Dealer

Dealer

Movement in the corner of the room

By a silent, shifty individual

A jackal in jacket and jeans

Whose slightest gesture with his eyes

Signals all-clear for the client

Who may casually approach

Stand close by for a few seconds

As fingers delve into pockets

To extract merchandise

In the slim-line paper packet

The swiftest wordless handshake

Between these men who are not friends

And do not know each other

A mere transactional gesture

Enables the exchange

Quickly hand-to-hand

Money moved in seconds

Unseen by the casual observer

The goods gone, the punter moves away

To sample his substance

But the peddler stands his ground

Scouting further business

Looking for passing trade

Cruising for customers

Watching for watchers

Blending with the background

Quiet buying and selling

Subtle supply and demand

Unobtrusive opportunities of the open market

A final chance to turn a profit

Before quietly slipping away

Sliding into dark shadows

As if he had never been here

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2013

News From Bromham - Dateline Sunday 6th October 2013

Bulletin From Bromham: Dateline – Sunday 5^th October 2013

Here is our weekly round-up of events from Bromham:

1.       Work has begun by Trowbridge Weapons Inspectors to find and dismantle the chemical warfare stockpile held by the Seend Separatist Movement.  This is believed to consist of several bags of unidentified mouldering substances stored in a shed near the Seend Village Hall, and could contain both weed-killer and slug powder, now banned as Weapons of Mass Garden Destruction.

2.       Ted Willybanned, leader of the Carrot-Rooters’ Action Party (CRAP), became involved in a slanging match with the Bromham Bugle (“all the news that’s unfit to print”) regarding an article which seemed to imply that its dad was bigger than his dad. Willeyband wrote a letter saying “Isn’t”, and the Bugle responded with a further article head-lined “Is!!” and saying that they would slap anyone who said otherwise.  Willeybanned has now demanded to know, through the Press Complaints Commission “You and Whose Army?”  The row is expected to continue for some time.

3.       For details of these and all other Bromham stories, don’t forget to listen to local radio station Carrot FM.

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2013

Elephant

Elephant

The flapping folds of sagging skin

The grey leathery hide

Wrinkled and well lived-in

Doused in dust, masked in mud

A time-old treatment

To bring relief from a burning sun

Hang roughly from the bulky frame

Loosely draped across the dome

Of the massive head

Which swings slowly side to side

Ears flapping, fanning

Trunk waving, prehensile

Tusks pointing, threatening

Towards the source of any danger

The eyes in shadow, thick-hooded

Liquid pools of darkness

The lashes long and thick

Black protective strands

Covering the crinkled lids

Hiding deep wells of thought

That may be windows into memory

Ancient mental pathways

Deep voices of the bulls

Rumbling through the bush

Like grumbling stomachs

Communicating with the herd

And the browsing family group

To keep the cows and calves close by

Gentle parental protests

Of these pachyderms

 Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2013

Panther

Panther

How she stands there among the sandy grass

Feline and fierce, above her throttled victim

Too small to defend her kill

Taking breaths and taking stock

The smell of blood already on the wind

Carrying the message of an easy meal

To carnivores and scavengers

That forever dog her hunting expeditions

How she stealthily moves to tidy up

To shift the body to a safer place

The strength of muscles and teeth

To quickly drag and scramble

To climb a tree, up inside the canopy

And leave the lifeless legs dangling

Beyond the jaws of hyenas

Out of sight of vultures

Allowing then some time to rest

And breathe easy once again

How she lies there in the crook of the branch

Amidst the dappling shadows of leaves

Hidden by the rosetted coat

Her larder full and waiting

The panting of this panther

This lithe and lissom leopard

Watchful with her glinting eyes

Savage and solitary

Stealthy, opportunistic

Safe and secure

Until she must eat again

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2013

Flatdogs Hot Chilli Sauce

This basic recipe was given to me by the chef at Flatdogs Camp in South Luanga, Zambia.  It is VERY hot, so a little goes a very long way. I've adapted it slightly to make it thicker. Be careful - lethal!

Recipe for: (FLATDOGS) VERY HOT CHILLIE SAUCE

Ingredients:

·         125g-250g fresh (red) chillies, stalks removed & chopped

·         65g-80g dried red chillies

·         65g garlic finely chopped

·         125g brown sugar

·         1 thick slice fresh lemon

·         350ml brown or white vinegar

·         10g mixed herbs

·         1 tsp salt

·         150ml olive oil

·         100ml ginger beer

·         100ml sherry

·         2 tblsp fresh coriander, very finely chopped

Method:

1.       Place the chillies & the first lot of ingredients (up to the vinegar) in a heavy-based saucepan, and bring to the boil

2.       Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, then remove from the heat

3.       Strain the liquid, reserving 1tblsp of the liquid chilli stock

4.       Discard the slice of lemon

5.       Using a stick-blender, blitz the chilli pulp, together with the reserved liquid to a pulpy paste

6.       Return this paste to the (cleaned) pan, and add the remaining ingredients

7.       Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes

8.       Bottle the sauce whilst it is still hot into clean jars, so that it forms a vacuum & will keep longer

What else you need to know:

  

1.       When cold, store in the fridge to preserve for as long as possible

2.       Add sparingly to curry sauces & other dishes – this stuff is VERY hot!

Dealer

Dealer

Movement in the corner of the room

By a silent, shifty individual

A jackal in jacket and jeans

Whose slightest gesture with his eyes

Signals all-clear for the client

Who may casually approach

Stand close by for a few seconds

As fingers delve into pockets

To extract merchandise

In the slim-line paper packet

The swiftest wordless handshake

Between these men who are not friends

And do not know each other

A mere transactional gesture

Enables the exchange

Quickly hand-to-hand

Money moved in seconds

Unseen by the casual observer

The goods gone, the punter moves away

To sample his substance

But the peddler stands his ground

Scouting further business

Looking for passing trade

Cruising for customers

Watching for watchers

Blending with the background

Quiet buying and selling

Subtle supply and demand

Unobtrusive opportunities of the open market

A final chance to turn a profit

Before quietly slipping away

Sliding into dark shadows

As if he had never been here

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2013

Men In Fancy Dress

Men In Fancy Dress

Such clowns and crowd-pleasers

Posing calmly for the cameras

Neither shy nor reticent

To display their daily lives

Each gesture and posture

Behaviour and expression

Perfectly matched

As they sit side by side

And stare into each other’s eyes

Sleeping, eating, playing

In full view, unafraid

These slow, gentle creatures

Endearing and enduring

Such deliberate actions and attitudes

Oblivious to their keepers’ attentions

In these parkland pens

Symbols and souvenirs of their species

Precious panda merchandise

Raising vital funds for breeding research

Daily bamboo diet and long-term preservation

For sale now in the tourist shop

But these cannot be wild creatures

Rescued from their habitat

With heads and hands and feet

Large enough to get into

Their black and white costumes

The right size and shape

For men to live inside

And provide the daily show

For a thousand photographs

The actors, for actors they must be,

Practised in their antics

Always sitting in the right positions

For maximum exposure

This cannot be natural

For them to co-operate so well

The pandas, for pandas they cannot be

Must be but men in fancy dress

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2013