Her father was a mathematician Her mother sold oranges at a local fair We had been intimate for many years Although she shared her life with others On her birthday she walked naked from the bath Across a crowded room And was applauded for her vanity   I am sitting on her harbour arm Sipping […]

The Girl from Boston What are reading dear boy? The Girl from Boston a rather trashy novel dating from the late sixties Are you enjoying it? It is very much of its time It is like watching a B movie One does not expect too much Please read me a sentence from your book Stuart […]

Go on go I dare you The seagull was speaking to a timid squirrel I cannot see the road and am aware that there might be traffic The seagull flew upwards almost vertically High above the houses that lined the quiet avenue It is clear in both directions The squirrel ran blindly into the road […]

Blue Margate Bleak   Turner rests safely in his gallery Margate is going about its daily business The skies are darkening Christmas is not far away Only the dedicated are using the beach There is no light today It is hidden behind the autumn curtains   Conversation Overheard at Margate Railway Station You were there […]

Cuentos Espanoles Solange knew that she would not find many orchids in France So she travelled to Spain Objective behaviour was required There was no room for error Various orchids attempted to be original But she did not fall for their vanities   Cuentos Espanoles Spanish houses are built around a central open courtyard or […]

Solange Solvang collected orchids Other pastimes bored her Leading to irritation and delinquency A holiday in France Not far from the Atlantic coast Gave her the opportunity to look for her orchids Each more beautiful than its neighbour  

My father threw himself under my train last night I was travelling to Babylon He had called himself a lump Unemployed and useless A spent force Injured and dying Like a silent horse He shared the streets with them He shared the city air But they ignored him My mighty warrior   I am preparing […]

He was as always talking about his Jack Hick upbringing in that wooden shack and of his sister’s church dress which she wore only once It was pure white The same colour as Christ’s skin after the blood had drained from his battered body I was waiting outside of the county jail Roxy was in […]

Geoffrey Woolley From JFWG Christmas 1932 Rebound Oct 1942 Lost near Aylesbury Nov 1942 This copy London Dec 1942   We have found your book Geoffrey It is in bad shape As one might expect And the drying of the pages Has caused me much occupation   It was found under a pile of slate […]

Dour autumn clouds you have followed the east winds again My county now rests quietly under your bleak blanket Do not seek the summer sisters For they no longer reside with me They now jest playfully amongst the most southerly of lime trees And will not return