TheBanyanTree: Hey ho

[John Bailey]

Monday November 24, 2003

HEY HO

To Swansea, to pay a couple of bills that came while I was laid up. Bills 
have a sneaky way of doing that and then of falling off of the edge of my 
consciousness until they are past due.

The lasting image of the day was a street singer, a young bloke with a 
guitar, belting out a series of classic rock and roll songs, including 'Hey 
Jude', which is guaranteed to get me listening. And remembering.

I give full credit to any singer who throws his head back and gives the 
song everything he's got. Doesn't matter if the voice is good or bad -- I 
mark street singers on effort.

So, instead of entering the dark, airless fug that is Swansea's Costa 
Coffee, I grabbed a take-out burger and ersatz coffee from Burger King and 
sat outside to listen to the songs.

The trees in the small square by the Quadrant centre -- a sort of shopping 
mall -- still have leaves on them and they drifted down in ones and twos 
from a clear, sunny sky.

The singer, the trees, the leaves and the sunny, late autumn sky. The 
guitar and the songs. Songs I half-remember, songs I used to sing myself a 
long time ago. And a beat-up guitar like the one I had back in the starry 
days and nights of 'American Pie'.

Hey ho.


--
John Bailey   Carmarthenshire, Wales
journal of a writing man
<http://www.oldgreypoet.com>