Saturday in the rain / On the road again

To be approached in the early morning rain at Victoria

by a shifty fellow and asked if you are Bulgarian

he looked so puzzled to hear 'no'

but if he was so sure then why ask in bad English not Bulgarian

българин ли си?

and why was I not even tapped for cash

were you merely entranced by my

singular, striking cheekbones

To be flagged down by the military Land Rover and

asked if I entered the RAF base, you know

perfectly well I didn't, since you were watching on CCTV

and why was I taking pictures

*know your rights!* namedrop the public highway and

an interest in vintage planes such as

the one displayed in front of the building

unsaid: feel free to stick it in a hangar

unsaid: you know you're wasting your time

time to break out the old school smile and

turn up the accent, for 30 exhausting seconds

A vehicular halt, a wound down window

and being shouted at by the driver

of a horsebox, all still in the rain,

assume he's asking directions

but there's a busy road between us

I can't hear and he's now holding up traffic,

my indifferent shrug is met

with a gesture of contempt, drive

on mate, walk on pal

You won't get this by staying at home in

your big socks with your boxsets and

a full fridge