on Saturday mornings
we went to the flicks
(we never said pictures.
we went to the flicks)
if we wanted to go to the flicks
we could go to
the Luxor
the Triangle
the ABC Moseley
or the Imperial
and we could see
cartoons
a newsreel
a film
and a serial
and what we loved best
was the serial
the serial was great
every week
the hero got trapped
and we couldn’t work out
how he’d get out of it
we waited all week
to see him get out of it
and he always got out of it
and my favourite serial
was Batman
Batman was on
at the ABC Moseley
and Batman was great
it started off
with loud scary music
then a big black bat
that filled up the screen
and then came the bit
where it ended last week
when Batman was trapped.
like in episode 5
(the electrical brain)
when Batman
was trapped in a cellar
with knives
in the wall
moving in closer
until the knives came
right up to his face
and we couldn’t work out
how he’d get out of it
we waited all week
to see him get out of it
then in episode 6
(embers of evil)
Robin came in with a crowbar
and saved him
and once we saw Batman
trapped in a plane
in episode 9
(the mark of the zombie)
we saw the plane crash
and burst into flames
and we couldn’t work out
how he’d get out of it
we waited all week
to see him get out of it
but the following Saturday
I had to visit
my Auntie in Stourbridge
which meant that I missed it
so I didn’t know
how he got out of it
but then I found out
that Batman was on
at the ABC Yardley
which was one week behind
the ABC Moseley
which meant it was showing
episode 10
(the sign of the sphinx)
so the following Saturday
I went to Yardley
and while we queued up
two kids started fighting
and one threw the other
right over his shoulder
and his foot hit my face
and my nose started bleeding
and I couldn’t go in
until it stopped bleeding
so I missed
the film
the cartoons
and the newsreel
but managed to get in
in time for the serial
and then it began
with loud scary music
and a big black bat
that filled up the screen
and then we saw Batman
trapped in the plane
we saw the plane crash
and burst into flames
and I waited to see
how Batman got out of it
I couldn’t wait to see
how he’d get out of it
and Batman got out of it
he simply got out of it
he got out of the plane
and staggered off out of it
and after that
I went off Batman
for a bit
This is not included in my forthcoming book, The Freewheeling John Dowie, available here: https://unbound.com/books/the-freewheeling-john-dowie