Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
25th April 2020
To the Max
Even though I was social distancing long before it was a ‘thing’, there are still some people that I just love to keep in touch with. Max Boyce is one of them.
I caught up with him last week and asked how he was coping in these strange times.
“It’s very strange isn’t it? The worse thing is that I am a social animal and it’s so hard not seeing friends and even worse, family. I have children and grandchildren that I haven’t seen for 6 weeks now. The little one is only 5 and it’s hard to explain it to her. She says, ‘Don’t worry Cu, I’ll come and see you when all the germs have gone.’ She has sent me lots of drawings and even a rainbow tart, with all different colours in it, though.’
Renowned for being able to capture adverse moments in time with words, Max has been busy writing.
“I have written the lyrics of a song – although it started off as a poem – which can be sung to the tune of Hymns and Arias and it’s become an internet sensation. It’s had over 700,000 hits. Called ‘When Just the Tide Went Out’, I wrote it after coming back home through Mumbles one evening. It was a lovely evening but so quiet with no one about – the tide was the only thing going out. I remember thinking that we’ve just got to have faith in something greater than us.”
Max is legendary for his wit, words and ‘Welshness’, but less well known is the fact that he is actually also an expert on grass. In his inimitable humble style he chuckles, “I’m not sure expert is the right word but when I was captain of the Golf Club I got very interested in grass. I would refer to all the different types of grasses and sedges and the boys would say to me, “Max, grass is grass.’
I got the pitch right at Glynneath Rugby Club – and do you know, we’ve just got a grant for a new tractor to cut it and can’t even use it yet. It’s still in the shed.”
It seems the pen is mightier than the spade as Max admits he has neglected his own garden a bit.
“But I’ll give you a great gardening tip,” he grins, “Never cut anything back by more than a third. It bruises and hurts, just like the rest of us. Be gentle.”
And that is also Max’s advice for us during these trying times. “Be kind. I’m so inspired to walk down the street and see all the rainbows the kids have done in the windows. I suppose my message would be ‘Let your garden be your rainbow.”
Max, you are our rainbow for sure.
When Just the Tide Went Out
Max has been generous enough to let me share the last verse of ‘When Just the Tide went Out’ with you, and you can hear him read the whole poem on Roy Noble’s Show last Sunday by simply tapping the title into Google.
Here is the last verse:
And when all this is over
And our fragile world survives,
I hope that God is caring now
For the ones who gave their lives.
And I pray we’ll find an answer
For my faith is cast in doubt.
And God draws back the heavens
And all the stars come out.
And I’ll remember mornings
With nobody about
When the shops were closed like Sundays,
And just the tide went out.
Puffin or Nuffin
One of my most treasured memories of exploring Wales, is visiting Skomer Island a couple of years ago and being priviged to watch the puffins in their natural habitat.
Despite their seemingly huge numbers on the island, sadly the RSPB warn that these iconic birds are in serious trouble, with their numbers plummeting in former strongholds across the UK and Europe. The species could even be vulnerable to extinction.
So, the RSPB is asking for members of the public to join in from home in its ground-breaking project, Puffarazzi, to help to find out more about our beloved seabirds.
Puffarazzi aims to find out what is causing population changes across the UK, particularly focusing on differences in food availability related to climate change. You can join the Puffarazzi by submitting photos from your visits to puffin colonies in previous years where you have snapped pictures of these colourful seabirds with food in their bills. These photos will help scientists learn more about what puffins are feeding their chicks, or ‘pufflings’, and how this might have changed over time.
The public response in the lasts two years has been incredible and this year the project is adapting to take coronavirus guidance into account, asking people to dig through their photo albums and computer files at home in case there are any photos tucked away that could be of use.
Known as ‘clowns of the sea’, I was bowled over by how loyal and clever these beautiful birds are as I sat and watched them collect sticks and ‘bedding’ for their burrows. Remarkably, puffins usually breed with the same mate each year and will reuse the same nest site. Bless their little puffin hearts. Please help if you can. Find out more about the project here: rspb.org.uk/projectpuffin.
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