Now I find that being old is no worse than I feared
I might live in a country that’s kinder
I’ll wear baggy pink shorts and I’ll grow a white beard
And, just sometimes, go out on a blinder
And when I occasionally still have to fly
I may leave a small bag unattended
And not wipe the hand basin totally dry
In case the next person’s offended
Perhaps I’ll carry my nail scissors onto the plane
And not watch the safety procedure
I can read to arrest the decline of my brain
And avoid all the gloop that they feed you
I shall park where I want in a battered old car
And pretend not to see yellow lines,
And I’ll light up a big fat Havana cigar
Under faded blue ‘No Smoking’ signs
I may sit in the sun in the heat of the day
Without putting on Factor 40
And I’ll have garish T-shirts with slogans that say
“I am really quite nice – but I’m naughty!”
I shall have the young waitress bring something to drink
Then some coffee that’s mellow and creamy
And I’ll sit in Alfredo’s and watch the sun sink,
And my thoughts will be wistful and dreamy.
Richard Vaughan-Davies
I retired to the Cotswolds ten years ago after selling the retail business in North Wales which I had built up over forty long years. Fortunately for my sanity most of my time was spent creating advertising copy and promotions, which dramatically increased the business and taught me the power of words. Being a member of the Chippy Writers’ Group encouraged me to attempt a lifelong ambition to write a novel. Recently published, In the Shadow of Hitler is a romance set in the ruins of bombed-out Hamburg in 1946.
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