140. That Timbuktu Joke!

Following the Election Court lunch earlier this week, many of you have been kind enough to contact me to ask whether you can have a copy of the Timbuktu joke that I used during my speech!

I confess to having stolen it from a Past Master of another Livery Company and then tweaked it for our own use. So, for those of you who would like to use it, here it is:



It was the final in a National Poetry Competition. The two finalists were given a word, then allowed two minutes to produce a poem that contained that word – the word they were given was “Timbuktu”. After two minutes, the first finalist, an Oxford Graduate stepped up to the microphone. He said:

Slowly across the desert sand
Trekked a lonely caravan.
Men on camels, two by two
Destination – Timbuktu.

Polite applause ensued and then the second finalist, a young Water Conservator stepped up to the microphone. He said:

Me and Tim a-huntin went,
Met three girls in a pop up tent.
They was three, and we was two,
So I Bucked one, and Timbuktu.



Photograph shows the ancient City of Timbuktu, but this bears no relationship to the joke! Enjoy.