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Odes to Bilston Town Hall

  More digital pictures here These verses are the result of a visit paid in September 2004 to the almost derelict Bilston Town Hall prior to the commencement of refurbishment.

The Ballroom

Dusty memories of long ago,
Damp entering via broken glass
Modern pillars shoring aged plaster
Mould on ceilings shows missing tiles.
People recalling bygone happy days
A couple step out spontaneously,
Waltz without music in swirling dust
Wakening recollections of joyful times.
A last look round and once more
The ballroom is left to shabby emptiness.
© Eileen Ward-Birch May 2005
The Ballroom

The Town Hall Clock

The clock in the tower now is quiet
Three faces ready, or were there four?

Time standing still above the town

The visitors climb the ladder to inspect

There is machinery, the works are intact.

There is a promise of time to be restored.

© Eileen Ward-Birch May 2005


Representatives from BCA Inpecting progress

The Housing Office

Council offices, once busy with work.
Rent and rates, activity transferred.

Shelves lie empty of record books

An electric fire stands dead and rusting

Abandoned, forlorn, unwanted.

Only a lonely spider making his home

In a corner where the flies collect
Around the corpse of a solitary mouse

© Eileen Ward-Birch May 2005

In Progress

The Day they turned the clock on – Eileen Ward-Birch

 November 2006

The day they turned the clock on,
Dawned all sunny and bright.
The day they turned the clock on,
The Vicar’s heart was light.

After all the years of fighting,
The people of Bilston were right.
After all the years of fighting,
We gathered to see the sight.

With jaunty step, the Vicar,
Gathered the people all round.
With jaunty step, the Vicar,
Approached the mighty crowd.

‘We’ve come a long way together’
He proclaimed to one and all.
‘We’ve come a long way together
To save this old Town Hall’.

The crowd all watched in amazement,
As the moment swiftly drew near.
The crowd all watched in amazement,
Then we let out a mighty cheer.

So, now the clock is working,
You can see it across the town.
So, now the clock is working,
The Town Hall’s regained its crown.
© Eileen Ward-Birch November 2006
Back In Action
The contents of this page © Eileen Ward-Birch any enquiries about them should be addressed to Eileen.
To see some pictures of the Town Hall as it is now click
here


Town Hall pages    2  4  5