It pleases me to stare unfocused where,
fresh greenwood sapdust floating in the air,
I draw breath beside the bare-laid hedgerow:
untrimmed twigs above, bigger stems below;
twelve years’ growth in front, pleaches behind;
and fist-width stakes line up as yet uncrowned
by supple loose-end binders yet to find
the right place, with tension, to be tied down.
My vague eyes run the rows of winter wheat.
I wait pensively for the next-cut spur
to rise, and lift my hook, or saw, or blade.
So, that’s our Mystery. We’re about done.
We’ve spoken verses about what went before,
drawn versions of the present day, and run
with visions of the stuff that lies in store.
Away to the West, sunset orange clouds
are reddening with gold and silver dues.
My hopes, our hopes, lie East where crazy crowds
of age-old stars are peeking through the blues.
One day they too will go, or be transformed,
torn apart, made cold . . . or perhaps reborn.
For now, I’ll breathe the freshening breaths I have
and try to come together in myself.
In time, I’m going to close my tiring eyes
and think myself to peacefulness nearby.
Barnacle Jack Bones and the Riddle of Fish is a short play ostensibly for children performed with visual and verbal vibrancy by a spirited troupe of grown-ups.
Empathy accounts for much of its success. The show worked because the performers embraced the apprehension, curiosity, interest, and ultimately the enjoyment of the crowd.
Immersive theatre can be unsettling for those people – that is, most people – who expect to be entertained rather than provide the entertainment. Children are more receptive than adults, usually, but here Barnacle Jack Bones and her endearing crew of pirates set the whole room at ease.
The actors became the audience as much as the audience became actors. They created moods including intrigue, glee, play scariness, and contemplation. Some of the corners turned were sharp, some perhaps too sharp. As a whole, however, Barnacle Jack Bones and the Riddle of Fish is a delightful, almost mindful, story-telling experience.
*Barnacle Jack Bones and the Riddle of Fish is 60 minutes of thoughtful fun written and directed by Dominic Grant; produced at Morley College in London between 14 and 16 July 2022.
This is the Mail man, Brathay’s proud knight,
running and writing for that which is right.
A marathon here, a marathon there,
the Marathon Mail Man runs everywhere:
raising the funds for the bills to be paid,
stride after stride, in sunshine and shade.
He runs for a cause held close to our hearts:
for Brathay, a beacon lighting fresh starts,
salving the scars of hardship and strain,
investing in hope, time and again.
Runner and writer have similar genes,
aware of surroundings, chasing like hounds,
singular, often, but part of a team;
always alert and breaking new ground.
There’s yards for the rich, words for the poor;
yards for the voiceless, the many and few:
words filling holes left by the law
for people from Aberdeen, Brighton and Crewe.
Forgiveness and love are gifts of the good,
to lives once battered and misunderstood.
Chloe and Abdul were given a hand,
given compassion, made people who can;
carefully strengthened, apprenticed and skilled,
seen laughing again, and confidence-filled.
This is the Mail man gentle and kind;
searching and finding, holding the line;
being our champion, good in a brawl:
writing and running, standing up for us all.
by Robert Cole for Jeff Prestridge, May 2022
ref: Night Mail by WH Auden
Chloe and Abdul are two of the very many people to benefit from the lovely work of the Brathay Trust.
ROBERT COLE 