Bob Copper's Sussex
Bob Copper's Sussex is a selection of prose and poems by this award-winning Sussex author. Bob Copper takes an evocative and affectionate look at his native county and recalls the days when there were still many reminders of the old country ways of life.
A LIVING TRADITION IN SUSSEX [excerpt from the book]WHEN the occasion arises each of our five senses is capable of triggering off an attack of nostalgia and suddenly, without ceremony, depositing us back into times long gone by. You never know when it is going to strike, but it strikes suddenly, and it can be the simplest of things that starts the process. The smell of lilac blossom in the dew of a July morning; the sight of rooks flying nestward against a winter sunset; the feel of corrugated sea-sand under the soles of naked feet; or the taste of brine on your lips in a stiff sea-breeze. All of these can do the trick, but of all the things that can so poignantly transport us back into the past a melody or song with significant associations is probably by far the most potent.
And so it was with me.
Whoever would have thought it possible that, at a time when we were within hailing distance of the second millennium, one could be wafted back to the early years of this century and, by proxy, to the far more distant days of the seventeen hundreds. But there we were enjoying a typically contemporary party on Christmas night with paper hats atop, brimming glasses in hand and with most of the trivial pursuits trivially pursued, when out of the blue - for it had been kept a secret - the moment came.
Copper family page
New: 15 August 1998 | Now: 15 August 1998 | The background to this page is an enlargement from the Index to Jim Copper's pre-War song book written in an account book. | Garry Gillard