Listen to the track:
đ” Wembury Gymkhana (1945)
It was 80 years ago. I'd love to know which field this was exactly, is it where Langdon View now sits or was it further up on the way to the old resevoir?
Verse 1
Come gather, come gather, from town and from coast,
For a festival grand with a Victory toast!
Where Knighton Hill rises above the green bay,
The riders and runners are racing today!
Chorus
With horses and hurdles and vegetable rows,
With lettuces larger than anyone knows!
There’s jumping and tumbling and cheers from the floor,
And the bar opens wide when the sports are no more!
Verse 2
See Daisy the Clydesdale, she's pulling her cart,
While turnips and roses compete for fine art.
Young Tommy will dash in the Letter Express,
With socks to his knees and a pin on his chest!
Bridge
“Silver cups to be won! Cucumbers to weigh!
And a barrel of beer to be drained by midday!”
Chorus
Oh the Wembury Gymkhana is top of the bill,
With a dance after dark by the hay on the hill!
There’s music and madness and ribbons and flair
It’s August the Eleventh, so be sure you're there!
Outro
And the children all ran
With a laugh and a cheer,
In the field of that summer
When the war disappeared…