Stephenson and I visited a summer fair
Which was being held on the dry yellow fields
Which were once part of the Blue Pigeon Farm
I was again wearing my William Morris frock
Which I thought best suited to the heat of this perfumed summer
The stalls were offering a variety of homemade cakes and jams
Others sold outgrown toys and bears so pretty in their gentle seduction
I found Stephenson at the white elephant stall studying all things retro
He then spotted a handmade theatre full of Shakespearean puppets
We purchased it on the spot and we carried it back our cottage
On closer inspection we found that had been constructed in 1916
By George Painter the farmers son who had died in the Great War
He had made it for his siblings to keep them occupied in his absence
It was named The Blue Pigeon Theatre which one could see above the faded curtain
Jane of the Red Manor (2022)