I was watching the Xmas Special of ‘Call The Midwife’ when the plot ran into a red telephone booth on a remote Scottish island. It reminded me of the red telephone booth I ran into some years ago:
The Red Telephone Booth
No one writes poems about telephone booths anymore
So I thought I would write one,
about the time I drove down
A series of side roads to avoid a booze bus,
when I almost ran into one.
It was so nostalgic.
It was the sort of booth that Clark Kent would dash into
to change into superman.
I opened the door and went inside.
It stank of stale urine and cigarette smoke.
The paintwork was peeling. There were no phone books
Only numbers,
‘if you’re after a good time call …’, that sort of thing
and anti-gay graffiti.
It looked like
the last telephone booth on the planet before mobile phones
took over.
I closed the door, climbed into my car and drove off,
Heavy as a telephone booth,
into the arms of the booze bus.
John Malone 
Oh yes. So nostalgic. When I was in my first job, the sales reps used to carry jars of 20c coins in case they needed to make a phone call whilst out on the road. By the time I finished University, sales reps had mobile phones the size of bricks. Such a big change. Gradually phone booths have become less and less relevant… except, of course, to superman. But running into a booze bus! Lol! that’s quite a tale!
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I’ve kept a close watch on this stomach of mine and what goes into it ever since 🙂
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Expectations vs reality sometimes clash
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in this case certainly, Beth; still lessons were learned 🙂 and I did enjoy writing about a red telephone booth 🙂
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they are a fascinating artifact of an earlier time, so many stories
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they are, Beth: like steam trains; the references abound on these old dial phones: Dial M For Murder comes immediately to mind 🙂
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ooh, I love that classic
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I don’t think Horace had much to say on red telephone booths, Beth 😦 on such matters the old Roman was sadly silent 😦
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An excellent write John. There’s a town in France called Jargeau which has a UK telephone box and a UK post box. We came across it on our travels in a camper van. Instant nostalgia!
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They are a joy to behold when you come across one 🙂 I think of the Tardis in Doctor Who but that wasn’t red
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Clark Kent’s changing stall, delightful idea. The last two lines make this relatable and memorable. Now, I shall never forget the legendary red phone booth~as well as my love for the blue one.
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stay clear of the booze bus 🙂
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