A Few Late Chrysanthemums.

Robert Plant.

Brrr, another cold morning, but hey, its Saturday. I have always loved Saturdays, especially following the football on Saturday afternoons. I see some games have been postponed due to frozen pitches. I hope Peterborough v Shrewsbury isn’t postponed because Posh have a chance of going top of the table today if Portsmouth slip up. There is a pitch inspection at 11.00, so we shall see. I had quite a good day yesterday. I was up early because tickets for Robert Plant & Saving Grace went on sale at 10.00. I managed to get a ticket before they all sold out. The concert is March 13 at the Bristol Beacon, so look out for my future review of that. 

After that, because it was a sunny morning, I decided to catch the bus over to Warminster to visit Sian. I stopped off at Morrison’s and got her some provisions because she doesn’t like going out in the cold. When I got to Warminster, I usually catch another bus to her house, but this time I decided to walk because I’m trying to have some exercise every day. I enjoyed the walk and had a nice couple of hours at Sian’s before heading back to town. It was 35 minutes before my bus back to Westbury, so I had a quick scoot around the charity shops. In the Blue-Cross shop I found a first edition 1954 book by John Betjeman called A Few Late Chrysanthemums. It didn’t have a dustjacket, but still might be worth a few quid. I like John Betjeman, his poems are not too highbrow for the likes of me. You can actually understand what he is saying, unlike some poets I could mention. His poems have humour and pathos in equal measure and are very English. I don’t know if he is popular abroad, he might be a bit too parochial. He was inspired by things like churches, railway stations and small towns, and hated the brutalism of modern architecture. He even wrote a poem about a small railway station just outside Westbury called Dilton Marsh Halt. A few nights ago I watched an old edition of the Michael Parkinson Show from the 1970s where he was talking to Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams. He was a great man, and very humorous. I remember once in an interview towards the end of his life he was asked if he had any regrets. He thought for a moment, and then said, “Yes, I wish I’d had more sex”. 

I started reading the book at the bus stop and continued all the way back to Westbury. I also found another book yesterday called Firmin by John Savage. I started reading that last evening. Its about a rat who lives in the cellar of a bookshop. He starts eating the books which gives him the ability to read. I’ll tell you more about that in due course if I get to the end. I can’t think of anything else to say now. See you later.