Oh Wasn't it naughty of Smudges? Oh, Mummy, I'm sick with disgust. She threww me in front of the judges, And my silly old collar-bone's bust.

Topography is one of my chief themes in my poetry, about the country, the suburbs and the seaside. Then there comes love... and increasingly; the fear of death.

Too many people in the modern world view poetry as a luxury, not a necessity like petrol. But to me it's the oil of life.

Now if the harvest is over, And the world cold, Give me the bonus of laughter, As I lose hold.

Hymns are the poetry of the people.

I ought to warn you that my verse is of no interest to people who can think.

And I think it was the outline of that church tower at Belaugh against the sky which gave me a passion for churches so that every church I've past since I've wanted to stop and look in.