My friend Donald Measham and I were colleagues at Matlock Teacher Training College in Derbyshire. As a poetry buff, when he retired he started up a poetry magazine and ran it successfully for many years. He knew that I was a crossword addict and suggested that we write something together about links between our two interests.

As a result of my collaboration with Don I started writing short pieces of verse. I usually call this doggerel, occasionally worthy of a Kennel Club certificate. More accurately it is an attempt at popular verse in the style of Lewis Carroll or W S Gilbert.

Early sources of inspiration included woodland (we lived on the edge of a wood) and swimming. More recently I get het up about right-wing populists and the ultra-rich; maybe I’ll have a crack at an extended piece in iambic pentameter in the style of Alexander Pope …