As I approach down Sandgate Hill
The village comes in view below me
Resting quietly by the sea,
So familiar yet still it draws me
On past the old school and St Paul’s
And buildings, some still as I remember
When as a child I wandered freely
Between fields and seashore, the village’s splendour
At the memorial, a seat to sit and dream
The house where i grew up, and in its place
A new sign now proclaims ‘the village green’
I think of days spent swimming,
When summer seemed to last forever
Unseen through my child’s eyes, that with time
All things change, not least the weather
However, our memories don’t fade, they stay
Locked in our minds, that special place,
And for me it is and always will
Be the little village at the bottom of Sandgate Hill.

Jill Partridge 2005