A criminal carol

The call of the rhyming couplet appears to have been especially strong in the run up to Christmas this year as we have also received a festive poem entitled 'A Criminal Carol' from Duncan Willox of Leighton Buzzard firm Franklins.

The word 'criminal' refers to the subject matter rather than what Mr Willox has done to poetic form, we should add, although we suspect it is the lawyer in him, rather than the poet, which sees the inclusion of a footnote in the text.

Anyway, it kicks off thus: 'In the Christmas holiday, the season of goodwill/Spare a thought for criminals who may be working still/ With no sickness benefit or helpful holiday pay/They've no time for delving into stockings on this Christmas Day.' Space precludes us from publishing the next five stanzas, but the last one is worth printing for its slightly curious ending: 'It's time to end this sorry tale/Of life and love and going to jail/So please remember it's not a Christian view/To want to electrocute them whilst they're on the loo.'