1041 - In Ireland 3 - Cork and Kerry mountains

Torrential rain all day, till around six
Drove from Killarney to good old Bantry
Across the Gap of Dunloe, with its tricks
Of tight bends, sheep and rain, incessantly
Caught sixty winks down by the Bantry quay
And then found Bantry Boys’ Club (That was hard!)
Tonight was a good night for poetry
It seemed to go down well, seems to have scored
A local hit: a succession of bards
Some more traditional, some with music
Even some kids and food, additionally
And afterwards… What happened afterwards?
Oh yeah, more drinks and chat with the poets
Who’d come from all Ireland and overseas
Sat 11 July 2009

1038 - Bags packed - tomorrow

It’s my last day at work before Ireland
Culminating in a Poetica show
In Central Library, and now that’s done
Tomorrow, pack my bags, and then I’ll go
On foot to Manchester, and wait below
The bus-stop, catch the coach to Liverpool
Airport, and fly to Knock, explore Mayo
Pass briefly through Galway. My schedule’s full
For the next five days over there. Meanwhile
I’m relaxing, now everything’s in hand
I’ve made a checklist I’ll check tomorrow
Morning; for now, I haven’t got the will
To pack my bags. My head is in the sand…
Mañana, mañana, mi amigo…

1031 - Summer rain

A hot day, once more with heavy showers
How long till flood reports come flooding in?
Meanwhile my net connection’s lost its power
I can’t post blogs or do my emailing
I put my Irish musical backing
On a CD and took it round Louis’
And emailed the tracks from there: here’s hoping
Ky gets them in the form of MP3s
I sacrificed Hebden to finish these
Out Thursday and Friday, so few free hours
Tomorrow it’s the slam competition
Friday, the school barbie. Eight burgers please!
They say that Walsh will win the slam, so there’s
My prediction… but upsets have been known…
Wed 1 July 2009

1028 - Sunday, Sunday

Sunday’s here again, scruffy attire
Sunny, mainly hot, and quite a lot done
Another poem soundtrack Kylyra
Will hopefully like over in Ireland
Especially when I read out the lyrics
Live in Bantry in July, lent a hand
By local backing vocalists; the sticks
Will rock that night; it should be a great mix
Of people and of styles. Was phoned by a
Piano teacher: Josie’s lunchtime fun
Starts Monday or Tuesday, with Amy picked
As her playing partner. And then, a choir
Of me, Pearl and Louis sang songs till ten.
Sun 24 June 2009

1025 - Look at last night

Last night went quite well; I did my three songs
Or rather, a short medley of the three
And then my poem. I didn't have long
Just 5 minutes had been given to me
Not many there,as far as I could see
Apart from performers, such as the band
Who turned up without amps, saved luckily
By Rob Goodier, who had two there on hand!
As usual, things did not quite go as planned
Refreshment-wise, things had turned out all wrong
Drove to buy cakes with Alex hurriedly
Then straight on stage, Rob's guitar in my hand
With which I did quite well, with my three songs
And at half-time, handed out my CD!
Thur 25 June 2009

1024 - Busy day off

A sunny summer’s day… They do exist!
And I was off work watching Jeremy Kyle
Then Trisha, then I had a shopping list
Then finished reading ‘The Color Purple’
Lent by ex-girlfriend not seen for a while
Had lunch and also watched Monty Python
Still not rehearsed for tonight (that’s my style:
Leave it till last moment…) Watched Wimbledon
But conscious now of the time moving on
I realised the chance was almost missed
To practice for tonight. Decided I’ll
Do a medley of three songs (two are on
My CD) and a poem, one that dissed
Comedians, and contained appropriate bile
Wed 24 June 2009

1003 - Late night news summary

It’s nearly half-past one in the morning
I’ve been off work, at home most of the day
Then out in Yorkshire this sunny evening
To Hebden Bridge, to sing a song, and say
A poem; both went well. It’s a long way
To go and balls it up, after all. Saw
Live coverage of the House of Commons. They
Were lining up to slag off Gordon. Poor
Prime Minister (unelected). He swore
To end boom and bust, and to start cleaning,
Just like a broom, the dust of years away
Enacting all sorts of complex new law
He must finally now be regretting
Seizing power, without us getting a say
Wed 3 June 2009

985 - Alone again, poetry

Been struggling to re-record ‘World At War’
And still I’m not quite satisfied it’s done
As I prepared to sing I heard the roar
From Old Trafford: yes, United have won
The title for the umpteenth time, ho hum
Good news at the foot of the table, though
Newcastle, at home, couldn’t beat Fulham
Hull got a point, and so did Middlesbrough
So the Geordies face relegation woe
Tonight (though without Janet), it’s Blue Boar
What a bore! Yet again I’m on my own!
Some chats with poet friends, hopefully, though
Sadly this time, I’m not taking guitar
Just reading three poems. I’ll miss you, hun!
Sat 16 May 2009

983 - Giggin' in Wigan 2

Tonight I shall be giggin' in Wigan
Well, okay, it's just an open-mike night
Before that, hopefully, I'll be eatin'
With Christine and Carole, something quite light
In a Wigan cafe before the flight
To the Tudor House Hotel for the show
Two nights ago, sober, managed to write
A longish new poem I hope will go
Down well like the food. Before all that, though
I must plough through some work that's been pilin'
Up on my desk. With any luck I might
Actually get some of it done, the flow
Of emails usually slowing me, and then
Leave work early for Wigan poetry night
Thur 14 May 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

962 - Obscure poetry and sound

St George’s Day has come and gone again
Been swallowed up by work, heard no mention
Of the old dragon slayer all day, but, well, when
Do the English make a fuss? Forbidden!
I worked hard at the office, forgotten
Was our national day, conferences
To organise, plus my girl, she was on
My mind… By half four, made my excuses
And left, to prepare for activities
Poetic, musical, Old Abbey Inn
Quickly rewrote a poem emailed on
To me by the master of ceremonies
Read it out and I was more than pleased when
It went down well. We must do this again!
Wed 23 Apr 2009

961 - Work, poetry and life itself

Back home, like England World Cup Squad ’70
I ponder all the things that are not right
But there are so many, yes, too many
Nevertheless we see life through till night
In Newcastle things seemed to go alright
Potentially fraught meeting went quite well
Keeping control of babblers is the height
Of chairmanship in meetings; how to tell
Them: Stick to the agenda! Need a bell
Or gong to shut them up. But good to see
Difficult subjects dealt with in a light-
Hearted way. But I still have to deal
With life itself, and that is less easy
Than work or poetry. Life is our plight
Wed 22 Apr 2009

947 - Life in a day

This little man has had a busy day
Was dreaming about cricket on the beach
And I chased the ball in a lazy way
By driving my car after it, but each
Time I need rest someone always must reach
My eardrums with a shout or song, and so
It proved at 3:15 am, some French
Drunkard woke me up! I drifted back slow
Into a doze, then up at six; you know
I had to catch a train and plane today
To Northern Ireland to see Martin; such
A long meeting, then home. I said I’d go
To Hebden Bridge music night; saw Deb play
Her flute, I sang, and spoke in rhyming speech
Wed 8 Apr 2009

926 - The science of justice

I’m turning on the news at ten to see
If Josef Fritzl is the main story
Or is it again the economy
What else can compete? Only World War Three
Been at a discussion group (poetry)
To see if they liked my latest poem
And hear others and meet others like me
To see if they think like me, I like them
No, the main story is the conviction
That’s been quashed twenty-seven years on, free
At last. Good for him. Justice is dodgy
When it relies on barristers, those men
Who argue black is white sometimes. Now D
NA is his saviour, belatedly.
Wed 18 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

905 - Bolton swings

Left work early and bought a new T-shirt
Went home and practised tonight’s guitar piece
In the end wasn’t sure how well it worked
But it went okay, and people were nice
A good time had by all, cheap at the price
I had three plates of extra hot chilli
And watched the other acts, a nice surprise
To see Gordon Zola sing a ditty
Or two. Jeff played his keyboard for Andy
Anti-war themes, and politics, weren’t shirked
Some rude poems, but best of all, the place
Had some spectators in it, more healthy
Than performers only. My new T-shirt
Didn’t quite keep me warm; thought I would freeze!
Wed 25 Feb 2009

895 - What's going on

Today I’m writing, maybe recording
Then watching football live on the TV
The FA Cup Fifth Round match featuring
Manchester United, Derby County
At Derby’s Pride Park. A Rams victory
Seems unlikely, but come on Cloughie’s boys
Against the Reds we recently put three
Past them in the League Cup, though lots of noise
Has been made about their clean sheets. A cruise
Up to Bolton with Andy this evening
To Write Out Loud’s new venue there; should be
A good night, filled with laughter and applause
Not seen Josephine this weekend; taking
Her to meet Pearl on Tuesday: out for tea
Sun 15 Feb 2009

891 - Music night at the Stubbing Wharf, Hebden Bridge

You’ll see me at the very end table
On the left, by the bar, scribbling these lines
I’ll try and finish them if I’m able
Before we meet for the very first time
One pint of Black Sheep, then I’m afraid I’m
On coffee or soft drinks, but that’s okay
I’m seeing you at last, not before time
I wonder what we’ll both think of to say
Small talk, maybe some laughs - we’ll soon see, eh?
That smell of food is most delectable
Though fading, as some diners have now dined
And are now disappearing on their way
Into the Yorkshire hills of Hughes’ fable
Leaving the musicians to sing and rhyme
Wed 11 Feb 2009

878 - Poetry can be fun

It’s late, and I’ve had one or ten whiskies
Been to a poetry night, read some stuff
By God, it was a bit cold, felt I’d freeze
But now I’m back home, feel a bit more tough
Read two poems I wrote on the chuff chuff
That took me home from Glasgow yesterday
Not too bad, since both were quite off the cuff
One about Burns Night, one at close of day
As train sped through hills heading England way
The whiskies made me laugh, it was a wheeze
As guys read poems, stifled the odd laugh
I’ve not had much to laugh about, so hey
Why not? It’s cheaper than stand-up, and these
Nights can be fun with wordsmiths spouting guff
Thur 29 Jan 2009

837 - Just one sonnetto

Just one sonnetto (oh), give it to me
Delicious rhyming (ing), from Italy
Tomorrow (oh, you know) will be too late
It’s now or never (never), lust won’t wait
Sonnetto’s aren’t quite what they used to be
You used to hear the adverts on TV
Now rhyming schemes can stir up rage and hate
Here’s one more then, I like to deviate
But don’t forget to slag off rappers, see
Or most traditional forms of poetry
Oh no, they won’t do that, they’ll tolerate
As long as to them it’s no direct threat
Just one brunetto or redhead for me
And while I’m at it, I’ll have a blondie
Fri 19 Dec 2008