The start of the long school summer holiday

No more uniform or catching the school bus

No more arriving and bunking of at the first break

Only returning in time to catch the school bus home

Just long hot days in permanent sunshine what bliss

I had a project in mind I was always building rafts

Old metal cans from the farm and bailer twine

The difference this time was just the depth of the water

The old sand pit in Great Holland was my chosen venue

I picked a spot to moor the unsophisticated craft

When it was built a minor maiden voyage she was given

We tied her up at the end of the day

Some other adventure beckoned and the raft was left alone but not forgotten

Some days later we decided to return to the pit

A police car and the bomb squad were blocking our way

What the hell was going on a mystery unfolds

When the police and the bomb squad had moved on

It transpired a bag full of explosives was found in our pit

Just beneath a raft tied to the bank

Who put it there was a mystery never unwound

I always thought I may be drowned

I never thought I could be blown up

My rafting adventures carried on for all of my childhood

And I still cannot swim