WEP - JUNE 2017 - BRIDGES

BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER

I was standing in my kitchen this morning preparing lunch for myself and my husband, in reverie chopping celery and spring onions to toss in a salad when a song starts playing on the radio. 

Immediately I am transported back to the age of 16 years old. I was standing in my first ‘serious’ boyfriend’s room where he had just put on the gramophone Simon and Garfunkel’s record, A Bridge Over Troubled Water.

It is such a strong memory, even after all these years. It was the first time I had been alone in a room with a young man without any adults around – his parents were out for the afternoon.

He was a couple of years older than me, he had his own car and was very cool.  His parents converted their basement for him into his own ‘pad.’  There was a sofa, table, chairs, something to make drinks with and he had his OWN record player.

He asked me if I’d heard the record before and I think I’d replied I had heard it on the radio.  He asked me if I had ever listened to the lyrics.  I had never really actually listened to the lyrics of a song before.  I’d always known I’d liked the tune, liked the chorus but had never given it the attention it actually deserved. 

That one question stayed with me throughout my life and since that day I have always made of point of actually listening to the lyrics of a song.   

When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on Silver Girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

We listened to that record over and over again in those very happy couple of hours in his basement.

So thank you Peter for that truly amazing gift you gave me.

https://youtu.be/H_a46WJ1viA

THE BRIDE

The diamond ring set sparkled on her hand

She had travelled many miles over sea and land

To celebrate Christmas with her friends and family

Her wedding day four days later, elegant and fancy

She felt a twinge of regret but a deep sigh relieved her

There was a question with an unknown answer

One person was missing and she didn’t know what to do

Should she have made advances, was she wrong not to?

Stupidly, stubbornly she’d burned her bridges several years ago

She had achieved her dream, she was the blushing bride

She walked proudly by her husband’s side.

Five years later she reached out

Offered the olive branch but filled with doubt

She need not have worried so

The answer she’d been waiting for

Came back with love and care

The past is the past, gone, can’t be changed

Replied her dad, let’s not be estranged

Now a planned visit in a few months’ time

As she returns but in the meantime

They write over emails, stay in contact

She’s always loved her dad, that’s a fact

She thought of him every single day

From 12,000 miles away.

BRIDGES PHOTO ALBUM

Photo credit:  Sally Stackhouse

Pedestrian Bridge over M20 motorway Ashford, Kent, UK on a dark, stormy day in January 2015.  

Photo credit:  Sally Stackhouse

Medieval Bridge at Teston, Maidstone, Kent, UK. Not just one arch but several spanning the River Medway. 

Photo credit:  Sally Stackhouse

The same Medieval Bridge at Teston, Maidstone, Kent, UK showing the beautiful arch.

 Medieval Bridge at Teston, Maidstone, Kent, UK.

Photo credit:  Sally Stackhouse

 Newenden Bridge spanning the River Rother, Kent, UK. 

My grandparents brought up their family of three boys in this village, my father was the eldest child. 

Photo credit:  Sally Stackhouse

Bridge at the River Alde, Suffolk, UK.  We visited here on a holiday a few years ago. 

Photo credit:  Sally Stackhouse

My grandson and his father feeding the ducks standing on a bridge at Eastwell Lake, Ashford, Kent, UK, nearly four years ago now. 

My eldest grandson and my daughter a few years ago on a bridge over the river Thames looking at the London Eye.  These days my grandson is taller than me!