I doubt she will come knocking soon...thank goodness.

I doubt she will come knocking soon...thank goodness.

We pass it on

Whether we know it or not

Even special outings

Looked forward to by both mum and dad

Were stressful

Nothing was easy

The tide was always on the turn

The boat a leaky old tub

The car a death trap

With no handbrake

‘Don’t tell your mother’

The tent, rent with holes

The picnic decoratively laid

On an ant city metropolis

Complete with overpass and subway

Cream teas a feast for wasps

There was always a nest nearby

Should we smoke them out?

The sun always shines

When you stay home

Cursing your luck

When a suitcase loses a handle

They always seem heavier

On the return leg

Having to be tipsy

To board a plane

I never understood why

Until I knew more

About the war

They wouldn’t allow it now

Not unless you bought it

In flight.

Sleeping in a big barn

Full of machinery

The tents properly put up

With guy ropes

And pegs into the floor

Woken up by farmhands

Taking the cows to milking

Wading through mud

To find fresh water

Tears before breakfast

Making the best of things

Trying too hard

To relax and have fun

Making a career

Out of making do

Is that what it is

To be English

Do you think

Perhaps it is a family thing

A dynamic of stress

Related pressure

Curtailing pleasure

No different the world over

Dreams are often scary

But on occasion they

Can seem to be so much better

Than reality.