Author Information
Dipstick
He was one of the last
the last of that race
a time served man
and an engineer
la crème de la crème
of the LNER
this black handed king
made abdicate
to plumb, turn and weld
amongst godless trades
who knew not, the wonder
of triple expansion
a failing of ours
which he never forgave
(or failed to point out)
but each night,
in The Footplate
under full head of steam
he’d pose loud and lordly
and look down his nose
at the beer pump's
bright brass-work
And the men of the town
while I was so busy
with buffing,
stoking
and polishing the brass
checking oil and water
or tapping the glass
all those steamy demands of his
healthy young lass
