Picture the scene:
It is rural Northampton
In the United Kingdom.
Outside a grand, Tudor Manor House -
That served as our choir school -
The headmaster has had some
Village farmers carry out
His highly polished grand piano
And they set it prominantly -
Lustrous black on lush green -
Central on the front lawn.
It is a hazy Autumn day,
Still warm from Summer
But overcast and grey.
To the side of the green lawn
Stands the headmaster's
Big, black, ancient Rolls Royce.
And beyond, you can see
The old square stone Tower
Of the quaint village church
Rising above some low trees.
It is by any standards
A tranquil English scene...
Though why the piano on the lawn?
The headboy, 'Chitty' (His real name?)
Calls the boys to come outside.
They walk out of the wide open
Tudor wooden entrance door,
And so assembled on the pathway
Facing the piano, they are handed
A sheet with the music for
'Come, Thou Fount of every blessing...'
Normally the headmaster would
Strike the starting note on the piano
But today, with a really bright red face,
He almost yells it out in seeming rage.
The boys, accustomed to his moods
Start up in unison and by the time
They have reached, 'Streams of mercy...'
He has poured the contents of a tin can
All over the piano, and sets it alight!
So starts the beginning of the end....
In the following days a stream
Of Parents arrive to collect their
Children and take them home.

© Griffonner 2023