I first wrote this poem a few years ago and have rewritten it several times since. I decided to give it another polish and pair it with a revamped version of my original photograph. Using AI, to create the surrounding artwork—refining the prompts along the way until it felt right. It took time, but I’m very pleased with the final result.

The Gymnast’s Journey

(A Spoken Ballad)

In my dreams—
I’m still there,
vaulting high
through open air.

A Nottingham lad,
grit to spare.

From Nottingham streets
to the school hall frame,
I didn’t know—
I’d make a name.

At Frank Weldon’s School,
where it began,
I learned to fall—
and rise again.

Mr Lucas saw
what I could be.
A spark.
A strength—
inside of me.

“Give it a go,”
he said one day.
So I stepped up—
found my way.

The English Schools

Gymnastics Championships called.
I answered strong.

A young lad there—
where I belonged.

Chalk on hands.
Focus tight.
Small chances
turned to flight.

Then came a road
few boys would choose—
where you stand firm
or learn to lose.

The Junior Leaders Regiment

Royal Artillery—
my path.
My start.

Where boys grew up
with steel and heart.

There it clicked.
Power. Control.
A gymnast’s skill—
a soldier’s soul.

The British Army saw.
I stepped inside.
Lived the dream
I held with pride.

Sweat and strain.
Fall and climb.
Earned my place—
one rep at a time.

Army Champion—
no luck,
no chance.

Just years of work.
A disciplined dance.

I still smile
at that young lad—
missed the beam,
but never stayed sad.

He laughed it off.
He chased the dream.

And he still lives
inside of me.

In every test.
In all I do.

In who I am—
and who I grew.

A gymnast still.
In mind and frame.

Where strength meets grace—
and earns its name.

Today—
I write this.

My birthday.
Seventy-one.

Still young—
in ways that matter.

The body slows,
the spirit doesn’t.

Because dreams—
don’t age.

They wait.
They whisper.

And I still listen.

Still see the boy—
mid-flight.

And truth be told—
I can still dream.

By Paul Baldry (LongJohn)

This poem is about my journey from a young gymnast in Nottingham to becoming Army Champion. The photograph alongside it was published in the Nottingham Post in 1971, after I won both the Pommel Horse and Trampoline events. Those early years were full of discipline, ambition, and dreams in motion. In time, my path shifted, and my Army career took priority—but the spirit of that young gymnast, and the dreams he chased, have never left me.

#GymnasticsJourney #ArmyLife #NottinghamRoots #PommelHorseChampion #StillDreaming #LifeInMotion