Thomas Thurman contacted ALE recently.
He lived in Cambridge a long while before emigrating to Philadelphia a few years ago.
Thinking about how much he missed his old local, the Carlton Arms,
inspired him to verse:
- Oh, many bounds I’ve beaten well,
- And many more I’ll drub,
- But through this maze I’ll take the ways
- That lead me to the pub
- Where worries may be left behind,
- Where life’s despair may fail,
- Where peace has smiled on pints of mild
- And blessed the winter ale.
- Where folk may laugh, where folk may spend
- A moment free from fear,
- Where smiles may bless a game of chess
- Beside two pints of beer.
- And in my mind I see the bar,
- The beers’ familiar names!
- The window seat where old men meet,
- Where children play their games!
- Where still you’ll find a Sunday lunch
- On Sunday afternoon,
- And God’s own pie, denoted by
- A number on a spoon.
- Oh, many weary miles I’ve trod,
- All filled with life’s alarms,
- But in my brains it still remains
- My local Carlton Arms.