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FOREVER OLD MAN ON A BUS It was a quiet period when I caught the bus and wanting space I climbed the stairs. The top deck was thankfully empty, so I sat down in one of the middle seats. THE BATS At a loose end one day I thought I would walk up to the hills and have a look at the caves. THE TRAIN Going into the railway station which had not been used for years, I was surprised to see this man standing there on the edge of the platform, looking up the line. UNEXPLAINED One day I was sitting on my favourite seat on top of the common looking across the valley at the South Downs. THE RAINBOW Coming to the foot of a rainbow I thought it was a good time to walk right over the top and down again. THE MAN This man sat looking out of the window day after day, wearing his old-fashioned trilby hat. TWO WORLDS The hospital world and the outside world are chalk and cheese. WINGS Flying above the clouds in my plane, it suddenly started to make a noise and break up. GULL LAMENT It's breeding season in the seagull world and everybody we are left in no doubt about it. 4X4S - DON'T YOU JUST LOVE 'EM? Time was when the smug buggers were those who drove in record time from A to Z in plushly upholstered tin cans which were flashier and much more expensive than most other tin cans on the road. THE WRONG MAN Now having been elected as national president of the Association of Master Upholsterers, one is expected to do something special, or at least at the beginning. I thought, what about a new branch. HIDDEN MEMORIES OF THE WEST PIER The passers by viewed the fire with a variety of feelings - disbelief, amazement, curiosity, shock, sadness, helplessness. FIREWORKS - THE HIDDEN MEANING OF BRIGHTON FESTIVAL This Bank Holiday weekend Brighton Festival opened with booming magnificence as fireworks exploded over the Pier. LAS VEGAS Las Vegas swims in shimmering eddies of bubbling heat, a metropolis, an island. BEING A WRITER - HOW DO I COPE? My life began as all others. A baby, toddler, child, teenager then adult. Musings of a Christian Lady "I'm not one bit of a snob," she says, TRAVELS IN AMERICA How many times had I said goodbye to Mum and Dad, walked along Ingham Drive with a few belongings to catch the bus to Brighton station and a big adventure awaiting for me in that huge country of America? GOOD DOG It started misty and cool, did this morning. A fine day to come, but darker now as the year moved on. After his coffee Simon Blake took down one of his four-ten Purdys - the one he particularly liked because of its enriched silver scrolling. BRAVO BROVE - OR A TALE OF TWO CITIES The gavel was briskly slapped down. "Please be upstanding for his worship the Lord Mayor." FLYING VISIT I have just had one of those short 'hit the ground running' holidays - a two day shopping trip to New York. Of course 'holiday' is the wrong word, I use it only to establish that this was not a business trip - no clients to meet, no contracts to sign - just a brief departure from one's own brand of everyday life. PLEASE LISTEN TO US, MR BLAIR, WE NEED A LOT MORE CONVINCING! On Saturday I joined over a million other people in London to voice my opposition at what I fear seems to be an almost inevitable attack on Iraq. I walked from Embankment to Hyde Park surrounded by thousands and thousands of people with one single demand: to be listened to. THE PHONE You wonder why I only go out when it's dark. I will tell you. Monopoly (life) Life is like Monopoly, you risk taking a fall A DAY TRIP TO ALBANIA Believe it or not, the trip was a new venture for those seeking something different! It was a one- and-a-half hour journey each way from the island of Corfu on a small boat chartered every week by our tour operator. ABUSE If there are other worlds out there, I wonder if the beings who live on these worlds abuse them as much as we do and are still doing so. THE LAWN MOWER The man was sitting on a seat in his garden, he was at peace with his world. It was a warm day and he felt sleepy. His mower was in front of him, and also the power cable. JUST OPEN MY EYES Dreaming I was in a huge underground cavern. With smoke and flames were all around me. I could hardly breathe. FLAT EARTH There are a lot of people around who really believe the world is flat. This we now know is not true since we have gone into space. THE SECOND ARK The fate of Ark I has never been solved, where did it end up? Ark 2 was never mentioned, no records, nothing, until now. I will tell you about it. NOT A NICE JOB I have lived for years in this place, I don't have a very nice job. For part of my employment is that of being an executioner when needed. I have to execute these beings who do awful deeds. Not a nice job I have lived for years in this place, I don't have a very nice job. For part of my employment is that of being an executioner when needed. I have to execute these beings who do awful deeds. The only punishment for them is the ultimate, Death! I do not like ending their lives, but if they are not removed they may go on committing these crimes. Being an expert in my job they die at once with no pain. Also I give them a traditional last meal, and they seem to like cheese. I must have killed hundreds of mice. SEEING DOUBLE When I had a lens inserted into my right (and only seeing) eye, it was good for a while, but then the lens shifted off centre and from then on I had a double image to my left of everything I looked at at close range. THE NARROW ROAD It was twilight and I was driving my car down a narrow country lane. Rounding a sharp bend I had to brake hard. THE RESTAURANT An old building, perhaps 400 years old, stands on the corner in a small country town. THE 'WHATS' IN MY DREAM Going to bed late one evening, I went to sleep quickly, for how long I do not know, but I awakened screaming, sitting up and looking at 'whats' on the floor. THE LONGEST AND SHORTEST DAYS I used to live close to a friend who seemed to not work. Over the years he went missing for a few days and I wondered where he went. Terminal You are lying in bed at the hospital. Your body functions go on as usual. You should call for help but you hold back, dreading that "it's you again" look. THE WATERFALL A man told me about a waterfall. One could get round behind it and look through it to the outside. He said when the sun was shining it showed all different colours. THE OLD GROUSER Today is Saturday. I woke up early as usual. I was dressed by 7.30pm, had breakfast by 8.00am, not a sound in the room, quite early. Until I put the radio on - the usual loud and tuneless music but at least it's a sound. I look out of the window; a gale is blowing, it's pouring with rain - that has put paid to my walk. No good for my arthritis. OK I'll watch the television. There are 4 stations, each programme is worse than the other but I sit in my armchair willing myself to watch. By 11.00am I doze off - I'm not particularly interested in the television. SUNRISE The two men, one black and one white, were sitting in a van being driven across the lonely moorland road. They were sitting side by side but not speaking, both with handcuffs on. LOMBARD STREET Lombard Street, in the pleasant town of Petworth, spans many years. I stood at the top of it, near the old cast iron lamp standard. SO MUCH MONEY TO SPEND I never had enough money to spend on things I would like and new places to go to, so I was delighted when I was left millions of pounds by a relative who had passed away. With all that money to spend the world was mine, to buy anything and go places anew. THE TREE MAN There was a man who lived and worked in a big forest, but he was always cutting trees down and pulling young ones out. He felt he should do this to keep it tidy. He was the master of his trees. MY LIFE'S STRUGGLE TO STAY ALIVE Some may say that teenagers are all about hanging around on street corners smoking and drinking, when we know that we are something better. SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 Do you ever look at other people on the streets of Brighton and wonder if their life is anything like yours? MY WORK EXPERIENCE WITH THE ARGUS I have always had an interest in current affairs and a love of writing. LITTLE LOLA We have always had a cat in the 50 years that we have been married, but as much as we have loved them all, there has only been one 'Little Lola'. 3000 AD This dream I had of the future...or was it a dream? THE WHEEL In the beginning ... we only had our legs to get us from one place to another. If we had to lift something heavy we had only our arms to do so. We began to use certain animals for transport and to carry loads; we discovered that by using a part of a tree we could shift really heavy things by rolling such things on the tree. ONE WISH ONLY I met a man who was something of a wizard and had a reputation of doing things others could not do. THE VACUUM CLEANER The man's wife complained about the vacuum cleaner. She said the suction on it was not very good; it did not pick up all the bits from the carpet. THE HUNGRY VISITORS The man had been reading about a certain lonely road where some cars had come to a halt by their engines cutting out. This spot at the top of a hill was deep in downland. The cars could be pushed a little way down the hill and then the engines could be started. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE This small offering is dedicated to the Mature GCSE English Class of 2000 (and tutor). With it I offer my deepest gratitude for the kindness and friendship shown to me during the unhappiest and most traumatic year of my life. Each of you in one way or another helped me through it. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. Tous les jours, A tous point de vue, Nous allons de mieux en mieux. ROADMENDER CENTENARY Neither her death in Shermanbury, nor her burial in Ashurst in August 1901 aroused much interest THOUGHTS ON THE TRAGEDY IN NEW YORK, FROM A 'BRIGHTON BRIT' 14th September 2001 THOUSANDS ORPHANED BY AIDS IN KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA - EX-PEACEHAVEN GP HELPS There are about 120,000 AIDS orphans in KwaZulu Natal (children whose parents have died from AIDS, but are not necessarily infected with the virus). Initially these were absorbed into the extended family but many families cannot cope with taking in all their AIDS orphans. There will be more than five times this number within a decade. SUNCHILD This is a brief introduction about a poem that I wrote in 1996 when skin cancer was on the up and up. THE CHOICE Where is Heaven and Hell? For so long a time people have looked to the sky for Heaven and down through the earth for Hell. PAIN There was not much money coming in so I thought I would try to find a niche in the market that would help me with more income. CHEAP PROPERTY Sold to the lady in the gilded carriage for five guineas, just another toy among many. Shackled around the ankles and hands tethered behind, he was led to his mistress. She forced his jaws apart to look at his teeth. THE CAR It was April 1962. Paul and Sally were driving back to her parents' house after visiting Sally's aunt. They were in Paul's prized Ford Anglia 105E heading for Brighton where they both lived. Paul lived with his father in a smart terraced house just off the seafront. EMPTY HOUSES? Houses, I think, have an aura about them. With some it's a happy feeling and others sadness. Probably the majority have an even balance and the aura is unnoticeable. RABBIT "Hurry up, you will be late for school," shouted Annie.
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