Grace Darling

Grace, aged 24

Midst the North Sea's chilly water
Lived a lighthouse keeper's daughter,
Her home a rock full six miles from these shores.
Grace Darling was her name
And she found unwanted fame,
For her courage, and her skill with boat and oars.

After one wild stormy night,
She had seen a steamer's plight.
It was tossed by waves and lashed by howling gale.
It had broken quite in two,
Risking passengers and crew.
Grace knew the local lifeboat wouldn't sail.

Though conditions were so bad,
This brave girl and her Dad
Launched their small boat, which was always at the ready.
All the dangers they ignored.
Dad hauled stranded souls on board,
While Grace made sure she held their vessel steady.

Her fearless act was feted.
Grace was famous, which she hated.
The world knew how courageously she'd rowed.
Celebrity...euphoria...
Some cash from Queen Victoria...

Grace at the Forfarshire, 1838

And a RNLI* medal were bestowed.

* Royal National Lifeboat Institution












Grace Darling (1825-1842) is a subject which features on the UK school curriculum and the topic is studied by 5/6 year olds.


Ⓒ Maggie Ballinger 2017

My (now insomniac) computer

Unlike me, my laptop
Didn't have a cold and cough.
But clearly it was ailing
For it kept on nodding off.

I cajoled it very nicely
And remembered to say, "Please".
I pressed F1, I pressed Escape
And sundry other keys.

I tried very hard to rouse it.
It was sworn at, hit and shaken.
I clicked the mouse both left and right.
But it did not reawaken.

I took it to our local geek.
The trick he tried was neat:
Three buttons held down firmly -
Control plus Alt, Delete.

My computer then sprang back to life,
So good this magic touch.
His expertise cost just five pounds.
I thanked him very much.

The narcolepsy problem
Had been down to Windows 10,
So he'd tweaked its inner workings.
IT CAN NEVER SLEEP AGAIN!