I don’t know if there are more incidents children being killed by their parents or step parents and I will look up the stitches but I feel that it’s happening more often in the last three years while we’ve had the pandemic possibly because children weren’t at school and it was easy to stop them being seen by teachers or social services.
The social services in particular need more money and more training today with the decline safety of children in their own homes
Mary stood at the bus stop in her chocolate wool winter coat which Stan had always loved very much.
It hangs so well, he had told her.
The optional imitation fur collar had been removed as she preferred natural garments made from wool with no ostentation.As a matter of fact, she has one of Stan’s woollen vests on under her gold silk top.Her hair fell in light blonde curls around her pensive face and her eyes looked as if she were seeing a mysterious vision of the Matterhorn in midwinter while on heroin.
Suddenly she realised the bus was there and she put her card up to the machine before looking for a seat.The bus was rather full so she sat down next to a youth with an i phone hanging from his hand.Suddenly it rang.His chosen theme was,
Please release me, sung by Tom Jones.
Mary smiled as, if she were near Tom Jones she would need no invitation to free him.The youth began to speak rather louder than normal.
Mary tried not listen but it was impossible.She was too hot as well.Wearing Stan’s vest was a mistake as the bus was overheated.She turned pink like a sunrise over ICI in Billingham for, perceive it or not, the pollution had a beautifying effect.
I’m sorry I wore your vest, she told Stan.
I should have given them away but I was trying to save money on heating.Still, I will be home soon.Oh,for some fresh tea.
Where’s your microphone, the youth demanded in a light voice?It must be one of those new tiny ones, I guess
A microphone? Mary said curiously.
Yeah, he cried.I assume your phone is in your pocket.
Actually, it’s in a pocket in my knickers, she informed him in a manner resembling that of a mildly dotty scientist.We used to wear these knickers in the gym at school.
Did you not wear a top? he enquired, his eyes running over her hourglass figure like pure rainwater water falling off High Force in Teesdale. in a summer storm.
Well.I didn’t have a bra until I got my grant to attend university,she told him sensitively.
Well, that’s news to me,he said.
So you had to wear a bra at University? That was before feminism,of course.Did you burn it later?
Certainly not, said Mary.I’d been longing for one but my mother didn’t seem to notice my development which was her way of coping with adolescent girls.Of course others may have noticed but they were too nervous to tell Mother I needed any support.We were all so shy and afraid.Anyway be quiet now, I want to speak to my husband.
Have you had your phone on all this time? he asked anxiously, worried about her bill.
No, I don’t need it to talk to him, she responded.
Why, where is he? the youth enquired sardonically.
He’s on my knee, Mary informed him.In this bag.She pointed to her hessian shopping bag.
I have just been to the Coop for him.I ought to have got a cab as he is quite heavy.
Jesus Christ, cried the youth, hastily pressing the bell before leaping off the bus into a small pond that had been created b Hurricane Desmond.He swam away into the cold night.
Well. that shut him up, Mary said to Stan.
Mary, don’t become less gentle and kind, Stan said in her ear.
I can’t be gentle now, she said.It’s a nasty tough world without you to help me and tell me what you think of Jeremy Corbyn.And do I need to have a roast dinner at Xmas or just some toad in the hole?
I am sorry, sweetheart he murmured.Maybe you need assertiveness training.
I’ll just get more aggressive, she replied.Micro-aggressive perhaps.
You’ll need more than micro in this era, he continued.Mary forgot to get off the bus and found herself in the Leisure Centre by the River Tranter
What about the river, Stan, she asked.
Would you like me to throw you in
.A policeman standing nearby ran over.
Madam is it suicide or murder, he asked her awkwardly.
No, it’s a life sentence, she said humorously as she put her hand up her skirt to get her phone.
That’s a silly place to keep your phone he said.
Anyway don’t call a cab, I can run you home in my car.Have you got any China tea?
I could kill for a hot drink.
I have some lapsang souchong, she told him.Do you fancy that?
I do ,called Stan from the bag.The policeman passed out.
I told you not to get a boyfriend yet, Stan continued to Mary.
I’ll do whatever I feel like, she said rudely.I could use a comforting arm around me.
Stan sobbed as only a holy soul can.
She said, quickly
Don’t worry.I’ll get Emile to sit on my knee.Goodbye, for now, darling.
Goodbye whispered Stan faintly.
Good bye…. goodbye….good bye…….
The darkness and the enmity of night
Invite the wild projections of the mind
The lack of trust the need for saving light
The nightmares of the deep our terrors bring
The promise of the dawn the sun alight
Bring vomfort to my heart when I’m alone
And yet with hidden mystery we fight
We try to read emotion from a stone
The pilgrimage we need to make our life
From avenues to footpath to the fall.
Rewarding conflicts undo human spite
All together we shall hear the call
In the suffering dark we see the sparks
We catch the flames of love to heal the breaks
His beauty moved me like owl at prayer
I’d better share my love of birds on here
He touched me like a marble falls down drains
Thank God we then had lots of heavy rain
He told me he was angered by my face
I drowned on his tweed jacket spiced with mace
I read so fast the teachers were amazed
My secret was adrenalin and haste
I never loved my neighbour as myself
For I was deep in love with someone else
We think we long for love but I say
IIntimacy rots if we can’t play
O
I wish we were on Sutton Bank again
The Cleveland Hills with heather, home of bees
We lay down in the heather in the sun
We hitched a lift, Osmotherley, a van
Another day was Whitby and the sea
I wish we were on Sutton Bank again
I wish that you were near, my loving one
Your suffering face was very sad to see
We lay in purple heather in the sun
What shall I do, what am I to become?
I waken up too early, make my tea
I wish we lay on Sutton Bank again
Our backs ,warm earth , our faces smiled as one
The heather a warm bed, no shady tree
We once lay in the heather in the sun
I miss your face, your eyes, their loving plea
The sun above, the windswept leafless tree
I wish we were on Sutton Bank again
We‘d lay down in the heather but you’ve gone
So when did you go up to Oxtord?
I went down to Oxford because I’m from Manchester
If you failed your exams you wouod be sent down
In my case I would have been sent up
But send up means to mock.
It will be easier if they exspell people.
How we long to speak and yet we’re dumb
Fearing we shall sound like ignorant fools
Waiting for our first communion
When will we feel safe, not quiet nor numb?
Alexithmyic,affectless,how cruel
How we long to speak, why are we dumb?
How we odd ones value every crumb
How we want to learn , to use our tools
Waiting for our first communion
By the weight of politics undone
This was never taught in any school
How we long to speak, why are we dumb?
Economic miracle,. God’s come!
No log like this was ever made for Yule
Nor for our own first communion
Stay away from Logic and George Boole
Poetic life needs metaphors not rules
How we long to speak, why are we dumb
Struggling for the lost communion?
I was sitting on a plant pot in my grandads old backyard
He used to be a miner, so he had a love of birds
Grandad loved canaries I liked little wrens
We had few up in Manchester, we had big mills and rain,
Grandad had no deck chairs that’s why we sat on pots
When we went to Blackpool we had deck chairs by the lot
We went to Southport on the train, the sand was like sick dust
The sea was just a mirage, go there if you must.
The people were all friendly they called each other cock
If you go there in the morning I wish you you much good luck
I was sitting in the plant pot hiding from the dog
Grandad called her lassie, she died at 6 oclock
Still within her Arm I stood to gaze
Enraptured by the light upon her face.
With my little hands therein I played
As she held me with her fond embrace.
I put my baby fingers in her mouth.
I pulled her lips from side to side north south.
I felt her smile with joy I had not known.
In many hours and days I felt alone.
I squeezed her nose and pulled it side to side.
I did all this for on her knee I rode.
The ground of being and a true life line.
I was hers and she was always mine.
Transfiguration comes, love feels divine.
The artist brush must open up the mind.
And lets us see a world with our wide eyes.
Eternal love may cone in this disguise
In my dream, I gave birth to a child
The doctor said that he would die quite soon
My feelings overwhelming made me wild
The Nazi doctor threw him on a pile
I lay there unmoving as I keened
In my dream,I gave birth to a child
A week passed by,I knew that death beguiled
Frozen lips made no sound, song or tune
My feelings overwhelming made me wild
I had to rise and say my black goodbye.
My baby with the others;horror loomed
In my dream I gave birth to a child
I picked him up , when suddenly he smiled
I held him to my breast, my songs I crooned
My feelings overwhelming drove me wild
I had to carry him, the landscape gloom
A desert grey aand rocky like some moon
In my dream I gave birth to a child
In terror I had walked yet love consoled
f you have some free time and if it is safe please volunteer to be friends someone in your area which I think you can do vua Age UK
But there I think there are different organizations which around these things and it’s very well worth it because it’s very rewarding to bring comfort to an old person who is probably feeling very lonely after the pandemic and spends a lot of their time alone. The time from 6:00 a.m. awakening to 9am breakfast is a long long time and if you don’t sleep well it’s much worse the nighttime can be frightening to but I think if people have had a visit in the daytime then the nights will be much better.
I
” A poem about memories of love ”
I miss your hand that used to hold my hand
I miss your eyes that used to smile at me
The needs of love don’t feel like a demand
I miss the hand that caressed my held hand
I miss your love and miss you as a friend.
When you gazed, your eyes lit what you’d see.
I miss the hand that used to warm my hand
I miss the eyes that used smile at me.
I miss your arms around me in the dark
I miss the morning when we rarely spoke
On Purbeck Hills, we heard the singing lark
I miss your arms around me in the park
Poole Harbour’s beauty was a living spark
Sharing silent glances as we walked
I miss your arms around me in the dark
I miss the mornings, though we rarely spoke
Silent sharing; company in love.
With strangers; oh,that manufactured talk.
To be silent; dome of sky above
To be silent; spaciousness of love.
Strangers, how their talk can jolt and shove
I held your hand; caressing as we walked
Silent caring; sympathy of love.
No stranger, blindly snatching in the dark.
She said I will lift up mine eyes to the hills. So I said can you carry a bit more than just your eyed
He did guide me to the right password once. I don’t know whether he was a shepherd
I don’t want goodness and kindness to follow me I want them to catch up with me.
If there ts nothing that you want it will be hard to buy you something appropriate for Christmas. I’ve got some very nice golden candlesticks. Would Jesus like those?
It would do the government good to walk by some restful waters. That means the English Channel is out.
I wouldn’t walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I would run. Why haven’t they built a bypass?
We have to live in the Lord’s House because it’s so hard to get mortgage now. I’m not sure whether the Lord would want us forever and ever. Not when he hears me humming all day long
Hello Mary what are you doing today?
I’m going to see the Pope in Rome Mary cried out
Are you being sarcastic, ironic, or have you gone mad? Annie replied
Well I was trying to be sarcastic but I am not very good at it yet but I hope to improve as time goes by because research shows being sarcastic improveyour creativity
But can you be sure which part of your life will become more creative Annie ask her thoughtfully
For example you might become more creative in the way you trying to attract men
Well that would not be difficult said Mary as I do nothing to try to attract them at the moment and on the other hand it could be rather time-consuming
Would it improve my ability to write in a creative manner or to be more creative in what I cook
I have no idea Annie told her. the only problem is is that if you practice on me it might affect our friendship
You are far too childish Mary told her. Is that sarcastic?
Tell me, the ex mistress of your ancient husband
What do you mean ancient he was only 23”
23 what? said Annie?
Are we being sarcastic?
Well if we can’t know the answer then we are not being sarcastic because I am sure we would realise if we were
I am glad you can express yourself in such a brief manner
What have briefs got to do with it?
I just found a bag full of dry ones and I have been Folding them and putting them into the draw.er
Do you mean knickers?
Yes I do but I couldn’t remember the name
You’re pulling my leg
No I’m not I’m nowhere near your leg
Don’t tell me that you are not familiar with the expression meaning that you are joking
Why do you assume I am not familiar with anything?
I am giving you the benefit of the doubt
Doubt is a very dangerous State of Mind
Shall I wear the pink knickers or the blue ones I spend all morning trying to decide so it is best not to doubt anything but to believe that what you do must be correct and everybody else is wrong
That’s alright as long as you’re not stealing people’s husbands
If they can be stolen so easily what does that tell us about the state of the marriage?
nothing nothing at all, men are so easily beguiled that is in the best of marriages they’re not be enough to keep them faithful for ever
Don’t be so horrible
I was trying to be sarcastic
Should it not come naturally like loving
What kind of loving do you mean?If you mean physical loving it doesn’t always come naturally to human beings’many couples go for help in having a baby and the doctor discovers but they didn’t realise what sex was
They thought by sleeping in the same bed the wife will get pregnant
It seems very hard to believe but compared to thinking about Donald Trump
and his lies it is nothing
Shall I put the kettle on said Mary
That is sarcastic Annie said because you know that I always put it on when I am here
it is more like dropping hints Mary cried
All these things are very hard for scientists. you don’t solve mathematical problems by dropping a hint nor does anyone drop hints to you whereas in interpersonal relationships it is very important to be able to drop hintd and to be able to take hints when they’re dropped in front of you
Mathematics and physics much easier than everyday life because they contain no sarcasm no irony and no hints whatsoever
I wonder if Wittgenstein would agree with you>
as he is dead we cannot know
I was just being sarcastic that’s all!
It seems like that Mary and Annie are going to have to spend much longer practicing sarcasm before they were able to go outside and be sarcastic to neighbours or Friends
well Emile’s view is that he will not accept sarcasm from anybody
he will bite the hand that feeds and in necessary
because he knows that Mary will forgive him when he apologizes
On the other hand it will be easier if he didn’t bite anyone As God might be angry with Emile for being trying animal to live with
Hello Mary what are you doing today?
I’m going to see the Pope in Rome Mary cried out
Are you being sarcastic, ironic, or have you gone ma? Annie replied
Well I was trying to be sarcastic but I am not very good at it yet but I hope to improve as time goes by because research shows being sarcastic improveyour creativity
But can you be sure which part of your live will become more creative Annie ask her thoughtfully
For example you might become more creative in the way you trying to sttact
Well that would not be difficult said Mary as I do nothing to try to attract them at the moment and on the other hand it could be rather time-consuming
Would it improve my ability to write in a creative manner or to be more creative in what I cook
I have no idea Annie told her. the only problem is is that if you practice on me it might affect our friendship
You are far too childish Mary told her. Is that sarcastic?
Tell me, the ex mistress of your ancient husband
What do you mean ancient he was only 23”
23 what? said Annie?
Are we being sarcastic?
Well if we can’t know the answer then we are not being sarcastic because I am sure we would realise if we were
I am glad you can express yourself in such a brief manner
What are briefs got to do with it?
I just found a bag full of dry ones and I have been Folding them and putting them into the draw.er
Do you mean knickers?
Yes I do but I couldn’t remember the name
You’re pulling my leg
No I’m not I’m nowhere near your leg
Don’t tell me that you are not familiar with the expression meaning that you are joking
Why do you assume I am not familiar with anything?
I am giving you the benefit of the doubt
Doubt is a very dangerous State of Mind
Shall I wear the pink knickers or the blue ones I spend all morning trying to decide so it is best not to doubt anything but to believe that what you do must be correct and everybody else is wrong
That’s alright as long as you’re not stealing people’s husbands
If they can be stolen so easily what does that tell us about the size of the marriage?
nothing nothing at all, men are so easily beguiled that is in the best of marriages they’re not be enough to keep them faithful for ever
Don’t be so horrible
I was trying to be sarcastic
Should it not come naturally like loving
What kind of loving do you mean?If you mean physical loving it doesn’t always come naturally to human beings’many couples go for help in having a baby and the doctor discovers but they didn’t realise what sex was
They thought by sleeping in the same bed the wife will get pregnant
It seems very hard to believe but compared to thinking about Donald Trump
and his lies it is nothing
Shall I put the kettle on said Mary
That is sarcastic Annie said because you know that I always put it on when I am here
it is more like dropping hints Mary cried
All these things are very hard for scientists. you don’t solve mathematical problems by dropping a hint nor does anyone drop hints to you whereas in interpersonal relationships it is very important to be able to drop hintd and to be able to take hints when they’re dropped in front of you
Mathematics and physics much easier than everyday life because they contain no sarcasm no irony and no hints whatsoever
I wonder if Wittgenstein would agree with you>
as he is dead we cannot know
I was just being sarcastic that’s all!
It seems like that Mary and Annie are going to have to spend much longer practicing sarcasm before they were able to go outside and be sarcastic to neighbours or Friends
well Emile’s view is that he will not accept sarcasm from anybody
he will bite the hand that feeds and in necessary
because he knows that Mary will forgive him when he apologizes
O
On the other hand it will be easier if he didn’t bite anyone As God might be angry with Emile for being trying animal to live with
This plays a key role in activating the parasympathetic nervous system- otherwise known as your “rest and digest” state. Because your vagus nerve runs through both the larynx and pharynx in your throat, humming creates a vibration that stimulates your vagus nerve and can increase your vagal tone (aka the health of your vagus nerve!).
We have too many eggs in the fridge
Well, buy a hen and give her a nest,Then we”ll have some chickens
But they won’t fit in the fridge either!
Why do we eat eggs every day?
What else could we do with them?
Is it legal to throw eggs over the wall?
Not the iron wall
Some people believe they are good for our hair
Like hairdressers, you mean?
Just think.We can’t get our hair cut
Well, we can’t get our toe nails cut either
A bit dangerous in bed, then
Hair never harms anyone
If it were long it could strangle your lover
A nice way to die
I curry eggs, I stuff them, I cover them in sauce
What’s wrong with that?
I am bored of them
With them?
No, they are not bored.
How can you tell?
Intuition
What is my crime that placed me in this cell?
What is my sin that I must never tell
I did not know my guilt for I felt none.
I was not destroyed in blood or bone
Satan fed me scruples till I broke
My mind was cracked like some dejected bone
I wanted to attend some lectures free
I went to Oxford ate all that I could see
To revive my thesis I would have to pay.
Dirac married late, why such delay?
I wish that he had died at 33.
His equation was the death of me.
2 percent of Brits are Ph.D
How shall I win,with IQ 63?
If I worked hard and made a better case
Academic standards seem debased.
Anyone can win a Nobel prize.
If you can read and write and tell good lies
Love is cruel to those who are left
They have their strength,they have their health
But their grief is like a knife
That cut the husband from the wife.
Fortune favours those who die
For all alone they will not lie.
Every object, every place
Reminds us of the lost embrose.
Grief is anxious,insecure
We may have gold love’s not assured
Looking into unknown fields
May these rhythms some mercy yield
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/poignant
is remarkably poignant, sombre yet comforting, evocative of distant associations, yet not too explicit.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The morphology of the village became a medium for the realization of another of the period’s most poignant and generative concepts, the open form.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Instances of undeserved pain and suffering provide us with our most poignant examples.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The understated nature of the coda, especially the pianissimo passage starting in bar 108, enhances one’s experience of the narrative as poignant, troubled and unresolved.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
He gives a poignant and moving account of their last years together and the profound sadness following his loss.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The resonances of the questions are particularly purposeful, moral, heartfelt, and poignant.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Their article, which includes highly poignant and well-observed case studies, demonstrates the seriousness of the problems encountered.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
His fieldnotes and letters back home were always filled with poignant observations, good wit, and honest introspection.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This short, poignant film seems to resonate perfectly with the mood and flow of the music.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
For an immersion teacher education setting, this is particularly poignant.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
King Alfred
Lately I have been loaned by providence a graceful beautiful cat.Early on he was a shrinking, hunched and nervous creature who slept by the back door on the daily newspaper.He ate hungrily and drank water with a drop of milk.
He was reluctant for a couple of weeks to venture further but as the tranquil peaceful time went by he began to sleep on a towel by the hall radiator and eventually on my knee.
The most striking change was in his size.As he ate more and was petted more he relaxed so that when stretched by the fire ,more of his body was in contact with the floor and he looked larger all over.He was loosened up and comfortable.
If he were human I might say he had a good mother.He is affectionate and initially I feared his demands might be excessive.When he came onro my bed I was concerned.But after five minutes of being stroked he went off to his own place again.
Sometimes when he’s been out in the garden he reappears with an air of humorous triumph as if he has worked a miracle to enter through his door.Another time when I was reading in a different room from the usual one he appeared mid morning with a face full of more expression than I can easily put into words.
He was anxious and relieved,puzzled and afraid,happy and a touch angry with me.How can you do this to me? was his query.Suppose you had gone altogether?Oh,the insecurity of being a tame cat.
I wonder why cats do not miss their own species.Or maybe they meet them outsi
de.Often though they fight to defend their territory but fortunately they have no WMD as yet.I like to read and stroke him as I muse over my book,
https://www.poetryarchive.org/interview/wendy-cope-interview
I don’t set out to write humorous poems it’s just sometimes my sense of humour gets into them – well quite often. As a reader I suppose I laugh when I recognise something – I think laughter often is when you recognise something is true but you’d never actually allowed yourself to think that or you’d never heard it put quite so well. I think it’s possible for a poem to be funny and serious at the same time and I get very annoyed with the assumption that if a poem is funny then it can’t be saying anything important and deeply felt. Some of my poems are just playful and could accurately be described as ‘light verse’ but I think in a lot of my poems, although there’s humour in them, they are saying something that matters and something that’s deeply felt and I don’t think…I think those things can co-exist in the same poem.”
Mary was walking down the High Street of a little town a few miles from Knittingham. Here stood tall trees, which have been hacked into stumps by the local council,They are vehemently opposed to anything that might change the town into an upmarket suburb of Knittingham. They wante it to be ‘modern’, like a small version of Manhattan or Paris, maybe, or even London. but there was not enough room to build a skyscraper or a Gherkin, like the one that Ken Livingstone had erected in London after he went to Soho
Mary was wearing a long, blue, unlined, woollen coat from Marks and Spencer, over a dark grey and green sweater dress, with matching leather boots . iIn her hand, she carried a large green handbag, which contained her Kindle Paperwhite and her purse
Suddenly she had a loud cry: “Mary, Mary!”.
She looked round and there was an old friend whom she knew before the advent of smartphones and computers and, therefore, not being very well organised, she had lost the address of this dear lady, Margaret.
“Shall we go and have a cup of coffee in that Turkish restaurant?”, Margaret inquired politely.I have my cat in the car and I’ll get him a scone.The people are very friendly
“What a brilliant idea!”, Mary cried, “I have come out just to have a change of scene and Annie, my friend in in Knittingham, has got measles I have a cat myself
“I do hope you’ve had measles already”, said Margaret.
Yes, I have”, Mary lied.
“Well, tell me your latest news. How is your rheumatoid arthritis? Have they given you any of these new drugs, which suppress your immune system to stop it from attacking your own body?”
“No, they haven’t given me any yet”, Margaret replied cheerfullyA bit late now
“I believe that, nowadays, they give them to people right at the beginning of the illness tbut, in my day, they did not give them to you until it was fully developed , unfortunately, I have become somewhat disabled.”
“Well, how do you manage living on your own?”Do you have a lover who might help you?
“No lover as yet but I have various devices that I can use”, Margaret told her with a twinkle in her eye, giving Mary the impression that Margaret was the owner of a gigantic array of vibrators and other similar implements trying them out for some Health Magazine for the handicapped
Mary was thinking that they were probably better than codeine for taking your mind off your pains and aches which, in the case of arthritis can be excruciating, making it impossible in many cases for a woman to have sex though she had imagined marrying her cat Emile as he had expressive eyes and did not desire her body
She did not tell Margaret what she was thinking but said:
“I know that you can get a stand for your electric kettle, so that you can pour the water out of it without lifting the kettle up from the work surface., and you can also get vacuum cleaners that are self-propelled.”
As Mary had a great many books, she was unlikely to buy one of these vacuum cleaners, because they would knock over all her carefully choosing piles of scholarly works and art books, not to mention the tubs full of pens and pencils, and coloured pastel chalks.
When they went into the cafe, the waitress was very polite and soon they were drinking their coffee at a little table in the window, from where they could see the local people passing by.Many were wearing badges asking for an end to the Civil War in Britain
“You’ll never guess what happened to me”, Margaret said
, “I was in the bookshop, where they have a folding chair for me to sit ; they know I can’t stand up for a long time without suffering pain. I’d just sat down when this young woman came up to me and said:”
“You can’t sit there and read: you have to go upstairs and sit in and armchair.”
“Well, if you show me the lift, I will be very happy to go upstairs ” , I said humorously
.Or maybe you can carry me up as you are very heavy and strong
“We don’t have a lift”, t he woman cried loudly, “We only have one for us to take books upstairs and we do not allow customers to use it, because it is not insured.”
=Would you mind if I just sat here for 5 minutes?”
“No!, you cannot sit there for 5 minutes”
“ Well, I was unable to get up, straight away”, said Margaret “but, as soon as I could, I put the expensive book, which Ihad been going to buy, back onto the rack of new non-fiction and saved £20 there and then
” “That’s not very nice”, continued Mary. i“It might even be illegal to tell a disabled person to go up some stairs, when there is no lift or escalator.”
Margaret called
“Let’s talk about something else. I like that coat: it’s a lovely shade of Prussian blue
“Never say the word Prussian to me”, said Mary “it reminds me of the war.”
“Well”, said Margaret “if our luck continues on its present track and also the Middle East, there will be almost no country that we can talk about it without getting distressed by the name.”
It’s a real indictment of humankind.Civilisation is inextricably linked to War.Let#s put that thought aside and talk about clothes instead
“I like this coat however we name the olour”, said Mary “because it is made of wool and the sleeves are lined but the body is not lined, which means that is suitable for this early spring weather and also quite llight to wear always an advantage for the older lady. iIt also covers up whatever else I am wearing underneath because it is quite long.”
“What on earth are you wearing underneath?”tMargaret asked humorously
“For all you know I might have nothing underneath it”, said Mary “exccept a pair of silk knickers and a silk vest.”
But I have a dress on over my silk and wool underwear,I am using an deodorant called
Unarmed and dangerous
“ I have changed a lot since my husband died and I do all sorts of peculiar things. For example, I believed in times it will soon be legal to marry an animal and I would like to marrylEmile, so that he can sleep in bed with me rather than on top of the bed.”
“But he might scratch you accidentallyy! “, cried Margaret.And can he kiss you?
“Oh, there’s always a fly in the ointment”, Mary said.
“Well don’t marry the fly”, her friend responded.”I don’t think that Father Brown would like that, even if it could speak and say ‘I do’; it would definitely not want to sleep in bed with you. it will be flying around your bedroom, buzzing all night, and I don’t think it’ll be the only. one”
“I have to marry a spider then”, said Mary, “Maybe two spiders”
They both laughed uproariously, to the amazement of all the other people in a cafe
“It’s good to see old ladies laughing isn’t it?”
It certainly is.”
“So will you be going back to that book shop?”
“Well, I did try to go back but, as I approached the door, my mouth went very dry and I realised I was getting that ‘fight or flight’ reaction, even though I didn’t feel so anxious but something inside me was worried that history was about to repeat itself and I ’d be the object of scorn and derision.”
“Yes, it’s horrible to feel humiliated isn’t it”, said Mary.
“I was reading an article in the Guardian, which said that some scientists of the most social sorts have discovered that even the nicest people unconsciously see disabled people as less than human.”.
“Oh my god! that is very frightening because I am getting older and I might get disabled and then I will suffer like you do.”
“Well, you have to be tolerant of suffering”
But how tolerant should one be? I don’t want to have back some of those politically correct people who go around like Methodist -preachers, attacking people who are agnostic or who want unisex toilets
“Are there any heterosexual toilets?”
“I’ve never seen any but you never know.”
After drinking their coffees, they walked into Marks and Spencer’s to look at the new spring clothing
That looks like a satin tracksuit!”, Mary called politely
“I believe that the short trousers are coming back into fashion. tThey are a big problem because itthey puts all the focus on your ankles, so you cannot wear those dirty old socks that you can wear at home or with long trousers. I think they are a plot to make us buy ankle boots.”
Everything’s a plot now, isn’t it.
“Don’t say that to the doctor or she will think you are getting paranoia.”
“Getting paranoia? I’ve been paranoid all my life.”“How sad!”
We’ll, nowadays you need a bit of paranoia, especially if you come from Europe and believe that you can work in Britain and contribute to the economy, while enjoying all the lavish pleasures of London city and nightlife.”
“The so-called foreigners are much more courteous than English people. iIn fact I a’m ashamed to be English now and I pretend that I came from Ireland instead.”
You look more like a Valkyrie.”
“Don’t say that! I hate the composer Wagner.”
“I do believe the word existed before he wrote the music but I understand how you feel. It’s not your fault that you’ve got blonde hair and blue eyes and a white skin.”
“My hair isn’t really blonde any more. I think it’s more silvery, like Helen Mirren.”
“Does it really matter what her hair looks like now?”
”“Well, we have to amuse ourselves somehow and, since we no longer have husbands, wel ’re deprived of much pleasure and love, and we have to put out the wheelie bins ourselves, which I think is really awful.”
Well, it’s a sort of exercise, isn’t it?”
“If that’s all I got, I’d be paralysed by now!”
“So, what else do you do?”
“I do some vacuuming, now and then, I move books out of the bookcase and carry them into the other room and, you won’t believe this, last week I accidentally put a bag of nearly new clothes into the ‘dirty’ wheelie bin and found I still had the rubbish in the hall.! Unfortunately, the bins had been emptied and there was nothing I could do to get them back.Mind you, I did feel a certain relief but as the hall was no longer full of black bin liners and other stuff like that..
Not to mention all those cables, cords, and chargers that we have nowadays. I think the computer was invented purely to give us more things to buy, to keep the economy going. Nobody really wanted to have computers but they realised that, once you got one, you would want to connect it to your camera, or your television, or the printer, and so it would mean a big market for those cables and cords.
But it gives me something to do, while the Government argue about Brexit.”
It’s not just the Government who are arguing. My gardener nearly hit me when I said I wanted to remain in Europe. I am forbidden to mention Brexit anywhere near him.”
“I have noticed that it doesn’t matter what the evidence is,; even the most intelligent people will not change their minds, so it must be coming from a deeper level.”
“It sounds as though people are trying to understand why Hitler wanted to exterminate the Jews and they have come up with all sorts of theories about his childhood. I thought it might be related to sexual fantasy but the latest idea is that it is beyond explanation in any human terms; it is evil beyond our ability to explain. It is not true that, if Hitler did not exist, someone else would have behaved the same way. He could have lost his mind when he was defeated by Russia at Stalingrad but, if you lost your mind, would you go and exterminate six million Jews and gays or 6 million other people?
The frightening thing is that it could so easily become the way that Muslims are treated. People say to me: “I don’t want to think about politics, it’s upsetting me”,
but isn’t that what the German said in the 1930s? If we don’t bother about it, we may find ourselves in a trap that we can’t escape from.
It is painful to think about these things, when we would rather think about the daffodils and the magnolia flowers, but who will protect us or guard us, when we go further down this lunacy track.”
“Yes, I see what you mean. iIt’s like thinking that know, if people are depressed, sad, worried, it’s just thought to be very, very bad and they have been put on tablets and getting CBT when, in fact, it may be appropriate to feel that way, as long as one can channel it into some useful activity.”
i“It can give you energy… I believe there’s a big march in London against racism and fascism. I don’t know wherether the big marches have any effect. dDo you remember the one against the Iraq War? One of the biggest matrches ever seen in London and yet it made absolutely no difference to Tony Blair.”
“Anyway, just give me your news before we depart.”
“I shall tell you what; I’ll give you my email address and then we can communicate about our children or our other activities: grand-children etc. Maybe we can meet more frequently now, as we don’t have to rush home to make the dinner.”
The two women hugged each other before they separated and then Mary went back to the High Street. although she couldn’t remember now what she was going to buy.It might have been an electric tin opener, or a bottle of wine, or a throw from Robert Dyas to hide under, if anybody looked through the window.
Does it matter what she was going to buy? s She just wanted to get some fresh air, and meeting old friends always a good things, especially for aged people
I’m sure Emile would agree, if Mary brought him with her in her handbag, but he was putting on weight and is a little bit too heavy to carry. It would be wonderful if Emile were very big, then Mary could ride on his back as if he were a donkey
Why not buy a real donkey?
“Oh no! cry all of us .”
