the author
(using fACial hair to mimic a waterfall)
NEW BOOK
details
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A book of two halves, combining the 'sandwiches and surfing' story of the Pickers with two dozen poems on animal themes.
The first half of this book is something of a departure, being intentionally light-hearted and written as a series of 24 cameos into the life of Mr and Mrs Picker. Learn of the couple through their taste in fruit drinks, sea-lions and pop music. Learn what they want from life and find out if they achieve it.
The second 24 poems, some with a more serious feel, are linked by being about birds, animals, fish, even Scyphozoa. Most are narratives, some true, some not so much. From a conference of birds determined to take revenge on tree spikes around the car park of exclusive flats, to the views of a koala rescued from forest fires, these poems comment on our relationship with creatures and the earth.
Thanks go to Janice Windle, my publisher at Vole, and to Paula Cloonan for her beautiful front cover illustration and line drawings inside
Glavind Strachan Photography
How to get one
Just £12
Shipping free
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what's IN it
Treat
Mr Picker buys two tickets
to a Gilbert O'Sullivan concert
for his wife's birthday, a magnanimous gesture
as he is more an Abba
or Bananarama man.
Mr P is surprised Mr O'S
is still on the road, but Cherry is delighted.
They arrive at the concert hall early,
in time to buy refreshments:
7Up & M&Ms.
Gilbert includes Alone Again, Clare
and Get Down, as well as
his minor hits So What and A Woman's Place.
Mrs Picker loves everything he sings.
Mr Picker likes the red ones.
shout out
This is a collection of two halves. We begin with an acutely observed and hilarious portrait of Mr Picker and wife Cherry. Victoria Wood would have relished Mr Picker’s penchant for lederhosen and sandwich making or Cherry’s aptitude for surfing. Part Two tells tales of human and animal interactions. From a supermarket checkout conversation about swallows, to an apology letter from jellyfish. Simon’s witty take on life is always affectionate, while managing to make serious points about climate change and decline in species. A highly entertaining and amusing read.
Rachael Clyne