RAISE A GLASS

To celebrate 3 great women – the Queen, my mother and my grandmother, and all my aunties – both real and unreal, and not forgetting women authors of course!

Here is a little poem I wrote before Christmas in praise of a glass of sherry and how it seems to bring people together on special occasions – both into our lives and into our homes.

SHERRY

There’s a bottle of sherry in the bottom of our sideboard,

and a decanter with a set of glasses on a tray above;

we like a glass on Sundays sometime between church and lunch –

it seems to give a feeling of fellowship, of warmth and of love.

My mother kept a bottle which she shared with friends from far and near-

an English tradition that extended both sideways and back down through the years…

(and more refined than wine and far more special than a glass of beer).

It’s with us from the very start – a toast to every birth and marriage,

on anniversaries and when we die –

and Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without sherry and a mince pie.

We raise a glass on State occasions, at Royal Weddings and for the Queen,

and a Noel Coward play would be incomplete without sherry to complement the scene…

I used to think that sherry came from Bristol – looking at the label and name,

until I learnt that it’s home was much further afield –

in the South of Africa or on a sunny slope in Spain…

Sherry is perfect with a digestive biscuit, shortbread or a cheesy nibble or two,

and at all those times when you’re blowing out the candles and nothing else will do –

So, pass the decanter, mother, and enjoy a glass with me,

for all the memories we shared

deserve more than just a cup of tea!

 

And 3 pictures for the Platinum Jubilee – one from our local Scout Aid Charity Shop,

one of the floral display outside the local pub,

and lastly the Queen with Royal colours and a good book!

 

 

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