioned kind of way.
Categories:
meccano, crazy,
Form:
Rhyme
Candles & nightlights
flickering bright
blackout curtains
shutting out the moonlight
snuggle down cosy
blankets tight
perhaps
the war will end to-night
dripping setting
from Sunday's roast
spread so thick
on Monday's toast
meat bones simmer
..on the old gas ring
Pa's homemade soup
the 'real thing'
paper chains cut & glued
beer
in glass bottles brewed
Christmas puddings
with threepenny bits
the Meccano present
made to fit
Sunday school outings
upto Coombe hill
my first ever train ride
so quite a thrill
Walks over corn fields
to the Bugle Horn
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn
A weekly soak
in a round tin bath
towelling off
by open fire in the hearth.
a viewpoint from childhood
seen
growing up at
number sixteen Beech green
Year Posted 2012
Categories:
meccano, childhood, nostalgia,
Form:
Rhyme
CANDLES&NIGHTLIGHTS
Candles and nightlights flickering bright,
blackout curtains shutting out the moonlight.
Snuggle down cosy with blankets tight,
perhaps the war will end to-night.
Dripping setting from Sunday's roast,
spread so thick on Monday's toast.
Meat bones simmer on the old gas ring,
Pa's homemade soup,the 'real thing'.
Paper chains cut and glued,
beer in glass bottles brewed.
Christmas puddings with threepenny bits,
the Meccano present made to fit.
Sunday school outings upto Coombe hill,
my first ever train ride,so quite a thrill.
Walks over corn fields to the Bugle Horn,
crisps and lemonade upon their lawn.
A weekly soak in a round tin bath,
towelling off by a fire in the hearth
Categories:
meccano, childhood, nostalgia,
Form:
Rhyme
I REMEMBER (1)
Candles & nightlights
flickering bright
blackout curtains
shutting out light
Dripping setting
from Sunday's roast
spread thick
on Monday's toast
Paper chains
cut and glued
beer in glass
bottles brewed
Christmas puddings
with threepenny bits
Meccano kits
made to fit
Sunday school outings
upto Coombe hill
my first ever train ride
so quite a thrill
Summer walks
to the Bugle Horn
crisps & lemonade
upon their lawn
A weekly soak
..in a round tin bath
towelling off
by a fire in the hearth
I REMEMBER (2)
afterschool
on a
tuesday
my treat
awaiting on gran's
baking tray
a spicy aroma
filled
the air
t'was
freshly baked-
my
weekly share
bread pudding
piping hot
drizzled with honey
moreish&
yummy
a moist mouth
watering
confection
in
a
sultana delectation
I REMEMBER (3)
my clerking
ever on the go
the junior
lowest
of the low
the office
with partners just two
pens pencils
nearly-new
daily drudgery
reality soon shone thru'
the 'old man ' yelling
'ere lad
chop chop
get me baccy
from t'corner shop
tea-break brews'
in a stew
bellows of hurry-hurry
from the back-office crew
another task
to get done
this time
for the partner's son
no time to stop &chat
he'd forgotten the fish
for his wife's cat
the switchboard clicked
the doorbell chimed
&
skills to learn
juggle & prioritise
whew!
nearly half five
& knock-off time
just one task
still to do
fetch the 'boss's
evening news
was this really
the career to choose?
Categories:
meccano, art, childhood, nostalgia, youth,
Form:
Rhyme