Monthly Archives: May 2024

I can sense again the restless river

with tumbling torrents rushing over

gorges carved through granite boulders

we silver salmon leaping, falling

our ancestral urges calling, calling

and I recognise the beds of shingle

where with the hens I meet and mingle

briefly there we all do pause

and consummation our sole cause

now my race is run, new life begun

For many months, perhaps even years we had admired the old brick wall, with its coating of many coloured lichen and the apparently bleached patches, seemingly caused by the leaching of salt over the years. Although looking relatively new, the dark-stained door which we had never seen open conjured up all sorts of stories in our minds as to what terrors or even delights lay behind the intriguing facade. The bell pull was like something out of a Hammer vampire movie and it was just my luck that I had been picked to pull the bell, not to run off as with so many other doorbells but to wait and see who would answer the call. Whilst the others waited at a safe distance I approached and trying to show complete unconcern gave the handle a long tug. It moved easily and after a short while the door opened slowly inwards and to my amazement there he stood.

There was once a quite comely wench

who would often come and chat to all on this bench

she had inviting red lips

and her skirts just covered her hips

to say goodbye was always a wrench

Atop a pedestal a plate of metal shows

In sharply incised lines and holes

a skyward stele using shade and light

each daily path of Hyperions flight

Thomas Chippendale we often remember

as the most wonderful cabinet maker

by using mahogany, walnut or oak

he made furniture for the richest folk

often chosen for the homes of the upper crust

to see it, you should join the National Trust

A little known fact from history, the reason why Nelson claimed not to see, the signal from the hierarchy was because he didn’t have either a 20 or a 50 p.

Venus rises from the sea

her classic beauty, quite divine

captured by the painters eye

intriguing viewers over time

coquettish though her stately pose

suggests that though she may be shy

carefully placed pale arms and hands

and one arm resting carefully

leaves one milk white breast exposed

and flowing locks so modestly

preserving her virgin dignity

How sad, Cheddar Gorge is just a shell of its former self.