From 1979 to 2009 Tessa's parents Colin and Mary Duckworth travelled from Australia, where Colin was professor of French at the University of Melbourne and latterly a novelist, librettist, actor and translator, adaptor and producer of plays, to spend most summers in England. We made the return trip less often. The "professor poems" provided an occasional commentary on these comings and goings. Colin died in Melbourne in December 2012. The spelling of "professor" is not, of course, correct French in the title here, but that's just the way things are.

© Godfrey Rust, godfrey@wordsout.co.uk. See here for permissions.