Not A Shot Fired

(Brixham history)

on this basin's floor

with its muddied sands

strands of slime green seaweed

strewn with pitted shells

pock marking an abstract canvas

like a Pollack painting

.

barnacled hulls are concealed

of old row boats or anti-fouled

undersides of sailing craft

with their tall elegant masts

and strong anchor arms

digging deep into the history

of this place

.

over three centuries have passed

since the arrival of William

Prince of Orange who came to

restore the Protestant faith to

our kingdom, removing the fear

of Catholic clashes that had 

incited many a battle

.

not a shot was fired as invaders

arrived with their eyes on the 

capital, a warm welcome was 

extended as a mighty fleet complete

with Dutch flags waved freely

in a wind of positive change

.

and now ...fast forward within

the safe embrace of darkness on

display, an array of bright lights

a medley of colour while from the

quay, spotlights blaze from the

masts of the fishing trawlers

back home with their catch

.

i imagine how it must have been

on that dull November day

now confined to old books and

art galleries, when the Dutch fleet

sailed into Torbay without a shot

being fired

.

Reviews

[Ted Kniffen]

Good to know a bit of history isn't it? I am a history buff who likes to find books that help define the present day or saints and scalawags (to borrow Neville's word).
I found Churchill's biography most enlightening (both volumes) and followed that up with Hitler's (also two volumes) both fascinating men in their own ways and fascinating to see how each was shaped by life experiences.
I am aware that the Dutch were great seamen and their quest to liberate the English from the Catholics
but I will need to delve further into that action.

Thanks Chris ... a good write

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks Ted. Brixham museum is a fascinating source of information for history buffs. There are many paintings which depict this event. Not often you get a peaceful invasion. This one positively welcomed it seems. I appreciate your interest. Churchill is always worth reading.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I learn from you, Chris...thanks...
and those damn Catholics....i was raised one, I know.

[Chris Shaw]

Jacob, both the Protestants and the Catholics have much to answer for. Very bloody times when life was cheap. My Dad's side were Catholics, my Mum's Church of England. Thank goodness we don't have all that now. As you know I am not a supporter of organised religion. Best way to be in my opinion. Many thanks for calling on this piece of British history.

Chris

[Dave Brown]

Here is my third try to comment
I have twice said how much I have always enjoyed reading English history and their involvement with the sea, most of which I have now forgotten and how this must have been an impressive experience for the watchers as ships and masts and sails and banners filled everyone's eyes
Nicely done bit of history

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Dave. I really appreciate your perseverance in getting your comment down. I am interested in history too. The paintings in the museum give a good indication of how it must have been. Thank you so much.

Chris

[John the Baptist]

Liked very much the way the splendid word pictures of the first two stanzas led into the history of the area. It is ironic how many wars have religion as their basis. From Charles 1 on through the second Jacobite rebellion in 1745, it was either Anglicans against Puritans or Protestants versus Catholics. Can't blame it all on religion, though; people just like to fight.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you John. Sounds like you are another history buff. Pleased you enjoyed the imagery leading in to this write. The harbour at Brixham is a favourite place for me.

Chris

[Lorry]

Your descriptions made me think of day trips to the seaside in my youth, where the train runs along the coast... sometimes a little too closely for comfort and the sight of all those long dormant, decaying vessels, unearthed at low tide like beached whales.
Always found that such a sad sight, leaving them so close to the freedom they once felt.
Always found it strange, the whole Dutch thing, along with our German descended royalty. Who knew being British was so cosmopolitan and ahead of its time, what with the never ending intolerance of the world in the 20th century?
Now I'm thinking of us as a bag of Haribo, a mixed bag that everyone enjoys 😀

[Chris Shaw]

Lorry, if everyone thought the way you do that we are really a big bag of haribo all sorts, we would all learn to live together in harmony. I thought I was English to my core until some ancestry investigations proved that in the 1600's there was much Italian influence. That's without the Welsh and Scots having their pennyworth too. Those decaying vessels, like ribs exposed at low tide are worth a write. Go for it.

Chris

[Lorry]

As Frankie Boyle said, how can I be racist when I haven't finished hating white people yet? 😀
read moreAs Frankie Boyle said, how can I be racist when I haven't finished hating white people yet? 😀
I saw it early as a kid, when two brothers came to our school mid seventies and were hassled mercilessly with stuff copying the likes of Jim Davidsons attitude.
Of all the people who put that to bed, it was the school bully who befriended them and knocked seven kinds of err... Necklaces out of anyone who picked on them.
He later saw the error of his bullying ways and admitted it was because he lived it himself at home amongst a family of maniacs.
Sometimes sense comes from the strangest places.