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I love driving onto campus...
This is what I saw this morning...
1.
The roofing contractor's lorry
with silvery piles of scaffolding rods.
2.
The students rushing across the pedestrian crossing
on their way to the first lecture.
3.
The fruit and vegetable man unloading his lorry
which has come straight from Covent Garden.
4.
The UPS guy, immaculate in brown.
In my heart I believe that his next stop is Tuvalu.
5.
The fierce lady from the Exams Office
walking through a patch of sunlight under the arch.
6.
The student from my old Department
serenely cycling on the wrong side of the road.
7.
The Estate workers already busy
clipping, trimming, digging, brushing.
8.
The lecturer trying to carry a large cup of coffee,
and lecture notes
and smoke simultaneously.
9.
The Security high wheel base 4x4
with fluorescent strips and flashing lights.
10.
The elderly cleaner from my old office
whose sari drapes and folds under her warm coat.
11.
The postgraduate student in a white lab coat
absentmindedly strolling across the road in front of me.
12.
The Head of Department freewheeling down the hill
looking like Darth Vader
with his black shades and cycle helmet.
At the top of the hill
the clock in the tower sounds nine o'clock
and the day is ready to begin.
*****
I am so sorry that I have not been able to reply
to any of your lovely messages.
I will have some time to catch up this weekend
and I am really looking forward to that.
This is what I saw this morning...
1.
The roofing contractor's lorry
with silvery piles of scaffolding rods.
2.
The students rushing across the pedestrian crossing
on their way to the first lecture.
3.
The fruit and vegetable man unloading his lorry
which has come straight from Covent Garden.
4.
The UPS guy, immaculate in brown.
In my heart I believe that his next stop is Tuvalu.
5.
The fierce lady from the Exams Office
walking through a patch of sunlight under the arch.
6.
The student from my old Department
serenely cycling on the wrong side of the road.
7.
The Estate workers already busy
clipping, trimming, digging, brushing.
8.
The lecturer trying to carry a large cup of coffee,
and lecture notes
and smoke simultaneously.
9.
The Security high wheel base 4x4
with fluorescent strips and flashing lights.
10.
The elderly cleaner from my old office
whose sari drapes and folds under her warm coat.
11.
The postgraduate student in a white lab coat
absentmindedly strolling across the road in front of me.
12.
The Head of Department freewheeling down the hill
looking like Darth Vader
with his black shades and cycle helmet.
At the top of the hill
the clock in the tower sounds nine o'clock
and the day is ready to begin.
*****
I am so sorry that I have not been able to reply
to any of your lovely messages.
I will have some time to catch up this weekend
and I am really looking forward to that.
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I love the word "lorry"
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned it twice
Paola
Alice, your words painted vivid pictures once again and leave me wanting more, my mind wandering off to construct back stories for each of your characters. This reads like the opening scene to a wonderful film.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like my day too - did I tell you I work at a university too?
ReplyDeleteIs that Richard Scarry's 'What do people do all day?' It looks oh so familiar.
Beauty in simplicity again. Not to mention a Richard Scarry picture - one of my favourite things about having smalls is that I have an excuse to have RS activity books everywhere.
ReplyDeleteOh, that brings back memories of my time working in a university so clearly. Students and academics have a travelling pace all their own -medium slow and oblivious to all around when on foot, frequently manic and slightly dangerous on a bike
ReplyDeleteOH THE JOY AND BEAUTY OF THIS POST, THIS "(JUST FOR THE RECORD)" IS THE BEST.
ReplyDeleteEVER.
Sounds so much more serene than my university days!
ReplyDeleteBig cheers for Richard Scarry - is it Cars and Trucks and Things That Go? I used to spend hours poring over that with my brother, looking for goldbug.
Ha! #5 made me laugh the most!! And did you see Doodlebug in that Busytown spread? He's always in there somewhere!
ReplyDeleteI lovelovelove this post.
ReplyDeleteThe UPS man has just left.
Richard Scarry was read to New Zealand children too!
ReplyDeleteOh,Oh,Oh - I've just found your blog via Little Cotton Rabbits and I love it. Like delicious Lapsang Suchong in a china cup after a mug of builder's tea...
ReplyDeleteAnna C.