Ode to a Changing Village

The village green and St. Marys Church in 1916

The village green and St. Marys Church in 1916

I came across this poem on an archived copy of the Baddow Life magazine from Autumn 2004. It is a poem by Dilys Edwards. 

I cannot find any other mention of the poem online, and very little about Dilys Edwards, other than she is a Friend of The Marconi Veterans Association.

It is a lovely poem that reveals how the changes to the village over the years has really affected some people. I guess things will never be the same anywhere we go.

 

Ode to a Changing Village by Dilys Edwards

Great Baddow was a village.
It’s now a “mini-town”
No wonder “older” residents
Just walk about and frown!

Gone are all the good days,
The days when it looked pretty,
It’s not a village anymore,
It’s a suburb of a “city”

Every little tiny plot…..
Is sold, to build upon.
I’m afraid “the heart” of Baddow,
Has well and truly gone!

The Parish Council tries so hard,
Opposes applications,
But Borough Council over-rules,
This makes for “bad relations”!

We have our Parish Council,
That really understands,
They listen to objections,
But they’re taken from their hands.

So many “buyers” come in here,
They don’t care very much,
They carry on regardless
And never keep in touch…..

With the “neighbours” that they have next door,
The ones they seldom meet,
They’ve only bought “the property”
They’ve bought their “country seat”!

They decorate and “do it up”
We know they will not stay,
They’ll sell off half the garden,
And then they’ll move away.

To them, it doesn’t matter,
They’ve made “a bob or two”,
They made your life a misery,
The rest is left to you!

Eventually, you just give up,
You think “oh what the hell”
Perhaps, one day, they’ll feel the same,
They’ll want to shout and yell!

They’ll sit and write their letters…..
To the Council and the such,
They too, one day, will realise……
That “people” don’t care much.

I’ve written you this letter,
It’s different, it’s in rhyme,
Please read it and digest it…….
If you can spare the time!

I like to think that I am rather unique. My father grew up here during the war on New Road. When my grandmother died in 1984 the Wade’s left Baddow. But after a stint in “the city” (both London and Chelmsford!) I returned to my roots, and bought one of those shiny new houses on what was once a nice piece of grass. Only after moving in I discovered that several friend’s families in the area protested for 17 years for the field not to be built on. Oh well.

The photo I have added is of the village green and St. Marys Church in 1916. It has been shared on the Internet many times, the original photographer appears to be Hoy, but I cannot find any reference to them from my searches. If anybody can shed light, please do so.

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