Christine’s Inspiration
I went to live at Lower Gills Farm, Rimington, on marrying Bert Thistlethwaite in 1957, and spent the next 40 years in that lovely spot; farmer’s wife, mother of four, happily joining in the many village activities and wonderful community of grand Rimington folks.
An early picture of Lower Gills Bert and Christine Lower Gills - 2020
One much anticipated treat held in the Memorial Institute was the annual Children’s Fancy Dress Party, a week or so after Christmas. It was the year, 1974, that our proud Yorkshire Rimington was dragged kicking and screaming into Lancashire. My friend, Barbara Spencer had dressed her two small daughters as one red rose and one white rose – the white one carried a placard saying ‘FAREWELL’, whilst the red one read ‘HAIL’ - so simple, but effective! The phrase rang a bell in my head and became the key to open the door to all that followed – ‘A Yorkshire Lad’s Lament’ being my first effort!
I was born in the heart of the country and grew up amongst farming folk, many using the old dialect speech and phrases, and I must have absorbed this somehow into my sub-conscious for it to emerge years later in my dialect poetry!
Going about, speaking to so many and varied groups has been such a joy; meeting some lovely people and sharing with them my thoughts and experiences - some humorous and sad, others descriptive and downright daft!
The Poems of Christine Thistlethwaite
Click here for Christine's poems in alphabetical order on YouTube
Click navigation top right of YouTube window to see full playlist in random order
TROUBLE AT’ MILL
Bernadette & Graham Dixon have been entertaining audiences since 1988.They play all your favourite sing-along folk songs with the emphasis on fun.
They have been the recordists for Christine’s poems and when they heard Bleggin’ Time they set it to music.
Sadly Christine died in late December 2020.She particulary liked one of her poems, Jean Pierre Bellancourt, however a satisfactory recording had not been made. In memory of Christine, Bernadette and Graham sent it to Bob Johnson, a musician and song writer, who set it to music.
In 1983 Dorothy Falshaw (Elizabeth and Bennett Robinson's sister-in-law) was Club Leader of Gisburn Young Farmers' Club (YFC) and she and Christine Thistlethwaite worked together as a team to put on a concert for the YFC National Competition.They started at Settle and won that competition, which took them to Harrogate then onto Hexham and then to the national finals in the Isle of Man.
They didn’t win the finals of the competition but it was a wonderful experience.John Falshaw transported all the props in their cattle waggon, they hired coaches to take the cast to Harrogate and Hexham and finally went by ferry to Douglas Isle of man (IOM) for the final .
To see a poster of the IOM concert click here
Christine was asked to write and read a poem about the jet engine development (which took place in Clitheroe) at a reunion held at Waddington's Moorcock Inn. The Inn no longer exists.
