‘My images are populated by angels, mermaids, winged things, Y-fronts, bath tubs etc and they illustrate the usual bittersweet stories that make up the human condition, and, while I feel that my work has something kind of beautiful to say, I keep my tongue oh so firmly in my cheeks’.

For Grandad with love

Last summer, your last summer,
I found you in the garden, more than once,
resplendant in your wildly patterned Bumuda shorts
(and matching shirt)
happily sunbathing,
anticipating yet another loverly cup of tea,
(if I was having one myself).

Last summer, your last summer,
I found you in my heart as you’d always been,
kind and capable with a twinkle in your bright blue eyes.
The gentle centre
of a life made sweeter
for having you, like sugar, in it.

Louise Gabriel