Yorkshire Writers' Lunch

For nine months all he found were mud and stones.  He was beginning to think that he had made a huge mistake.  He dreamt of his home on the Isle of Anglesey and his sweetheart's long black hair and pretty blue eyes.  He was so homesick it hurt. Then one morning it was there, winking at him in the early sunlight.   Gold.                                                                *                                   *                                   *           On the steam clipper ‘Royal Charter’, voyaging from Melbourne to Liverpool, William had met a number of fellow lucky prospectors, heading home to share news of their riches with their families.   Like William, they were carrying large sums of gold, tied to their bodies or stitched into their clothing.   In the evenings they drank beer and danced, thanking God for blessing them with his bounty.   They slapped each other's backs in mutual celebration and raised the roof in song.   They were the ch

Moderate or poor, becoming good later, The time when life begins, they say, Started with bubbles and uncertain flowers, Sat, like our pain and acceptance, at another table, but then She, long awaited, came, And life, for a while, was bright yellow. Moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough, He came shortly after, Unexpected, wanted, but his Glowing, growing light, was almost Strangled, by another's shrinking form, and the Jagged, aching, angry, violet storm, that cut us all. Good, occasionally poor, We could hear the lullaby for a time, Gently rocking our babies to sleep, Playful waters, dancing, toddling, babbling, Under a bright sunny sky, with Occasional, manageable, showers. Rough, becoming very rough, gales imminent, We thought we'd suffered storms before, These deepened and blackened and hardened, Dragging us separately, wild eyed and helpless to the edge, Sirens calling us into those cold, dark, forty fathoms, But thankfully, just as sudde

I dreamed I went to Malin Head.  To the northernmost point of the beautiful island of Ireland. I stared out over the remarkably blue ocean, which seemed to stare back at me.  It told me tales of its hidden treasures – ocean liners and German U-boats, sunk off this stretch of coast.  I could almost hear the cries of drowning men. I looked towards Fanad Head lighthouse and was comforted by its pulsating light, shining out once more. I watched the waves fighting each other before racing to the shore to prostrate themselves on the sand.  I walked along the clifftops and was drawn to the very edge of oblivion, the rocks daring me to jump.  Just once. I dreamed of Banba, mythical queen of Ireland, using her magic to protect her land and her people.  I listened to her soft chanting, the drumbeat of the Bodhràn in time with her heartbeat, her voice like the Celtic harp, charming, soothing, beckoning.  Her image dwindled.  She left me bewitched. I wondered if the arriva

Monday 2 nd October 1944 I still have to pinch myself. A year ago I’d only left Yorkshire once, and that was on a bicycle. Now I’m on my way to Africa in a tin can. The ship, a Dutch trooper, is terribly crowded. I spend most of the day in queues as long as the boat either for meals, chocolate from the shop, or items of kit which are issued as we need them. I haven’t been volunteered for any jobs yet so there’s plenty of time to kill. I can’t send you a letter yet because troop movements are hush-hush. But I feel like I’m talking to you even though you’re far away. Perhaps you will read this one day when I get back home. You don’t need to worry about me. I reckon you are in more danger than me, going to work there in the middle of London. Our bucket is in a convoy of fourteen ships, protected by three destroyers. The food’s better than expected. Yesterday we had bully beef and piccalilli, with real white bread. They showed us a film on Sunday. I saw Random Harvest star