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Returning the Surfboards (St Ives)
The damp surfboards are being stacked as the evening draws A lad wearing a red shirt and black shorts is securing them for the night In the distance the jetty is still bathed in sunshine and holidaymakers Are exploring its sea length with a great interest There is something languid about this theatre Nobody is […]
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Jesus of Nazareth
A woman had been attacked near the oilfields And Jesus of Nazareth was the main suspect But I knew this to be untrue as Jesus was a kind and gentle man And was not capable of such an evil It was then that I decided to find the culprit myself I dressed as an itinerant […]
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White Atlas
Sakky had purchased an atlas from a bookshop in the mall As she was planning to travel the world But when she opened it Each of its pages were blank The only exception was page twenty-eight Which contained a yellow pencil Plus an invitation from God To redesign the world As his previous model had […]
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Lagos Beach
I have watched you for many months Throughout your days of enforced vacancy Made all the bleaker by the grey white clouds But now that the sun has returned You are celebrating once more Your visitors are sharing their recreation But I will not enjoy your golden wide sands As I am still trapped behind […]
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Vampires in Paris
I have lived in Paris for over twenty years as a translator of erotic fiction Surprisingly in these more puritantical times there is a great call for these novels Puritanical is a poor choice of word I think but unlike the Paris of the 1990s There have been in my view erosions of freedom which […]
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My Silver Watch was Five Metres Tall
My Silver Watch was Five Metres Tall And had been a good friend of mine for many years We travelled together by train throughout Europe and the Middle East When the war came along we fled to the United States And purchased a Hacienda Style house in Los Angeles In 1944 my silver watch was […]
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A Multi Coloured Towel
My wife and I had been on holiday for nearly a week And had spent our time exploring the island We were staying in a villa with a rather large wet room Which as most welcome after exhausting days in the sun However this morning whilst enjoying breakfast We received a knock at the door […]
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J’ai rencontré ma femme dans le désert
I met my wife in the red desert on a white day in the middle of a summer We were sheltering under some rocks away from the direct heat of the sun Je m’appelle Caron She said to me in a hushed voice I asked her what she was doing in the desert She did […]
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Harry and Edward go Fishing
Harry and Edward were fishing in the Rochdale Canal When both their lines became dull and heavy With great effort both men raised an ancient statue from the murky waters And placed it on the towpath to dry off and enjoy the sun During the next hour they quietly discussed How to gain the maximum […]
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Collecting Crabs
Almost silently a small crabbing boat Picks up its buoys in the early morning light There are storms breaking on the horizon Which will freshen the humid air But for now the sea remains calm And the mists have yet to thin