A Ballad of Bakehouse Yard
Look at most Kibworth street maps,
look carefully, search hard.
You’ll find School Road and High Street
but wither Bakehouse Yard?
Where Callaghans did bakery,
and Tomlinsons cut hair,
the ladies’ broken biscuit shop
a D.I.Y. It’s there!
Just opposite the chapel
you’d find him, oft with hat,
maybe some tidying, gardening,
perusing this and that.
The weather didn’t matter –
in sun. in rain, hot, cold
He’d time to chat with passersby,
the young. middle-aged, the old.
You knew when Thursdays came
because you’d hear the trundling sound
of wheelies being put in place
for Friday morning’s round.
A pair of hands that could fix faults,
repair or fill a hole,
would also travel Desborough way
a game or more to bowl.
Once at the Kibworth Gas Works,
once in the Kibworth Band,
with Harborough Council planners
not afraid to make a stand.
My word, he knew his Kibworth
both history and myth.
Please God, into your loving arms
The no- show Roland Smith.
Anon
In memory of Roland ‘Roly’ Smith who passed away on Tuesday 29 April 2022
Illston-on-the-Hill WI
