Special

Special

The careful unpacking of the car

Its safety seat unclipped, unbuckled

Passed gently in to waiting hands

Its cossetted cargo

Wrapped up warmly against any chill

Cocooned in blankets

Tissue-paper protection

For this long-dreamed-of new life

Fragile, precious

The son and heir

The only one

The oft-practised transfer

Into the bumpered baby-buggy

Strapped and restrained

Armoured against a hostile world

Robust and resilient

Protection against a reality

Of bangs and cuts and scrapes

Or cold and unseen germs

Screened and sheltered

Lest any danger should penetrate

Multi-layered defences

And give the slightest cause

For any concern

Fiercely treasured

Special beyond measure

An antiseptic existence

Preserved in layers of cotton-wool

This first, their only child

Kept from all possible harm

And dangers of the world

Loved and feared in equal measure

By his doting parents

Who will do anything

To ensure his survival

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2018

Drivel From Devizes - Dateline Sunday 12th August 2018

Drivel From Devizes: Dateline – Sunday 12^th August 2018

Here is our weekly round-up of events from D-Town:

1.   D-Town residents stood in shocked amazement this week as the Postbox Appreciation Society and Bankrobbers Anonymous joined together in an unlikely alliance to publicly protest against politicians dressed in suits.  In a joint statement they condemned men in three-piece suits as “looking like penguins, making a lot of noise and a great deal of mess”.  They also accused them of gathering together in huge colonies, squawking loudly and pretending to run the country.  Once they only occupied the lonely outpost of Brexit Island, but now they seemed to spreading everywhere.

2.  And in further surprising news, citizens have been informed that salt in their diets may not be such a bad thing after all, contradicting previous studies and years of the opposite advice.  Parents keen to get on the band-wagon, and to get their offspring on the front foot of dietary provision, queued outside the town’s supermarkets from the early hours to buy extra packets of crisps, pizzas and heavily-processed foods.  There has been a run on salty snacks, leaving the town with a shortage until further emergency supplies can be brought in next week.

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2018

Smoke In The Woods

Smoke In The Woods

Footfalls muffled by leaf-mould

Springy turf of mulch and lichen

Amongst the dark and louring trees

Their trunks tall and straight

Like rigid columns

Holding up the canopy

That shades the lower cultures

Bud-laden, thick and lush

The saplings and the bushes

Of the under-growth

And among the monumental beeches

Pierced by glittering

Flickering sunlight shafts

Hangs a hazy skein of wood-smoke

Diaphanous, gauzy

Floating, drifting slowly

Its lingering strands

Fingering higher branches

And within the greater silence

Where there is no bird-song

Nor any rodent scuttlings

That can carry any distance

Through the depth of empty forest

There penetrates the faintest crackling

Cracking twigs and logs upon a fire

A simple sound of comfort

And a promise of human warmth

The smells of damp and ash

And simple cooking become stronger now

Than natural woodland aromas

Betraying the location

Of a camp-site under canvas

Hidden in a hollow

Among the dark, dank greenery

Of wet, mouldering vegetation

Near the gurgling stream

A lonely retreat

Far from any crowd

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2018

Steamed Syrup Sponge Pudding

Recipe for: (STEAMED) SYRUP SPONGE PUDDING

Ingredients:

·        2 tbslp Golden Syrup

·        110g butter/ margarine (+ extra for greasing)

·        110g soft brown sugar

·        110g wholemeal flour

·        2½ tsps. baking powder

·        2 large eggs

Method:

1.      Grease a 850ml pudding bowl with a little butter

2.      Put the Golden Syrup into the bottom of the bowl

3.      In a separate bowl, put all the other ingredients, and mix together until they are completely & smoothly blended

4.      Carefully spoon the sponge mixture on top of the Golden Syrup in the pudding bowl

5.      Cover the pudding bowl with a sheet of greaseproof paper (with a pleat in it) & secure with string (making a string handle if possible)

6.      Place the bowl into a steamer, and steam for 1½ hours

7.      Remove from steamer & remove the string/ paper

8.      Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pudding to prevent it sticking

9.      Place a small plate, upside-down, on top of the bowl

10.   Invert the whole lot & remove the bowl

11.   (Hopefully) the pudding should turn out with the Golden Syrup soaking all over it

What else you need to know:

1.      Serve with lashings of custard

2.      You can put dried fruit into the sponge mixture e.g. sultanas if liked

Galloping

Galloping

A flash of flanks and fetlocks

Horses turned free within the paddock

The grass beaten and churned into sodden ground

By thumping, pounding hooves

As they wheel away

Heads held high and proud

Distended nostrils and teeth exposed

Manes flowing in the breeze

Beating alongside the fencing rails

At first a trembling trot

Building to a cautious canter

Before breaking into wide-legged gallops

Drumming in steady time

Shoulders and backs bent to the task

Of increasing speed

Then careering across the open field

Driven by the memories of former glory racing days

And the dash along the final furlong

To the invisible finishing line and waiting glory

Now rid of bits and reins and saddles

And high-seated, whipping jockeys

Allowed to frolic unrestrained

Driven by sheer exuberance into an ecstasy of sprinting

Coursing round the imagined circuit

Only pulling up at last, when good and ready

With a lung-deep triumphal whinney

Panting and straining to catch their breath

Pleased as punch, happy with their efforts

Then shambling gently over to the gate

To scrounge a proffered apple

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2018

Drowning In Five Inches Of Water

Drowning In Five Inches Of Water

A telephone ringing

Far away down in the hall

Takes only a moment to answer

But creates an absence of minutes

From precious play-time in the bath

And begets a long, empty space of waiting

Of wanting you

Of needing you

To hurry back upstairs

And an opportunity for her

To slide slowly down

Soft-skinned and slippery

Soapy from the bubbles

From the clear air above

To a short watery rest

Below the surface

Beneath the noise

Within the quiet, calm nothingness

And to breathe evenly

Drinking the warm liquid

Just long enough

To fall asleep forever

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2018

Fleeting Madness

Fleeting Madness

“Amor brevis furore est”

That day I thought my heart would burst

The blood boiling in my veins

A sickness at my stomach

Butterflies within

Every time I looked at you

Your eyelids flickering in the dazzling sun

Your lips parted in a gentle smile

Of mockery

And perhaps some pleasure

Reckless in my words

Hot and hasty, unthinking

Desperate to please, to promise anything

Urgent pleadings, passionate

Almost painful

Burning and breathless

Frightened lest you should turn away

I see it now

As a fleeting illness

Lasting but a little time

From which the fever passed its crisis

Symptoms resolved over many seasons

The heat now long dissipated

Calmer feelings restored

Cooler emotions to the fore

That messy madness gone

Replaced by a fine and clear indifference

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2018