Paul's a world traveller - he's slept under strange stars - he's flown over red deserts in a wounded aircraft -
Once Paul booked a passage from Tilbury to Yokohama -
He watched Neptune preside over his court when they crossed the line -
The vast container ship was crewed by noiseless Filipinos -
Paul had a suitcase of books in his cabin - he'd read Graham Green in the South China Sea -
He'd watched a Russian crew train high pressure hoses on Somali pirates -
The Russians were fearless - they all came from the same small town in Siberia -
In the 1970s Paul had travelled overland from London to Dehli -
He'd dined in a grim hotel in Bucharest -
He'd bought almonds in a market in Kandahar -
A tribesman had given him his ankle length coat for a fistful of afghani -
Sitting in Queensmead Hall, next to Paul, I felt the heat of a tropic sun, the sounds of a teeming city -
Soon, surely, I would be crossing a border, hearing a new language, breathing different air -
11.00
Wednesday 10 February 2016
Queensmead Hall
Swanage
Dorset
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