As some of you may know, Chris and I run Tangerine Cafe in Beaminster. In June one of our best loved customers died; Ted Smith. Ted and his wife Jean came regularly every Sunday morning and I will never forget Ted’s gorgeous smile as he came through our door that first Sunday, when we were new to the town. His words:”This is nice. isn’t it Jean”. After that they always sat on one of our bench seats together in the cafe. or in the Summerhouse on a fine day. At Christmas they asked us to organise a meal for some of their friends.
Ted’s family family held a celebration of his life at the local church here in Beaminster, Dorset and afterwards came for a special afternoon tea in our garden. Later I got talking to Ted’s grandson Alex about poetry and found out that he writes and performs his poetry.
Here is Alex Smith’s moving tribute to his grandfather, Ted.
The poem will be published later by Poetry Space in Locked Down: poems, art and diaries from the 2020 pandemic