Page 22 - br-nov-2021

November 2021 November 2021
OBITUARIES Poking the Bear

If your carnivore is grumpy,
Mike Benjafield The sun rises in the morning. Try to stay level and calm.
The clouds roll over the blue. He could be toting a weapon,
Michael John Benjafield, was born on 3 July, Who knows what’s round the And out to cause you harm.
rd
1952 at his home in Bladen Valley, corner, Body-swerve the danger,
Briantspuddle, to Marion and Dr Peter Or what may happen to you?
Benjafield, completing their family with his Without being pessimistic, Whether grizzly, brown or black,
older sister Ann. A few years later, when my If, when you poke a bear,
Grandad was working in Bere Regis, they You could end up as a snack. It decides to poke you back.
moved to their house Broadwater in Roke If, when you poke a bear,
Road, which later became the village It decides to poke you back. The sun goes down in the evening,
Surgery. Then disappears from view.
Don’t go looking for trouble. Who knows what lies in wait,
Ann recalls many happy memories of them When trouble comes looking for
playing in the large garden and stream at you, Or what may happen to you?
Broadwater, somewhere I was also lucky And who knows what may lurk,
enough to enjoy when I was young, with her memories including picnics and Weigh up the situation, On or off the beaten track?
cycle rides in the surrounding countryside, playing with their Labrador Pymm, If you’re not sure what to do. If, when you poke a bear,
and creating alter-egos for themselves by very imaginatively calling each Fulfil your obligations, It decides to poke you back.
other by their middle names! Dad also spent time with local boys Wilfred But, never be tardy or slack,
Harding and Oliver Chamberlain. If, when you poke a bear, Paul J Openshaw
At 4 he started at Mrs Bee’s nursery in Bloxworth, taking the bus ride with Ann It decides to poke you back. (September 2021)
each day before moving on to Dorchester Prep School and later Hazelgrove
House, before leaving for Blundells School in Tiverton when he was 13,
somewhere I know he told me he had many happy memories of.
Holidays as a child mainly consisted of a couple of weeks in summer spent in
Cornwall, with most of their time spent on the beach at Trevone, a tradition
he then continued with us when I was small, always eager to teach me how
to dam the stream or looking in rock pools. In later years my grandparents
bought a boat and the family enjoyed many more trips and breaks in that.

After finishing school he went off to Leeds University, spending 5 years there,
attempting without much success, a variety of courses before coming back
to Dorset to look for work. Dad never really discussed
much with me about his time at University, although
the many stories of the rock bands he saw live and
the bars he frequented in Leeds probably explain
why he came back without a degree!
Upon returning to Dorset, he started working at the
Poultry Farm at Eastdown, which is where he met my
mum, Kim. Being in a slightly more senior role, he was
instructed one day that he had to let some people

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