Your Voice

Episode 1 –Rain stops play

“I’m bored,” announced Royston, gazing out of the window at the rain soaked streets of Glethamgetty City Centre.
“It’s an anti-climax,” said Cassie his beautiful wife, curled up on the sofa with a copy of the Mindful magazine.  “You could take all your old vinyl down to the charity shop” she suggested “after all it’s got to be done”.
“I can’t bear to part with it”, mused Royston and he looked at the boxes stacked up in a corner of their new sitting room.  “Can’t we keep them?” “No Roy, we really don’t have the space” replied Cassie, “I’ve had to part will all my antique china ornaments so fair is fair.  After all you never play them, we don’t even have a record player anymore and the charity shop can get good money for them.”  “I’’ go if it stops raining,” said Roy and he sat down grabbing the remote control.  “Rain stops play” announced the cricket commentator on the TV so Roy watched some re-runs of last year’s test matches.
“Time is marching on and Erica will be here with her new baby so couldn’t you just nip out and get rid of those boxes?” pleaded Cassie.  “Very well” Roy cried and he leapt up and began to move the boxes out into the boot of their car.
“Roy”, hailed a voice and Roy looked up narrowly missing bumping his head on the car boot door.  It was the vicar from their new church just a few minutes from their new luxury apartment on Glethamgetty’s most fashionable boulevard.
“We look forward to seeing you at the Lent lectures” called the vicar, “here is the leaflet, Dr Anthony Pratt is speaking.  He comes all the way from Outer Moraria so I thought it might interest you both.  He is looking forward to meeting you as I mentioned your visit there a few years ago.”
“I am really interested” said Roy sincerely “Cassie will be also, we found it very rewarding to visit Outer Moraria and the hospital has written to say how they have made improvements thanks to some fundraising we did.  We will really look forward to the lecture, is there coffee afterwards?”
“There is” replied the vicar “and as you’re keen we can invite you both to a meal for some parishioners to get a chance to meet Dr Pratt”.
Royston of course was a retired lawyer who took Cassie his wife to visit Outer Moraria where the chief economy was based on diamond mining.  Cassie was a busy GP and at the hospital in Octavia she met many patients affected by dust from the mines.  Royston was interested in supporting the poorer miners with their legal rights.  Their daughter Erica had been inspired to become a social worker and married Lawrence a sculptor.  The Randall’s son James married Jonathan and the two men adopted twins.

In this new series we see Roy and Cassie revisit the mining town of Octavia and continue their good work and social projects that they had been able to found.

To be continued …

The well loved, noble, good Queen Vic
Reigned long years upon the English throne
But here is Wales I’ve hoiked my pick
Hewn coal, breathed iron and then traipsed home.

My fellow men we gather here
We sing a song and raise a cheer
But it’s a grim and cursed life
That’s never free from endless strife.

It was to be the day of days
A march for freedom just for Wales
Us Chartists overthrow the throne
And make the government our own.

Alas, alack a wretch has told
For Megan will not with me grow old
We’re all arrested, no longer free
Transportation for life or hang on tree.

Will we the brave remembered be?
Who fought that night for the Big Country
A mural painted on the wall
Is all that’s left of Chartist’s fall.

They say the pen can mightier be
Than sword or spear or violent melee
So here’s a draft to simply say
Remember those who left this way.

I’m a complex yet homespun girl
Not a bit the social whirl
I love best a cup of tea
Good humour and good company.

If your problems you relate
You may find I can equate
But if solutions you reject
Then I’m afraid you’ve had your bets.

Once my sought goodwill is lost
You will find eternal frost
Say the thing that hurts my heart
I won’t forget and we will part.

Loving kindness I will show
Always learning, keen to grow
No, a word less on my lips
But for some, a point they’ve had their chips.

So if you read this awful tale
Crossed out by Meryl’s grumps again
I will say don’t push too far
Your luck is over I’m overparr.

Finally I need to say
That every dog will have her day
Soon I will be superseded
But until then I’m unexceeded.

On the news our PM says
He’ll bulldoze where I live today
But remember iron Mrs T
The Right to Buy her particularity

We spoke of where to house my friends
As social housing never ends
Then talked of keeping houses clean
With classy streets that don’t look mean

It suddenly brought back a gem
Of a poem by an ancient Master
About a dark and dingy house
Inhabited by a spider and his spouse.

So why don’t children read this now?
Queried the nurse against the way
Of always playing computer games
Glued to the TV whenever it rains

It’s coming back I cry with glee
It’s not entirely history
My friend’s grandchildren learnt at school
How to pen meter, rhyme and rule.

How did we reach this happy ending?
Well that’s the lost art of letter sending
It takes a little time it’s true
But must be more fun than texting you.

Meryl Williams

Effervescent from the ground
The water rises, soaking sound
It trickles during summer heat
Depleted yet never lost to us

The Autumn rains bring flooding despair
All life seems compromised, our homes declare
Emergency on harrowing scale
Again and again from too much rain.

We never could control the weather
Affecting every human endeavour
The River Ouse has burst its banks
We’re mopping up and clearing out.

Grow rice on Somerset’s level plain
But pray for cessation to the rain
British as the weather comes
Too much as bad as none at all.

One thing we know when snow is here
It only lasts for a fraction of the year
So please spare a thought for those
Who keep our roads from being closed.

Should you a bobby or fireman be
Or paramedic working for me
Accept our thanks, our grateful prayer
For most of us would never dare
Tackle this inclement season
With the voice of caring, professional reason.

Meryl Williams

The weather in deepest, darkest Jan
Is suddenly cold whilst I am pale and wan
But December was warm and overly wet
The dandelions are in bloom, the season is set.

Daffodils are out in time with catkins
Cel endings come and the birds join wild things
The flowers are all about and out of sync
The old year ended, New Year came in a blink.

What hopes have you as days grow longer?
To beat the purge, to feel as stronger
As the blossoms early on the bough
While magpies chatter and robins sigh.

I sit for moments at a time
In this our peaceful garden penning rhymes
And every poem that I draw
Denies the quest to search for more.

I’m thinking of my first old muse
How yellow Blighters he did persue
Attempting every year they came
To dig them up again and again.

They said they make you wet your bed
So darling muse just use your head
Oh be a friend to the dandelion
He’s bright and sunny in our garden.

By Meryl Williams