© Robbie Kennedy Bennett

© Robbie Kennedy Bennett


© Robbie Kennedy Bennett

© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
The Old Scottish Stone was written after ancestral feelings in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.








INHERENT WOLVERHAMPTON, always heading back to my hometown. A panoramic photo of Wolverhampton taken from Sedgley Beacon. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page74.htm

TAY BRIDGE DISASTER 1879, another added paragraph or two to page FIFE MY FRIEND. 75 victims of which Bella Neish aged 5 was the youngest. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page71.htm

LOVELY, LITTORAL ELIE, an added feature and poem to page FIFE MY FRIEND. About wandering around Elie and Earlsferry stopping by at the Ship Inn overlooking the bay. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page71.htm

THE STRATH WON THE FIFE CUP, an ode to the team who won the Fife Amateur Cup 2008-09. View on Page FOOTIE POEMS. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page38.htm

I NEVER KNEW HIM AS GRANDAD, a true story poem about my natural Grandad from Wolverhampton. It was difficult to write as I had a feeling of guilt that I had betrayed the man I thought of as my Grandad. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page73.htm

A POPULAR NUMBER 3, a wee piece of poetic writing for Andy Thompson, a popular number 3 for Wolverhampton Wanderers. View on page FOOTIE POEMS. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page38.htm

THE FIFE CUP 2009, winners Strathmiglo United represented in Guest Book.

TH' SHORES O' FIFE, an additional poem to my time spent on the Fife Coastal Path. Two years have passed since I was stationed at red lights in Chaple Ash, Wolverhampton wishing I were were still able to have a game of football or run a marathon somewhere. Suddenly the coast of Fife sprang to mind and from then I made plans to go a wee walk. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page72.htm

FIFE MY FRIEND, return to the coastal path and my first visit of the year to Fife for my Homecoming Scotland 2009. Meeting the guys of 3(Fighter)Sqn Royal Air Force who were walking coast to coast from Oban to St Andrews for Motor Neurone. Also, Strathmiglo United were due to win the Fife Cup that very evening. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page71.htm

BERT WILLIAMS, THE ORIGINAL 'CAT', a well deserved poem of mine of a goalkeeper 'nicknamed the cat'. See page FOOTIE POEMS. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page38.htm

GIVE LOVE THAT'S TRUE AND HONEST, a father to son wedding day poem written in 1992. See page FATHER TO SON WEDDING POEM.www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page70.htm

PULL YOUR LADYBANK PANTHER SHIRT OVER YOUR HEAD, a football team from Ladybank visiting Bayview, home of East Fife FC. See page FIFERS DAY.
www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page41.htm

A TRAWLER MAN, a fictional poem about a boy meeting a Trawlerman and telling him he wishes to be one to.www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page69.htm

A PAINTING BY JACK VETTRIANO, a poem about wishing to be in the background of a coastal painting by the Fife artist, Jack Vettriano.
www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page68.htm

SHE HAS ASTOUNDED ME KIERA MARIE, poem about my grandaughter born on the same day as my father. See page WHEN AARON CAME. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page7.htm

A PERSONALITY BY THE NAME OF FRENCHIE PEARSON, a poem of a work mate from the past who done a turn like a circus act. See page FLIGHTY GUY.
www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page43.htm

WERE YOU ONE OF THE THIRTY? growing up on a football field in the Rough Hills and Parkfields area of Wolverhampton in the 1960's. The word is getting about of the poem and the guest book rekindles memories. www.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv6/rkbpoetry.co.uk/wwwroot/page58.htm

A SOTTISH CAP. A Scottish cap meant so much to one man other than this poet. Eddie Turnbull has the honour of being the first British footballer to score a goal in a European club competition for Hibernian in 1955. He was also one of the famous five. All of the five forwards of Hibs were selected to play for Scotland. In the forties and fifties despite having represented Scotland 9 times he was awarded his first international cap in 2006 at the age of 82.
See page FOOTIE POEMS. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page38.htm

YOU KEEP ON SINGING SCOTLAND, a poem for Homecoming Scotland.
Homecoming Scotland 2009 is an events programme to celebrate 250 years since the birth of Robert Burns.
For Scot’s or of Scottish descent or just love Scotland, this is a celebration of Scotland’s contribution to the world.
www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page67.htm

MAY TH' LOVELY LASSIE, youthful love to walking on ice on the Solway Firth over 30 years later. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page66.htm

A MAN SHOULD EARN, a poem about facing up to responsibilities.
www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page65.htm

ONE DAY, ABERDEEN, a poem about thinking of Aberdeen being a part of my past. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page64.htm

MAGGIE, EMINENT IN EDINBURGH, a poem about a young lady who on her travels became a friend of ours. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page63.htm

EMILY SMILED, brave Emily Garrington-Harris, former pupil at Codsall High School who passed away on 4th January 2009 aged 28. On December 10, Emily performed a solo dance in Birmingham in aid of the Wish Upon A Star appeal for terminally ill children. See poem on page Flighty Guy. www.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv6/rkbpoetry.co.uk/wwwroot/page43.htm

I SUPPOSE IT WAS HUGHIE McILMOYLE, background of poem displayed on the website WOLVES HEROES, a 'must visit' for Wolves supporters and the old gold players who have graced the Molineux turf.
www.wolvesheroes.com/2009/01/13/an-ode-to-hugh/#more-2360

ONLY GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, written on the 20year anniversary of the Pan Am Flight 103 from Heathrow to New York that exploded over the Scottish Border town of Lockerbie. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page62.htm

BLESS THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, a poem about the team from Dumfries taking the lead against the mighty Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final 2007-08.See page Footie Poems. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page38.htm

LADY DEVORGILLA BRIDGE, poem now on its own page of that name. December pictures of the Auld Brig in Dumfries and the Solway Coast added. www.rkbpoetry.co.uk/page61.htm


© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Pages of time in rhyme from someone with a BLACK COUNTRY and SCOTTISH ancestral background. The common decency of the honest working men that I have toiled alongside and my good family values are all I need to help put my thoughts into words.


Paintings by LESLIE BROADFIELD





A message to the friends of the late Ben Young.



Ben was an apprentice plumber and a former pupil at Pool Hayes School. See poem page Sing For Your Friend Ben Young. rkbpoetry.co.uk/page27.htm







There came a time in my life when I looked back as well as forward. Because of my parents I have always thought of myself as being half-Scottish. I was schooled and raised in the town I was born in and played football on most of the football pitches in the area. I also trained myself to be marathon fit by running many miles on roads where generations of my family have travelled and past factories that they have worked in. I was a very active young lad and the Royal Hospital, now redundant, was often having me as a patient. As kids my friends and I were finding out who we were when cutting our teeth in the streets and on the local playing fields around the Rough Hills. 'I'm English but I'm also half-Scottish' I would proudly say, 'my dad is from Scotland.' In later years not only did I want to know more about my roots, I wished that I could turn back the sporting clock.


Property of RKB

See page LADYBANK VIOLET to view the story poem of how I would have done things differently.



See also pictures of Ladybank and poem of Ladybank Tavern on page LADYBANK VIOLET.

My poem THE KINGDOM OF FIFE was in the Fife Leader newspaper and my first to be printed in Scotland. They sent me a copy and I experienced a strange feeling when reading it. I had told them that I wanted to send the poem home, and there it was, in many a household in Fife.



So, I know what my home town is and I have feelings for Scotland, but who am I?


Property of RKB


My parents had met during National Service and settled in my mothers home town of Wolverhampton. It was here in 1984 that I ran my first marathon. Although proud of my midland roots and up bringing, I have always felt that there is more to me.
Our family holidays were often spent in Gt Yarmouth. I recently found out that this part of the British coast was the winter fishing water of the Fishermen from Fife. As a young lad my favourite flag on my sand castle was the red rampant lion on a yellow background. That feeling never changed, and many years later I find myself returning to Fife as often as I can, too late to take my dad with me.





IN MY BLOOD www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com/in-my-blood.html




I once read that Scots bloodlines have a marked tendency to uphold and cherish their roots. I find that I can associate myself in that category and it reflects in my writing.

The 19th century Edinburgh novelist and poet Robert Louis Stevenson understood the psychology of man and his mental make-up. He said that he cherished the memory of his forebears, good or bad. And there burns alive in him a sense of identity.

Sence of identity for me came a few years ago when I was alone on the coast of St Andrews well after mid-night. I was there for work re-lated business and my family was back at home. Alone, yes but a right to be here and to feel as if it is a part of me. Afer all, my Dad was from Ladybank, not too far away. I can recall him mentioning Cupar and Auchtermuchty. Some town and village names of Fife often struck a cord when heard. On the coast of St Andrews that night, inner feelings of belonging, guilt and confusion surfaced. My poem THE OLD SCOTTISH STONE encouraged me even more so not to ever let go.







Property of RKB


Part extract of THE OLD SCOTTISH STONE (Auld Scottish Staine)©

St Andrews a town that's so proud
A voice in the wind that speaks loud,
‘‘The blood in that man is still strong
To remember your roots is not wrong’’.
The clouds may get heavy the stones may be grey,
The sea tells St Andrews
‘‘He won't wash away’’.


As true as the poems that you may read of my Scottish blood, given to me by my Dad, Cecil 'Jock' Kennedy Bennet, it 'willnae wash awa', and I never want it to.



The south coast of Fife



The Ancestry Walk © Robbie Kennedy Bennett


## Property of RKB
View poems on page FIFE COASTAL PATH.





My love for Scotland is apparent in my writing but I never lose sight of my Wulfrunian up-bringing. I am proud to be connected with family names that are scattered all around.
The city of Wolverhampton has a documented history that goes back to 985AD. It was then that King Aethelred granted land known as Heantune to Lady Wulfruna.
My poem, A WULFRUNIAN WAY, is about family and the history of Wolverhampton.






Property of RKB




Also on the page A WULFRUNIAN WAY is a painting with kind permission of the artist Leslie Broadfield of Wolverhampton.

Three days before Christmas 2008 I met my brothers in Wolverhampton for a festive drink. At the end of the evening I awaited for the bus to Codsall opposite St Peters gardens. The church was a picture with the roof shining and the festive lights. My mind was taken back to All Saints School in 1963.

When we played away games on Saturday mornings we met at St Peters gardens Wolverhampton, by the monument of the sailors head. Douglas Morris Harris, The Heroic Wireless Operator, who continued to record notes as his ship was sinking after being torpedoed on May 15th 1917 in the Adriatic Sea.

© Robbie Kennedy Bennett

The art gallery was also visible with the lights and once again I was admiring the architectural work of by-gone times. Further down the road I have a childhood memory of standing with my mother awaiting to see the Queen visiting Wolverhampton, the town of the famous Wanderers.



A wanderer with a Scottish heart,
A man divided in two.


I believe that it would be wrong to forget my other ancestral side. Having lost my dad in 1986 when he was aged 59, I think that it is important that his grandchildren should not forget their Scottish ancestry background. Returning to the land where generations of my family have lived and toiled is inspirational. I can instantly see the St Andrews Saltire flag flying, or even stickers on cars and lorries on the motorway, it draws my attention from far away.

Property of RKB

My football interest appears to have came from my Mother's side, her real Father having played in goal for Merthyr Tydfil.
On her side is also Rowley, a name of football recognition.
As a young lad I attended and played for the school football team, like family before me. This was before the day of mini-soccer when teams played 11 v 11. It was my first introduction to organised football and I had to learn the rules very quickly. I was a player from the year below and played on the right wing. I can recall everyone calling BENNETT YOU'RE OFFSIDE. The next day in school the headmaster would take me aside and again explain the offside rule.



see FOOTIE POEMS.
www.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv6/rkbpoetry.co.uk/wwwroot/page38.htm






A Wanderer with a Scottish heart, and I know where my inspiration comes from, and it is not all from my Scottish side.



My Heart And Soul © Robbie Kennedy Bennett



In thought I cross the family divide, is a line from my poem SOJOURN IN ST ANDREWS. It is about the realisation of having a past somewhere away from my place of birth. Guilty feelings surfaced but I felt a belonging and an ancestral right to be there.

My Mom has always been supportive of my brothers and I connecting with our Scottish side if we wish to. She loves Scotland herself and in April 2008 she was with me for her first visit to Ladybank, my Dad's village in Fife.



Property of RKB




Property of RKB

Property of RKB






Other poems about individual people can be found on page FLIGHTY GUY.
They need not to have been famous and they can even be fictitious.
This page is where folk from all walks of life combine.


My writing helps me to keep people, places and moments alive. In my words is a haven of feelings, some have been bottled for many years and is maturing with time.

Property of RKB

Her Little Lips © Robbie Kennedy Bennett

Her Little Lips is about me as a young man and first seeing my new born baby daughter. Responsibility and love rolled into one feeling.








Friday 25th July 2008
Property of RKB
For over twenty years my family and I have lived in the Staffordshire village of Codsall, 5 miles outside of Wolverhampton towards the Shropshire border.




The pictures on display with my poems around Codsall and Oaken are not too bad for someone who was only walking the dog.
Property of RKB




PLEASE NOTE
On some of the pages there is more than one poem and not listed on the left-hand menu.

On Sunday afternoon between 4.00 and 7.00pm on Radio WM and Coventry and Warwickshire is Bob Brolly's Irish Programme. I often listen in because I like the music and the 'craic'. Also, although being an Irish programme it reminds me of my roots in Scotland. I sent Bob Brolly an E-mail telling him of this and to pay compliments. He has an obvious warmth towards his listeners.
On the 20th January 2008 he kindly read out my poem
A BASEMENT BAR IN LIMERICK.
If you wish to tune in yourself you can find his programme on the listen again feature on the website below.
www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2005/08/17/weekend_radio_schedule_feature.shtml



Further samples of my writing can be found by entering my name into the Google search engine. www.google.co.uk/

BELOW ARE DIRECT LINKS ABOUT MY WRITING KINDLY DISPLAYED ON OTHER WEBSITES.


www.wolvesheroes.com/
I SUPPOSE IT WAS HUGHIE McILMOYLE, background of poem displayed on the website WOLVES HEROES, a 'must visit' for Wolves supporters and the old gold players who have graced the Molineux turf.
www.wolvesheroes.com/2009/01/13/an-ode-to-hugh/#more-2360



Football Poets.
www.footballpoets.org/p.asp?Id=22949



Poetry, Songs and Writers of Scotland.
www.poetryofscotland.co.uk/bennett.php


For anyone interested in Fife, I highly recommend the website www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com
Please take time to visit, you will not be disappointed.



IN MY BLOOD
Many thanks to SCOTLAND'S ENCHANTING KINGDOM inviting me to display my work and for their feature page.

See the complete page with further poetic reading at www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com/in-my-blood.html



Thank you to Jillian Donnachie of Smart Community Fife for displaying my name and website on history pages of Ladybank and Collessie.

www.smartcommunityfife.org.uk/collessie-and-letham/history/

www.smartcommunityfife.org.uk/ladybank/history/






Also to the Black Country Bugle over the years for displaying my writing. Whenever possible I like to promote this popular nostalgic newspaper, as it was my ambition in the early 1990's to get a poem printed in the Bugle, 'The Voice Of The Black Country'.
www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk


www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blackcountrybugle-search_new/home.asp?searchterm=ROBBIE+KENNEDY+BENNETT&x=16&y=12

www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blackcountrybugle-sport/displayarticle.asp?id=135485





Cecil ‘Jock’ Kennedy Bennett
Aaron
Liam
Bill Shankly
James Butler (Sculpture)
Stan Cullis
Dorothy
Eddie Barry
Billy
Marie
HAMPDEN PARK LEGENDS
Hag
Steven
George Rowley
Jane Rowley
John Thomson
Len Muir
Ben Young
Raymond Froggatt
Hartley Cain
Jock Stein
Isabella Cramond Traill
Thomas Joseph Harris
Alexander Kennedy
Ian Jenkins
James McFadden
Michael Pugh
Harry Love
Sydney Partridge
Charlie Hale
Arthur Rowley
Jack Rowley
Tommy Docherty
Hedley Farr
Jeff Astle
Jimmy McGrory
Alf Ramsey
England squad 1966
East Fife FC 1938
Peter Knowles
Brian Guy
Billy Bremner
Chris Paterson
Alf Tupper
Gary McAlister
Fred Lowbridge
Mark Fellows
Henry Cooper
Cassius Clay
Angelo Dundee
Mohammed Ali
Joe Frazier
George Foreman
Billy Liddle
Tam Bennett
Gordon ‘Dixie’ Deans
Thomas Joseph Harris
Charles II
Oliver Cromwell
Mr Evans
William Ambrose Wright
Steve Bull
Pete 'The Hat' Harrington
Hughie McIlmoyle
James Forsyth
Duncan Edwards
Yanbo
Jim Thomson
Queen of the South 2007-08
Emily Garrington-Harris
Maggie Venus
Kiera Marie
Jack Vettriano
Bert Williams
Andy Thompson
Benjamin Owen Snr
Bella Neish









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© Robbie Kennedy Bennett


















1975


All writing, drawings and photographs are the copyright of Robbie Kennedy Bennett

© Poetic Writing of Robbie Kennedy Bennett | created at www.mrsite.com