We dug in the garden and found little tiles there in the soil, turquoise and blue
The turquoise tiles had gold round the edges, so we played with them as if they were magic money.

And do you remember that later that year we dug further under the soil bank?
We found an ancient fireplace denuded of its tiles; that was our magic money.

The ice van on that old estate drove around and around in the winter months
I’m not sure what it was selling then, but it probably wasn’t ice cream.

We stood in that garden as dusk turned to nightfall, wearing our nighties, two little girls.
If we had had lanterns we would look like ‘carnation lily lily rose’ the painting.

And did you stand with me as I saw the comet blazing its trail across the sky?
I was just eight years old; you were turning seven in two weeks; did you see Halley’s comet?

The ice van on that old estate drove around and around in the winter months
I’m not sure what it was selling then, but it probably wasn’t ice cream.

Dramatis personae: the boy learning ballet, sunbathing Sandra, Aunt Barbara
And so many more: that petty woman who put the bollards up for her personal car park.

Perpetual sunshine is what I remember from holidays when let loose from school
Where we sang about worlds without flowers, air without breeze and skies without any sunshine.

The ice cream van on that old estate drove around and around in the winter months
I’m not sure what it was selling then, but it probably wasn’t ice cream
Oh sister, sister mine so much time has passed; too much to unwind
When Halley comes again, will you watch with me in the garden?

We dug in the garden and found little tiles there in the soil, turquoise and blue
The turquoise tiles had gold round the edges, so we played with them as if they were magic money.