Although I wrote some poetry in my youth, who hasn't? Little of it survived countless home moves and the attendant packing and unpacking that goes with it. It was not until retirement that I had the urge to take it more seriously, by which time of course there was a fund of memories upon which to draw; not to mention many new aspects of life which begged to be recorded. Whereas blank verse does nothing for me, poetry that dances along in rhyme is I find not only therapeutic, but easier to recall. Much of my work is a light-hearted romp through both actual, and imaginary situations. As a Christian, and a creationist, I have also felt driven to write about the ever falling moral standards in life. Strong leadership from National Government and Church alike is in sad disarray. Some may well ask why have I mixed up the sacred with the secular in my book. The answer is that God is part of my life. Britain is beset with some enormous problems today, many of them of her own creation; but then what else can we expect when God is left out of the equation. Inspiration often comes unexpectedly, and a rhyming couplet may, or may not, be the catalyst for a successful poem. Bouts of insomnia have not infrequently proved productive in a warm kitchen over a cup of tea. Although I have fulfilled some commissions for certain poems writing to order doesn't always work for me. I am somewhat mollified to know that one of my favourite poets, Sir John Betjeman had the same problem. Incidentally, I think his 'Diary of a Church Mouse' is a masterpiece of observation.