Barry the brick was made in 1940

he sat in a yard for a few years waiting for somebody to buy him

maybe I will be in the facade of a grand building he thought, or perhaps near the front door of a small family home

he hoped it would be somewhere with lots of activity

one day in 1954, a truck pulled up and a man started loading bricks

the bricks were all excited and looking forward to an adventure

Barry was fortunate to be loaded on the side of the truck where he could see out

the inward facing bricks asked Barry to tell them what he could see

Barry told them they were passing open fields where cows and sheep grazed

we are going down a lane towards an old derelict farmhouse, they seem to be in the process of rebuilding

the truck stopped and all the bricks were unloaded in a pile

they started chatting about who would end up where in the wall and who would have the best view

the next day the bricks were picked and placed next to a wall

one by one they were cemented into the wall, they were all facing outward and had a great view over the farmyard

Barry was placed high up and had the best view

when the construction was finished, the bricks watched the old farm being transformed into a vineyard

they saw grapes being harvested and wine being bottled

soon there were daily visitors, wine tastings, parties and live music

they watched the vineyard being passed on to other generations as time rolled on

by 2019,  a few of the bricks became loose enough to sneak off the wall at night and steal wine from the tasting room

they would bring it back to share with all the other bricks in the wall

they had wild parties and told stories late into the night

Barry got so drunk one night that he fell off the wall and smashed into the yard below

Barry never recovered but the other bricks held a celebration of his life

he had seen a lot during his 79 years

RIP Barry the brick.