The presents
Are over-whelming.
Should you have a stick to shake,
I guarantee that the quantity of presents
Would defeat you; and the quality
Would have you running
For the hills.

The day before my retirement,
DearHeart arrived
From God’s Own Country,
Bearing a bag that bulged in the living room,
Soon boosted by those
Brought back from school.

Shenanigans over, we set about opening:
My own, personal Christmas.

Flowers aplenty; beautiful flowers.
An olive tree, a wisteria,
A retirement rose-bush,
And a miniature rose from an Ocean-Child,
Who deserves a name in this blog.

A cafetiere mug from Mrs Berry,
Making redundant my plan to steal hers.

Elegant stationery. Creams and chocolates.
A garden gnome. Solar lights. Vases.
Cushions. Bunting. Ginger wine.
An engraved jewellery box.
Conveyor belt. Cuddly toy.
An iPad.

Amid it all, one present,
Now sitting in my hallway.
Its classic design whisking me back
To my childhood.

There are instructions.
A leaflet headed :
Important Notice.

1. Insert your finger into the corresponding number to be dialled.
2. Rotate the dial all the way around until your finger makes contact with the dialling pin.
3. Remove your finger and let the dial return to its original position.
4. Repeats steps 1-3 until your full phone number has been dialled.

I haven’t quite worked out the camera function, though.
***
I’ve had an email from GiveAsYouLive saying that someone who registered as a result of clicking on my link has raised over £5.  So they are donating another £5!  If you’ve already signed up for the scheme and are doing your bit to bring a cure nearer, perhaps you could consider spreading the word by getting the link from your GiveAsYouLive homepage.

The link to GiveAsYouLive is here.