The fourth manwalks wisely out on to the hilllooking west for directions But being this far northhe remains lost in both space and time,planets or stars hiddenbehind the clouds and houses Yes, there is a scarlet gash across the horizon, blood…
Read: The fourth man
I was playing rugby at school when this huge boy about twice my size came bearing down on me with the ball. I wasn’t sure whether to tackle him or not. It seemed a life or death question. In the…
Like a shadow on the fringe of thundercloudsthe pianist’s page-turneralmost disappears Dressed in black, hair combed severely back,she rises, then retreats: a ripple in the atmosphereholds her jacket tidily backas she fixes her solemn eyes on the notesnot wanting anything…
Read: Page-turner
Until recently, fighting whatever attacked us was straightforward. When London, Coventry or anywhere else was being bombed, we could see what was happening, and we could take action. People banded together, hugged each other, commiserated and cared for their neighbours….
The sky draws a line under lifeless cloudsas if the day is over:witch-green, layered timestepping meanly backwards,hiding the lightbehind jailer voiceswhile meadowed horses wait to be released and the promised hour is swallowedby grey land – old hoofprints heading plainly for…
Read: British Winter Time
You’re walking down this suburban street. Technically it’s a village: it has a village green and an old church. But it’s attached to a city – there’s no countryside in between; so I think it’s fair to say it’s a…
The wind again todayslithers and hisses like an angry snakethrough cracks and alleyways The limes and beeches bow before it,shedding their outer garmentsin homageas the rain falls and falls likeunstoppable tears You say: Grief comesin great gusts to blow you…
Read: The wind and the rain
I am now locked down, though I don’t feel any different. Yesterday I took the car for an MOT, not because I was panicking but because that was the day I booked it in, about a month ago. I went…
When we lived in Lakenham,which had just avoided the bombs,the corona man came week by week, with his fizzy crate,his Dandelion and Burdockand his sustainable, esoteric bottles He did not keep his distanceand he did not wear a mask:there may…
Read: The corona man
I don’t get out much nowadays. I don’t even write letters to Private Eye, though I have been tempted. I don’t actually subscribe to Private Eye: our neighbour, a very kind man, lets me read his copy when he’s finished…
Read: All we need is love, but will we avoid it like the plague?