Together with our partners, Rural Coffee Caravan, Dean Parkin visited Westhorpe, to find out what residents valued about their village. The result was this poem, The Westhorpe Way.
The Westhorpe Way – An A to Z
A is for the arches in the Three Arches Bridge
B is for the barn owl that lets out a riff
C is for The Crown, closed, yet licence to sell on the door
D is for the drains (we won’t mention no more)
E is for Ella, her seat still saved in the church
F is for what you’ll find in Finbow’s (if you search)
G is for the ghost that Ella saw in the Hall
H is for how you heard Heather’s reversing call (beep… beep…. beep)
I is for ‘In Lockdown I could hear birds from afar’
J is for Josef’s wife, Jean (Westhorpe’s own movie star)
K is for Kent her surname which once topped the bill
L is for lovely place, lovely walks, no street lights but still…
M is for Mary Tudor and her remains over the county
N is for the nocturnal bird scarer that only scares me
O is for the owls and otters you can see round the farm
P is for Professor Plumb – he couldn’t resist Westhorpe’s charm
Q is for our Queen of France, Mary (mentioned before)
R is for her Tudor rose you’ll see on your next village tour
S is for sewage (please don’t mention the drains)
T is for tea and biscuits with Rural Coffee Caravan friends
U is for what a unique place to be
V is for the village hall and a vibrant community
W is the what else but the Westhorpe way
X is for how exceptional it is (that’s what we all say)
Y is for the yaffling woodpecker you’ll hear in our trees
Z is for our everyday zeal and nights full of Zzzzzz’s
by Dean Parkin with help from Alison Weston and fellow Westhorpians
