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

1013 - Long day's journey into Salford

Sitting here in the Manchester Museum
While Josie colours in all her pictures
For two weeks now, we’ve come here for a swim
But the big pool was closed down for repairs
Wasting no time, we flew straight out of there
And came here for a curious look round
We saw glass cases full of stuffed creatures
Bats, foxes, rabbits, birds that made no sound…
Then later, walking to United’s ground
Along the Ship Canal side; evening sun
Shone on us and the Lowry while we paused
For refreshment; then past the Quays we wound
Our way back to my flat. The total sum
Of this was we had our best time for years!
Sat 13 June 2009

981 - Through the office window

Perfect blue sky, or perfect nothingness
Pretty green trees wave goodbye, short-lived man
A spire points up into the blue: confess
Your sins, or sizzle in the frying-pan!
Happy in the moment, kids whoop and run
Let out of nursery for some fresh air
Happy that adults carry their burden
Of their own future burdens, unaware
Traffic, in ant-like lines, crawls off somewhere
This mortal snapshot, its lifespan far less
Than photos, paintings or images on
The internet, is preserved here with care
Sharing this feature with Shakespeare's sonnets
Outliving the source from where it began
Tue 12 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

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

950 - London wanderings

An early morning embrace and coffee
A drive to Manchester multi-storey
A walk to the bus-stop, nice and early
As the sky lightened, too early for me
But today was a special holiday
The coach to London was very busy
The driver sped us down the motorway
And in no time we were walking away
From Victoria to Buck Palace… Today
No changing of the guard… well, that’s okay
Then on to Portobello Road: they say
It’s good for browsing, although I did pay
For gifts, clothes… Duke of Wellington for tea
Looked round Tate Modern, then a drink or three
Sat 11 Apr 2009

934 - Salford Shopping City

It’s Salford Shopping City in the spring
The wind blows plastic bags round and around
The taxis race round roundabouts. Swearing,
A woman with Tourette’s withdraws her pounds
The bus-stop throbs as people are let down
A man skulks smoking outside Bargain Booze
The Pound Shops, William Hills, Woolworths (closed down)
The Flea Market empty but for refuse
At quarter to five, long Post Office queues
When my turn comes I find myself chatting
To a friendly blonde clerk eager to expound
The new Post Office credit card. Refuse -
How could I? But I did, remembering
How long it’s taken to get my debts down
Thur 26 Mar 2009

917 - Sage and Tyne

The sky darkens from Darlington to York
The headscarfed woman opposite sleeps on
Head buried in pink, pudgy hands, while talk
Drifts into my left ear. Returning from
Newcastle, recalling my walk along
Four bridges, Grainger and Grey Streets, crossing
Bigg Market to the Monument, the sun
Smiling weakly, the north-east wind breathing
Gently today at ground level, rising
To gusty bluster on Tyne Bridge. I walked
From the Gateshead side; the Millennium
Was my next crossing: slender, white, curving…
Into the Sage Centre, for this was work:
Three Civil Service seminars to come…
Mon 9 Mar 2009

906 - Salutations!

Ten minute break for a piss and a pint
Inn Verse is running late as usual
Manchester’s friendliest night, in a small joint
Known as the Salutation by us all
It’s stuck like a sore thumb, like old St Paul’s
Before and behind, sixties monoliths
Simplified structures, representing all
The structural, simplified sixties myths
Upward social mobility for Smiths
Then Mrs Margaret Thatcher, that old bint
Played on TV by an actress, yes, all
Slimmed down and sexy…that just takes the piss!
Some have gone home, some smoking. My complaint
Is that I need a piss and pint, that’s all
Thur 26 Feb 2009

890 - Travels in Northern Ireland and northern England

Down by the misty Lagan I wandered
Before the meeting about tax began
People walked over bridges, I wondered
How death had undone so many again
Mist dispersed, snowy hills seen, now and then
Cave Hill supreme, Belfast’s Vesuvius
Up and down May Street where titanic men
Built ships now rotting like them and like us
Big yellow cranes seen from taxi and bus
Back to George Best airport, where I sundered
My brief connection with Northern Ireland
Airborne over the coast, Runcorn-Widnes
Then Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, snow-covered
Eastern hillscape. South Manchester, touched land
Tue 10 Feb 2009

877 - Let's go to San Franglasgow

A warm and sunny day up in Glasgow
Delivered a half-hour presentation
On anti-fraud measures: RDCO
Tied oils , not forgetting post-detection
The oils strategy overview was on
Powerpoint, but it didn’t work at all
So I talked using printed sheets, upon
Which lay my notes and stats; tried not to drawl
On for too long. After my talk, a small
Coffee break, RFTU video
Then down one floor, by lift, to a luncheon
Outside Portcullis House, a technical
Demonstration by a road testing crew
Back down Argyle Street to Central Station
Wed 28 Jan 2009

870 - The buck stops here

Blue skies over the White House, over there
In Washington DC, US of A
‘Obama, Obama…’ was in the air
Believers or not, all were asked to pray
Historic rituals observed, the way
Is now clear for change, this time from below
Like Carter, will Barack be blocked? Will a
More democratic democracy grow?
He really is a motherless child; so
Young when his father died, and neither pure
Black nor white; grew up in Indonesia
Been to Hawaii, Harvard and Chicago
With widespread roots he reaches everywhere
Today he starts dealing with his in-tray
Wed 21 Jan 2009

848 - The bony-arsed rocker's lament

My arse hurts after a while in this chair
Was in it for hours yesterday making
Sweet music, but not quite so sweet to the
Neighbours from hell (they’ve got no taste), riffing
Along to rock, soul, reggae, anything
And even learning Acid Pro usage
Now I can record rough demos; cooking
On gas, my friend. Hey! Danger, high voltage!
Got calloused fingers; used each appendage
More than ever before lately, I swear
May play more later, do more composing
I sit now doing daily sonnetage
Went to Jodrell Bank, the telescope there
Endlessly pointing, probing and seeking
Tue 30 Dec 2008

830 - Windy wanderings

The pubs were full of Christmas revellers
While winds blew hard and rain lashed down outside
The Brunswick, Waldorf, Grey Horse and Circus
The Rain Bar, Briton’s Protection, we tried
And managed two pints, then went for a fried
In some empty takeaway joint with Coke
Recorded some pub sounds, then a piece I’d
Written the other night, bit of a joke
About those office do’s, with the drunk bloke
With roaming hands and overly loud slurs
A year’s worth of resentments he can’t hide
Goes home so pissed, he’s liable to choke
And so the grand finale of this year’s
Finally here, a foaming beery tide
Fri 12 Dec 2008

813 - Scottish angels

I finished reading Shadow of the Wind
On the train home from Glasgow in the dark
The sun shone all day. First, we tried to find
Queen Street station, on George Square. Hearing talk
From my colleague about the angels: ‘Look!’
I saw four buxom goddesses of love
Made of stone, holding up buildings. We walk
Away from love, from those girls up above
In the cold morning air, senses removed
Showing the boobs that no hearts beat behind
Got places to go, people to see, work
(In this case, tax talk.) Northward the train drove
Through green fields, orange hills, blue skies, a kind
Vision of Scotland, beautiful and stark
Tue 25 Nov 2008

807 - Scots wha-hay

Tonight I’m writing BEFORE going out
I think that’s the more sensible way round
Last night Princes Street, tonight Grassmarket
Left out the hotel door, near castle mound
I will need to withdraw some Scottish pounds
Or I’ll be unable to buy my meal
I told the group where we would be around
Let’s hope they join us: it could be a squeal
However, last night took its toll on Neil
Too many ciders dispatched down the spout
But John, the hardened drinker, seems quite sound
Took some pics this morning from Calton Hill
A spot I first posed on, well, round about
’86. A cannon points at the town
Wed 19 Nov 2008

806 - Semi-thoughts of a drunk sassenach

Hello everybody in Edinburgh
I’d just like to say that your town’s okay
Although I was disappointed by the
Lack of lighting of Scott Monument: say,
The walk down Princes Street ended in a
Fruitful stay in a bar where the barmaid
Displayed her tits quite nicely, hip hooray
At the Queen’s Arms, all very well displayed
And then another pub, where much was said
About football, including Manchester
United’s prospects. Well, do you think they
Will finish above Liverpool? They’ve stayed
Above them for years, and so I’ll bet ya
That the Red Devils will beat the Reds, yay!
Tue 18 Nov 2008

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