Stella Sampson's poems tell of a bygone age of 'making do' and 'putting by'. They reflect her ear for dialogue, a natural feeling for internal rhymes and rhythm, and an ability to conjure up vivid imagery and a profound empathy for life's fellow travellers. She had a natural affinity for society's lame ducks: individuals like herself replete with fears, foibles and frailties. Above all, and particularly in the poems when she wanted to conjure up pictures of life when she was happiest (her childhood, her time in Belfast, her early retirement in mid Wales), they could be funny. Only latterly,...