Sam Limon : Ayesha's Great Grandfather. Full story below the poem*
bloody hat, be getting sodden in t’ puddle
nowt I can do
she’ll have put t’kettle on now
hat’ll be soaked through
got that in Market Rasen; that were a nice day
wore her summer dress
it drizzled all the while
dried by fire in t’pub, pint for our troubles
dog at our feet
God, if I died here
I’d be a happy man
if only I had my hat
Note: This poem is loosely based on a family member, who did in fact fall in a ditch, aged eighty something. Being a hardy sort, the thing he was most bothered about whilst lying there was not being able to put his hat on.
*Sam Limon : my Great Grandfather
This is a photograph of Sam in his later years, still looking very dapper in his grey checked suit, which is complete with a waistcoat and tie in slightly different tones. His shirt is white with a stiff starched collar. In his hands he holds a wooden stick with a curved top. His glasses are square tortoiseshell. Hat, brown, with a patterned band above the brim. Looking into the camera, he has a slight smile on his face, and is sat on a wooden bench with greenery behind; this was taken at Hubbard’s Hills in Lincolnshire. A little of someone sat to his right is visible, possibly his wife, in a white and blue patterned suit. The colours of the image are warm, with a slight sepia tone.
I wanted to include this photograph because as part of Nature Calling, I facilitated a drawing and writing workshop at Hubbard’s Hills, and it was lovely to later discover this image of Sam, who I was writing about, sitting there, smiling.
Ayesha Chouglay
