34 Mrs Twick’s Little Sausage

Mrs Twick’s little sausage

Plymouth |

United Kingdom

English

Behind the scenes

I have always appreciated the relaxed, rural atmosphere of Devon, a county in the southwest of England. The idea for this text came to me while observing an elderly person who would walk alone every day with her small, overweight bulldog, talking to him without pause. The scene was at once amusing, tender, and slightly melancholic.

This is how the imaginary character of Mrs Twick was born. I wanted to place her in a distinctly English setting, marked by self-deprecation and that subtle, understated humour at which the British excel.

Yet behind the apparent absurdity lies a deeper reality: for many people living alone, pets become true companions in life.

The text plays on this contrast between humour and tenderness, revealing the sincere bond that can unite a person and their animal.

Echoes of the world

The text draws on two characteristic features of British humour. First, the simple and playful rhymes – poodle / doodle, feet / eat, hour / power – which echo limericks, short, playful nonsense poems typical of English tradition.

Yet this light tone contrasts with the use of more refined expressions. For example, English rose evokes the traditional image of a delicate, natural English beauty. One also finds expressions like bête noire, borrowed from French, as are many words that have entered more formal English over time.

This blend of occasionally refined language and absurd humour recreates a distinctly British style, in harmony with the setting of the text.