Toffee Pockets

If poetry is paring feelings and images down to quintessentials then this exploration of the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is powerfully successful. The poems explore, without sentimentality, the ups and downs - the jealousies, the security, the tenderness and the brusqueness - that characterise the chronicle of this family's life. It got a generally good reception - many poems are loved by a number of my children; some are felt not to be universal and perhaps not reflecting 'the young modern grandparents of present times'. Most were good strong-flowing stuff, easy to read and comforting to hear. I have the lowering feeling that Grandma's sayings, in particular, will stay close to the surface and I'll henceforth find myself issuing them again and again!