Ey Up Mi Duck

I might be a little quackers
For sure mi duck you’ll see
That quacking I do ain’t so mad
But more for rivalry
To capture his attention
The drake that’s in the pack
To flirt, attract and get my man
Ey up mi duck!  Quack! Quack!

FYI: “Ey up mi duck” is a colloquialism for “Hello” from the East Midlands region of England.  Funnily enough it’s nothing to do with wildfowl but actually takes it’s origins from the Saxon word “ducas” which was meant as a term of respect akin to the word for leader “duc” which later became “duke”.  From this it therefore became a greeting before it became a term of endearment!

Did you know that it’s only the female duck that “quacks”.

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The Mallard

On the east coast is a treasure
That holds a secret from the past
Of a feat not since been broken
A record held to last

And dressed in bright blue livery
Adorned with golden plaque
In recognition of her achievement
Of great speed upon the track

The Mallard from those days of steam
In nineteen thirty eight
Made locomotion history
Reaching an amazing mileage rate

From Grantham to Stoke Bank
She steamed right down the line
Hitting a speed record amazing
That from then would her define

And with whistle sounding loudly
With a surge so hard and strong
She engraved her name in history
Forever her swan song.

The Mallard celebrating the 75th anniversary of the speed record being set just south of Grantham at Stoke Bank when the A4 Class steam locomotive hit 126mph on 3 July, 1938.