Thoughts

Poetry, Ballads and Faith

THOUGHTS come from life’s experiences, appearing from time to time, usually in spare moments when one has time to think. They are influenced by one’s background, and my life as a Catholic has a great bearing on my thoughts. Also, my life has been blessed by a wonderful and understanding wife, whose life has been greatly influenced by her caring for many foster children. She took care of these children for periods of a month or so, up to about ten years, and, at the same time, she was looking after of her own seven. The other main influence on my thoughts has been my 45 years spent farming. After achieving a Diploma at Lincoln College, I farmed for a few years in Takaka with my father. We then moved to Marlborough, where we started to develop a very productive unit. After about five years, my father retired and I continued to develop the property. This came first of all with sheep and cash crops, and later we changed to bull beef and also developed about 35 hectares of walnut orchards. While this was happening, I took up several hobbies. These included playing the bagpipes in the local band and landscape photography (the photos here are from my collection, with the rest in Marlborough Archives), along with some travelling to Australia, California, Europe and Britain. Thus, I write down here in poetry many thoughts – some are serious and some are humorous, it is for you to choose which is which.