I remember (10) - par Martine B.

I remember England when I was young,
We travelled to London, the trains were rickety,
Soho was the place to be, and I bought a purple felt hat and a long dress and clogs,

I remember keeping change to get heating and electricity, and you wasted it on gambling machines,

I remember watching movies on the telly, and the news, and Top of the Pops, there was only one channel on the BBC,

I remember The Beatles, The Doors, The Stones, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Marianne Faithful, and I remember The Who lived at Leeds.

I remember going to parties and going to the pub where we played darts, we played with beer mats too, and ate salt and vinegar chips, they said “Guinness is good for you” but I did not like the bitter taste and stuck to pale ale,

I remember we had fish and chips from newspaper wrappings and naughty teas with scones and jam and cream, and trifles, and lemon meringue pies, but also yucky cabbage and bright-coloured jelly,

I remember unexciting cricket games that lasted for hours, and bowling games with old people all dressed in white on immaculate lawns,
But I mostly remember

You,
My knight of light, the gem of all gems,
You were the silver lining of my clouds,
You were the swallow that made a summer.