SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1481 Title : Sweet, Sweet Memories Author(s): Rowena M Love Copyright holder(s): Rowena M Love Text The sea sucks hard on gob-stopper pebbles, rolling them round and round so they rattle and click like sweets against teeth. Bubble gum excesses are trapped in bladderwrack, and boot lace liquorice masquerades as mermaids’ hair where fish in silver wrappers swim. Sandstone, the seaside rock, is eroded into nut clusters. In coves, the sand is humbugged wet and dry and candy-coated shells abound. Sand worm casts curl into walnut whips, while birds’ footprints pattern the sand like continental chocolates. Dead jelly fish ooze: Turkish delight, whose sugar has been licked clean by the sea. Stray floats litter the beach with pan drops, and a life belt lies half-buried like an abandoned polo mint. A matchmaker pier strides into the distance. A closer look reveals barnacles crusting the pilings with sugar crystals. Perhaps the pier is past its sell-by date? Sweet, sweet memories. And all because the lady loves... the seaside. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience Adults (18+): General public: Males: Females: Audience size: 100+ Text details Method of composition: Wordprocessed Year of composition: 1998 Word count: 155 Text medium Magazine (e-zine): Periodical/journal: Web (webpages, discussion boards, newsgroups, chat rooms): Text publication details Published: Publication year: 1998 Part of larger text: Contained in: Helicon Poetry Magazine, Issue XIII, June 1998 Text setting Leisure/entertainment: Private/personal: Text type Poem/song/ballad: Author Author details Author id: 1068 Forenames: Rowena Initials: M Surname: Love Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1960 Educational attainment: University, PCGE and Maîtrise Age left school: 17 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Teacher and writer Place of birth: Dumbarton Region of birth: Dunbarton Birthplace CSD dialect area: Dnbt Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Troon Region of residence: S Ayr Residence CSD dialect area: Ayr Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Master Mariner and Teacher Father's place of birth: Glasgow Father's region of birth: Glasgow Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Nurse Mother's place of birth: Rankinston Mother's region of birth: N Ayr Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work and home Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work, on holiday Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At home, occasionally at work