Let’s go back to the dawn of Earlyworks Press time for today’s ‘Christmas books’ blog.

Back then, the press was very much Hastings-based, and the heart and soul of the membership was our Terry Sorby. ‘Porkies’ was very much his plan. A page-turning collection of sizzling jokes, rhymes and mini-stories, it’s just perfect for Christmas Day. With this book in hand, you can out-shine the cracker-jokes with real prawn crackers.

Once upon a dinner time

Whilst the chicken sang cantatas

Two sausages got married

And invented chipolatas

Including ‘Antibiotics and Whiskey’, a cautionary tale by C R Krishnan about how not to spend Christmas, comic verse by Victoria Seymour, dedicated to her hair dresser and, exclusively, David Dennis’s translations of never-before understood cave-paintings…

… and of course, lots and lots of porkies, illustrated by Kath Keep and Katy Jones.

This little piggy went to market

This little piggy stayed at home

This little piggy had bread and jam

This little piggy had none

And this little piggy read up on shopaholics, agoraphobia, obesity and farming subsidies

Also by Terry Sorby – a few copies of his collections, ‘Beyond the Greyscale’ and ‘Roadie & Co’ remain, and like ‘Porkies’, are a fiver each, delivery free to those in or near Hastings, UK, birthplace of Earlyworks Press.

There was a young poet from Oldham

Who orated out loud as he told ’em

Quoting verse and prose

From the hole beneath his nose

He whipped out his books and he sold ’em.