In Kind

A Country Conversation

                         Ben.   What finer way of paying for

                              some beans and milk and barley flour

                              than taking Herbert`s horse to grass

          or mending thatch or hoeing down?

                               ...ah, yes, Old `Erb! But what of we?

          - we baint the time, young Ned and me!

                              I tell you now, our thatch costs more

                              than beans and milk and barley flour!

                              That coat you wear - what did you pay?

                               ...two malting sacks, or was it hay?

          I bet not, Herb! I bet `twas more

                               than thirty bob the tailor saw!

                   Herb.  `Twas two quid all bar tuppence, Ben!

                               - I rue the day I bought it, too!

                              ....why, in my father`s younger day

          indeed, this coat, and trews, and more,

                               were bought with beans and barley flour.

                               `In kind!` Old Ben - you`ve `eard it said!

                               -`In kind for services or fare!-

                               this thing I never understood...

                              why must a chippie pay for wood

          with pounds and pennies when he could

                               use the craft and skill he`s learned

                               in recompense for all he`ll need?

 

                    Ben.   You know it ain`t that simple, Herb!

                               How knows he how much work to do?

                               How knows he when he ought to stop

                               and go home with the wood he`s got

           -`tis easier for him to strike

                               a bargain for how much he`ll pay-

                               these beans and milk and barley flour

          what should we give you,Herb? You say!

                               - but don`t come talking thatching roofs

                               or hoeing down or shifting hay!   

                               We`re thatchers, true - Young Ned and me

                               - but all we`ll give is currency!

                    Herb.  Old friends we are, Ben, that you know

                               -our forbears too, but even so

                               you like to haggle over price!

                               How say you now? The price be thrice?

                               - thrice that you paid awhile ago

                               when my boar served your seasoned sow?

                                ...No! Ben!...I`m jesting with you now                      

           - you have the beans and milk and flour!

                               Why, reckoning throughout the year  

                               with bits of work you do for me,  

                               I`d say we`re equal right enough

                               - what need have we of currency?

Ben.   That`s very well, Herb, what you say

                               - your argument stands good by me,

                               but well you know how things are when

                               you deal with other gentlemen!

                               The price goes up for folk that come

           with banker`s notes to buy for cash

                               the very beans and barley flour 

                               you`d give to me for mending thatch!

                               No, Herb, for all your high ideals

                               to give the right and proper due

                               for fare or services to you,

                               YOU`RE BOUND BY FILTHY LUCRE TOO!

 

 

  

Author's Note

I wrote this 45 years ago after reading Alfred Lord Tennyson`s " Northern Farmer, Country Style" about the virtues of marrying for love or money, a conversation in the vernacular.....so I thought I`d have a go

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

:) delightful ... for me a trip down another world and another language .. fun to read, i pictured them clearly and a fine chuckle at the end .. barter or pay .. its all the same .. minus the carry convenience of the coin :)
E.

[emmajoy]

' .. ..why, in my father`s younger day - indeed, this coat, and trews, and more, - were bought with beans and barley flour. '

Wonderful, wonderful! Firstly, great metre throughout.. words fit for a writer's bank balance! Secondly, would love to hear you read this... the exchanges, the dialogue is so sharp yet real as real can be. Laughing kindly at your country folk - so like mine.. who know how it's been, can discuss for hours, but actually have an aim in sight from dawn rise!

[Pete Langley]

I haven`t read this in public because I would have kept dropping out of the rural vernacular back into my Cockney accent! Thanks for your lovely review, hon. P.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i really got a kick out of this...i like how you kept the rhyme and rhythm and country flavor...this was like a backwoods version of shakespeare--

"aye, there's the rub"

but more like

"rub a dub dub"

love it.

[Pete Langley]

You`ll have to read Tennyson`s "Northern Farmer" to see how to do it properly, Jacob. He lived in Lincolnshire and wrote the syntax phonetically as well as poetically....that takes real application!
Now, I don`t think I`d have the stamina to try another one like this. P.

[Mark]

Wonderfully written , Pete! And I'm glad to see you back here! You were missed, Sir!

[Pete Langley]

Thanks Mark.....and thanks for the welcome. P.

[Zahra]

Nice to see you back on WC.
No, Herb, for all your
high ideals
to give the right and
proper due
for fare or services to
you,

Wonderful write, well penned

[Pete Langley]

Thank you, Zahra. P.

[David Scott]

Conversations are far more than the words spoken... This shows a weaving of understanding from culturally common understandings.
Very enjoyable read Pete.

[Pete Langley]

Glad you enjoyed it, David. As a London-born Cockney, I had to assimilate the bucolic language ....but the common sense is universal. P.