Back in the day when facts were hard to find
He was a “Fount of knowledge” close to hand
When “Breaking news” was gossip of a kind
Old “Ossie” shared his own more healthy brand
To worldly types, a local character
Who was to them, a fixture in ‘The Bar’
In feigned surprise he was a ‘Ham Actor’
Whilst ‘ceding’ should they wish to buy a jar
For boy’s at school, of which I was but one
A last resort when cramming for exams
With dates and names, more treasure than ‘Ben Gunn’
Help’d extricate young minds from hopeless jams
Said Oracles, once held infallible
Would watch their P’s and Q’s, e’en syllable