Property of RKB


Property of RKB

St Andrews is historic and interesting and has kept its identity over the changing of time. With castle ruins, university, cobbled streets and wynds make you feel that you are in an episode of a Charles Dickens story.

Property of RKB

My great grandmother came from here and her family would have walked the very streets that inject my imaginative mind. She was born in the shadows of St Rule’s tower and the ruins so ancestral feelings in St Andrews are very strong.



Sojourn in St Andrews © RKB




Property of RKB

ONLY A FIELD IN KINCAPLE, ONLY A FIELD IN FIFE ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett 2006

I watch the wave of trees,
Then I turn to face the North Sea breeze.
From a resting place of a perimeter wall,
The rolling land to the sea does fall.
I stand and listen to nothing,
I listen to nothing at all.
The view I see impresses me,
Down to the Eden Estuary.
This scene does help me to unwind,
From the hustle and bustle of the daily grind.
The rolling land to the sea does fall,
I stand and listen to nothing,
I listen to nothing at all.
Only a field in Kincaple,
Only a field in Fife.
A wee short break away from the norm,
To ease the pressure of life.

In the dead of night,
I watch the lights of distant cars
Drive on out of sight.
Up the lane towards Strathkinness,
Over the brow of the hill.
In the dead of night,
It's peaceful, quiet and still.

Come the early morn,
The air is fresh a new day is born.
Up the lane towards Strathkinness,
I'm on the brow of that hill.
The sky this day is cloudy grey,
The atmosphere is still.
From a resting place of a perimeter wall,
The rolling land to the sea does fall.
I stand and listen to nothing,
I listen to nothing at all.
The view I see impresses me,
Down to the Eden Estuary.
I see afar a farmer's field,
The growth of crop that it will yield.
Only a field in Kincaple,
Only a field in Fife.
A wee short break away from the norm,
To ease the pressure of life.

ONLY A FIELD IN KINCAPLE, ONLY A FIELD IN FIFE © Robbie Kennedy Bennett




The Story Behind The Poem

My wife and I had booked a short break in a Scandinavian Lodge at Kincaple, not far from St Andrews. We arrived on a Sunday, which proved to be the best day for the weather. Earlier in the day as we approached the Forth Road Bridge, we could see blue skies with only the odd cloud over the Kingdom of Fife.



As we entered the drive to the site there was a panoramic view to the Eden Estuary. We could sense the peacefulness of this location and we were impressed with our lodge and the surrounding. Rabbits (or hares) played freely all around.

Personally I was mesmerised by the view and I would lean on the wall at the back of the lodge taking it all in. From here we visited not only St Andrews but also drove up over the Tay Bridge to Dundee, where earlier in the year I had found that my Bennet ancestors had came from.

The Monday of our stay was overcast with the occasional drizzle of rain. Early that day I had drove up to Strathkinness to buy some groceries and upon my drive back I spotted a war memorial. I always like to show my respect and read the names of those who gave up their life for our freedom. I also look for the name Kennedy and Bennet, especially in Scotland.

I was amazed to find that a good percentage of names on this memorial were soldiers from the Black Watch. Incidentally I later found that my real Grandad, James Traill Bennet had served in this regiment. When starting to drive out of Strathkinness I stopped again at the edge of the village that is on the brow of a hill. The view again was sensational looking down to Kincaple, the Eden Estuary and Guardbridge.

© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
22 July 2006

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