The language of seals ...

Mist veiled the islands -

Leaves fell from the oak trees - 

Two seals watched us from the water -

They drifted with the tide - 

We felt their gaze upon us - 

We saw their neat shapely heads - 

Their dark shining eyes - 

I remembered what Wittgenstein said about the language of lions -

Would the same be true of seals ? -

If those two seals could speak, would I be able to understand them ?

Friday 30 October 2020

Arne 

Shipstal Point

Dorset 

Si tu dois partir ...

I turn the pages of this atlas my dad gave me -

I can read my name, written in his clear beloved handwriting on the inside front cover- 

Christopher Bradey -

45 Palmyra Road, Elson, Gosport, Hants, 1966 - 

I was fourteen years old, a whisper of bone - 

My smooth skin barely hiding my ribs - 

I wanted to be an explorer - 

Even the names of English cities were strange to me -

I'd gaze at the shape of lochs -

Trace the course of a river - 

I'd look at these maps with a racing heart -

My pure bed my world - 

I'm looking now at my favourite map - 

The Isle of Skye - 

Uig Bay - 

I've been to Uig -

I sat in the cafe near the harbour wall - 

We listened to Fairport Convention on the grimy jukebox -

Sandy Denny singing - 

Si tu dois partir -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Each mazy street ...

We ate lemon drizzle in The Boston Tea Party -

A man with a purple hat spoke of tarot cards - 

Wooden beams held high the timeworn ceiling -

Beyond the latticed windows brightness fell - 

Each mazy street touched the edge of the world - 

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Boston Tea Party 

Salisbury 

Quiet lives ...

The twilight river reflected the autumn clouds -

These fishermen would watch the night come to the gentle town -

Their voices would carry over the water - 

The river would remember their quiet lives - 

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Town Quay

Wareham 

Dorset 

Remembering the blue car ...

We drove through the forest - 

There were dark trees each side of the dual carriageway - 

I thought I saw an owl netted by the headlamp beams - 

The car radio whispered something - 

The moon was full - 

I felt the steering wheel quiver beneath my fingers - 

I drove faster - 

The blue car leapt forward - 

Stars fell from the sky - 

Monday 26 October 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

We saw the rain come ...

We saw the rain come - 

Squalls above the white horses -

The rain stung our faces - 

The wind bent the tamarisk trees - 

Woke the ghosts in the locked cave -

When the rain stopped, a rainbow joined sea and sky - 

Sunday 25 October 2020

Durlston 

Swanage 

Dorset 

Yellow feathers in Bowling Green Wood ...

Leaves whirled through the air -

We were walking through Bowling Green Wood -

The seasons flew past -

I felt them touch my face -

Like the touch of yellow feathers - 

Saturday 24 October 2020

Lulworth 

Dorset

Watching the kite surfers ..

I watched the kite surfers from inside Billy Winters -

A louche cook sliced a lime into exquisite slivers - 

This was a place for wearing faded boat shoes - 

For listening to Jack Johnson - 

Drinking smokey gin - 

There should be salt in your tangled hair - 

A torn shirt under your linen jacket 

Friday 23 October 2020

Billy Winters 

Weymouth 

Dorset 

Unseen voices ...

I stood by the fountain - 

Leaves fell from the trees - 

The air was still -

All I heard was the sound of the water - 

From far off, the voices of those who were unseen -

Wednesday 21 October 2020

The Walled Garden 

Moreton 

Dorset 

Play up boys ! ..

I wore my long tweed coat in the bookshop - 

I felt Henty would approve - 

I turned the pages of his bold adventures - 

With Cochrane the Dauntless -

Tales of Daring and Danger - 

Among Malay Purates -

The Tiger of Mysore -

Neill said he had read Henty at his school -

I pictured him, reading about a plucky lad quelling a mutiny - 

Reading by torchlight in the icy dormitory - 

Football next day on the muddy field -

The headmaster's bellow - 

Play up boys ! -

Wednesday 22 October 2020

Puddletown Bookshop

Puddletown 

Dorset 

Sloes were purple promises ...

We set out for Creech Grange - 

The high hill faced the sea - 

The gale blew ravens across the fields - 

Sloes were purple promises in nets of thorns -

Tuesday 20 October 2020

Creech

Dorset 

The Crooked Book was closed ...

The Crooked Book was closed -

A bit of cardboard stuck on the door said open this week, Wednesday - Friday -

I'd hoped to slip inside -

To shyly gaze at the Polish girl - 

To buy a foxed Penguin Modern Classic or a lurid pulp - 

Nick Cave would have been singing - 

I would have stood before the iconic Hermes 3000 dreaming of a novel - 

Tuesday 20 October 2020

Rocket fuel biryani ...

I ate rocket fuel biryani in Saint George's Square - 

We sat on the Guildhall steps - 

Jolly girls sat  next to us, eating falafel -

We'd bought the biryanis from The Curry Man -

He and his daughters stirred large pans of fiery wonder -

Stay safe love said one of his daughters -

Nearby was Salisbury's king of sausages -

Each molten mouthful reminded me of dangerous vindaloos -

Reeling with Cobra and midnight verses -

The Doors playing somewhere - 

Morrison singing proud to be part of this number -

Sunday 18 October 2020

Salisbury 

Walking like night hawks ...

We walked as though we were night hawks - 

The city was silent - 

There was a starless sky - 

Two girls cast thin shadows - 

Darkness filled old houses - 

Friday 16 October 2020

Salisbury 

Bitter music ...

Pale sunlight fell upon the white hotel -

I imagined a Packard drawing up before the long facade - 

A louche arriviste stepping out - 

Shameful cocktails - 

A smoky eyed chanteuse - 

Bitter music in a heartless lounge - 

Friday 16 October 2020

Riviera Hotel

Weymouth 

There were dragonflies that summer afternoon ...

I gathered lichened twigs fallen from autumn trees - 

Nearby was the river in which Anne had bathed - 

There were dragonflies that summer afternoon -  

Birdsong in the orchards - 

The river held the memory of her shape -

Her brown body in its clear water - 

The grass the touch of her flawless skin - 

Thursday 15 October 2020

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Reading Vasily Grossman's Stalingrad ...

I'm reading Vasily Grossman's Stalingrad -

Like Krymov, I'll wear a worn tunic - 

Smoke despairing cigarettes -

I'll see a dangerous sky -

Feel the anguish of mothers -

Hold a last letter to my heart - 

Wednesday 14 October 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Light on the water ...

I remembered the light on the water - 

I would swim from this beach -

My body made young by summer - 

My heart racing at the thought of your secret smile -

Wednesday 14 October 2020

South Beach 

Dorset 

Each tree filled with light ...

Each tree filled with light - 

A silence from where I stood to beyond the world - 

I might at any moment walk with angels - 

Hear clouds talk to me -

Monday 12 October 2020

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Falling in love with Mrs Peel ...

Anne starts chanting - 

One thousand and one cleans a big big carpet -

I go back, like Dusty Springfield - 

The Ferguson in the lounge - 

Z Cars -

Softly Softly -

No Hiding Place 

The adverts between the episodes - 

The front cover of The TV Times - 

The chill of the lino - 

Grenada TV - 

Adam Adamant -

Falling in love with Mrs Peel - 

Monday 12 October 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Barnaby's twinkling eyes ...

I'm relaxing with Ghost Ship and Chief Inspector Barnaby - 

There's a barking toff - 

A sly doctor - 

A redhead in a midnight pool -

A manor house -

Barnaby's eyes twinkling -

An ashtray as a murder weapon - 

Saturday 13 September 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Cruise liners ...

There were four cruise liners moored offshore -

They were greyish blue - 

Opulent behemoths -

I pictured their skeleton crews - 

A Filipino boy crossing a pristine ballroom - 

Later, gazing at his reflection in a gilded lift - 

In their dream homes, passengers dreamed of poolside loungers - 

Early mornings in Capri - 

Brightness waiting in the air - 

Friday 9 October 2020

Studland 

Dorset 

Last apples ...

The last apples fall from the tree -

I hold them in my hand - 

Dewy perfect shapes - 

Like holding anew a cherished memory - 

The touch of cool fingers - 

A secret smile - 

Wednesday 7 October 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Sleeping tractors ...

The sleeping tractors dreamed of golden harvests -

The ploughshare turning the flint soil -

Gulls flying above the hill - 

Friday 9 October 2020

Studland 

Dorset 

Strange machines ...

The strange machines cast their spells - 

Exquisite metal slowly danced - 

Bright shapes were cast on pristine walls - 

Saturday 3 October 2020

Three Works 

Scarborough 

Driftwood burning with summer's pine cones ...

I drank Ghost Ship in the dacha - 

The stove warmed the book lined room - 

I remembered the cove - 

The waves broke upon the hidden shore -

I stood just beyond their reach - 

I heard the sound of the sea under our gentle roof -

There were tide washed pebbles at my feet - 

Driftwood burning with summer's pine cones -

Sunday 4 October 2020

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Each garden had ghosts ...

A mist came from the sea - 

I walked past the silent villas - 

Each garden had ghosts - 

Vapour pearled the glimmering reef of white hotels - 

Saturday 3 October 2020

Scarborough 

On being a Yorkshire ...

I read The Yorkshire Post as if I were a Yorkshireman - 

The wind shook the pages - 

I reached down to pat an invisible lurcher -

I was ready to yarn about moorland rogues, or the price of fat lambs - 

Friday 2 October 2020

North Bay 

Scarborough 

Looking for dinosaurs ...

 

Sophie bought artisan bread - 

The bakery was like a pristine gallery -

Nearby, I saw masked grannies in The Coffee Cup -

A thin youth in Flames Kebab - 

Earlier, we'd waited for the green man outside The Ramshill Tavern -

We'd been with Wallace and Otis - 

Looking for dinosaurs in The Italian Gardens - 

Thursday 1 October 2020

Ramshill 

Scarborough 

The ash in my hair ...

I've just read The Garden of the Finzi-Cortinis -

I can still hear Micol's voice -  

I feel the anguish of that last summer - 

The angels leaving the garden - 

The ash in my hair - 

Wednesday 30 September 2020

Sunny Banks 

Scar5

Selkie skins ...

A blue sky touched the rooftops -

We put on our selkie skins - 

Sand covered our sad clothes - 

Tuesday 29 September 2020

South Bay 

Scarborough