Strictly street dancing

Bit of a pre-Christmas snap of my Office-window ...

... last day at work today, and planning to have a bit of a break over the festive season - so, no more blipping this side of 2017 ;-)

And here's a poem (related to work) written by Edinburgh's current Makar - Christine De Luca - after she spent a shift with some Council Staff ... you can also listen to the poem here.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas - and the very best wishes for 2017 :-)


Strictly street dancing
for Edinburgh’s Waste & Cleansing Department

Bins lurk in starlit chill.
Fifteen tonners rev,
beams sweep tarmac.
Rotas are ticked,
men leap aboard,
double gloved, high vis’d.

There’s a mix of new Scots and
Edinburgh-through-and-through Scots:
crews with two loaders, and a driver
skilled to reverse up cul de sacs,
wind past parked cars,
leave side-mirrors intact.

They watch out for each other,
know the drill to make it flow:
grab two bins, birl them, make a pair,
nudge them to the cradle, check and
trundle them back, grab two more…
it’s a Dashing White Sergeant

it’s a repertoire, with rhythm
and precision, a get up and go.
Bins dance in sequence too:
handstands, a wobble, balance, then
down to waiting hands, while
the hopper compacts and gobbles.

Stop, start, stop, start. Keep your cool
with drivers in a hurry. A gap: a minute
of banter, snatch of song, drive on.
They know their route by heart:
each cobbled street, each judder, jolt,
each turning place, each missing bin.

And a cheery wave to the child who,
like the boy awaiting the lamp-lighter,
watches at her window:
their momentary attention
their brightness
their beaming smiles.

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Christine De Luca (1947 - )

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