By Miriam Erasmus
The downs, the downs where I played as a child
The wind blowing free and my feet running wild
They can build many houses expanding the towns
But heaven forbid they should build on the downs.
My days on the downs were like an idyll
We’d climb past Craig’s farm to the top of the hill
To look down on Ringmer and Sussex below
Then when we felt hungry to Grandma’s we’d go.
Grandma baked flapjacks so sticky and good
And always put evaporated milk in rice pud
Which tasted so good that for crispy bits we’d scrounge
Then run to play ‘chopsticks’ on the piano in the lounge.
Grandma’s old house had wood – panelled walls
We’d lie in bed and listen to the wood pigeon’s calls
We’d watch headlights flashing going up to Glyndebourne
And hear the cows go by for their milking at dawn.
I can still smell the laundry in the old barn next door,
See Grandad’s veg garden and flowers galore
They were at Paygate, and just up the street
Lived Nana and Grandpa in St Fagan’s so neat.
Nana’s kitchen, even now I can feel it so well
The air always filled with that wonderful smell
Of warm ginger biscuits and freshly cooked ham
And fresh scones with whipped cream and home made plum jam.
The warm summer air with wasps humming would ring
And Grandpa had built us a huge double swing
In the tree, which in Autumn shed all of its leaves
And we’d help rake them up in the shade of the eaves.
We walked the Downs in sunshine and showers
To view from Mount Caburn and pick the wild flowers
The back past the dew pond and up to Mill Plain
These days of my childhood will never come again
The downs, the downs where I played as a child
The wind blowing free and my feet running wild
They can build many houses expanding the towns
But heaven forbid they should build on the downs.
Author Bio:
Singer / Songwriter Miriam was born in Lewes, Sussex in 1948, and has a lifetime of making music.
From 1993-7 she was “Miriam Backhouse. The First Lady of Folk”.
She still tours Europe with her own songs and traditional ones.
In 1977 she married John Erasmus and moved to South Africa.
They raised a family as “Mim and John” playing music for all ages, but mostly touring the local Schools from 1987 to 2018.
She wrote 300 Educational songs and poems for children.
Now a journalist, she writes of life in South Africa and her travels.
Contact Author:
YouTube link.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpj8REUlOzHPXnPnULwpKg
Facebook link.
https://web.facebook.com/miriam.erasmus
https://www.motherearthmusic.co.uk/miriam-backhouse/
