The final instalment of Bible John, Wandering Fen Preacher.
The five colour linocut above shows the Sixteen Foot in winter with the fog mysteriously forming and rolling out on the distant fen. Perfect conditions for a sighting of Bible John and his deaf Jack Russell Terrier.
The five colour linocut above shows the Sixteen Foot in winter with the fog mysteriously forming and rolling out on the distant fen. Perfect conditions for a sighting of Bible John and his deaf Jack Russell Terrier.
Now read on, and enjoy.
All along, subsisting on a diet of the Old Testament, and cups of gumbo made from Slush Puppy and pickled eel, Bible John stole himself and fought back. He took casual work on a coconut shy stall and whilst working at the funfair was inspired to build a travelling troupe of his own. And so it was that on the darkest of winter nights when not even the bright lights of Peterborough troubled the sky and the Multiplex in Huntingdon was showing re-runs of Hollywood Blockbusters he pitched his borrowed tent by the side of the road and spoke with eloquence, accompanying himself on an out of tune harmonium, sometimes stringing a sentence together. Deaf dogs barked without interruption, wild geese gandered, and petrol fires were lit by the under-fives as more and more fell under his spell.
And so, if you walk upon the Fen and feel the chill wind touching your neck and tickling at your throat then quicken your step, for if you look up you will notice that the view to the horizon is suddenly clear and in the distance there will be a figure in black silhouetted against the big sky. It will be Bible John, the man with dust upon his hem, Norfolk reed poking out from his cuffs, the wandering preacher of the Fen. He may seem far away, but just because he is don't think he isn't coming to get you.
Further instalments will follow based on sightings, hearsay and rumours of the enigmatic preacher. So remember, don't pick up hitch-hikers, lock your windows and keep your children and pets in your sight.
And if you are a pike or zander fisherman who enjoys the loneliness of fenland, all curled up and cosy in your bivouac in the middle of the night, and the canvass begins to shrivel... run, because your mobile won't have any signal and neither will your bite indicators.
And if you are a pike or zander fisherman who enjoys the loneliness of fenland, all curled up and cosy in your bivouac in the middle of the night, and the canvass begins to shrivel... run, because your mobile won't have any signal and neither will your bite indicators.
We leave you with one of his favourite and cheeriest quotes from the Old Testament, one that nearly brings a smile to his face.
For man dieth and wasteth away yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he.
Job. 14. 10