Self-Mocking Humour and a Bellyful of Cider by Ian Shipley
After the death of my wife Alison in July 2019, I decided to handpick and publish a collection of my poetry and prose. Gathering together faded pencil-written verses and rediscovering older forgotten works was a joy and, if I'm honest, probably saved me from imploding. The majority of the work included here relates to daft husband-and-wife banter. From self-mocking humour and daft comical incidents, to silly, embarrassing misfortunes - it's all here! I've also included a few of my personal favourites, including my first ever poem, which I wrote whilst still at school, some 44 years ago. Significantly, there is a core of truth in each and every poem. The majority were written during the 17 years we had together: 2002 to 2019. Happy times for sure.