Take a
Breather with Walter de la Mare in our Poetry Corner
Bill ‘The Bagger’ Allford wrote this poem out for me
when we were the weighing and bagging team at
Longbridge Mill, Sherfield on Loddon. We used to
sing it together whilst enduring slack moments and
Bill would hop a little jig on the spot too. Sweet
memories are made of this as Bill passed away a
couple of years ago. I wonder what other mills’
team members get up to in their mills when an idle
moment occurs, waiting for another sack of flour to
weigh, or the water level to come up ready for
milling. Does anybody whistle? No, I won’t come
running – but you do know how to whistle, don’t you?
Sheila.