A LOCAL man has written a new book of poetry. Ballyroney resident William Bingham’s book is titled ‘From Piglets to Poetry: A Farmer’s Perspective’.
The book was launched on Friday evening at Ark Community Gardens in Newcastle, with a special event attended by William’s family and friends as well as local poetry lovers.
William, who is in his 60s, said the book is full of his “musings” and poems on a variety of subjects, including farming.
However, he wants to emphasise that the book is not just for farmers.
“Everyone will enjoy it, the town folk and country folk alike,” he said.
The title of the book comes from William’s life. William, who attended Banbridge Academy and Greenmount College of Agriculture, worked as a farmer for 40 years, primarily raising pigs at Rathmourne Farm, his family farm in Ballyroney.
He is married to Isobel and has two children, James and Charis. “I’ve always written a few silly poems for family around birthdays and Christmas,” he said.
He said that it was only after retiring that he found he had more time to write.
When his daughter started taking driving lessons in Downpatrick about three years ago, he found himself with some extra minutes to wait for her.
So over a cuppa at Costa Coffee, he started writing poetry. William was not planning on publishing a book of his poems until his cousin encouraged him to do so.
William decided that if he was going to put out a book, that it would be one to benefit others, so proceeds from the sale of the book will be split between two charities, Ark Community Gardens and Rural Support.
Ark Community Gardens helps people grow in friendships, knowledge and skills while taking part in gardening, crafts and woodworking. They also run a farm shop and café, as well as hosting community events throughout the year.
Rural Support provides guidance to farmers and faming families in Northern Ireland in connection with their farming businesses and well-being.
Their services include workshops, mentoring, bereavement support, counselling and groups for older adults. William explained that he and Isobel both volunteer at Ark Community Gardens and his daughter works in the cafe.
He is involved with general maintenance and upkeep at the community organisation.
He said he does “whatever’s needed” and that the work is “very varied but very practical”. In the foreword of the book, William describes why he decided to donate money from the sale of the book to the two charities.
“As a Christian, my main emphasis on this escapade was not to make money for myself, but to help others, so I chose, quite aptly, Rural Support, for their work to help, engage and maintain the mental health and well-being of farmers like myself,” he wrote.
