1055 - Sun in summertime

Rare sunny summer’s day. With Josephine
I’m pleased to say we made the most of it
The Aquatic Centre (la grande piscine)
And ‘Mega Mela’ in Platt Fields, the great
Asian fair in the park. Managed to kit
Josie out in a pink Asian costume
Making the local women smile a bit
As we walked by, both eating our ice cream
One mother even took her picture; seems
There’s nothing as nice as digging their scene
For making people of all kinds unite
It’s so easy: so little in between
The different groups. Saw the Asian rap scene
And had some great fairground rides. We loved it!
Sat 25 July 2009

1026 - We're all going

Late June, and talk turns to our holidays
John's off to Sweden to see his brother
Amanda's off to Turkey for a laze
By the pool in the sun, while the other
John's off to far-off California
Annie will no doubt go to France again
I'm off to Ireland soon myself, hell yeah!
And Charles was talking about going to Spain
Of course, we all pay to escape the rain
Here's hoping we get our share of sun's rays
Here's hoping for sunburn (I don't smother
Myself in sunscreen; that sure is a pain)
And so we'll soon all go our separate ways
And do our best to forget each other
Fri 26 June 2009

999 - Sunshine beats football

Today we had to go down to the sea
And paddle in its waters in the sun
But finding a good beach is not easy
We went to West Kirby, a nearby one
The sea’s too far out, even if you run
Josie and me walked over endless sand
Past countless spirals invisibly spun
On carpets of shells, each one abandoned
To two seemingly far distant islands
One is called Little Eye, and one Hilbre
On the first one, we sat and ate chicken
We walked on, pointing out crab skeletons
Soon after, we visited my Mummy
Who reminded me the Cup Final’s on
Sat 30 May 2009

998 - Friday afternoon, late spring

I'm lazing on a sunny afternoon
It's a Friday, and I'm in the office
I'll be making my way home very soon
When there will be no more taking the piss
No, then the real work begins. Mustn't miss
The chance to write some poems, maybe plan
A trip to Ireland, maybe even kiss
Guitar or keyboard with my loving hands
There's a call from the life insurance man
Changing to him could pay me to the tune
Of £100 cashback - very nice!
If there are freebies about, I'm a fan!
Meanwhile, and suddenly, it's almost June
Only half a month now till the solstice
Fri 29 May 2009

993 - Sunny music

A dreaded sunny day, so rare; so what
Should I do with it now that it is here?
I finished my song ‘The World At War’ that
Has tormented me for half of this year
I improved ‘High Over Liverpool,’ mere
Changes to volume levels on guitar
‘Deborah in February’ was my clear
Favourite to begin work on, but the star
In my heaven was near, in Manchester
And so, rather than start that song, I met
Her for a browse round St Anne’s Square. Yorkshire
Is where we’re going tomorrow by car
Hebden Bridge to be precise. But I put
Some tracks down for ‘Deborah’ this evening. Cheers!
Sun 24 May 2009

959 - April sun

A spell of sunny weather and life seems
More beautiful: the land, people, buildings
Driving through London, even though it teems
To absolute excess, becomes thrilling;
Round three and four lane roundabouts, racing
Round Wellington and Marble Arch, Park Lane
Like Italians, sun in our eyes blinding
That was Saturday. Sunday, down the lane
To Mobberley with Josie; pub’s the same
As it used to be: food the stuff of dreams
Josie riding her bike, and I’m jogging
Today, Monday, me and John took the train
Up to Glasgow, where even here it seems
Sultry….Like you, the person I’m missing…
Mon 20 Apr 2009

958 - April jazz

A sunny evening chilling out with jazz
A Sunday evening filled out with football
Someday my evenings will be fulfilled ’coz
Somebody’s thrilled even with me, the wall
Torn down they built to keep me good and small
Storm through it, kill the guards, and make sure you
Form letters from their spilled blood, big and tall
Drawn symbols of my freedom, willed, now true
Forge on through weary piles of residue
George Shearing’s ‘I’ll Remember April’ plays
Resurgent warning words I hear still fall
From sunny morning lips of wine-stained hue
As Sunday morning slips from last night’s haze
Someday my mornings won’t bring trips and falls
Sun 19 Apr 2009

928 - Walking to the tax conference

Went to Manchester Conference Centre
For tax-related talks and old faces
Not seen in many a boring old year
Because we all work in different places
This gorgeous sunny day, kind of wasted
By being indoors, but the wind’s still cold
Too chilly for the hilly wild spaces
Even down in the town I had to fold
My coat around me tightly as I rolled
Along Regent Road towards Manchester
Dodging the Trinity Way car races
Past the Town Hall where its great bells have told
The time to many passers-by who hear
That it is late and speed up their paces
Fri 20 Mar 2009

927 - Below the seat belt

Today I drove to Chorley, Lancashire
To watch the Road Fuel Testing Unit
Dipping tanks of road users in case they’re
Illegally using red diesel (it
Is cheap but can’t be used on the roads), but
None were. A lovely sunny day. Back home,
I cleaned the flat thoroughly, a visit
From a prospective lodger. Didn’t come
Till the time got to five fifteen pm
And then off to town for a bite at the
Duke of Wellington with a mate, then it
Was a short bus ride to Trof for a fun
Verse play, ‘Below The Belt,’ about sex. Yeah,
It had to be done. Pint and cigarette.
Thur 19 Mar 2009

824 - Saturday shopping spree

A lovely sunny winter’s day shopping
In Macclesfield and then in Manchester
First stop was Aldi, using their parking
Facilities and buying our drinks there
Next stop the charity shops, which was where
I hoped to find cheap clothes, but instead they
Were packed with eighties records; grabbed our share
Ate a snack or two, then drove all the way
To town and braved Primark on Saturday
Okay, maybe I did too much spending
But two coats, eight tops, three trousers later
I felt better equipped than yesterday
Not only that, but it was fun spending
Some time with a good friend, so thanks to her
Sat 6 Dec 2008

686 - A flatful of dust

My sunlit screen’s all obscured by bright dust
Like blinding snowflakes frozen in mid-fall
The sun moves westwards as it always must
And now I’m finding that I can see all
As shadows mount the white screen and white wall
Goodbye sun, you’re no friend to thought process
You bring too much reality; you crawl
Into each dirty corner, dark recess
Training a spotlight on each filthy mess
Spilt food that’s hardened into yellow crust
In kitchen. Look at the floor in the hall
Such biodiversity. I’m impressed
Victorian-style cleaning maids, please just
Line up outside until you hear me call
Mon 21 July 2008

665 - What I did today, hey

A sunny day hey hey a sunny day
A mummy day hey hey a mummy day
A sunny day a mummy day hey hey
Hey it was sunny saw my mummy hey

A funny day hey hey a funny day
A yummy day hey hey a yummy day
A funny day a yummy day hey hey
Hey it was funny and was yummy hey

The sun shone and I went to see mum, hey
We had some laughs and had a big lunch, hey
The sun always shines on motorways, hey
Can’t open window then, get damn hot, hey

A sunny mummy funny yummy day
Banoffee, coffee, sticky toffee, hey

Mon 30 June 2008

628 - Sunny Saturday

A surprisingly sunny Saturday
Spent splishing splashing in a swimming pool
Stuffing sausages sat in some café
Skin slowly sizzling in the sun, such cool
Wind swishing swirling shaking shrubs so full
With spring and summer supplements of green
From seeds to shoots to stalks to stamens, all
Supplanting sad and shady winter scenes
The surefire supposition should, it seems
Suggest the sunshine shall subside by May
Shall turn sour, shower-soaked summer’s stern misrule
Submerging streets and smiles, suppressing dreams
So savour the sunshine and seize the day
Soon solid skies shall smear our shining jewel
Sat 24 May 2008

617 - Emperor's old clothes

Get your top off, get your top off honey
If u can’t stand the heat get outa the stitchin’
Just like me, they long to be clothing-free
Summertime, and it’s easy undressin’
I just want your extra time and your skin
I can see clearly now, your clothes have gone
My baby don’t care for clothes. I’m wishin’
On a starkers, because, fatty bum bum
I can’t wait till 9pm till I come
Bend me shape me, hit me once more baby
Cos when you’re smilin’ the sun comes shinin’
Through the rain, though my screams are tossed and blown
But then I should be so lucky, lucky
You and your clothes will keep on keepin’ on
Tue 13 May 2008

615 - The fun of the warmth

Spring sun, divine celestial orb on high
Oh bloody hell, am I sunburnt or what?
That’s typical British, to auto-fry
Soon as the sun comes out, coz diddly squat
Is what we usually get. It’s what we got
Last year, remember? Course you remember
That worst summer, that bummer, with a lot
Of floods and not much else. Hell, some summer.
So tops off lads while ye may, and simmer
Hey, look at those girls… oops! Nearly crashed. (Die
In agony caused by totty, tut tut…)
Of Californian glamour, a glimmer
I need to rest my happy tired eye,
And lie naked in double bed of sweat
Sun 11 May 2008

614 - Keys to happiness

I took the first chance this year to sunbathe
Beautiful warm sunshine and grassy smell
On the small lawn in the back garden. Breathe
In nature. Forget for now traffic’s hell
Mind you, I like driving and I drive well
A king behind the wheel, lord of the lane
The slow lane these days (saving on fuel
That’s now one pound seven p - what a pain!)
But I drove a hundred miles with no gain
This morning to my mum’s, so I could see the
Letters needing replies, but ‘Bloody hell,’
I thought, as I pulled up. ‘I have no brain!
I’ve forgotten the house key! But don’t seethe
Drive home, get keys, come back Sunday. All’s well.’
Sat 10 May 2008

610 - The warmth of the sun

A lovely warm spring day, no coat needed.
The weather can be friendly, usually is
But through Burma a cyclone has seeded
Destruction, loss of life and hopelessness.
The Burmese authorities are far less
Accepting of our help than they should be,
But this time they have been forced to request
Our charity, humiliatingly.
Some good may come of such a tragedy;
In wartime, most of the public heeded
The call for unity; foreign allies
Joining the struggle against the Nazi.
As once our threatened people united,
Could weather’s violence bring us back to peace?
Tue 6 May 2008

554 - After the biscuits

Could it be those biscuits that made me ill?
I bought a box coz I needed a drum,
Ate the biscuits in two days, and I’m still
Living the consequences. Head athrum
Last night in bed. Decided not to come
To work today. I’ve missed a small meeting
’Bout nothing in particular. The sum
Total is no-one’s bothered. Sun’s shining,
And it’s lunchtime. Last night I was making
The usual sandwiches, so now to fill
My face with a banana and with them,
Since I’ve usefully spent three hours writing.
The novel’s slowly being born. A thrill,
And as painful, as a real birth, eh Mum?
Tue 11 Mar 2008

527 - Crazy weather

Another worrying warm winter day.
Can this be February? Jo and me
Went out (her cycling) to see ducks at play,
Me not wearing a coat, and, quite shortly,
While I pushed her up Oak Lane, I could see,
Though the sun’s heat on my neck was pleasant,
Almost uncomfortable, this shouldn’t be
The case in February. I smelled scent
Of bushes, saw wild yellow petals, meant
Perhaps to bloom later. But must we pay
For this with summer downpours routinely
Flooding our quaint riverside settlements?
Cloud’s coming to replace the sun, they say.
I say weatherman shouldn’t look happy.
Wed 13 Feb 2008

457 - Leaving leaves

I’m looking out of my window. Between
The two tall evergreens, I can see, through
Deciduous branches where leaves have been
And gone, a distant tree gracing the view,
Majestically filling space. Thank you,
My noble chap, my cheerful friendly fellow
Behind the green and brown foreground. Below
The grey Salford sky, your distinctive yellow
Has coloured in my morning. I could wallow
In your mystical distance, golden sheen
Suddenly lit by sunburst for a few
Seconds (almost missed while typing). The shallow
Concerns of life mean I must leave, though keen
To watch your short-lived show. I hear my cue.
Wed 5 Dec 2007