Benson at Sixty — Michael Carson

The great comic hero of Sucking Sherbet Lemons, now embracing hard-won sobriety, contemplates the ultimate commitment of civil partnership

Martin Benson, after a lifetime away, has made it home to Merseyside, his sherbet lemons all sucked down, his penguins all stripped bare. He's bought a house at the top of his town and filled it with souvenirs of a wandering life. He lives with his memories and with a stern partner, Ted, a motorcycle test examiner who tripped over him comatose one dark night on the prom, sensed that Mr. Benson was at battle with the bottle, took him to a meeting of QA (Queer Alcoholics), and moved in. After a life spent in the shallows, Benson has come to the point when he must face reality.