“ORIGINAL POEM”

Hi all, here we are at another Tuesday and here is the second last post about a dogie on a tucker box……..

Here is the “original poem”……………..

As I was coming down Conroy’s Gap

I heard a maiden cry

There goes Bill the bullocky,

He’s bound for Gundagai

A better poor old…………

Never earnt an honest crust,

A better poor old…………

Never drug a whip through dust.

His team got bogged at the Five Mile Creek,

Bill lashed and swore and cried.

If Nobby don’t get me out of this,

I’ll tattoo his………hide.

But Nobby strained and broke the yoke,

And poked out the leader’s eye,

Then the dog sat on the tucker box,

Five Miles from Gundagai

FACTS

Hello everyone, hello world, hello life, hello complete strangers who stumbled a pond this post and think what the hell is this.

It is Monday so here are some facts.

Dissolved salt makes up 3.5 per cent of the ocean

Despite a population of over a billion China has only about 200 family names

The Geysir (gusher) near Mount Hekia in south central Iceland, after which all other geysers are named, shoots hot water up to 180 feet in the air.

In 1782 a post office, I don’t know which postal service but someones published a leaflet saying people should chop in half banknotes before sending them, if the two halves are sent at different times a highwayman wouldn’t be able to steal it.

Dinosaurs droppings are called coprolites

JUST ANOTHER WEEK

Saturday at last slept in till 6.30am although I did get to pee at 4.20am.

Kathy arrived at 8.15 to shower me, she didn’t look go as in she looked like she had a cold. She said she did have a cold.

Another cold start but warmish day.

24-7-21

Slept well till 11.30 when I was awoken by banging at first I thought it was the wind, as there has been a lot of strong wind. But I realised it was inside so asked Tim to check it out by say “Tim what’s that” turned out to be Leo. When I asked what he was doing all Tim said was making noise.

I then woke every hour till I got up at 6am.

Michael’s birthday today sent him a text.

25-7-21

Had a good enough sleep, I must had fallen asleep while the book was playing. Suddenly the book was over so I will check it later.

Checked the book there is 44 tracks and I must have dozed off around track 39.

Tim off work this week, he had to take the car somewhere to get something fixed. Jess went and picked him up and will take him back when car is ready.

26-7-21

Awake and up at 5.40am washed and ready for the day. Going to be a warm day.

Tim took car for rego check it passed.

Tim also cleaned out Leo’s room, getting rid of the bed, drawers and such. We have our mid year curb side bulk waste collection.

There is more to do but he said he will do it tomorrow, ready seen the council picking up the stuff in near by streets so I think tomorrow will be too late.

27-7-21

Awake and up at 5.50, had a shower, now dressed for the day.

Tim left it too late to take the rest of the stuff up the front, it was collected by 7am.

Leo was dawdling and his driver arrived and had to wait 8 minutes, if I hadn’t been there he would had left after 2 minutes as he is only required to wait 2 minutes.

Tim went to Kathy’s and picked up futon and a chest of drawers for Leo’s room.

28-7-21

Up washed and dressed by 6am for another day.

Tim has set the futon up in Leo’s room along with the chest of drawers.

The new ink arrived but now the damn printer will not let me change the damn ink.

29-7-21

Woke at 6.15 when my alarm went off, that’s the latest I have slept in ages.

Leo said he liked the new bed.

Tim went to the post office for me and posted the 10 letters I had ready to post. I know only have 6 left to answer.

Sandy rang this afternoon and we had a great chat.

30-7-21

POEM DAY

And The World Carries On

© Amy O Connor More By Amy O Connor

Published: August 27, 2020

The plates will still shift
and the clouds will still spew.
The sun will slowly rise
and the moon will follow too.

Life’s beauty will continue
to flourish all around,
but now you are gone,
these birds have no sound.

And my heart does not beat.
It is still inside my chest.
My tears keep on falling
and my head will not rest.

But I have no choice only
to move through this life.
Endlessly attempting
to fill this longing that is rife.

ABOUT THE POET:

Amy O Connor was born in Tipperary, Ireland. She spent much of her early twenties travelling the world to experience different cultures and has lived in both Barcelona, Spain and Toronto, Canada. Amy always had an innate passion for the pen and in 2019, she published her debut anthology, A Beautiful Complexity. She studied journalism at the University of Limerick and now works in communications and resides in Cork, Ireland.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/and-the-world-carries-on

MORE DOG ON THE TUCKERBOX

Here we are another Tuesday, there was no post yesterday as I forgot. Anyway here is more about the dog on the tuckerbox, yet another poem.

Methodical searches have been made to find rhe original poem, old newspaper files, libraries, and pioneer homes have been combed without finding the authors name or the complete poem being found.

Old residents of the district could recall certain lines of the poem but it wasn’t until the death of O. A. Collins the newsagent and business man that the verse which now appears on many souvenirs was pieced together.

It was Collins who commissioned one Tom Kinnane, a reporter on the Gundagai “Independent” to put together the missing lines of a verse of the original poem.

That poem appeared on match box covers that were distributed throughout the land. The “original” as Collins called it was printed on a sheet of paper that was taken from the files of the “Gundagai Times” and the old type used was set and printed in the old “Times” building.

That poem must have been a tad different to the one penned more than 100 years ago and I will share it…………next week…….

MY LAST WEEK, WELL NOT LAST I AM NOT DEAD AND I WILL BE HERE POSTING AS USUALSO WHY DID I SAY LAST I DO NOT KNOW

Woke at 5.20 got ukp and peed then I went back to bed for an hour, I was just getting up when I heard Tasha in the kitchen. I had forgotten she would be here. She is bombing her house today, as in setting off bombs to kill the cockroaches.

Tim bought a couple of secondhand bedside drawers they are really nice. Sine he was moving out the old and bringing in the new his side of the bed has been cleaned up and he was shocked at what a mess it was.

Kathy coming this afternoon to shower me and put me to bed.

17-7-21

Slept in till 6.45, had to get myself dressed and make my own breakfast. This takes twice as long as when Tasha helps.

Had to get Tasha to come and put my socks on, when she did she told me that she would have come down earlier if I had asked. But since she came yesterday I thought she would want this morning off.

Tim said he was going to work on the trailer ended up sitting and watching Ghost Asylum episodes.

Tasha came and did the medications and was just about done with mine when she knocked the container spill them all and had to redo them.

18-7-21

Awake and up at 5.30, by 6.30 I was washed and dressed and had breakfast ready for the day.

Another cold day, cold enough for Tim to take the car to work and me not want to go outside.

Jeannie’s birthday she is 53, wishes sent via Facebook

19-7-21

Slept ok till 12.30 when I woke and then I woke every hour till I got up at 5.33am.

A cold day, cold enough to require a singlet.

I have no motivation today to do anything, the type of day when putting one’s feet up and watching telly would be nice. I of course find that next to impossible to do.

20-7-21

Slept well till 4am after that I couldn’t settle I was restless but managed to start in bed till 5.10am when I got up.

Another bloody cold day.

Blain is off school sick, sore throat, headache and a burning pain in the chest. He had a Covid test, should have the results tomorrow. Most likely he had heartburn and also has tonsillitis. We will see.

21-7-21

Just before I woke up I had a dream where I was on the phone to Mum and I could hear her clearly. This left me feeling happy and sad.

My feet are so cold I had to get a second pair of socks on my feet.

Warmed up a tad during the day.

Tim had to take the car to work as the bike has a flat battery.

22-7-21

Had a good night but was up at 5am, I woke needing to pee and since it is a week day I stayed up. I set Tasha a text to let her know I was up but she didn’t reply so I rang her at 5.30 and woke her up. This made me feel bad as I do not like to wake her. I was washed and dressed by the time she arrived.

Had a goodish day managed to print 5 letters and get them into envelopes ready to be posted on Monday.

23-7-21

BABIES SAY LOVE

Babies say love………………

In the way that they curl up

their wee little hands

and cling to your fingers

so tight

THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN OUR AGE

POEM DAY

What Life Should Be

© Patricia A. Fleming More By Patricia A. Fleming

Published: February 2018

To learn while still a child
What this life is meant to be.
To know it goes beyond myself,
It’s so much more than me.

To overcome the tragedies,
To survive the hardest times.
To face those moments filled with pain,
And still manage to be kind.

To fight for those who can’t themselves,
To always share my light.
With those who wander in the dark,
To love with all my might.

To still stand up with courage,
Though standing on my own.
To still get up and face each day,
Even when I feel alone.

To try to understand the ones
That no one cares to know.
And make them feel some value
When the world has let them go.

To be an anchor, strong and true,
That person loyal to the end.
To be a constant source of hope
To my family and my friends.

To live a life of decency,
To share my heart and soul.
To always say I’m sorry
When I’ve harmed both friend and foe.

To be proud of whom I’ve tried to be,
And this life I chose to live.
To make the most of every day
By giving all I have to give.

To me that’s what this life should be,
To me that’s what it’s for.
To take what God has given me
And make it so much more

To live a life that matters,
To be someone of great worth.
To love and be loved in return
And make my mark on Earth.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/what-life-should-be

TUCKERBOX SERIES: BUSH BARD INITIATED STORY

Gundagai’s Dog on the Tuckerbox was first introduced into verse in the period when pioneers travelled in bullock wagons, pushing their way into the vast unexplained interior of Australia. In the early days, back over a hundred years ago, Gundagai was then, as today the chief “port of call” one the main highway between Sydney and Melbourne.

A favourite camping ground of the teamsters was the Five Mile Creek on the same highway, where the monument now stands. It was there that occurred an incident that inspired the bard to write the original Tucker Box poem.

A faithful friend, the guardian of the teamster’s possessions, a dog accompanied every wagon that pushed inland. It was the action of one such dog in spoiling food stuff whilst he sat on a tuckerbox, that so amused the poet he wrote……..

Good morning mate, you are too late,

The shearing is all over,

Tie up your dog behind the log

Come in and have some dover.

For Nobby Jack has broke the yoke,

Poke out the leader’s eye

And the dog-in the tucker box,

Five miles from Gundagai

The original doggerel was crude and vulgar, and verse after verse ran on depicting incidents along the track that leads to Gundagai.

I can’t say I understand the above verse and I expect I am not alone.