1548 - Sole survivor

Snow fell during the night; I walked to work
With headphones on, lost in a world of soul
The cold blue sky both overhead and perk
My shoe upper's departing from its sole
Work is so preferable to the dole
People to chat to, computers as toys
A sense of purpose, paid to play a role
Meetings of verbal diarrhoea noise
During which I tap the chair, sip strange teas
Tasting of licorice, fantasies dark
And rich trip my tongue, wistful dreams that stole
Away down my throat, though I kept my poise
A Christmas meal not of turkey but duck
I think I'll plump for. What a radical!

1547 - The car thief

Tonight, a trip out west to the Wirral
Peninsula, for a poetry night
In the Moreton Arms, free buffet and all
And cash prizes, but things didn't go right
I ran out of time, unable to quite
Finish the second poem; didn't win
But at least many there were quite polite
About my stuff, so that was consoling
As you know, the weather has been freezing
I couldn't unlock the car; nearly called
The RAC. Andy's face full of fright
The barman brought a kettle, tried pouring
Hot water on the doors to no avail
Cos my car was two cars down to the right!
Sad but true - I was trying to break into someone else's dark red Fiesta! Doh! I got called a doughnut, and I merited the description.

1546 - News from the North West

I've never seen the film, North By Northwest
Or even Vertigo, both by Hitchcock
I must surely stand out from all the rest
For not having seen Rear Window, all blocks
To my omniscient goal. But wait - the box -
Specifically Film Four - is now showing
The first of those three all-time classic flicks
OK, the plot and dialogue's creaking
Like my old mattress every year; speaking
Of beds, the French guy didn't look impressed
With the spare room's single bed; and so it looks
Like another no-go in my renting
Attempts. Still, when payday comes, I'll invest
Fifteen more quid in an ad. Wish me luck!

1545 - Mozartchester

A lovely day, though we missed the skating
We ate some grub at Essy's beforehand
A quick trip to the museum; shopping
In Oklahoma; Josie got her hands
On a pink squidgey ball; chocolate cake, and
Then the Bridgewater Hall with Pearl; Mozart
Was the main draw, his Requiem still sounds
Special, especially as he died before this art
Was finished; his pupils built on his start
Dies Irae and Confutatis wings
Of fire, the choir not pouring any sand
On the flames of passion. We loved the heart
On sleeve conductor, bellowing, jumping
With long hair and shiny shoes on the stand

1544 - So cool in Liverpool

I've just had a night out in Liverpool
The venue was a place on Mathew Street
Tonight's temperature was extremely cool
But music filled the home of Merseybeat
I even saw some coppers on the beat
Question a thief who tried to sell to me
Some stolen perfume. Paco Rabanne. Heat
Was put on him; he had to drunkenly
Search for a non-existent receipt. See,
Cliches can come true. I could only drool
At the guitar skills at this gig tonight
Jo Bywater and Jon Gomm; mastery!
Not so keen on the piano-playing girl
Though. Her syrupy songs just did not fit

1543 - Three minute meditation

Nothing much has happened and it's late
So this is a quick silly one today
It's cold and the door's open, and the weight
Of time and circumstance really does weigh
Heavy on us all, so much so we pray
To the tooth fairy and to Santa Claus
That we will get something good soon when they -
Whoever they are - put their generous paws
On some decent gifts for us. Then, applause
Will come their way, for are we not ingrates
Unless we get more than our fair share. Play
Should be fair, but fairest of all to us
We want abundance placed upon our plate
And we want happiness and joy to stay

1542 - Student hopes and slippery slopes

The students they are rioting again
Like we did in the eighties; like they did
In the fifties, sixties, seventies, when
They fought the Bomb, the Man, 'Nam; never hid
From truncheons. They punched their weight, and now lead
The media, still right on all the way
Tuition fees go on rising; they feed
This French-style frenzy. Not Champs Elysees
In '68, but, all these years on, they
Show the same young excitement as back then
Meanwhile, the snow is almost here; we'll slide
We'll slip and trip, we'll skate through slush and spray
We'll ski down each hillside, glide down each glen
Break limbs, lie groaning in hospital beds

1541 - Pendolino pending

Oh bugger! The business meeting is done
But at Euston I've got to wait an hour
And a half for a particular train
To take me back to Manchester. Bugger!
Still, the consolation is my work hours
Will be more than ten, so tomorrow I
Can have a short day. Wait! I remember
I left early yesterday. Oh well, by
Today's end, yesterday is history
I wonder will that friendly Italian
Ring to say yes or no about the spare
Room that's to let? A guy called James might see
The room tomorrow evening when work's done...
I'll advertise until there's a taker

1540 - Purple people

I'm watching 'Ancient Worlds' - the Iron Age
Replaces the too-fragile Bronze era
Once-great cities overrun by rampage
Sheer numbers overwhelming defenders
A period of regression, although the
Phoenicians and Egyptians carried on
As best they could, especially the former
Who sailed the seas, commercially driven
From great ports like Byblos, Tyre and Sidon
For neighbour Jews, Solomon's Golden Age
Was not so great; the Assyrian terror
Deporting Israel's tribes. Jerusalem
In southern Judah, spared, became the stage
For future centuries of great drama
'Purple people' is the translation of 'Phoenicians' - taken from their famous purple dye.

1539 - The Italian nut job

A very odd event happened today
I placed an advert for my flat online
I got some emails and replied, so they
Had my mobile phone number. Some declined
To ring, but others did - three men took time
To make enquiries (all of them foreign)
One of them texted later (changed his mind)
Another didn't turn up for viewing
But the third one was the really strange one
He said he was Italian, and by day
Was a trainee chef at college; tea-time
He worked in a posh city restaurant
All untrue - when I went there, there's no way
The staff had heard of him. He had been lying!

1538 - New ice age

A second Saturday we went skating
This time it went dark as we went around
The rink. 'Rink a rink a roses' singing
And maybe 'Ice Ice Baby' too, the sound;
Skate Bush was playing, and I also found
Foreigner's 'Cold As Ice' quite nice to hum
We got there by bicicle, wheels went round
We were late so got our skates on for some
Slippery fun, not falling on our bums
At all, no falls, but oh, some near missing
Blades hissing and listening to my heart pound
Before that I ate duck in sauce of plum
In Cafe Rouge - it's handy for eating
On Saturdays when we are skating-bound

1537 - Set the controls for the heart

I'm looking for a lodger, is there one
Out there? They say the market's opportune
I've spent too much, I need to get some in
So I can have a life, preferably soon
And also pay the mortgage. Debts are strewn
All around. Does it matter? No, but love
Is not, and that does. Life seems to be hewn
From the rock of the heart; it's from above
We accept what we're told, though there's no proof
The best god that I've seen yet is the sun
The original and the best; the moon
Is a newcomer, a pretender. Move
Back to the source; the battle will be won
Though no-one will thank you for what you're doing

1536 - The debt of the Irish

The news today has been about Ireland
A great place with fun people, simple food
And lots of rain which makes it green, and grand
(A word they use quite often.) But a rude
Awakening has shaken and pursued
Them down each quiet lane to each big house
Recently built in the good times which threw
Droplets of silver from the sky. It throws
Just rain again now, since it's been disclosed
That Ireland's debt has got well out of hand
And belts have been tightened so much, they're glued
In place painfully. The deficit grows
To Greek levels. The Eurocrats had planned
Monetary union. Was that idea flawed?

1535 - That was a very good, and bad, year

What a time it was then to be alive
The Renaissance and world exploration
The year was AD 1535
Thomas More executed for treason
For not agreeing to the split with Rome
The first English language Bible printed
Tyndale and Coverdale - hey boys, well done
Meanwhile, in Germany, they defeated
The Munster Anabaptists, kept the lid
On that rebellious brew. Peru was live
Over in South America, as one
Francisco Pizarro that year founded
Lima, which of course subsequently thrived
Unlike the Inca, who faced perdition
Wed 17 Oct

1534 - William thrills 'em

A happy news story - Prince William
Has announced his engagement to his Kate
Of the common family, Middleton
Don't they look good? This news story is great
Happiness on a specially-engraved plate
It brings back memories of Charles and Di
Though compared with his dad, it's an update
The royal family needs to qualify
For media and society scrutiny
Buckingham Palace was a worldwide scrum
Of interviews and interviewees late
Into the evening. Now we're getting the
Potted history of getting it on
The future king's girl was prepared to wait

1533 - Head over heels

Back in the year of 1533
Anne Boleyn didn't use her pretty head
For in that year she married King Henry
The Eighth, who was excommunicated
By Pope Clement the Seventh for the deed
Of divorcing Catherine of Aragon
Without papal consent; a move which led
Henry to break with Catholicism
A historic decision for England
And the USA and all colonies
Yet all these momentous events were sped
By Catherine's childlessness. Was she barren?
Meanwhile Anne was made pregnant so quickly
Perhaps before the two lovebirds wedded

1532 - Miracle at Abu Dhabi

Maybe there is a God. If so, then he
Must have been up above or in the crowd
At the motor racing, Abu Dhabi
Overseeing things as the cars roared loud
Around and around, around and around
Sebastian Vettel in pole position
Remained first to the end, while losing ground
The bad-tempered Alonso's frustration
Poured out, berating the bemused Russian
Driver, Petrov, abusing him simply
Because he wouldn't let him pass. Well how
Darn cheeky can you be? So the champion
Driver this year is Vettel (Germany)
Oh Lord, reward the good and damn the proud

1531 - On thin ice

Ice skating is such fun even when you
Fall over, but if you do, watch fingers
Or they might have to be sewn on anew
My daughter, regular roller-blader
Was really good at it today. Last year
She clung to the wall. Now she's confident
She didn't fall over once, unlike pa
But I improved sufficiently and went
Quite fast after a while. The hour spent,
We went for a second meal, as you do
When you are a bit greedy. Tonight, the
Film I'm going to watch is 'Atonement'
Although McEwan is my cup of poo
It's probably his best book, I would guess

1530 - Crash bang wallop

Last night I watched 'Crash' - not the Cronenberg
Film adaptation of J.G. Ballard
No, the Oscar-winner that by and large
Shows racism is wrong; lessons are poured
From camera into eye. Characters are hard-
Pressed to love thy neighbour down in LA
And yet, by the end, most do, though they're scarred
By events in that multi-ethnic fray
But tonight, folks, yes, Borat's on his way
From Kazakhstan he cometh, like iceberg
To Titanic USA; having sparred
With its good people, leading them astray
With subterfuge, he leaves them much perturbed
'Borat' did not win an Oscar award

1529 - D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

In 1529 Henry VIII
Was after a divorce, which Cardinal
Wolsey could not get for him, so, irate,
Henry dismissed the Cardinal, in all
His fine red robes, no longer powerful
Rebuffed by the Pope, Henry huffed and puffed
The houses of the holy soon to fall
And all English Catholics would be stuffed
But of course that did not happen, though tough
Times lay ahead for both sides. In France, hate
Would lead to massacre. Here, proud old walls
Would be defaced, shorn of image, and roofs
Smashed in, monks thrown out, carrying their weight
Down the open road, sacks heavy and full

1528 - Mister cold wind

Mister cold wind you can blow all you like
I don't care, north west east or south, you're from
Just carry on, just blow and take a hike
You certainly don't cause me no alarm
Cos look at me - I've got my warm coat on
So I don't give a stuff - in fact it's great
I'm enjoying this time of the season
Where have you been, anyway - were you late?
At last now, at the weekends, we can skate
So come on, cold wind, you get on your bike
And pedal hard til your frozen bones hum
I now confidently anticipate
Snowfall from a big cold temperature spike
Don't let me down, cold wind - blow, and then some

1527 - Come and see

Since I got home I've felt quite lethargic
So next I think I'll watch a film I got
Through the post recently. What is this flick?
It's set in Russia, World War Two, a lot
Of those atrocities are shown. It's not
For the faint-hearted. I remember where
I first watched it, twenty years ago, sat
In the Cornerhouse Cinema. I swear
A film sticks in your mind more when it's there
On the big screen. It is realistic
The steppes more deeply reddened with each shot
A subtitled lament, mother's despair
A Russian 'Schindler's List' - just as tragic
So 'Come and See'... My popcorn's almost hot

1526 - We're all in the shit together - apart from some

It's not much fun when your computer's fucked
Now Spotify won't play properly no more
I can't send emails half the time; no luck
With anything. I seem to be a poor
Worker in the maligned public sector
No bin for my rubbish; taken away
By edicts intended to save. The law
Is being mobilised, so some might say
Against the vast majority who pay
The tax they should, or wish they could, but sucked
Into the vortex of cuts is the claw
Of taxation itself. Some say hooray,
Henry. The Treasury will remain crocked
While business dodges tax and stays offshore

1525 - Rip it up

This morning the bathroom carpet came up
That dirty old blue thing that I hated
Carpets are stupid, collecting such muck
I thought it was stuck down, but I lifted
The whole thing up in less than a minute
Carrying it onto the balcony
I'd like to say that from there I chucked it
But do you really think I'm that messy?
I won't move it for months, though, probably
And after that bombshell, took hours to put
My holiday snaps on Facebook. That said,
It's a relief they're there at last, safely
And then posted these sonnets. I've caught up
To date with this blog. Now it's time to eat!

1524 - After the fire

Last night was Bonfire Night, strictly speaking
But tonight was the local fireworks show
Not here in Salford where I'm now living
But in the town I once lived in, Wilmslow
I took Josie and bought her ears that glow
So funny afterwards driving with her
Wearing those flashing lights in her hand, though
It was hard concentrating upon where
I was going. Some shopping earlier
I succeeded in buying and fitting
A new bulb in my bedside lamp, and so
I can turn off the light while lying there
A luxury that I have been missing
And so to bed; well, quite soon I shall go
Sat 6 Nov

1523 - Bang bang

A long play of guitar inspired by
Last night in Bolton, realising I
Am nearly ready to play live. So high
Listening to and playing music. Why
Do anything else? That is the question
I have to minimise all distractions
Mind you, does that include any girlfriends?
Maybe... I had better pass on that one
It's Friday night, it's Bonfire Night, bang bang
They're letting fireworks off out there, bang bang
Tomorrow I'm taking Josie, bang bang
To a bonfire celebration, bang bang
But for now I'll sit here on the sofa
And watch some telly, knocking back some beer
Fri 5 Nov

1522 - The butterfly of truth

A rainy night in Bolton - so what's new?
But still a good night at Butterflies Bar
I went the wrong way driving home - what's new?
There's something about me, Bolton and car
Yet more tales of woe with my computer
I may soon lose the fake Windows I bought
Unknowingly last month from a shyster
In Salford. Lately I keep getting caught
By dodgy people. Yet again I'm taught
...But who is there to trust? That's nothing new!
More expense buying XP or Vista
From a reputable dealer, or ought
I to risk eBay sellers? Wish I knew
A good night, though, filled with verse and guitar
Thur 4 Nov

1521 - Will Barack be back (baby)?

In the USA the Republicans
Took control of the Representatives
Barack Obama was the top guy once
But now, puzzled, he seems to ask, 'What gives?'
The next president won't be he who proves
He's better. It's just the economy,
Stupid. If the people see upward moves
In jobs and wealth, a second term may be
Possible for him; but for today he
Looks down. Meanwhile a medical advance
In the attempt to cure blindness it leaves
Room for hope that the blind may one day see
Yesterday there was a big explosion
Salford shook and ten homes fell - but mine lives!
Wed 3 Nov

1520 - The things we do for poetry

I'm sitting in the Crown pub, Liverpool
This rainy and dark November evening
I need to sit back , for the day was full
Of deliberation at the meeting
That has just finished and was quite taxing
As tax often is. Fish and chips all gone
Fingers crossed I don't get food poisoning
No reason why I should; it tasted fine
But the carpet in here looks very worn
And the tables are sticky, some with pools
Of beer. I'm here by way of time passing
There's three dark wet hours to pass til it's time
For 'Liver Bards' poetry group, where fools
And wise men stand and read out their scribblings
Tue 2 Nov

1519 - Bossy people from history

1519 was quite significant
Martin Luther was challenging the Pope
This German, so certain, so confident
Was pushing the reformist envelope
A view that would give northern princes hope
Of freedom from Rome, while Hernan Cortes
The Spanish conquistador, threw a rope
Around the neck of Mexico. Aztecs
In Tenochtitlan would soon have regrets
Moctezuma's court began its death pant
Aztecs, Incas strangled. Vainly they groped
But Europe had begun to throw its nets
On Africa; now this new continent
Of America was under its yoke
Mon 1 Nov

1518 - Ghost in the machine

This Halloween's not been hellish for me
I drove to town and saw them all dressed up
In scary guises, but I had to be
Serious, buying my monitor - yep,
At last! I carried it and didn't trip
Back to the car, all in one piece, thank God
Back home, connected it to the laptop
And, thank the devil, it worked, but the odds
Were against me again for I had lost
My broadband connection; I couldn't see
How to restore it, so I rang them up
And O2 helped me. All evening, uploads
Of holiday pix at last I could see
Still got my mobile pix, though, to load up
Sun 31 Oct

1517 - Cold, naked and alone

This last day of light, we went to Crosby
A huge beach near Liverpool, famous for
Lifesize statues of Antony Gormley
Stood on the beach or in the sea. There are
A hundred identical men. They stare
Westwards towards the ocean, all thinking
Of another place, like America
Perhaps they're meant to be remembering
Friends or family, all disappearing
By ship or aircraft far beyond the sea
Landing like Columbus on that far shore
And so these statues all stand there, longing
For lost relationships, no more to be
Seen, left naked and bereft, loved no more
Sat 30 Oct

1516 - Back to the musical future

I wanna be in a seventies band
I wanna be in a seventies band
This is the future for me that I've planned
I wanna be in a seventies band
Before the rot of punk and dance set in
Before the rot of punk and dance set in
Because i like the music of a man
Before the rot of punk and dance set in
I don't mind funk or soul either, you know
I don't mind funk or soul either, you know
Provide the foundation on which it stands
I don't mind funk or soul either, you know
Mix it all together, water and sand
Mix it all together, water and sand
Fri 29 Oct

1515 - Salford - slightly better than the North Pole

My bones ache with the onset of the cold
Weather. Perhaps in California
I would be better, although I've been told
Warm places can sometimes be chillier
At night or in the depths of the winter
So maybe I'll just stay here in Salford
At least I'm not in Scotland, Canada
Or Norway in the mouth of some fjord
In some ways we are all under the sword
Of Damocles...I'm sorry for that old
Cliche. I have to try to do better
But not now. It's too late to think in broad
Terms or be 'cutting edge'... Comedy gold -
Sword. Cutting edge. Geddit? Quite witty, yeah?
Thur 28 Oct

1514 - Drink tank

Alcohol has passed my lips tonight, first
Time since Turkey, and I am pissed, and it's
Not good... So many legs and so much thirst
So many faces and so many tits
It is ridiculous walking the streets
Seeing so many women, but they're not
Available, or are they? All these Brits
Eye contact suggests that they are quite hot
But what do you do about it? Yes, what?
Your mental balloon is about to burst
But thankfully the drink has left you fit
For not a lot, yes, fit for not a lot
Self-medication, it leaves you the worst
For wear, it leaves you feeling like the pits
Wed 27 Oct

1513 - Cold bed

My feet are cold; should I put the heat on?
Too late now; bedtime's near; I'll warm up there
Under the covers; maybe keep socks on
Tonight I could do with a hot water
Bottle, like days of old. Snowy winter
In a seventies Midland town. Torchlight
Allowing me to read. A transistor
Radio playing John Peel til midnight
Sham 69, Pere Ubu, Banshees might
Be playing. Voices beneath the nylon
Echo even today as I lie here
A lifetime away, preparing for night
Once more, having drifted, often alone...
Warm socks... Tomorrow I might buy a pair
Tue 26 Oct

1512 - I haven't lost interest

I should be better by now but I'm not
Although I'm better than I was for sure
I ache a bit, my nose is full of snot
My health isn't shit, but it's still quite poor
Never mind health though - some things are far more
Important to happiness, like money
I phoned my credit card company for
Another balance transfer, so that three
Thousand I shouldn't have spent in Turkey
Could have nought per cent interest, but I got
Told it was too late: now the interest's your
Standard high rate with them. Virgin Money,
Same as with the card it's on now. I've got
No interest in high interest rates no more
Mon 25 Oct

1511 - Another dance to the music of time

I've spent hours listening to old music
From the twenties to 2001
I started off with good old Bessie Smith
And then I span a disc of Sarah Vaughan
My ears were still hungry for new old songs
So straightaway I played a '95
(Greatest Hits Of) and straight after moved on
To 'Best of '99'... It's nice to dive
Into the past like that, but never live
There full-time; come up for breath and drift with
The current tide. Watch X-Factor, and then
Back to a golden age that's still alive
In my head or on rotating plastic -
Tunes make more sense to me than anyone
Sun 24 Oct

1510 - Cheshire cats

I wondered where to take Pearl and Josie
The weather was too bad to go too far
Looking in shops a possibility
Decided upon the Trafford Centre
But Josie's mum had heard about terror
Threats, and such places can be where they hit
We almost went to Liverpool by car
But Knutsford was far nearer; besides, it
Was already 2:15. Much too wet
To visit the park, we just wandered, three
Of us, to Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe, where we scored
Some tooth-decaying treats. Later we sat
In a great penny-farthing-themed cafe
Tea, lemonade and laughter - ha ha HA!
Sat 23 Oct

1509 - Staying in the frying pan

I'd make you an omelette but there's no you
So I'll eat it instead - how about that?
I'll make it with cheese and mushrooms, imbue
It with some flavour, stop it going flat
By shaking the pan, cover it in fat
No, vegetable oil, I mean. Hunger
Is growing as I write this on my pad
It's a hunger that will soon be over
Well, maybe for an hour or two, till the
Daylight returns, when it all starts anew
I could do with somebody in this flat
Sometimes, but most of the time I don't care
It's me time until 2022
Who cares if that makes me a selfish tw*t!
Fri 22 Oct

1508 - High street butcher

George Osborne sounds like a family butcher
On a good old-fashioned English high street
And indeed he has employed his cleaver
Cutting through flesh and bone; but human meat
Is what he's chopping up - the hands and feet
Of conscious but helpless British livestock
It is once more acceptable to eat
The choicest cuts, wiping lips with a cloth
Clinking champagne glasses. Life on the rocks
Is what you swallow. Keep warm this winter
On the high-protein diet that can't be beat
Eat poor people. We're winding back the clock
To the morals of Queen Victoria
Mass misery, but for some, life is sweet
Thur 21 Oct

1507 - Roo-mours

So will Wayne Rooney turn from red to blue?
Will he move from United to City?
Is this talk mere rumour, or is it true?
Not since those great days of the late sixties
Not since the days of Bell, Book, Marsh and Lee
Not since the late great Malcolm Allison
Was coach; ever since Tommy Docherty
Became coach of the Reds, have City come
This close to claiming the top position
In the league table, or rising from two
To number one in Manchester. If he
Does swap Manchester football clubs, there's some
United fans who could well rue that Roo
Has left them to stagnate, quite possibly
Wed 20 Oct