Objects are lessons; from bowls, hairpins, brooches, you learn of forgotten lives. The stories say my grandmother was a fever tree: two birds sat on her branches, one pecking at a grape, the other singing an aria. What history’s bookkeepers do not show is the tremor down the spine she felt, the tendril of blood that coiled in her nose …

I’m a poodle called Poppet-a peach of a pet, (though I let the side down, when I once bit the vet!) But hastily passing that by, let me say, I’m greatly improving myself, day by day! Now poodles are pops, and poppet’s my name, just show me my ball, and I’m set for a game! They don’t leave me out, …

I hear thunder, I hear thunder. Oh, don’t you? Oh, don’t you? Pitter-patter raindrops; Pitter-patter raindrops; I am wet through! I am wet through!

Put your right hand in. Put your right hand out. Put your right hand in. And shake it all about. You do the boogie-woogie; And that’s what it’s all about. Put your left hand in… Put your right leg in… Put your left leg in…

The kids next door have everything you can think of and yet they love to come in and play with us. Their mother makes an awful fuss. Says, “You’ll come filthy, in such a mess!” Oh yes! That’s just what they like about our place. Nobody says, “Go wash you face,” or “Look at your shoes! Look at your hair!” …

Piggy on the railway line. Picking up the stones. Down came the engine, And broke Piggy’s bones. “Ah!” said the Piggy, “That’s not fair”. “Oh!” said the engine driver, “I don’t care.”

They are having a picnic in Animal Forest, The guests were invited by Zebra, you see. And Elephant’s eating a cucumber sandwich While Monkey eat sweets in the coconut tree. Miss Kangaroo’s filling her pouch with a plateful Of cakes for the young ones to eat with their paws, And baby Hippo is covered with jelly- How he had such …

Peter O’ Riley the Pantomime horse, He made the children laugh, He leapt and lumped with such force, That he nearly fell in half. Every winter at the “Grand”, He played in a different show, He danced the tango to the band, But he was lonely, don’t you know. He shook his lovely flowing mane, And spoke his lines quite …

Perhaps we’ll never understand each other. Loving doesn’t mean that we agree. If that were so, then I would say, why bother? But there are things I know I’ll never see. I’m sure your heart knows what I don’t yet know: The pain of loving a reluctant son; The anger, coming fast and building slow, Of being helpless to control …

Pardon my garden, it’s vicious today! The cucumber’s going quite mad — The onions and peas Just do as they please, The pumpkin is awfully bad. The squash and the sprout are rushing about As if they’re preparing for war, I just got a scare from a peach and a pear — The apple is vile to the core! Pardon …