Eric’s War

Cherry

By Turlough

Fri, 19 Jul 2024
  • 959 reads
20 comments
 

Eric’s War

 

Eric was a bus conductor and Eric was a soldier

Eric was shot whilst having a ciggy in Iceland in 1940

Iceland the country, not the shop

Iceland declared neutrality during the Second World War

Britain invaded Iceland so that Germany couldn’t

Britain sent Eric to Iceland to scare away Germany

Eric didn’t like Iceland, it was dark and cold

Eric didn’t like Iceland because Iceland shot him

Iceland didn’t like Eric because Eric was British

Iceland didn’t like Britain, they’d brought them the war

Britain didn’t like Iceland because Iceland shot Eric

Britain left Iceland because they were busy elsewhere

America went to Iceland to scare away Germany

America didn’t like Iceland because of dried fish and crispbread

Germany didn’t invade Iceland, it was dark and cold

Germany didn’t invade Iceland because of dried fish and America

Eric worked the rest of his life on a Bath Corporation bus

Eric never rang the bell to stop the bus outside Iceland

Iceland the shop, not the country

Iceland the shop didn’t sell dried fish or crispbread

Peggy always bought fish fingers for Eric’s tea on Thursdays

Peggy never told Eric they were from Iceland, the shop and the country

 

Image:

I haven’t got a single photograph of Iceland (neither the country nor the shop) or of Eric but I do have a selection of photographs of volcanoes which I could pretend were Icelandic. This is one I took from Stromboli’s crater rim late one evening whilst on a walking holiday in the Aeolian Islands near Sicily.

Certificate 12
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Heroes and Villains
Biography

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Incidentally imparting information about Iceland during WW2! Presumably Eric wasn't badly hurt?

How lovely to have been able to stroll around a crater in the Aeolian islands. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Eric said he was shot in the thigh. It hurt quite a bit but after a week in a makeshift military hospital he was sent home to Bath. He had a bit of a limp for the rest of his life and consequently saw no further active service in the army. I knew him because he and his wife were clients of mine while I was doing the foot health work.

The Stromboli stroll was quite a hike though well worth it. We began the climb early in the evening and descended by torchlight. As part of a guided group I climbed several volcanoes in those islands (plus Sicily's Etna) though all the others were in daylight. The scenery from the top of each was stunning.

 

 

Turlough

Submitted by Turlough on

Dear ABC people. Many thanks for the cherries.

Turlough

Submitted by airyfairy on

Poor Eric. You can't even trust the fish fingers.

Artfully blended history and personal story. Very enjoyable!

Submitted by Turlough on

... or Peggy!

Many thanks AF.

Turlough

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Congratulations for this brilliantly deadpan very black and white explanation of Eric's War (and Iceland - both kinds!) very well deserved cherries - you absolutely must read this for us

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Well thank you very much IPFN. I'll add it to the set list and see if I can get Eric and Peggy to join in on backing vocals.

By the way, when is the next Zoom?

Turlough

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

You're the first person to mention it Turlough!

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Don't leave it too long. My fish fingers might thaw out.

Turlough

Submitted by celticman on

Ah, Eric the war veteran,  not Eric the Icelander.  I guess if you've got ice in your title your not very nice, but what do I know? I'm sure he did his bit on the buses. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

“I 'ate you Iceland!“ Eric shouted and waved his fist as the No 11 drove off in the direction of the Cemetery Gates terminus at the other side of town.

Turlough

Submitted by seashore on

Very original Terry, but then nobody writes like you. Loved it,
Xx

Submitted by Turlough on

Ah, such kind words Coral. Thank you very much indeed.

Tx

Turlough

Submitted by seashore on

Not kind, true x

Submitted by marandina on

I always thought mum went to Iceland. Hmmm....maybe that was an ad...

That's a very creative poem about Eric/Iceland. It's actually very clever the way you have interwoven the theme of country and store, blending humour with dry observation. Yes, I enjoyed reading that several times. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Eric's daughter's mum went to Iceland, but only on Thursdays.

I used to wonder what happened to Bejam but I've just done googlin' and read that it was purchased by its smaller rival, Iceland, in a hostile takeover in 1989. Eric often used the word 'hostile' himself when talking about Iceland.

Thanks Paul for all the reading and commenting.

Turlough

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Turlough,

you have a sharp eye for threading words together to crate an impressive memoir of Eric's experience with Iceland.

I wonder if Eric would have eaten those fish fingers if he'd known where his wife got them from!

You were so lucky to have been up on the volcano, it must have been such an exhilarating adventure. I've only ridden up one on a camel in Lanzarote, that was fun, but so many people have done the journey, that it's not much to write home about anymore, sadly.

A great tribute to Eric and his wife.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Turlough on

I'm sure Eric would rather have starved than eaten Icelandic (in both senses) fish fingers. I always stayed on the right side of him but many others would have described him as a curmudgeon. I've enough Eric and Peggy material in my head for a whole collection of poems.

Climbing a volcano on a camel sounds very interesting to me. I expect the poor camel already knew the way. I rode a camel once in Morocco but I can't say that it was an enjoyable experience for me or for the camel. I sometimes think that if the camels got together with the donkeys we might have a revolution on our hands. 

Thanks very much for your kind comment Jenny. I hope you're feeling a bit better these days.

Turlough

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Loved this. Eric's PTSD, how he "never rang the bell to stop the bus outside Iceland". Your poem, how the theme interweaves past and present, country and shop, then comes together at the end with fishfingers coming from both kinds of Iceland, like a double whammy, the certainty of Eric and the gentle subterfuge of his wife. Warmth of present family life and cold and dark of war. It's so CLEVER!!! while also being fun :0)

 

Submitted by Turlough on

I think grumpy old Eric had PTSD long before the outbreak of World War Two and the Icelanders only shot him (no one else, as he could recall) so that he'd go home. During the years that I was living near to Bath the majority of the buses there had Polish driver-conductors. Eric had been long retired by then but claimed that the bus service wouldn't have been the same as in his day, and how right he was. The Poles' smiling and helping elderly and disabled people on and off the bus was something that never would have been seen on his bus. His grumpiness always made me laugh though and when I laughed he joined in. I missed him a lot after he passed away.

Many many thanks to you Di for your in depth comment and for taking the time to read my stuff. It's always appreciated.

Turlough