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Fenland Poetry and Verse - and More
Sedge was harvested in the fens for centuries. The sedge on Sedge Fen, at Wicken Fen, is now some of the last to be found in Cambridgeshire.
Wicken Fen Sedge Boats
by Neil Ford
So it’s out down the lode to the Cock Up we’re heading
Turning out on Reach Lode and onto the Cam
It’s a hard day of work for us boatmen and crewmen
We’ll take some meal and a beer at the Bridge when we can
We’re loaded with sedge and we’re heading for Cambridge
Three lighters stacked high – there’s work to be done
We’ve loaded the donkey – he’s finished his haling
We can pick up the breeze with the sail on the run
The sedge, she will cut you – she’s as viscous as hell
She’ll graze you and cut you and rip you to shreds
We’re gloved up and wrapped so she don’t get to get you
If it weren’t for the money we’d stay in our beds
So it’s out down the lode to the Cock Up we’re heading
Turning out on Reach Lode and onto the Cam
It’s a hard day of work for us boatmen and crewmen
We’ll take some meal and a beer at the Bridge when we can
There’s demand from the bakers and the thatching men too
They want sedge for their calling and we’re here to oblige
In the season we need to pick up all of their orders
Working many an hour, it’s just a part of our lives
So it’s out down the lode to the Cock Up we’re heading
Turning out on Reach Lode and onto the Cam
It’s a hard day of work for us boatmen and crewmen
We’ll take some meal and a beer at the Bridge when we can
Neil Ford
Ely, Cambridgeshire
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