Celebrating Trees
was the theme of
Poetry Sunday at Bruce Castle
 Sunday 3 December 2017
with local poets Hilary Davies, Bridget Badoe McQuick, Elizabeth Adams and Abe Gibson
Hosted by Brixton poet Baden Prince Jnr

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The planting of the Tree Charter
Legacy Oak tree
in Bruce Castle Park
was accompanied  by
Elizabeth Adams
reading her poem from
Tottenham's oldest tree


Ode from the Oak

Elizabeth Adams is retired from a career which began as a resident representative for a tour operator. Having acquired a taste for checking holiday brochures and writing reports, she went into editorial work, first on magazines and newsletters for two INGOs, then on yearbooks and accountancy exam papers. Elizabeth is involved in various ‘green issues’ and has twice stood for the Green Party in local elections. She has self-published a booklet called ‘Signs of the Times: poems 1996 – 2016’, and is currently working on a second one.

Ode from the Oak
I’m the oldest oak in Tottenham, I’m told -
Four hundred at least;  most think five.
But the yew trees by the church are twice as old:
A thousand years - and still alive!
 
I was a tiny sapling when King Henry came
To meet with the Queen of Scotland, his sister.
I heard of the horrors that led to his fame,
But Margaret … well, I’m sorry I missed her.
 
I do remember Queen Elizabeth the First,
Demanding all succomb to her every need.
How my owner, Compton, must have cursed,
For he had to do exactly as she decreed.
 
To many more people we acted as host,
But there were no more Royals at the falconry,
And nothing exciting - except for the ghost
Of Lady Lucy who had jumped from the balcony.
 
I saw Charles Dickens several times
When Bruce Castle was a well-known school,
Where boys who committed minor ‘crimes’
Never got hit for disobeying the rule.
 
Do you know the street off White Hart Lane
That’s named after Hill, the Headmaster?
To the first Penny Stamp he owed his fame,
Which made the Post fairer and … maybe faster.
 
The new almshouses seemed very near,
With no tall buildings to get in the way.
Then the park became public for all to come here -
So lots more happening for me to survey!
 
I lost a huge branch about six years ago,
And I confess that did cause me to fret.
But I can still, in all seasons, put on a good show,
For there are lots of new leaves in me yet!

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The host for the afternoon, Baden Prince (Jnr) is a dynamic poet, performer and storyteller who has been a part of London's thriving Live Literature and Spoken Word scene for more than a decade. He is the author of "The Shadow Dancer," a poetry pamphlet published by the Tall Lighthouse (sic) press. As a writer and performer Baden engages reader and audience with a style that is warm, self-assured and displays an entertaining blend of insight and humour.
 
Between 2003 - 2010 Baden was organiser, promoter and host of "Speakeasy," one of the most popular and highly-regarded poetry events in London. His own performance credits are myriad and he was Writer-in-Residence with the London Borough of Havering's Library Service in 2003/4 and again in 2007/8. Baden also has a considerable pedigree as a Creative Writing Tutor and Workshop Facilitator.

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Bridget Badoe McQuick writes and performs as Lady Esi, and has performed at events, festivals and carnivals within the UK and internationally using various art forms such as dance, poetry, theatre and carnival arts.
 
Over the years she has her poems published in a number of anthologies such as “Identities Unite” and “The Book of Freedom”.  She has also contributed to a number of exhibitions at Bruce Castle Museum which include "Origins of the Afro Comb" and "Wraparound".  She is a member of the African Heritage Writers Group and is working on pieces for their upcoming anthology due for publication in 2018.   Combining her love of poetry, drama and dance, she has written two musical theatre plays called “Reminisce” and “A Yaa Story Knows”.

My Little Tree
I remember when it was just a seed
That was being planted just for me
I watched it as it started to grow
Very small and unsure at first
Needing water, needing light
 
At times when I watched my tree
It seemed to have grown and overshadowed me
Looking down with arms of power
Tall and strong it stood so proud
Over the house, and over the land
 
Sometimes when it had been bad
The wind came out and beat it hard
Swaying it from left to right
I loved to see how it could hold itself
While the wind just carried on
 
But one day I came home to see
How someone had destroyed my little tree
Peeled it of its lovely bark
Carved it branches for the wood
Stripped of all its beautiful leaves
And pulled out all its strapping roots
 
A gaping hole is all that‘s left
Broken lying in a mess
I bury my head in such despair
My life is fraught with sadness
Because my little tree is not out there

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Hilary Davies has published four collections of poetry from Enitharmon: The Shanghai Owner of the Bonsai Shop; In a Valley of This Restless Mind, Imperium, and Exile and the Kingdom, published in November 2016. Hilary won an Eric Gregory Award for Young Poets in 1983, has been a Hawthornden Fellow, Chairman of the Poetry Society, and 1st prizewinner in the Cheltenham Literature Festival poetry competition.

For many years she was Head of Languages at St. Paul’s Girls’ School, London.  She was a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at King’s College, London, 2012-6. She also reviews regularly in the literary press and her poetry blog for the Times Literary Supplement was featured on its online home page earlier this year.

The Elder

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Abe Gibson is a London-born poet and storyteller. He was a member of the Brothaman Poetry Collective and has published a collection of poetry - Violently Tender.
 
He has been writer in residence at Feltham Young Offenders Institution and at schools in Tottenham and Hackney. Performing at Word for Word, he was spotted by a representative from the London Museum of Transport where he has been writer in residence. He has curated poetry at The Room.
 
His welcoming style captures even the attention of those who think poetry is "not for me".

Of this tree

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Christina Egan, another local poet, read two poems about trees in Tottenham.

Beetles on the Ark
(Tottenham Cemetery)

The hundred trees in the old park
are like the creatures on an ark
or like a village closely knit,
rejoicing when the sun is lit,
relaxing when the world grows dark;
each tree another steady ark
that carries squirrels, crows and jays
and worms and beetles through the days.
A myriad leaves, and each a spark
of life on board the floating park!

Urban Copse
(Lordship Lane Recreation Ground, Tottenham)

There is the snow – thick flakes, and falling fast –
there is the snow, thick on the grass at last!
The fabric of the twigs turns black and white,
the ground reflects the veiled and waning light.

The air is pure, the field without a trace,
the urban copse becomes a sacred space:
as if true peace, true life indeed were near,
as if tranquillity and joy were here.

Christina says:

Read the poems aloud to enjoy the sounds of the words, which emulate the fabric of the twigs and the whole web of Nature… and weave a spell, like poetry and song have done since there have been humans on earth.

The second poem can also serve as a pagan, secular, or interfaith Christmas poem. The wanderer encounters that peace and joy which only Heaven can give in Nature.


Christina write poetry, lyrics, plays, and more in English and German.  You can read more of Christina's poems here

Thank you to Deborah and colleagues at Bruce Castle Museum, T on the Green and the
Friends of Bruce Castle for their support

Learn more about the Charter for Trees, Woods and People
Agree with the ten Tree Charter Principles, then
Sign the Charter AND a tree is planted in the UK!

Ten Charter Principles

Contact: tottenhamtrees@gmail.org if there are any other events where Tottenham Trees could pop up!

Do contact us if you would like us to visit your event, or if you would like to be involved in Tottenham Trees - tottenhamtrees@gmail.com