The fun starts as soon as you enter these gates
There were no gates
As they were still in Rotterdam
Somebody had already defaced the poster
Free Auschwitz Tours
Buy your Tickets Now
It was only days old but the so called artists had arrived
I stood at the minimalist bus stop at the entrance to Thimble Town
Indeed the development looked splendid but it was without life
Geraldine and I had decided to bring Ronny to see the new electric trains
Rather like the irrigation systems on the Somerset Levels
The railway lines were grid chic grid
Yet over complicated
But they were spectacular as the overhead wires often arced
As the trains passed by which for some reason pleased the eye
Archie was standing next to the high wire fence watching the trains pass
Danger of Death
Do not touch the overhead wires
For some reason this warning sign was orange and green
The corporate colours of the development company
It was hard to read in the sunlight
But if you were stupid enough
To disobey its order
It was likely that you were illiterate in the first place
When they developed Thimble Town
They let me stay here
The company refurbished my house
But I lost most of my garden
As they widened the road
My cats were buried there
Just where you are standing
A woman of about eighty years was standing in front of her house
She was watching Mitchell and Lucy as they waited for the next train to pass
I am very happy with the alterations that they made to my house
It is so very easy to live in now and so warm
I ignore the noise of the trains
But I feel Thimble Town has lost its heart
It has no character no character at all
In a way it is mundane
Two girls walked past the woman
She greeted them with a smile
One girl possibly the younger of the two
Had bright purple hair whereas the other had green hair
These are the people who care for us
They bring us our shopping if we are unable to do so
Or just keep us company if the weather is poor
They are all called The Maureen’s
My Maureen has blue hair bit she does not work on Tuesdays
These girls are off to Malcolm Terrace and Malcolm Square
That is where the newsagents shop is
It is run by a Mr White who is the son of the older Mr White
The newsagents was called Charlotte and the Gang
Which puzzled me a little
I popped in and as it was Sunday looked for my Non League Paper
With every purchase Mr White was giving away a blue and yellow flag
I purchased a Sunday newspaper a comic for Douglas and my football paper
You seem very quiet Mr Fair there is nobody here at all
I have seen at the most thirty people today
And this includes my own reflection in the south east
I wanted to call my shop Mr White’s Newsagent
But Carphilly Hills insisted on the Charlotte name
They even supplied the yellow and blue flags
I will be lucky to see twenty people today
You are my first customer
I gave him a copy of my most recent novel
A thriller set in the world of ultra modern irrigation systems
He gave it to his dog Charlotte
DP 2022