Maintaining Standards. Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

To make the grade in Biggleswade.
Teatime is taken seriously.
The cake you serve must be home made
and rather plain not too fancy.

Of course the table must be laid
with your best china on display
A snow white cloth the finest made.
Things must be done the proper way.

The good ladies of Biggleswade.
Intent on keeping standards high,
will try their hardest to persuade
new ladies that they must not buy

Rich fresh cream cakes to serve for tea.
They must maintain tradition.
I’m not convinced too easily
and so I wait’ til they have gone.

My man and I prefer our tea.
Strong hot and sweet from half pint pots.
We eat while watching the TV.
We think they are a stuffy lot.

But we are not from Biggleswade
and we do things a different way.
More casual not stiff and staid.
More suited to the world today.

We don’t fit in, in Biggleswade,
we do not like formality
we never will I am afraid.
But we don’t care we’d rather be

allowed to live the way we choose.
And not by rules we must obey.
So quite politely we refuse
and send the ladies on their way.

The leading ladies of the town.
The great and good of Biggleswade.
I am quite sure have marked us down
Unsuitable to make the grade.

Sunday,13 June 2010
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