As a European I am not used to this heat

My clothes are wretched but this is unnoticed

By my fellow passengers bright in their contentment

About a week ago I was in a Kent charity shop

I was buying a couple of paperbacks for the journey

There was an elderly couple next to me examining the jigsaw puzzles

Suddenly the woman walked to the counter and spoke to the volunteer

She wanted to give fifty pounds to the victims of a recent earthquake

The man who I perceived to be her husband looked at me

I wouldn’t give them fifty fucking pence

She is a silly cow but it is her money

Too many of them and they breed like flies

Their houses are built out of balsa wood

It is God’s way people should listen to God

The woman returned a little flushed and said little

It was then that I noticed that the man was counting

Never full no matter what they say the Dun Laoghaire

The Dun Laoghaire was a disaster with five pieces missing

I was going to return it but she said no as it was a charity shop

The couple then settled on two Sussex puzzles and left the shop

It did not register with me at first but they had stolen them

My sister is called Jean Addy-Stephens

My name is Mark just Mark as I like simplicity

I asked Jean to make a donation towards to earthquake appeal

It was supposed to make me feel better but it did not as I felt guilty

My family was wealthy and this was a vanity trip

I was travelling to a graveyard in the middle of Southern India

To visit the grave of a relative who had died of a fever in the twenties

During the days of Empire thousands of Europeans died in India

And now rest in overgrown and almost forgotten cemeteries

I was chosen as I was a seasoned traveller and unattached

My mission was to arrange the upkeep of the grave via a stipend

I started travelling seriously after watching The Lover at the local cinema

Jean initially travelled with me and we both expected to find Duras at her desk

Obviously we found none of this but we both returned with a degree of maturity

I still carry copies of The Lover and The Sea Wall in my backpack as companions

My eyes are now heavy and I am four hours from my station

So I will take my leave of you

Till we meet again

Mark