I think my vocation is sacred
I keep seeing visions of God
He’s like a bright light
Exceedingly right
Does anything seem to be odd?
I have a calling to follow
I just do not know the details
I pray and I wait
By yonder lychgate
Do vocations ever get into the Sales?
I would like it if I could buy one
I’ll give you all the money I’ve saved
Sell my idea?
My dear,no fear!
Just consider how well I’ve behaved.
Everyone has a vocation
To be who they know that they are.
Yet I am not me
Without you to be
Here in my arms by the fire.
I’ll get an answer tomorrow
As I dream of God during the night
She will give me an image
And the much needed courage
To go on till I see the new Light.
The problem is one of translation,
For God speaks in symbols not words Symbols are wells in which truth dwells.
And the Spirit swoops down like a bird.
Why not find your vocation?
It’s possible whatever your age.
Attend to your dreams
and how your life seems
Vocations are now all the rage.
And here are Pandora’s socks, Professor Smith, quipped,as the female student in the front row fell asleep whilst sitting upright in a large armchair.
And I also have Achilles’ heel here.
Now for your project, I want you all to say Three Hail Mary’s.
A large bee stung my ass and I awoke and coughed up my soul onto the bed.
Get back inside, I cried.Keep me whole,give me oil,keep me churning.
Alright ,it muttered calmly.Don’t lose your head.
I have it well screwed on, I responded.
This is a surprise to see you.
Well, since Pandora lost her socks all the souls have been getting loose from their bodies.Women…why do they lose their socks so much?
After that,the doctor called.
Hi, he screamed.
For God’s sake, don’t do that, I shouted
I’m not dead you know..even though my blood pressure is zero.He smiled and handed me a blood sugar monitor.
Here you are,this will cure your pneumonia.
What about my new mania?
What is that?
I am interested in spirals…
Keep it under control.
The whole point of mania is to be out of control
Try for a sort of controlled uncontrol,then.my dear, he murmured.
What a clever idea, I told him.Goodbye
I swallowed the test kit and it cured the pneumonia immediately
That’s it ,folk
Yes I trod in some red paint that someone has spilled on the pavement.
I think I will have to get you some shoes said Mary but you can take them off when you go in the back garden.
Do you mean we’ll have to go to the shops to buy me some shoes said Emile hopefully
I don’t know. If I went to a toy shop they might have some dolls wearing plastic shoes.
I don’t want plastic shoes the cat responded angrily.
My feet need to be able to breathe
So you would like leather shoes will you Emile?
The only alternative seem to be Wellington boots.
But do they make Wellington boots small enough for cats?
I don’t know the cat said wisely
Well if you would only learn to read you could look on the computer yourself.
It goes against my wilder nature to learn to read.
Well Mary said do you believe that I have no wilder nature ?
I believe you did at one time but I haven’t seen much evidence of it recently
That’s because Stan is dead, she shouted.
That would not bother a cat,
Well you may not have noticed but I am not a cat. And if you’re so pretty and wild, love me love me do
Don’t be so ridiculous. I am too small to make love to you.
You could run up and down my spine with Algipan on your feet
I’d rather wear perfume on my feet and run up your bosom.
Naughty cat, bestiality is not allowed in Britain.
Well don’t tell anybody about it. It’s not real bestiality just running up your body with perfume on my feet.
Well it’s something that no human being could do without seriously injuring me.
So you see there could be an advantage to marrying the cat
Yes my love I do love you very much Emile but I would really like a man as well as you and maybe you could find a lady cat that you could marry then we can all live in this house together then you and your wife could have some kittens
I’ll have to see who the man is before I agree to that. He might not like cats.
Stan was teaching social statistics to a group of elderly neighbours.Since he was 101 it gave much hope to them to see him demonstrating his prowess with various techniques on the overhead projector,.He was planning to do some logic and some philosophy too.Annie was sitting by the door so she could answer the bell if any paramedics turned up for tea or supper… I’m not going to calculate the standard deviation he murmured.”I just want you to grasp the general purpose.” “Deviations,they’re not normal are they?” enquired his neighbour Henry,an ex-English teacher.”So how can they be standard.It’s utterly confusing..” “Are you thinking of deviants?” Stan enquired calmly yet nervously ”Certainly not,at my age I’m long past that!” ” Still it adds a bit of excitement to the class.” he thought silently How do words in ordinary language relate to those in Statistics?”asked Henry kindly. “They are just more precisely defined in statistics.To say someone is a deviant is a rather vague term.” “No,it’s not!My neighbour is a deviant.He always dresses entirely in yellow.” “Well,that must be hard to do.Certainly unusual.” Stan agreed boldly. “But in another country that might be the norm.So it’s a matter of context.In statistics it’s more prosaic..There’s a formula.It’s totally independent of context.Have you ever wondered why so many mathematicians have a touch of Asperger’s syndrome?” “No,it’s not something that meanders through my mind much”replied Henry wittily. A shudder passed through the audience on hearing the word “formula“,which perhaps they considered something of a deviant word. Anything with letters and numbers mixed together is certainly not welcome in many people’s minds, along with their more unusual sexual tastes, desires and inclinations which were kept secret even from themselves in many cases.So Lacan appeared to think.As I am unable to understand his writing myself,I cannot be sure if he was right or even half right. “Time for tea,” called Annie,hoping to divert their attention to the everyday realm of food and drink.She carried in a platter of mouse [mice?] sandwiches kindly donated by the local ambulance service and some iced Victoria sponges she and Stan had made the day before in her new naga oven. “Just a quick word about next week.We’ll take a look at ratios and proportions and maybe see how that relates to the concept of rationality.” “That sounds fun!” Annie called encouragingly .Henry decided to act on a deviant desire and fell onto her lap ”Oh,dear!” she gasped loudly as the chair collapsed under her. ”Why can’t you be deviant at home?” “My wife won’t let me!” He kindly answered.And it’s impossible truly. “And look,” Stan continued,”we’ll have to ring 999.This chair is in fragments.I thought for one day we’d be able to avoid calling them out!” “Well,life is not controllable.” said a quiet but fierce looking lady with sharp green eyes.”That’s what makes it tolerable“ She then greedily consumed a large piece of iced sponge cake . “I can stand the thinking if the cake is good” she whispered to her shy friend Amy. ”That’s rather a feeble argument,”Amy retorted.”You can’t really compare cake and statistics.” “I’ll compare anything I like!” the green-eyed woman snarled loudly. “You do what you like but you must keep a sense of proportion!”As we all know…. “Now then,have you rung 999?” Stan queried of Annie.”Yes,here they are,and they’ ve got a stretcher for the chair!” “Well,that’s certainly unusual,even deviant“,Stan thought anxiously to himself. ”Where do they get their funding? Is there a fund for distributing money to help chairs which are not normal?
October 28, 2019 Walking on the long white shore with you The perfect sands, the sky and sea so blue The rippling waves made patterns on our shoes Oh,come back,sweetheart ,I can’t bear your loss
The church at Old Hunstanton has a pond Ducks and geese were waiting for more food The silence was enormous, like the sky Interrupted by a wild bird’s cry
At Brancaster we nearly met our deaths Cut off by a wave behind our backs Young and green ,we knew no panic then But now I feel it as I walk alone
Without my anchor I may float away A little speck of dust in that wide bay
There’s being a lot of talk about the winter fuel allowance handout which used to be given to retired people in the UK
No it is only being given to Peter on pension credit which means that very few people will actually get get it and of course this will affect some people quite a lot
Although the state pension went up by 10% in April 2024 which is quite a large rise although it’s linked to inflation so it’s not as large as it might appear to be
No if you want to prove that some people are suffering badly because of losing the wind to feel alone and I’m sure it’s not difficult to find some cases within the guardian there was a case of a man cited who he had been living in London in comes to the accommodation and he decided to go and live in Devon
His pension per month was 1300 pounds. He was renting a bungalow which had quite a high rental and after we’ve been living there for a little while among the low rent was 1100 pounds per month leaving him with only 200 pounds a month for food and heating and all the other bills not to mention clothing.
Obviously he will miss the winter feud allowance but it’s only 200 pounds per year not per month or per week so 200 pounds let’s say if you get it for the winter six months that will be about 34 pounds a month which might just about paying some of your electricity bill.
But I don’t think this is a valid case because most people is pensions were 1300 pounds a month would not be paying 1,100 in rent or if they were they would have to move to something cheaper.
There are many people who may own their own houses and are not paying any rent at all and they will be perfectly able to live on such a low income if they were careful but it seems impossible for this month to live on it even if he got WFA.
As Mary stood by the fridge at bedtime, a can of fly killer brought by dear Annie fell off the top and struck her red,orange and brown framed spectacles on the top.The heavy can hurt her nose I hope nobody thinks a man has done this. she said to Emile Well,I didn’t do it ,he mioawed cheerfully It must be an Act of God, she mused.I hope there is no bruise Ah,well.Are you sleeping on my bed,she asked Emile No,I think I might go out roaming Looking for frogs,she teased him I may return, depending on the weather Suddenly Annie knocked on the door Are you all right, she asked anxiously? Why, what is wrong,dear? Your nose is blue It’s that fly stuff, it fell onto me! I’m terribly sorry.We must put it somewhere else. Choose between me and the flies,Mary joked. You are my best friend.I will not bring this stuff again I am off to bed,Mary cried.Let me lock the door behind you Annie ran out, and stole The Duty of Genius by Ray Monk.She wanted to discover why Mary liked Wittgenstein.And it covers a dangerous and terrible era in human history from the end of several Empires to the Second World War and beyond I wonder what the children of Dr Mengele and the other dreadful criminals who committed torture and atrocties would feel like when they learned the truth abou their fathers So Annie is embarking on some serious study while Mary is reading Woman and Home magazine.What is causing this strange change? In bed ,Mary gazed at an article on ” How to dress well when you are over 80″ Alas all the clothes were expensive.Very Does it matter what I wear, she pondered? I suppose people do judge by appearances, she concluded.But which people? Maybe I shall dress in one colour from now on.But not black. Blue is a good colour.From now on if I buy new clothese, they must be blue Maybe just a blue silk scarf is enough to make a vivid impression Mean while Annie is crying over “The Duty of Genius” because at least two of Wittgenstein’s brothers took their own live and his sisters were almost captured by the Nazis who had to be bought off by the family wealth unlike Freud’s sisters So what are we complaining about in the UK, she asked herself before saying some almost forgotten prayers. And wished her husband were there to hold her in his arms.At least one of her husbands would have been most welcome
My old blue fountain pen allows The ink across the page to flow Like wet paint from an artist’s brush; And words come in a rush.
Enchanted by the hand that writes, Bewitched by art, beauty alights. The script is like a music score Through which you pass as through a door. Imagination’s home.
As,mysteriously,to you,to me, The spirits of our hearts are tamed, By rhythms of pen,of brush,of mind, They enter vision quite unplanned, Like moths to flutter softly round Fire joined heart and hand.
The pen slows down,the hand goes still And just as dreams at daybreak will, They shrink,they disappear,they’re gone, I almost caught that one.
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.”
“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 usor 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?
In fields of lushest buttercups we ‘d lie
We’d watch the clouds as gently they blew by.
Love was born we thought would never die.
But you are gone, and so I sadly sigh
That love itself remains without your form
Yet tears of loss enfold me like a storm.
I knew you’d never hurt or do me harm.
I felt your smile’s embrace, so wide, so warm.
How is the world,now emptied of your being?
No sound, no touch, no smell, no sight, no seeing.
How is the world when you have gone ahead
Yet I must linger in this empty bed?
Yet those who’ved loved are grateful for that gift
Our sorrow is that life itself’s too swift
Posted on November 11, 2017 The summer heat made cobblestones like stoves The Coronation happened, I know now We played with melted tar, industrial bairns.
My mother’s hands were black and much beloved The coal and coke had tattooed her, we saw. The summer heat made cobbles hot as stoves.
In the road, we played our ancient games The older children passed the knowledge down We played with melted tar, industrial wains.
The bully boys were cruel , did not heed love A little boy had tried to be a clown In summer heat, they beat him on the stones.
We were silent as they flaunted power again; But in our hearts, we knew we’d let him down We threw warn melted tar, industrial wains
And in our phantasy, he was alone. No-one knew who threw the vicious stone The summer heat made cobbles feel like flames We played with melted tar, Christ died again
What was so wrong about asking About your absence from this world And trying to grab you back holding onto your coat tail Eternity’s long enough already We don’t need your vapour trails. Was it a wicked thing to do As you floated so far away To reach out to touch you once more I admit I never knew you kept score. When I beat you at chess so long ago Were you already packing bags to throw out the door? I knew it was the real thing But some men never do. You have your expectations And your tests and rules But we never learned those In our higher math schools. We learned rigour and icy vision We learned definition and precision. But what use are they in loving I didn’t know how to steer with no maps You were off anyhow. The orchestra stoped playing When they saw the gap. You can’t fly forever But I do be leaving you. In the circumstances What else does a woman like me do. You can smile and squeeze your eyes tight Suck in those cheeks and hide your love. What’s coming after you’s an eagle or a crow Not a dove…it’s black I know When you toss it all away then Seems like it’s long past time and emotion to call it a day. Come again…..you must be crazy Love is clear to me now like the face of a new born daisy
I know that there are different sorts of heaters from radiators to convectors.
I know what it’s like to fall in love with someone selfish or ridiculous.
I may not look beautiful now but I once was.
Once I could read books without my glasses on
I could read the computer screen and the keyboard together simultaneously in other words
I could run for the bus
Well I could drive in fact.
I could carry lots of shopping from the supermarket and put it away without getting tired.
I could even run up the stairs
I had parents and siblings I had an extended family
I’ve not always been alone in the world
Women envied my complecion and admired my hair
Men lusted after me. They even fell in love with me.
So don’t give me your foolish advice or even you are good advice
No I don’t mind good advice but not when I’m feeling really sensitive. In any case it’s very hard for anybody to really emphasize with another person when you’ve not gone through the same things in life.
Stan was in the dining room looking for an aged briefcase with his autobiography in it while Emile sat on an old TV set in the window looking at the birds.Mary was in the garden wearing an ancient yet trendy denim dress planting some trailing rosemary,lavender and sage in a small bed near the French window..She had decided that her salvation lay in the soil though what form it would take was not yet clear ;suddenly she heard a harsh cry.It was her neighbor telling off his dog,Emmanuel.Come,now ,he shouted. Hail,Mary,he called.Can you spare a big potato? Probably,she muttered peevishly without looking up. I am making sausage boulangere, he informed her.But I use turkey sausages as I am a Jewish Hindu semi vegetarian. I am not interested in religion,she told him kindly.I believe one can worship God ,if there is one, somewhere like a wood. I like being on a group ,he told her thoughtlessly.. Well ,go and be in one she said naughtily.Do you like sex in a group?I am a mathematician and we study rings and groups but only in symbols as maths is like life with all the sensuality removed,if you catch my meaning,she ended artlessly. Stan appeared at the door.I have just made the tea ,.he called.Hi Brian, how are you?i Why are you wearing a dress today?Are you changing gender? No,said Brian,I am a mere transvestite especially in the summer.You should try on a dress,they are more comfy in the heat! Well,maybe I will said Stan with utter sang froid.But it makes more ironing… hey all sat down at the kitchen table and ate some delicious scones San had just baked and also they drank PG tips tea with milk and sugar as that is what the English most like to do apart from getting drunk. Where is that lady Annie who lives next to you,asked Brian pensively..I like her bright clothes and her vivid lipstick.Is she single,he enquired in a faux naive manner.Well, perhaps but she is my mistress, said Stan defensively.Aha,aha,laughed Brian as he eyed the shrunken old man. Now then,said Mary,leave him alone.He is like a magnet,women flock to him.. Now don’t exaggerate,Stan said shyly.I’ve not had that many. I see said Brian.I’d love to hear more….. you’ll have to come to the pub and tell me the details. Not flamin’ likely,thought Stan. ,as he examined his cracked leather briefcase with real brass buckles,backstraps and front pocket, a bargain at £3 and ten shillings in 1949.Hurry as not many are left. All of a sudden ,he fell off his chair which broke into fragments..Brian was awed.I’ve never seen a chair break up like that he cried. Well,ring 999 said Mary, a paramedic can fix it
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
How my heart speaks 