Oh No - screaming kids in pubs !

Pubs are the last bastion of adult enjoyment, or that was the case until recent years.

There are few places to take refuge from a screaming kid and a pub used to be the safe bet. On Christmas Eve we popped into the Red Lion to catch up with a few friends only to find that we couldn't hear ourselves talk due to a 3 year old girl rolling around at my feet while I stood at the bar. This child would scream like a stuck pig every 30 seconds or so it was ear-piercing. In fact, it was so bad that I checked with Mrs Tone and we agreed to leave before even ordering our drinks.

I will continue to do this and will make sure that the landlord is aware that the presence of a misbehaving child in what I consider to be an adult environment means that they lose my business.

I encourage all you fellow grumpies to do the same.

Things I wish I’d said

There are things I’ve done that I’m glad I’ve done
….and sometimes things I wish I’d done instead
There are things I’ve said that I’m glad I did
….and things I’ve left unsaid

Like “I love you Dad” when he was ill
Because that’s what I felt inside
Rather than let raw emotion choke and stop me saying it
Just one more time before he died

As Linda lay in her dying bed
Seemingly drugged and asleep
I wish I had whispered I love you
Instead of crumbling in a heap

I wish I’d spoken to Colin
after mum had died
To assure him that my intentions were good
He saw the other side ….

I wish I’d kept in touch with more people than I have
I thought they’d always last
But school friendships which seemed so fundamental
Are now consigned to the past ….

I’ll never forget that moment

I’ll never forget that moment
However hard I’d try
Despite the optimistic tone
I knew you were going to die

The feeling of such helplessness
Was really so profound
An all-encompassing cloud
Affecting all around

Let’s beat this thing, we won’t give in
Was our defiant cry
But behind the hugs and awkward smiles
We knew that you would die

Right so Lin has limited time
Let’s make her last year fun
But defiance turned to denial
and the right thing wasn’t done

The cruelest countdown had begun
To the inevitable broken hearts
We didn’t know the end date
But we knew this was the start

We began our mourning then for Lin
But she was still alive
Let’s put a proper perspective on life
Until the dreaded day arrives ….

New Years day, 2003
Linda’s release came around
“it’s for the best” we told ourselves
…but the loss was so profound

The pain of loss felt by so many
Answers to our questions still to give
Where the justice – there isn’t any
...she had so much life to live ?

On special days we remember Lin
That loss prevails today
But we move on with our lives
Lin would want it that way


TBC ….

The fight

The sign

It’s like a screen held six inches from my eyes
….the size of a human hand
The sign says “Your sister’s dying”

Meanwhile life goes on only in my peripheral vision
Occasionally my name is mentioned and I respond
Trying to pretend that all is normal

I am trying my best not to believe
this obscene sign with its obscene words
I am trying to negotiate a reprieve

“Importance” has taken on a new perspective
“Impotence” is what I feel
Meanwhile the world turns as “normal”

I don’t believe that “normal” will ever exist
Unless we find cure to the monster
That lies within my sister’s belly

When we discuss it we both know what’s at stake
But the words we use are positive, reassuring
I just hope we are strong enough for the fight



Thursday December 12, 2002