Celebrate National Poetry Day with a Limerick..."There was an old Bexley Librarian"

“There was an old Bexley Librarian…”

It’s National Poetry Day soon, and – with a mild sense of trepidation – Bexley Libraries are inviting you to compose a Limerick – the theme? Books, Libraries or Librarians…
The Blogbrary is very partial to a finely crafted Limerick, and has enjoyed delving into Bexley’s splendid collections…Being of a sensitive and pure mind, I confess to being somewhat startled by the slightly `risqué` nature of some of these verses, and I find myself very much in agreement with the esteemed Dr Cyril Bibby, who wrote:

The Limerick verse has its attraction,
The ribald may give satisfaction,
But I never have fancied
the nastily rancid
Or verses of sick putrefaction.


However, I fear that the following sentiment may be more prevalent…

The Limerick’s callous and crude,
Its morals distressingly lewd;
It’s not worth the reading
By persons of breeding –
It’s designed for the vulgar and rude


The origin of the Limerick is obscure – Late Eighteenth Century Ireland appears a likely source, and from there the art form soon spread to Victorian England where their composition became a popular parlour game and pastime… A tradition which, I remain confident, is very much in evidence around the snug hearths and cosy drawing rooms of Bexley homes even to this day…

So, over to you, dear readers…Send us your Library or literary Limericks –
Let your muse run wild and your mouse run free!
Here’s a possible first line:
“There was an old Bexley Librarian…”

Go on, finish it off, I dare you…(Without resorting – naturally - to coarseness, anything unpleasant, likely to startle the horses, or libellous)…Just use the comments box below.

TTFN

Bexley, Baking, Books, Berry and Buns…

Bexley, Baking, Books, Berry and Buns…

What-ho! Welcome my old Bexley baking bibliophiles and crust-loving companions…
Close friends of the Blogbrarian will doubtless be aware that he is something of a `dab hand` at the art of the patisserie, whose cup-cakes have been `mentioned in despatches`, whose `Bedfordshire Clangers` are unlike any others, and whose macaroons have made strong men swoon…
So, like me, have you been left bereft now that the wonderful BBC series The Great British Bake Off has ended? Well, never fear, for some books are here that, I am certain, will rekindle your love affair with the bun and the bap, the pie and the pastry, the flan and the fairy cake…
Bake it by the book!

And how splendid to see Mary Berry in person on TV and in such rude health…Mary has been tempting book borrowers for many years with a range of tantalising titles, so here’s the chance to put her recipes to the taste test…

What else can Bexley Libraries tempt your taste buds with? A little morsel of fictional chocolat perhaps?
Or a more robust northern recipe, with pies & prejudice?
But I`m confident that Bexley readers will be able to suggest some other great books; you are, after all, such a well read and well bread bunch…

Well, that’s me done, my creative juices are spent, my inspiration has run dry…what I need now is a biscuit, a nice cup of tea and a sit down.

All that remains is to invite you, dear readers, to contribute any bookish or baking-related feedback using the comments box below.

TTFN