Write Your Own Next To Cheese

Margaret and Katherine have arrived in Burnie and made their way to The Makers Workshop.

A Workshop of which The Cheese Shop is part.

Victor is there, already, waiting.

Welcome ladies! says Victor. But where is young Terence?

We left him in Penguin, says Katherine. We're picking him up in an hour.

Or less, says Margaret.

A minor! says Victor. You left a minor on his own in Penguin?

He's not on his own, says Katherine. And he's hardly a minor.

Not on his own? Is he with the parrot? asks Victor. If so, I'll need to sight the parrot and fill in a form.

He's with the Bin Penguins, says Katherine. Actually, just the Baby. The parents are being refurbished.

Very nice, says Victor. But what about the parrot?

What about the cheese? asks Margaret. We need to get a move on.

Victor takes out his notepad and makes a quick note.

Possible parrot in Penguin.

He turns his attention to cheese.

Mersey Valley, South Cape, Tasmanian Heritage, King Island Ash Blue.....

Just like being in Woolworths, says Margaret. Except for the limited range.

Margaret! says Katherine. Don't be such a spoil sport. These are famous Tasmanian cheeses.

They certainly are, says Victor. May I recommend the King Island Ash Blue?

The ladies agree to try it.

They are just nibbling a sample and saying: How delicious, when Jinjing flies into the Cheese Shop and lands on the cheese plate.

Hah! says Victor.

Jinjing! What are you doing here? asks Katherine. Has anything happened to Terence?

Yes, says Jinjing. He has been deserted by me. And for a good reason. He made a scurrilous poem about me, trashing my reputation.

Do you wish to file a complaint? asks Victor. It could complicate things further.

Let's hear the poem first, says Katherine.

Jinjing recites it rapidly, leaving out any poetic intonation.

Jinjing my parrot/ won't get stolen/ he is too smart/ no one would want him/ he smells like a fart.

Really! says Margaret. That's dreadful. No wonder you flew.

It's not all bad, says Katherine. Too smart to get stolen. That's a compliment.

But if he doesn't smell like a fart, says Victor, it's defamation.

I don't, says Jinging. But I did at the time. I got stinky in Baby Bin Penguin, trying to get a bottle out, and had to wash myself clean in the sea.

May I make a suggestion? says Katherine. Write your own poem.

Jinjing sits down on the cheese plate, next to an uneaten chunk of Ash Blue.

Write his own poem.

Why did he not think of that?