In Memoriam

In memory of my father who passed away at the age of 90 on Tuesday 29th August. His life was all that he could have wished and he died a contented man.

Set Your Mind Free



Have you ever set your mind free?

To wander down Memory Lane?

To linger at every Milestone

to savour this wonderful game?



How far back do you want to go?

It’s really up to you.

You can leave out all your troubles

or just leave in a few.



What about the times you “nearly”?

Perhaps you’d better leave those.

Just put on the pink spectacles

that smell of the fragrant rose.



Can you go back to the Twenties

when Al Jolson sang Sonny Boy

in the very first of the talkies

that gave such wonder and joy?



Perhaps the hungry Thirties

when unemployment stalked the land

and when discipline at school

was the cane across the hand?



Then from ’39 to ‘45

when Britain fought for its life

those dark heartbreak years

of tragedy, grief, and strife.



Those dreamy early Fifties

with rationing still in force

when a really tasty meal

was that laced with H.P. Sauce.



And then the late Fifties

at last climbing the hole

enter a new phenomenon

in the shape of “Rock and Roll”.



Did the Sixties get a bit better?

You may even have managed a car.

Or did you join the Hippy trail

to strum on an old guitar?



The Seventies and Eighties

they just came and went

as you pressed your nose to the grindstone

to pay your mortgage or your rent.



And so into the Nineties

did you think you could relax?

BUT! Governments liked your money

so you had to run to pay the Tax.



Then into the new Millennium

can you now take a well-earned rest?

And think back to all those years

and know you’ve passed the test.



Now into the present day

are your memories still intact?

Hold on to them very tightly

so nothing can detract.



But I must offer some caution

be aware of the tempting rose

for your conscience will be waiting

your meanderings to expose.



Derrick Goldstraw