LATE ENTRY Fireside by Ben Hayward

“See this oak here son, it stood in our village for a thousand years. It was here when William the Conq beat ol’ Harold. It was here during the Blitz. It was here when Ollie Crom taught that toff Charlie who's boss.”

Dad’s head sunk while he was trying to make the next statement. Carefully I liberated his hand of the block of wood, and placed it on the floor beside his chair, so as not to damage the well-finished flooring. I decided that it was best to leave him in his chair beside the fire to keep him warm. If I were to move him he wouldn’t get back to sleep. Not to mention the fact that he’d continue to rant about that blasted tree. I’d only taken a branch off.

I let the dog in to nestle against his leg. In the absence of electricity he proved to be a useful alarm system. I hope the power comes back soon so I don’t have to dismember the rest of that tree. I’ll never hear the end of it.