Hi Sally,
Sadly I've only been to Prague once! (But I scribbled a lot when I was 
there!)
I'm still scribbling drafts of this one...
One of my worries is when I ask myself the question, "How does the narrator 
know what she's thinking?" I've got to answer that I don't know -- which is 
OK except when I think about how the narrator knows that what's described in 
the last couple of lines actually happened.
I guess I assume the poet is also sat in the back seat of the car...
Bob

>From: Sally James <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: The Contract Chauffeur
>Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 19:48:45 +0100
>
>I like this Bob. One of your people poems. I wonder do you spend a lot of 
>time in Prague? It sounds a very interesting place with lots of characters 
>to inspire you. I like the poem it is just the last line that bothers me a 
>little. It is ok but maybe more of a punch line. I don't know, what do you 
>think. BW Sally J
>
>
>>From: Bob Cooper <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: The Contract Chauffeur
>>Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 12:42:18 +0000
>>
>>Here's one for some comments!
>>The words between the *'s are intended to be read as in italics.
>>And, by the way, I know the Proclaimers song is actually called "800 
>>Miles"!
>>
>>The Contract Chauffeur
>>
>>She knows all the bottlenecks, shortcuts
>>in most of the districts in Prague, good discos,
>>the cheapest places for petrol, where to glimpse
>>what she was pleased to call *the smart arses*
>>strolling to the gyms – but she’s still mystified
>>that when she said that to two women,
>>why they giggled on their journeys for days.
>>
>>But she’s cool. As she drives, to the air-vents hiss,
>>for people who speak the English she’s learning,
>>she croons in Czech over the CD she always plays,
>>the Scots lilt of the Proclaimers’ song:
>>*800 kilometres, 800 kilometres,* and she sings
>>squeezing in the words, glancing in the mirror
>>to see if they know what’s going on.
>>
>>Bob Cooper