Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Hor d'oeuvre of dry roasted biro

dry roasted biro

The other night a friend and I demolished a small roast of beef, getting into training for Christmas.

An unexpected addition to the menu was dry roasted biro.

For one dread moment I wondered whether I was the woman who mistook her pen for an aubergine.

But in a flash I solved the mystery. (Applause for Madame Sherlock.) A stray pen could easily be swept up in a tea-towel doubling as oven mitt and deposited in the oven along with a dish of vegetables, couldn't it? So it was served as an hors d'oeuvre with a soupçon of Dijon mustard and a garnish of Moore Wilson semi-dried tomatoes.

Modestly I claim the biro was a success. Tough and dry, I'll grant you that. But an impressive indigo colour and an acerbic literary flavour made it a fine culinary innovation. Recommended.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Wedding song


Wedding song


So you are the hunter
and I am the gatherer
and you are the gardener
and I am the traveller
and I am the dancer
and you are the dance.

And I am the dreamer
and you are the harbour
and you are the future
and I am the farmer
and you are the juggler
and I am the clown.

I see you—I know you—
I love you—I see—

that you are the builder
and I am the weaver
and you are the mover
and I am the mender
and you are the mountain,
and I am the cloud.

And you are the lover
and I am the lover
and we are a twosome
and you are the one.

by Rachel McAlpine, 1996



I originally wrote this wedding poem for friends.
Later I realised that it also fitted another bride and groom: my daughter and her husband.
Eventually the truth dawned: the concepts in this wedding song may make good sense to almost any two people in love and about to marry.

You may share Wedding Song freely, but please include my name as writer.