21st May 2020

A resident of our Caer Gwent nursing home wrote a beautiful poem dealing with the coronavirus called ‘Rainbows of Love’.

Rainbows of Love

There’s a rainbow in my heart 

And I made it just for you, 

So, let its colours warm you 

If you’re ever feeling blue. 

  

‘Richard of York’ gave battle in vain 

Is the often used mnemonic 

So be assured I’m grateful 

For to me you are a tonic. 

  

There are rainbows in the sky 

And rainbows made of love 

We’ll get through this together 

Walking hand in glove. 

He was also kind enough to spend time with us to talk to us about writing poetry and his time volunteering with our charity before becoming a resident. 

What’s your history with writing poetry? 

Poetry writing I’ve never taken very seriously. I probably started in 1975. I liked the poetry of the Liverpool poets and the Mersey scene in the sixties - Roger McGough, Brian Patten, Adrian Henri - and also the American beat poets: Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, etc. 

And I just scribble things down, not in a serious way, I never wanted any publication, but I think I went through a surreal, Dadaist approach – basically nonsense!  

I must admit when the rainbow poem came around, Sammy [Caer Gwent's Wellbeing Coordinator] just said a couple of lines. You know, there was a ‘hand in glove' thing, well I pinched that from The Smiths! Of course, ‘hand in glove’ rhymes with ‘love’ and you’ve got yourself a poem. 

Is that the building blocks you use to write poems and work backwards?  

Probably not – for me it’s rhyme that form the basis of the poems at the moment. As all the poems I write for the staff are rhymes which lead it. 

The only thing that I’ve done that has ever won a prize was in an old Melody Maker. That’s an old, English rock magazine. A rock writers' competition in ’91 and ’92. Not serious – just prose for a magazine, so I’ve never taken it seriously.  

But here – there use to be a frame in the hall by the plant just around the corner. When the receptionist Wendi was here, I came down one day – ‘Wendi Woo, Wendi woo, I am so in love with you’ and that kind of started the whole thing. Rhyming poems involving the staff. 

[He shares another poem he wrote that morning about life during the coronavirus] 

Take cover inside, 

Hiding in clear sight,  

At night when there is nobody there,  

Just stare at the walls.  

 

Stand tall and proud,  

Then out loud say one word, 

It may be absurd,  

Say ‘love’. 

What’s your history with Worthing and Guild Care? 

We came to Worthing in 1963 from Hastings. That’s because of my dad when he started teaching in Worthing. My dad had a long connection with Guild Care. He started in the 60s before Methold House was there. Because he was in catering, Frank Cave went up to him and asked if he could have some students to help at the weekends. We used to hide the float money in the oven, which wouldn’t go down too well these days! 

As a child growing up, I didn’t realise how much my dad had to do with what would have been Worthing Area Guild back then. I started in 2006 on Mondays at Guild Care. We had those pale green aprons. That one of me [picture of himself serving food], I think it's Christmas day 2008, because we have the dark blue aprons. About 12 years ago. 

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