A sunny day in Rayleigh?

By Len Morgan

Well, here we all are in sunny Rayleigh. The rain is pelting down, there are no clouds in the sky, just a uniform grey blanket, as usual.

I sit beside the window of the street side café eating pies, mash, & liquor, sipping strong hot sweet tea out of a large china mug.

I watch the shoppers rushing by in their heavy raincoats, waterproof fleeces and fashion jackets. Umbrella's catch the wind, dragging and pushing their owners this way and t'other. I smile as a bus drives by, spraying puddles from the gutter in all directions. Pedestrians scattering in all directions, in vain.

The waitress collects my empty plate and delivers my pudding: jam roly-poly and custard. I order a second mug of tea; hopefully, there will be a break in the weather by the time I've finished it.

I look down at my ‘T-shirt’, shorts and flip-flops; the weather was fine when I left home, but wait what's this? The rain seems to be easing. Yes, I spy a sunbeam peeking shyly from between the clouds. I gulp down my last malingering, mouthful of tea and ask for the bill.

As I leave the café I look around me at all the rain-soaked shoppers and smile. The clouds have drifted away now and I'm bathed in sunshine. Can I believe my luck?

It's a sunny day in Rayleigh, "YES!" So, what did I come into town for? Ah, I know... "A bottle of factor30 sunscreen."


They call me a cockeyed Octopus. (As my Granddaughter would sing Ah South Pacific.)