There was an Old Man of St. Bees

There was an Old Man of St. Bees
Who was stung in the arm by a wasp.
When asked, “Does it hurt?”
He replied, “No, it doesn’t,
But I thought all the while ’twas a hornet”

(the last line is sometimes given as “I’m so glad it wasn’t a hornet.”)

(W S Gilbert)

Not too painful

April 13 2016.

This is where W S Gilbert gatecrashes our Lear party. As we were driving right past, it seemed right to recognise one of the most famous limericks satirising his style – particularly Lear’s noted laziness with rhymes.

It has been suggested that Gilbert’s effort might have been inspired by this one by Lear:

There was an Old Man in a tree
Who was horribly bored by a bee;
When they said, “Does it buzz?”
He replied, “Yes, it does!
It’s a regular brute of a Bee.”

Alice photo-bombs Debbie with St Bees head in the background

That’s the rest of our holiday sorted