Number 14 (Day 13) , Jo.

Today is Sunday 6th May.  I didn't post anything yesterday, nor did I write anything, but I did read three and a half of these tales to a small audience.  It was a friendly audience, and many of them were friends, but some I didn't know, at least not very well.  It was therefore a sympathetic audience and I got plenty of laughs, so I was encouraged.  I would like to be further encouraged by a stranger audience, so we will see when that might happen.   I read The Old Trout, Little Miss Muffet, A Decent Sort, and got stuck into Prevarivacation only to find that I had a page missing and had to stop on the Thames at Marlow.

In the afternoon I was out for a blast in the MG with a prospective buyer when, just having explained to him that you could really give it some stick without worrying about it being fragile, it broke down!  I had just stopped to change over and let him have a drive when we noticed petrol pouring out.  It had occurred only a couple of seconds before we stopped, as the trail of petrol was only about fifty yards long.  My wife came to recover the purchaser, and I waited for the AA, who spotted that a screw had popped out of one of the carbs.  We searched the road and the nooks and crannies under the bonnet to no avail.  The car is now at the garage all for the want of the tiniest little part, which I hope will not be too hard to replace.  Had we not stopped at that very moment the car would either have burst into flames as the petrol poured onto the exhaust manifold, or it would have lost the half a tank full of petrol it had and stopped of its own accord.

I hope to write something later today and put up number 14:

Day 13, Number 14, only one ahead, so need to keep on keeping on.

I wrote some of this one yesterday and some today, amid the detritus of a wonderful party we had here last night. It is now Monday (bank holiday) 7th May.


Jo

Thank you Ella’s mum, (and Mia’s mummy too)
For posting the first comment on my blog, bless you.
It’s very reassuring, to know there’s someone there,
The wall’s no longer blank, nor the space in which I stare

One day I hope that there will be, another two or three
Or maybe four more readers who will help encourage me.
A challenge isn’t worth it’s name unless it’s pretty tough
And something every now and then is nowhere near enough.

I hope that in a year or so, there will be a book that
Has lots of illustrations for everyone to look at.
A rhyme for each and every day, from now throughout the year
From day to day and week to week to read or just to hear.

So if you think they’re good enough, and want to read some more
Think of the writer tucked away, shut in behind the door
He really needs to hear you say you like what he has done
To help to keep him going, or else there may be none.

It’s a funny business writing stuff, it’s unreliable
Sometimes the words are stiff and stuck, and sometimes pliable
One day they pour out thick and fast, the next they disappear
It often seems they’re miles away, then pop up really near.

A writer or a blogger works in curious isolation
Not knowing when or even if he gets appreciation
So when somebody takes the time to send a comment in
It’s like a light going on inside a dingy rubbish bin.

It shines on all the junk in there, the screwed up notes and scraps
Of failed attempts, abandoned tales, and late night candy wraps
The empty bottles and the cans, the drips of blood and sweat
And every now and then perhaps the greatest effort yet.

So what I ask is nothing less and still yet nothing more
Than have you send some messages like Jo’s just done before
And if you have your favourite one, please do say
It will keep me going on and on, a story every day.

© Stephen Saunders

To book Steph'nonsense for a rhyming evening:
bowleyfarm@gmail.com or 01428 741212

Agent / publisher wanted.