Written by Ben Buckton - Incidentsoftravel.com

A Massive Thank-you To Beechwood!

A Massive Thank-you To Beechwood!To thank all the children (and Mrs Lodge!) of Stewart House at Beechwood Park School in Hertfordshire, for their amazing donation to SOS Children’s Villages this morning, I’d like to offer this short and well-known song, learnt for the occasion and recorded live (in my hotel, sorry neighbours) on this beautiful morning in Thunder Bay, Ontario, but made even more beautiful by your generosity! I’ll be thinking of you all as I ride around Lake Superior today: 

19 thoughts on “A Massive Thank-you To Beechwood!”

      5. If there’s one man in the world you don’t want to FaceTime…! While you’re at it tell him you don’t rate Sergei Krylov and see what he says…

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  2. This has taken so long for me to get back that maybe everyone’s forgotten the challenge.
    Here we go, not brilliant but four fewer!

    Daze
    Dane
    Lane
    Land
    Lend
    Lead
    Dead

    Oh but curses, just realised I’ve missed out doze…..which would add two more,so

    Daze
    Doze
    Done
    Lone
    Lane
    Land
    Lend
    Lead
    Dead

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  3. Hi Ben; That rendition of the piece from Oklahoma was so lovely, so sweet, so sentimental for me. When I was a kid at summer camp, we’d put on Broadway Musicals, one every season. Each became a major theme of our camp existence. Carousel, Gilbert and Sullivan, South Pacific, (we had been gifted with a complete wardrobe giveaway that smelled of french gallantry and english decadence, or was the vice versa?) Two of the leads became prominent members of the Canadian Opera Company, one even making it to Hollywood, the Basso Jan Rubes, (Some Enchanted Evening) who doubled as the tennis instructor, a champ and a refugee from Czechoslovakia. The counsellors who played the major parts became our own vesion of those great american Broadwollywood) heroes, even the piano was sometimes tuned, and building the sets and creating and converting the costumes and rehearsing endlessly, as amateurs have to do, and inviting the locals over to sit with us at the few grand performances. So your englishried or englishized lilted renditions were so heartwarming.. I even traced a soupcon of George Formby in the timbre of your voice and in the earnestness (laid back to the perfect degree… bucktonized, almost as sunny as that day at the beach on Georgian Bay)… it was quite perfect. I was so charmed, dear Benjamin, that my eyes were getting a little damp… sentiment runs in the family… From Paddle to Production, you make your mark on the local populations and the internetted. Please have a safe and successful trip.

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    1. sorry about placing G and Sullivan in the company of american musicals… G and S came way first, with the castoff wardrobes, and Broadway followed. But the English humour really turned us on, we colonials, at that great time, the late 40’s. So that after that sublime silliness, we were ready for the serious sentiment of Broadway. But not really, you guys were sedimental too. Whenever i’d hum the G&S tune, TitWillow, Joanna would start crying and would beg me to stop. I don’t think she knew where it came from… it must have been in the genes.

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    2. Thanks so much Morley, and I’ll have to follow up some of your references to artists from your past. These tunes have a structure, a feeling and attention to detail that will keep jumping over any obstacles of time. All I have is a uke but it’s enough for me! Bx

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  5. Ben your song is so touching and tender, somehow specially speaking to the Beechwood children. Yes Morley, damp eyes here too.

    And Stewart you definitely win the doze challenge. How annoying!

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  6. I don’t understand this word challenge. Is it the most or the least? If the latter, why did Chris/Mum (my wife) unnecessarily add more words than needed? Or have I got the whole thing wrong?

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