1027 - The bells, the bells

A lovely day centred in Didsbury
No films worth watching, so we hung around
Fletcher Moss Park, but as we parked, then we
Heard loud bell-ringing, like a wedding sound
The church door open as our ears were drowned
We found a spiral staircase and climbed up
To see the bell-ringers standing around
A hot high-ceilinged room, all reaching up
They smiled and then they invited us up
To sit and watch, and they even let me
Have a go on the rope. Then we popped round
To see Pearl, back from Paris, get dolled up
In new dress and haircut for a party…
And then the heavy rain came pouring down
Sat 27 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

976 - Kids on a plane

I’m sitting on a crowded aeroplane
A warm evening at Paris Charles de Gaulle
The toddlers are all starting to complain
They don’t understand this waiting at all
Is it going home makes them wail and waul?
Red-faced, a tiny girl, despite cuddles
From Daddy, bellows; then suddenly, cool
Now the girl in the seat behind wriggles
But seconds later, she’s become all smiles
Is it their youth makes waiting such a pain?
The plane taxis, stomachs tighten, the small
Unaware of the sudden speeding wheels
Seconds ahead. The Mummies will explain
We’re flying faster than a cannonball
Thur 7 May 2009

975 - Drinking and smoking outside Notre Dame

Drinking and smoking outside Notre Dame
And at long last the sun now shows its face
All nationalities come here disarmed
All people relax in this ancient place
Photo-opportunities; cameras race
Accents Spanish and Asian, French, German
Young, middle-aged and old, time can’t erase
These special scenes, sunlit moments of fun
Me, I’m content, beer bottle number one
Almost empty; with number two I’m armed
Bottles of Kronenbourg don’t go to waste
Preparing for the match that’s still to come
(Chelsea/Barcelona) and so the aim
Is to get pissed cheaply in this fine place!
Wed 6 May 2009

974 - Plastered in Paris 2

Un autre jour à Paris: Sainte-Chappelle
A fuckin’ long queue, mais it was worthwhile
Those stained-glass fenêtres: sensationelles!
Un peut de shopping, home for a piss, then we’ll
Go for a falafel, served with a smile
Fed les pigeons; on est allé au Musée
Carnavalet, where luckily twas real
Easy a prendre des photos, regarder
Le lit de Proust. Turned into a good day
Despite the clouds. I was OK, but Pearl
Was fatiguée. Walked over to the Ile
De la Cité, ou Pearl est occupée
Dans son restaurant. I thought, fuckin’ ell
What to do next? Qu’est-ce que c’est difficile
Tue 5 May 2009

973 - Tour-ism

The first place we saw was the Tour St-Jacques
Kids played in the sun there and near Les Halles
On the grass, just in front of St-Eustache
We queued but failed to get in Sainte-Chappelle
On to the Latin Quarter: the next pile
Was St-Sulpice; Jardins du Luxembourg
Café Rostand. Montparnasse: half a mile
Up the tower, Paris laid out like a rug
The long line of the Louvre like a slug
Trail; Tour Eiffel cut a vertical dash
Cimetière Montparnasse cast quite a spell
From such a height, and on the ground, graves dug
For JP Sartre, de Beauvoir and Duras
In the evening, poetry in Belleville
Mon 4 May 2009

972 - Plastered in Paris

Je m’asseois a la table extérieure du Bar
Trappiste, à Châtelet, à Paris, France
Ce bar-ci est près de la rivière
Il y a beaucoup de bieres; oui, quelle bon chance!
Ici, je peux fumer, ici je pense
Je peux me reposer aussi; depuis trois
Nuits je suis fatigué; alors, espoir
Que je dormirai bien. Je ne sais pas
Ce que nous feron demain: peut-etre Bois
De Boulogne et Passy; se promener
Au bord de la Seine. D’avoir des bonne vacances
Ne sera pas difficile, mais ce soir
Ma fille est occupé près de Shakespeare
And Co., à la Rive Gauche, dans un restaurant
Sun 3 May 2009

971 - Today, Derbyshire, tomorrow, Paris!

It’s late, I need to pack, watching football
Why am I so late getting organised? Well it’s coz
I spent a lovely day out with my girl
But early tomorrow I’ll catch the bus
To John Lennon Airport, off to Paris
To see my daughter, who now works real hard
At a café near Notre Dame. Hope this
Doesn’t tire her too much, not too much poured
Out into other people’s cups. We’ll board
Le Metro to some great spots, join the whirl
Of French life, drink some coffee, take some tours
Have as good a time as we can afford
In the capital of what was once Gaul
Pictures to follow on Facebook, of course!
Sat 2 May 2009

968 - Travelogue

Last day in the office for a while - great!
A two-day meeting in a York hotel,
The usual booze-up and meal on our plates
Then, when it’s over, Friday night my girl
And I will reunite, her slim legs curled
Around me, hopefully, like times before
Being close to her’s the best thing in the world
Going on an anatomical tour
Is a thrill when there’s time to kill, to score
Is always my goal; like chess, she’s my mate
And then, on Sunday, I fly off to Pearl
In Paris, where I’ll happily spend four
Days by the Seine, then back home very late
On Friday morning. Hope it all goes well!
Wed 29 Apr 2009

967 - Best-laid plans

This week, next week, busy busy busy
This week, hard work combined with performance
Next week, visiting Paris, where I’ll see
My daughter, Pearl, again. I’ve seen her once
There last November, but this is a chance
To see both her and Paris in the spring
Today I chaired a meeting, seat of pants
Type job, as usual, the talkers talking
And me trying to do the controlling
That’s out of the way now, next one is the
Big two-day meeting in York; first, a chance
To improvise some singing and playing
Tomorrow night in Bolton, at Andy
And Gary’s poetry night…So much for plans
Tue 28 Apr 2008

853 - Student studies

My daughter’s twenty-first has come and gone
Congrats to P for reaching that milestone
Today I took son L down to London
To start his second student term alone
Takes me back to my second term… I’d mown
Off most of my hair, a trendy new cut
Shaved back and sides. The next step was to own
A black raincoat, Echo-style, which I bought
From Affleck’s Palace, and some shirts I thought
Were suitably dazzling, from Withington
And Didsbury charity shops. L’s own
Approach seems to exclude clothes and haircut
He’s blogging rather than out having fun
P’s back to the Sorbonne. I’ll visit soon!
Sun 4 Jan 2009

793 - The Parisiad (part 2)

Deuxième jour à Paris. Visited
The Place des Vosges dans le Marais encore
The Jewish Quarter, rue des Rosiers, hid
Just off the rue de Rivoli, and more

Delights: the rue de Sévigné… alors
Montmartre, then lunch, then Beaubourg, then the long
Walk up Rivoli, Louvre, Tuileries, pour
Promener le Champs Elysées; a strong

Espresso (and rest) chez Café George Cinq
Then on to the Arc, unusually crowded
With police and army. Bir Hakeim Métro
And it’s a short, bothersome walk that brings

One to la Tour Eiffel, decorated
In blue, with sparkling light show every hour

Wed 5 Nov 2008

792 - The Parisiad (part 1)

Due to last night's public transport trauma
And not getting to her flat until two
A.M. thanks to plane / train / taxi drama
We lay in, and my daughter skipped class too

A cloudless sky of pure Parisian blue
When finally we rose penetrated
The courtyard. Briefly observing the view
From her front door of Notre Dame, we did:

Bastille, République, Canal, Stalingrad
La Villette (Cité de la Musique); a
Serge Gainsbourg expo. Down rue Menin to
Parc Butte-Chaumont (Montmartre clearly sighted)

Belleville, Ménilmontant, Richard Lenoir
Back 'home,' then out to see Barack break through

Tue 4 Nov 2008

791 - Paris on the cheap

I’m off to Paris with just one small bag
To see my daughter in her little flat
Sur la rue de Rivoli - oh, c’est mag-
nifique! John Lennon Airport, Easyjet
To Charles de Gaulle Airport, from where I’ll get
The RER Line B to Châtelet
My daughter will hopefully be all set
To meet me at the Métro entranceway
And then we’ll walk the lit-up streets as they
Lead us through French fantasy-land, agog
An evening café au lait, café nat-
ure (c’est café noir), ma fille? Ah, au lait?
D’accord. As-tu dix euros? The not large
Fund I brought is spent! Sorry about that!
Mon 3 Nov 2008

772 - Things I did today

Been sorting one or two things out today
Like where to run on grass that's not too far
Both Heaton Park and Sale Water Park may
Fit the bill so my joints don't wear or jar
New poetry night in Sale tonight, by car
Was just staring at Multimap to see
How to get there and where to park. The star
Achievement though? Booked a plane to Paree
To see daughter in rue de Rivoli
In her small but posh pad, where I will stay
Two full days. So here's hoping that her floor
Isn't too hard, there's room to bend my knee
And, of course, the weather is nice and gay
As it should be in 'gay Paree' (Ha ha!)
Wed 15 Oct 2008

659 - No kidding

An update on my kids’ progress so far
My eldest daughter’s an Oxford student
Tonight we meet and eat down at Pizza
Express to chat before her summer’s spent
Au pairing in France; it seems she’s long meant
To live in Paris when she graduates
My son leaves school this month, and he’s intent
On studying film-making. He can’t wait
To move to London. He anticipates
Working in LA one day; screenwriter
His chosen trade. My youngest, she first went
To school last September; she’s doing great
So many parties; she’s so popular
Her arts and language skills are excellent
Tue 24 June 2008

512 - Parisian Pearl

Bon! Bon! Ma fille irai a la Sorbonne!
Bien sur, elle est particulierement heureuse.
Bien qu’elle doit etudier beaucoup maintenant,
Probablement elle voudrait etre chanteuse!
My French is very mauvais, unlike hers!
Just to confirm, Pearl’s going to Paris
In the autumn. Classic philosophers
And literature are on the study list,
But this will be her own Odyssey; this
Year spent among the best young French, ces jeunes,
Les dirigeants de demain, raconteurs,
Une nouvelle belle epoque not to be missed!
And now she’s looking forward to great fun,
Earned by her hard work in these last few years.
Tue 28 Jan 2008

486 - I only have eyes for you

My eldest child, a daughter, is twenty.
(She’s nearly half my age now, the poor thing.)
Her eyesight’s crap, perhaps she could blame me:
I wore glasses at five, then bore the sting
Of contact lenses when twenty-something,
Then laser surgery two thousand-one,
And now, again, deteriorating,
But she’s got some of these delights to come,
Being still young, still undecided on
Career; maybe translator, but can see
The opportunities diminishing
With English ever more widely spoken.
The Sorbonne’s her aim, parce qu’elle aime Paris,
But Lyon and Nice also beckoning.
Thur 3 Jan 2008

334 - Where shall we go a-travelling this year

Where shall we go a-travelling this year
My love, my sweet love, oh where shall we go
A ride to Paris on the Eurostar
From Waterloo Station at sunset? No.
Where shall we go a-travelling this year
My love, my sweet love, oh where shall we go
Ride on my pretty barge to Panama
Where can we see a canal like it? No.
Where shall we go a-travelling this year
My love, my sweet love, oh where shall we go
I’ll take you to the moon and back, I swear
I know that you love cheese, please say so. No.
Kind sir, there’s no a-travelling this year
Our travelling hopes have melted like the snow.
Sat 4 Aug 2007

313 - To a beautiful woman, La Belle France

To a beautiful woman, La Belle France,
And to her noisy, sweet children, Bonjour!
Though we are years apart, you still entrance,
Singing, Que reste-t-ils de nos amours?
A Paris honeymoon, and old book stores
On the Rive Gauche, the bridges and the Seine,
The Notre Dame gargoyles who, without pause,
Frown down on centuries of loss and gain.
The old lady of Normandie, her rain,
The cliffs in all their stone-faced resistance,
Old Caen that is no more (shelled in the war),
Each little village, vast rural terrain,
Each old bell-tower, towers of La Dé fense:
Quatorze juillet, Bastille Day, alors!
Sat 14 July 2007