Bride of Berlin

Bride of Berlin

In the early morning hours of February 16^th Heinz Ottofield was driving along a deserted stretch of road looking forward to getting home, but upon looking ahead he noticed a woman situated there in front of him. She was dressed in what appeared to be a bridal gown complete with bouquet of flowers, Heinz slowed down before unwinding his window to see what’d happened to her.

She explained that her husband had left her behind and he’d forgotten about her, but Heinz couldn’t work out how he could’ve been so careless as to forget about her. Realising that she was a damsel in distress he offered her a ride and she smiled before getting into the passenger seat. Heinz told her that he’d be going another five and a half miles, but she explained that she’d be gone before then since her house was only a few miles away at the most.

They conversed with one another for the next ten minutes and shared some jokes, but soon came upon an eerie silence as Heinz realised he’d nothing else to say. He noticed a house situated to the right hand side of the road and she came over in a joyous looking smile, as this was where she lived. Heinz pulled the car over and opened the locks on the doors for her to get out. To his amazement the passenger door was open, but of the bride there was little sign she couldn’t have disappeared into thin air.

Flustered Heinz rushed over to the house and banged on the door for about thirty seconds and eventually the lights came on inside. A man clad in his dressing gown answered the door and gave Heinz a strange look before asking him to explain why he was banging on his door at this time of the night. Heinz explained that he’d picked up his bride from the side of the road and then ticked him off for leaving her behind, on her own out in the middle of nowhere. The man shook his head as he heard his remarks, but then stopped him before he went any further. Heinz was gestured to wait at the door while the man went back inside to grab hold of a photograph he then showed to him.

Heinz recognized it as being the same woman he’d come across earlier on and wanted to know where she was, but the man had some bad news for him. He explained that his wife had died on a stretch of the road about four miles back and this had been on their honeymoon. Heinz did not believe him and was sure that she’d been in his car not too long ago. The man showed him another picture where the newspaper gave her details out to show that she was indeed dead. Heinz was asked inside for a cup of something to steady his nerves, but he had to get home and looked to leave the front door.

The man stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. He then said that if he’d come across his late wife then there had to be a good reason for it, he also was not the first to come across her and bang on the door like this. Heinz walked back over to his car, but her husband had a warning for him. He told him to make sure that he had everything in order because those that had spotted his wife along the road usually died within the next seventy-two hours. Heinz realized the mistake he’d made in picking up the bride of Berlin, but by this time it was all too late…              

This is my poetic tribute to the 1976 Formula one battle - Niki Lauda v James Hunt

The race for victory

The series finished in Japan,

But there was more to the story than that,

You’ve won more races than anyone else,

Given your sport a following on and off the track.

A hero to millions of spectators,

They go and follow your every move,

You’ve lapped everyone up to third place,

Found that sweet spot they call the groove.

Hitting that old German track,

You had a good series lead,

Had the championship in the bag,

But that still remained to be seen.

Dry tyres on a wet surface,

Is never the best combination!

Crashing hard on a tricky corner,

That was when you encountered this unexpected situation.

You’re nearest rival won well,

Taking points away as you were on the road to recovery,

No ones to say he wouldn’t have done it anyway,

But we’ll have to put that down, as something that we’ll never see.

   Gave it all you had on your return,

Given a standing ovation,

You might’ve lost your crown,

But that’s the hazard of your occupation.

The race for victory, we thought you had it won,

From the outside looking in, it seemed to be a stroll in the sun.

The race for victory, took a turn for the worse I fear,

You said your life was more important, and you’ll have the title back next year.

All in the race for victory! 

  

 F1 1976 - Niki Lauda v James Hunt 

Five Guys In Hamburg - Poetic writing about The Beatles in Germany

Five Guys In Hamburg

Five guys flew to Hamburg, to become part of the music scene,

Their forty-eight-night adventure, built them up for bigger things.

Of course the group saw some changes, like anything it needed a tweak,

It was always going to be an effort, and they were working every day of the week.

August of nineteen-sixty, was when it all suddenly started to roll,

By the time it all ended, they had very much reached their goal.

In those early days, it was hard to imagine just how big they would become,

Just playing at the clubs such as the Indra, playing music and having fun.

Five guys in Hamburg, they were recently crowned Beatles,

But by the time they were finished, they had flown like eagles.

The group were made up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Sutcliffe and Best,

That wasn’t how they finished up, as history would attest.

Five guys in Hamburg, the accommodation wasn’t up to much,

Staying by a cinema toilet, instead of sleeping in a tour bus.

Five guys in Hamburg, recently given some new haircuts,

The sixties were calling them, and the world would soon create a fuss.

Five guys in Hamburg, it’s funny the way big things tend to start,

The German audience, back in the day took them to their hearts.