Richard Westcott's poetry

And he found a new jawbone of an ass and put forth his hand and took it and slew a thousand men therewith Judges 16 What someone can do with something new can surprise your eyes open wide here by your side you find what’s required to tackle the task no need to ask for much help just put out your hand seize the moment and nothing can stop you armed with a jawbone you slew on your own a thousand men.                                                             Who’d have thought that the jaw of one herbivore had such power? Well, it wasn’t any old jaw bone – it was a new one.   I’m not sure how important it was that it happened to be one of an ass, but the narrated story – minimal as it is in other respects – provides us with that particular detail. ‘Found’ is interesting too.   Was he looking – searching for a weapon – or did he just come across that fresh mandible lying in the grass? And the putting forth of his ha

 Even at the best of times, this is a dying season – I mean a season for dying... Throw in Covid, with its ability to put daily death rates into the regular news headlines, not to mention the omnipresent fear of death deliberately amplified by a government that wants to produce behavioural change – stay at home and keep clear of others so you don't kill your Gran – and death is looming large right now. More positively though, admiration for the NHS, with all its committed professionals, has never been more evident. Death all around, with dedicated doctors desperately working to save lives... I take you back to the Battle of Trafalgar and William Beatty, Surgeon on HMS Victory, who assessed each wounded man regardless of rank in turn as they were brought below decks, all the while working in dangerous and exceedingly difficult conditions. Of the eleven amputations he performed that day – mainly legs – five of his patients survived, which is remarkable. Some he saved. Others di