The first haul was in a village north of the A17

I scooped up all six small jars

and thought they’d be good for another six months

or more but it seemed to rain every other day

and our landlord with her bouncing pony tail

opened all the windows to the Arctic and beyond

each time she came to show new tenants through

we unscrewed cap after cap and watched the rain

a drought was declared in the midland counties

we moved to a city criss-crossed with canals

a cathedral at the highest point

clouds hunched overhead

and it rained every other day

I found shelves of the rival Marmite in different sizes

and a Sainsbury low salt viscous variety

that you said was another kind of bitumen

and no, I don’t know why it tastes so good

or why it rained every other day

April was the wettest month on record in the UK

the drought was lifted last week in a few counties only

and you reverted to your childhood favourite

the biting sweetness of Dundee marmalade