Henry Jackson

Henry Jackson

The story of Henry Jackson, who made sure that absolutely nothing could go wrong.

Henry Jackson, MBE,

Foresaw all he could foresee.

He had insured his health and life,

Avoided children and a wife,

And all that might upsetting be

For a smooth ride in tranquillity.

He insured his house both out and in,

For theft and fire and damage from damp,

Of every danger he had thought,

The weather didn’t stand a chance

Against the cover he had bought.

His pension plan was the best on offer,

With growth and income guarantee.

It seemed to Henry that he’d done

All that was needed for him to be

Stress free for at least a century.

His life was lived in an ordered way,

With no excesses, no extremes.

His exercise each day he took,

Neither too little nor too much, you see,

But as it told him in his book

On guaranteed longevity.

He gardened to relax each night

The book said gardening was alright.

And the flowers in his garden stood,

In neat straight rows against the wall.

They flowered exactly when they should,

And never dared to droop at all.

He had a cat which could provide

Prescribed affective time each day,

‘For that is healthy’, said the book.

He fed this cat each night at eight

And it ate its ration punctually,

No more nor less than Henry read

Was right for cats of his cat’s weight.

Henry’s house was bright and clean

No speck of dust was ever seen.

The chairs and table in a line

The lamps were all of best design,

And cushions placed symmetrically

Just how one’s cushions ought to be.

The heating worked as Henry reckoned.

On it came on October 2nd,

And off it went when May Day came.  

No matter what the weather was,

The dates were always just the same.

For Henry followed dates you see

And followed them religiously,

And once a month religiously

He had the vicar round to tea

To ensure that he was quite OK,

And insured in a religious way.

He looked ahead to a life of play

No worries, no problems and no fuss,

He foresaw many a sunny day,

But he didn’t foresee the big red bus 

That knocked him down

And ironed him flat.

In spite of pension and insurance,

The bus made sure

That that was that!