During the trip down river, we spotted an attractive new motorised skiff named Kasmir Poppy and the second mate was even more attractive, a woman in her early forties named Gloria. Her husband was although he was called Ernie with a very large tonsure, was a pleasant fellow. The couple were travelling all the way to Twickenham and had set off the day before from Witney. Jimmy had gleaned this information when he had spotted Gloria alone whilst attending to the lock and had offered to help her to man the lock at Days lock.
When were waiting for the lock to fill up, the Captain asked Ernie about the name of the boat.”Well up until two years ago I was working for The United Nations and I was based in Kashmir. Every day I would look out of my bedroom window and I could see the Himalayas in the background and in the late spring time you would see flashes of red on the mountain sides and one day on an excursion, I found out that the red I could see were poppy fields and that unlike in Afghanistan, the world’s leading producer of opium which partly funds the Taliban insurgency there, Kashmir’s poppy cultivators grow the crop as a means to supplement their meager agricultural incomes”. Billy said “You mean they allow these farmers to sell the poppies to drug dealers then?” “Something like that “, answered Ernie” They convert the opium to heroine but there’s been a big government surge to stamp it out” he added “”.So they should, drugs like that ruin people’s lives “said The First Mate”
Just as we were leaving the lock the Captain said “Did you see what his missus was wearing?” “No” said Billy, “What?” A poppy red cashmere top””You don’t suppose they’re a couple of drug runners then? “asked Billy” The First Mate looked at the Captain and said “He’s been reading those adventure comics again !”
No comments:
Post a Comment