NEARLY CHRISTMAS AS A KID...

 Nearly Christmas As A Kid…

Never seemed to come.

That fiction.

That unique day

Shrouded by a dark, cold dawn

When parental patience was worn.

All routine stumbled astray,

Personal decisions were torn awry

By the promise of gifts to recover

And seasonal delights to discover

In a frenzy of indecision…

It wasn’t like home.

That friction.

That chaotic day

Clouded by a stark insularity

And behavioural insecurity.

Father’s temper soon began to fray,

The humour proceeded to run dry,

Yet wrapped gifts remained undiscovered,

Their contents keenly, hastily uncovered!

Yet the magic was merely an apparition…

Pete Ray

23rd December 2021…

Excited. 

'SPIT THE DOG' OWNER BOB CAROLGEES' OLD PEDAL CAR, GIVEN TO ME...

TYPICAL SCHOOL PHOTO...

Scared to climb from bed too early.

Frightened that my father would be annoyed.

KINDA LIKED MY TRIKE...

THE LEFT-HAND GUN...

Desperate to see whether what I had hoped to receive was actually there…

And then the fatigue would creep in.

And my father’s sullen control would cloud the day for mum and me.

YEAH, RICKY WAS PREPARED TO GO TO SCHOOL FOR ME...

I WAS BOUGHT A RUGBY BALL IN PREPARATION FOR GRAMMAR SCHOOL...

However, a visit to my Auntie Ivy’s house for tea and the evening was always the glimmer of hope for a memorably wonderful day.

MUM, ME & IVY AT HER HOUSE IN STONELEIGH ROAD, SOLIHULL...

She would make a fuss of me.

Rare moments…