BEFORE ........
(with apologies to GKC)

Before the cruisers came to Coltishall
And down to Yarmouth roared,
The working Norfolk wherry
Worked the working Norfolk broad.
A crystal broad and limpid streams
That wandered round the shire.
And over all the heron sailed
And waders stirred the mire.
A merry sight, a mazy sight,
And such as we have seen,
The day we went to Geldeston,
By way of Barnby Green.

Before the days of Kronenburg
And Ruddles in a can,
The sailor supped his Bullards down
And drank it like a man.
And Morgans too, and Lacons brew
To drive the helmsman wild,
Till he in desperation, cried,
'Please! Give me light and mild.'
A merry time, a boozy scene;
And such as we recall,
The day we went to Aldeby,
By way of Coldham Hall

EGW

Jack Chaplin with Gordon on the Upper Waveney in the 50s.