Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

Not Near London

A spasm passed over his mother’s face but his father ignored him, tossing back the fine claret. He still wore his suit-and-tie at home, as if about to go off to work. Offered early retirement by the corporation, times being hard, massive redundancy payment, obese pension, now glued to the garden, different types of roses, keeping trim on the tennis court, the odd fart when he serves but otherwise acting the spring chicken. ‘We’re gonna have to pay for your pension and meanwhile starve,’ Jasper has said several times to his face over the last couple of years. Terence has kept his vinyls and they include Barclay James Harvest and Procol Harum : he played them after thecranberrysponge, looking pleased as punch,

almost boogying when Jasper turned the volume up and mimicked a DJ. Terencewaswell tipsy from the wine, but that was OK. When Geraldine told her how they’d named Jasper after his birthday month’s gemstone, Terence said, ‘Not at all, it was because he came out green with red spots.’ Suzie found this genuinely funny and got the giggles, with Terence beaming away. So the visit had ended well. This success made Suzie feel paradoxically more grown-up, although she was relieved to get away, even so. ‘I was trying to give him a heart attack,’ Jasper commented, afterwards. ‘Never works.’ The snow was a good excuse for leaving early. The snow, the ice on the tracks. And there was so

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