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

1008 - Euro-election disaffection

Last night the European election
Results came up live on TV, and they
Were interesting to me for more than one
Reason. Firstly: Labour had a bad day
As predicted. Can Brown keep plots at bay?
Something Caesar and Thatcher could not do
In his favour, however, is the way
The Party's rules make plotting hard. And two:
The BNP's rise, and of UKIP too
While, Europe-wide, the Greens seem to have won
More seats this time around. People have stayed
Loyal to the centre-right parties, who
They assume, can weather this recession
Better than socialists. (Less tax to pay…?)
Mon 8 June 2009

1001 - Am I dreaming?

Three days of clear blue skies. Is this Britain?
It seems that everything is upside down
And back to front these days. Politicians
Reviled, fraudulent. My face and arms brown
I live within walking distance of town
And go out now and then for a good time
At home the neighbours have all quietened down
And sleep, at last, when I need it, is mine
My mortgage interest’s low, meaning that I’m
Able to afford holidays again
Been to Paris in May, and I’ll have flown
To Ireland, come July; the autumn time
Should see a trip to European lands
It’s mainly good, because my life’s my own
Mon 1 June 2009

996 - Honour Barcelona

Manchester United have lost tonight
To a superior Barcelona
It’s been quite reminiscent of that night
In ’99, when Munich were better
But the Reds won anyway, luckier
Than their opponents. This time luck was short
And the better team won. Poor Manchester!
You were caught short, you were outplayed, out-thought
The ball was glued to Iniesta’s boot
And Lionel Messi and Co have the right
To lift that trophy in the Roman air
Ferguson’s magic has failed; he’s been taught
A lesson by a youngster. Now, the sight
Of Spanish triumph, English dishonour
Wed 27 May 2009

995 - A little night music

I’m not going to Europe this weekend
But what I am doing is what I love
I’m making music that will never end
Yes, music and me fit like hand in glove
Tonight, for instance, after work, a rough
Idea has been laid down, an artist’s sketch
Which will become a sculpture when enough
Time’s been spent chipping away, careful touch
With ears for eyes and hands, trying to catch
Each divine revelation that is sent
From my feminine angel up above
In time, melody, harmony will hatch
Into a strutting cockerel, loud, unpenned
Waking the lovers, making sounds of love
Tue 26 May 2009

715 - Naughty boys

The Russian bear’s been growling once again
It still sees Georgia and the republics
That broke away as in its back garden
Putin, Medvedev et al use old tricks
Like Khrushchev and Hungary ’56
Like Brezhnev and Czechoslovakia
Remember Lech Walesa and his ships
Ceaucescu and wife in Romania

Remember him this way, Gary Glitter
Hello hello he’s coming back again
You don’t wanna touch him there (oh, those pics
They found when they mended his computer!)
The leader of the chain gang banged up when
He banged some underage Vietnamese chicks

Tue 19 Aug 2008

694 - Free trade. Yeah, right

World trade talks have collapsed in Geneva
Elections on the way in USA
And India, objections from China
All mean that fairness waits another day
So-called free trade principles still hold sway
Meaning the big guys price the small ones out
Of our markets, also ensuring they
Own the best foreign farms and mines. No doubt
Our leaders will throw foreign aid about
To compensate the poor third world farmer
Although as we know this may go astray
Into the pocket of some despot’s coat
As payment for allowing whatever
The big companies want to take away
Tue 29 July 2008

691 - Calmer about Obama

Barack Obama drama as we see
The man in Europe, visiting Gordon
Having already seen Blair previously
And afterwards meeting Dave Cameron
Prior to this, big rally in Berlin
And daring to hobnob with Nicolas
Sarkozy; cosying up to Frenchmen -
Whatever next? Meeting the ruling class
Preparing for power; change, but not fast
Above all, no threat to democracy
No radical wealth redistribution
Looking to future, aware of the past
Seeking to represent stability
And Anglo-American tradition
Sat 26 July 2008

657 - Euro KO

Is anyone betting on the Euro’s?
(OK, I know there’s no apostrophe)
If you have been, you’ve got a bloody nose
What with surprise wins by Russia, Turkey
And tonight either Spain or Italy
Will join them in the quarters. Now don’t bet
Against Italy’s what would normally
Be said (or against Germany), but let’s
See if Spain can remain. The eastern set
Are so strong now, in Eurovision shows
At tennis, now football too. Putin, he’s
Been puttin’ something in their tea. Nyet, nyet
It’s just that they compete better, I s’pose
Our sport history’s short on victories
Sun 22 June 2008

625 - Reds take Moscow (again)

United European Champions
The Manchester Reds beat the Chelsea Blues
Only on penalties, but they’ve still won
Fifty years on from Munich’s deadly freeze
Forty years on from Wembley and Busby’s
Grown-ups, although still including a Kidd
And it’s all thanks to poor old John Terry’s
Penalty miss, and his rain-sodden skid
Frank Lampard struggles hard to keep a lid
On his disappointment, while Ferguson’s
All smiles, and in the studio Mark Hughes
And Andy Townsend comment, God forbid
And now it’s over till almost autumn
Enjoy the summer and the airport queues!
Wed 21 May 2008

602 - Preposterous Austrians

That Austrian fellow takes the biscuit
Locks one of his daughters up, ’84
Has seven kids with her, some never lit
By daylight, but, as ever, the wife saw
Nothing. Did she not wonder where the poor
Daughter was all this time? Or where hubby
Was when he was hidden beneath the floor
In those secret rooms, evenings spent busy
Abusing his grandkids of incest? Free
No longer, this is true, but often it
Is far too late by the time that the law
Discovers their deeds. In his seventies,
Surely no punishment can ever fit
His crime that every parent must abhor?
Mon 28 Apr 2008

520 - Munich 50

It happened fifty years ago, five years
Before I came into this world. I learned
About it as a young boy, bringing tears
Into my eyes. To learn how fate had spurned
Those great young men whose lives were crashed and burned
In Munich, when the aircraft they were on
Could not take off successfully. Returned
In coffins from the snowy wastes, upon
Which wheels could not find grip, on which they spun
And slid. The plane broke up and cut like shears
Into their bodies. Footballers were turned
Into memories. Like soldiers, soon gone,
Though young and strong, hearts full of song and beers,
Into that black night that tonight is mourned.
Wed 6 Feb 2008

369 - My wife lost a child, so has been transfixed

My wife lost a child, so has been transfixed
By the seemingly endless sad drama
Transpiring in Portugal, where a mixed-
Up and messy missing child case is a
Regular read in papers, and on the
TV each night. Madeleine, nearly four,
Vanished in early May. The Policia
Now think her parents may have planned it, for
The dreaded DNA tests, using poor
Quality samples, suggest that they switched
Her body from the apartment by car,
The one they hired. We have faith in the law,
But occasionally it’s knocked for six.
Let’s hope they find her, not her murderer.
Sat 8 Sep 2007

358 - Another hot day: lucky holiday!

Another hot day: lucky holiday!
It’s not been a good summer, not at all;
We’ve had rain and floods, with more on the way,
But in East Anglia we’ve had a ball.
Different weathermen made a different call,
But optimistic ones have won the prize,
For though sea-breezes blew their gentle squall,
The sun dried up the clouds quite from the skies.
To say abroad is best, while not quite lies,
Is therefore not always quite true to say,
Especially when Greece is a fireball,
Planes plainly playing their part in the rise
Of greenhouse conditions. Maybe we’ll stay
In our own countries more, until the fall.
Tue 28 Aug 2007

341 - The football season starts again today

The football season starts again today:
Another chance to go all round England
Visiting different towns to see teams play;
All teams, not just my own, you understand,
Because me and my son, years ago, planned
To visit all the stadiums, yes all,
North, south, east, west, middle, even Scotland,
Wales, Europe, anywhere they kick a ball.
So where is it today? I hear you call.
Today’s trip is to Morecambe, with its bay
Of deadly rapid tides that cover sand
And sometimes people, if they’re not careful.
So we’ll stay clear of the beach, and we’ll pray
Our players do as their coaches command!
Sat 11 Aug 2007

214 - The concert hall, pre-show: with half a beer

The concert hall, pre-show: with half a beer
For me, and lemonade for her, we sat
At table. Then I picked up the brochure
To see future events. A little chat
About nothing. Bourgeois smugness down pat.
Meanwhile, quite close, the young Spanish lady
Guitarist started, heart hurting at that
Indifference. Flamenco fingers, fiery,
Were picking, plucking; flicking in fury
Her lengthy locks. I glanced up to view her.
I’d be mature, ignore her story. What
Possessed me, reading, though I confess she
Bled through her strings? Gypsy of Sevilla,
Your eyes still sing of anger, red and hot.
Fri 6 Apr 2007

121 - Oh Bay of Naples - azure sky, green sea

Oh Bay of Naples - azure sky, green sea,
O’erlooked by wounded giant vulcan peak -
I fly back to you in my dreams; I seek
Return, a surrender, where’er I be.
Oh Bay of Dublin - cloudy sky, grey sea,
O’erlooked by Wicklow Hills and long-armed Howth -
I sail back to you in my dreams; the growth
Of leisure time’s my scheme, then back I’ll be.
Oh Dame of New York - hold your torch to sea,
And light the way to JFK and Queens -
Downtown, uptown, to all points in-between,
I shall return, so let my promise be.
I’ll recross Mersey, sweet Thames, foggy Tyne,
And also Seine, Barca in Spain, and vine-decked Rhine.
Wed 3 Jan 2007