Local Knowledge

there’s a spirit in Britain now

stoic

about having to go it alone again

blitzed by Brexit

talking to a London taxi driver

who took the shortest route

while talking about his travels

boasting he could name all 50 states in order only getting five names wrong

probably given time could drive you to every Massachusetts Road and Avenue

or Gloucester Square

roads with names far enough by cab

to be hailed from outside Victoria Station

where when I returned found no waiting cabs

for the Gatwick train, not as they used to wait

three-deep for ferry trains from Calais

found instead a cabbie travelling soon to Thailand, with fares so cheap

who wants Calais now?

a chirpy London cabbie

worth every shilling of his fee

Dick Russell

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