Monday 31 January 2011

1610 - Jamestown sticks its stakes in the ground

In 1610 the Jamestown colony
Was struggling to survive the harsh winter
Attacks from natives meant they had to flee
In the end to find a better shelter
Elsewhere in untamed North America
After crossing three thousand miles, to die
In a harsh hostile wilderness, to fare
So badly when their hopes had once been high
Seems rather like the stuff of tragedy
Heroic failure, yet this odyssey
Would pave the way for great success later
Stealing the land from others' custody
European advance, glorious history
But at what cost to once holy nature?

Note: Jamestown, Virginia was first begun as a settlement in 1607.

Sunday 30 January 2011

1609 - Cool corner

Josephine's birthday tomorrow, she's eight
Today me and Pearl spent some time with her
We went first to Pizza Express and ate
Well, pizzas, Einstein, obvious, to be fair
We then walked round Didsbury but the air
Was nippy to say the least. Charity
Shops, a few open, not much else. Yes there
Were eateries but we had already
Eaten in one - I told you in line three
We then drove to Chorlton-cum-Hardy, straight
Up Barlow Moor Road, past the graveyard where
Morrissey hung out, yes, Southern Cemetery
And left up Beech Road, where we drank and ate
In a cool cafe called On The Corner

Saturday 29 January 2011

1608 - The inverted pyramid

The pyramid is inverting this week
Just for a moment. It will be righting
Itself in due course. Sheikhs don't need to shriek
Across Arab lands. No need for fighting
Just replace your top men and say nice things
Act like you care and want to share the wealth
That you and your friends and family bring
To the top table. Let us drink your health
Raise our glasses and watch the masses. Stealth
Will return them to their flats. There's a creak
In the state machinery needs oiling
With Yankee money. There, that's better. Self-
Righting, see the pyramid's man-made peak
Once more squash the poor's hopeless uprising

Friday 28 January 2011

1607 - Shopping for Josie

It's been a busy week at work but now
It's time to relax. Might watch 'Cabaret'
Got Josie's birthday presents when in town
A seventies space-hopper should make play-
Time fun in her back garden. Friends will say
'Can we have a go on your space-hopper?'
Wait till they see what else I got today
You walk on it, it's called Pedal Racer
She might fall off, but she'll soon get better
All good healthy activity. I'll show
Her these things on Sunday unless she says
She wants to wait till Monday, her proper
Birthday. And so I now must rise and go
And bloody well do something, as always

Thursday 27 January 2011

1606 - Peas and cheese

I feel like eating something nice tonight
There's not a great deal of choice in the fridge
Some frozen fish in batter, but it's white
And that's healthy, dieticians allege
To that, of course, I'll have to add some veg
I usually have peas, because they are green
And their little jackets count as roughage
Carrots and mushrooms also make the scene
Jacket spud done in microwave has been
Chosen often. So has pasta. I might
Eat my main meal AND have supper, a binge
Of sorts. I have two eggs. Omelette's a mean
Late snack with grated cheese. It gives no night-
Mares, just a pleasant nocturnal image

Wednesday 26 January 2011

1605 - Thinking after drinking

Alcohol means I remember nothing
Destroy memory whatever happened
To lyrics hymns we used to learn and sing
Now beyond recall and long forgotten
When you're young it don't matter, it's such fun
But you forget the future which is lost
By your twenties or earlier, it's gone
You find out later that there is a cost
But you can't remember, it's all a mist
Each evening's a test, each evening
Like Alzheimer's, you live for the moment
Abandoning the future and the past
Living for the moment, this is living
Pleasure beats pain, so we exhaust our funds

Tuesday 25 January 2011

1604 - Flash of desperation, Moscow Airport

Suicide bomber in Moscow Airport
In January when it's cold as hell
One British man and thirty others caught
In the arrivals lounge. Innocents fell
Left to TV their final tales to tell
Experiencing a sudden bright flash
The brightest light they'd ever seen, a smell
They thought was food cooking but was their flesh
Lying in red liquid like sauce on mash
And in a second flash the dire thought
They were dying. One moment all was well
And then the world was turned to flying glass
Bomb blast and body parts that really ought
Not to be flying separately at all

Monday 24 January 2011

1603 - From Tudors to Stuarts

In 1603 Queen Elizabeth
Still a virgin, they said, drew her last breath
And not long after her untimely death
Her favourite, Sir Walter Raleigh then went
On trial for treason, though he never meant
To get involved, they now think. He was lent
More years of life, but shut up in the Tower
For thirteen of them, ah poor Sir Walter
I wonder if they let him smoke in there
Meanwhile, James VI of Bonnie Scotland
Was now also James I of England
While Shakespeare held his tragic pen in hand
There was a Black Death outbreak once again
As in every year, quite a lot went on

Sunday 23 January 2011

1602 - Across the universe

When we look up to the black sky at night
We see the stars and planets back in time
The moonlight's only one second old light
While sunlight, that's eight minute old sunshine
Eight minutes to reach Earth despite flying
As fast as light can. Alpha Centauri
The next nearest star, is - no point lying -
4.3 years old by the time we see
It from our vantage point. It's history
Look through a telescope at distant sights
Like Andromeda, you're seeing a time
When man was still evolving, odysseys
Still to come. What we see further out might
No longer exist. The whole thing's dying...

Saturday 22 January 2011

1601 - The siege of Kinsale

In 1601, the siege of Kinsale
Saw the end of the Irish resistance
To the Elizabethans. Now the Pale
Around Dublin were not the only lands
Controlled by the English. The Irish clans
Had fought them off for years, but when Spain came
On Philip III's orders, assistance
By the Spaniards proved to be all in vain
The well-intentioned Gaelic Ulstermen
Tried to meet them in the south but they failed
To join forces effectively, and chance
Had robbed the Spanish of some ships and men
And so Mountjoy's English came to prevail
And Ulster was planted with Protestants

Friday 21 January 2011

1600 - Confessions of a sitcom watcher

It's been a busy week at work this week
But I'm up to date, more or less, with stuff
Not doing much tonight, might take a peek
At a film later, but it won't be snuff
I watched some comedy last night. I'm tough
On British sitcoms, by and large, for they
Simply aren't witty, not witty enough
They're cheap and corny like in former days
Obsessed with dysfunctional sex, it says
Something about us, maybe, it's a peek
Into the bedroom where we make our love
In a less than impressive kind of way
Or are we just more honest, shy and meek
About our abilities in the buff

Thursday 20 January 2011

1599 - Pulp fact

Last night I watched Pulp Fiction once again
So many stars, a virtual galaxy
The film's violent in places and those scenes
Overflow with blood, yes, but comedy
Is what dominates them, it seems to me
'Let's get into character' Samuel L
Says to Travolta, the dichotomy
Shown throughout between providers of hell
And lads chatting about burgers. Royale
With cheese, anyone? Bruce Willis' grim
Stare's always good for a laugh. The OD
Of Uma Thurman's quite good fun. Keitel
Is Mr Wolf - you can call him Winston -
But no-one thinks or talks as fast as he

Wednesday 19 January 2011

1598 - Moon song

The moon is bright, the moon is full tonight
The moon is white, a pool of light tonight
On the bedroom floor, a mystical sight
A ghoulish atmosphere, I feel uptight
As though being watched, examined in spotlight
By high priest, torturer, something's not right
Transported back in time, the woods are white
Where wolves fought, where white owls fly through the night
Strange sounds of silence and shrieks pierce the quiet
Shadows and striped light through high leaves collide
On grassy ground rustling in dark and light
Distant movement and the dog shrinks in fright
I turn back, live on. Centuries in flight
And here I am, descendant of that night

Tuesday 18 January 2011

1597 - As we grow old

It's my birthday today, another year
How old am I? Ah well, I am no teen
And so I'd rather keep numbers unclear
What do they mean anyway? Well, they mean
You're getting closer to death, but that's being
Paranoid, cos infants die too, so sad
So if you're getting long in the tooth, lean
On your walking stick with pride, and be glad
That fate was kind. You survived being a lad
With all its foolishness, and you're still here
Despite each crossed road and each car unseen
That grazed you like a Somme bullet. It's mad
To be depressed, despite the harsh mirror
Each moment of life makes us king and queen

Monday 17 January 2011

1596 - The midnight reader

After last night's late night, I woke early
At half-past five, for God's sake. I could not
Drift back off. On came the lamp, dazzlingly
My eyes ran down my face as though upset
But these tears were as those when you see God
When the bright light of heaven penetrates
Your once-mortal cornea and the rods
And cones squirm in pleasure and pain, the great
Light like an elephant dancing in skates
On your retina. So it felt to me
When the lamp shone and its beams cut like hot
Lasers into my orbs. I read. By eight
As gentler daylight came, I finally
Drifted off, dropped the book and lost the plot

Sunday 16 January 2011

1595 - Butterflies in Butterflies

There was a big crowd of poets tonight
In Bolton, of all places. Butterflies
Is the name of the venue, and in flight
It certainly was, with whispers and cries
Laughs and tears, hopes and fears. Blokes fall and rise
From mic to seat, seat to mic. No Mikes though
Allan and Paul were there - that's no surprise
Jeff compered, and some girls took part. A low
Number maybe this time round, but they go
Sometimes only to watch their friends. They might
Have changed their minds, got butterflies
Good play on words there - poetry don't you know
Butterflies in Butterflies. That sounds quite
Onomatopoeic. Oh well - good night!

Saturday 15 January 2011

1594 - Tut tut, King Tut

There's a Tutankhamun exhibition
In Manchester, at the Trafford Centre
We took some pictures, me and Josephine
I might put them on Facebook tomorrow
The real stuff's in Egypt, or collectors'
Posh homes. This is a touring show that's from
Germany. It won't go to London, no
Or anywhere else in the UK. Some
Other country next. Akhenaten
Was his dad, who only worshipped the sun
Tutankhamun married his own sister
Their kids were still-born, and King Tut died young
His was the first pharaoh's tomb unopened
Into Egypt's past it was a window

Friday 14 January 2011

1593 - Read all about it - Jack the Ripper is posh

Here in the office I can't stop yawning
Was watching a film till half-one last night
It showed Jack the Ripper and his ripping
Not too gory though, didn't try to fright
Instead it concentrated on the plight
Of the inspector, played by Michael Caine
And sidekick Lewis Collins, trying to right
The panic in the streets of London. Stain
Of blood on cobbled back streets. The black fame
Of high-born suspects used to carousing
And whoring in Whitechapel. Lord, they might
Be the Ripper! Such scandal about slain
Prostitutes could prove destabilising
To Queen and government. Best keep it quiet...

Thursday 13 January 2011

1592 - Ripping yarns

I got some films from a charity shop
They were free so I made a donation
I got eight or nine, so when the work stops
And I'm offline, it's time to settle down
And watch these old classics. Now the first one
Was about St Francis - Rossellini
Was the director, but his eye-tie chum
Fellini, he helped considerably
The next was 'A Handful of Dust' by E.
Waugh. I had to look, having read the ... Top
Of the pile next was 'Becket' with Burton
Of Welsh stock playing Tom, and King Henry
Played by O'Toole. Meddlesome archbishop...
Mike Caine in 'Jack The Ripper' should be fun

Wednesday 12 January 2011

1591 - Drowned towns

It's not been a good year, Australia
You've lost at cricket, you've lost at rugby
No, it's definitely not a good year
Now floods are raging everywhere, I see
The city of Brisbane looks like a sea
Brimful of river water, a deluge
That sweeps people and cars nonchalantly
Like shavings in tap water down the plug-
Hole into oblivion. No refuge
But roofs if you leave it too late, defer
Escape for one more beer, but no barbie
And for wine, not a good year. We're not smug
Here in Britain, though, as we've had our share
Of drowned towns, with more to come, probably

Tuesday 11 January 2011

1590 - Remotely controlled

Oh no! What to do, and what not to do
Is the question, the question as usual
I want to record music, and read, too
But TV has made me confusional
First there's football and then John Constable
The painter, a programme about his life
And love, who inspired him, Maria Bicknell
I don't know if she then became his wife
I'll find out if I watch. But I don't have
Much time, so I'll stop without more ado
Writing this banal sonnetary drivel
Except of course I haven't yet arrived
At the end of its fourteen lines, as you
Would soon spot if I didn't write them all

Monday 10 January 2011

1589 - Paris, city of hate

In 1589, Henry the Great
As he's known in France, Henry of Navarre
Or Henry IV here, realised his fate
To become king when his predecessor
Henry III, stabbed by a mad monk for
Being too Protestant-friendly. Paris
Hated both Charleses, numbers three and four
A Catholic city, religious wars
Broke out there often, with such massacres
As St Bart's in '72. This hate
Had to be softened, so in the fifth year
Henry IV turned Catholic because
He needed Paris behind him. A spate
Of building followed, and care for the poor

Henry IV was ultimately assassinated in Paris by a fanatic.

Sunday 9 January 2011

1588 - The Spanish Empire strikes back

Queen Liz was slightly perturbed at King Phil
And his Catholic expansionism
Unlike her clothes, she felt that a no frills
Approach was needed to stand up to them
In May the Armada made from Lisbon
To link with Parma's forces in Flanders
Kept at bay, or out of bay, by Drake's men
The tired Spanish fleet fled, but the soldiers
To be ferried to England in barges
Weren't all ready. In Gravelines, all was still
The Spanish vessels safe. Red horizon -
English fireships! Out of the port they burst
To safety but met English cannon's shrill
Blasts, and the wind's, as they fled round Britain

Saturday 8 January 2011

1587 - King of the road

I love to show off in my Fiesta
2000 Zetec. The chicks dig it so
It starts off like a snail in a coma
The Golfs and BMWs all go
Past with the hare's complacency but no
They don't win the race. As the roundabout
Approaches I speed up while they all slow
And their humiliation is complete
As I ghost by expertly while I eat
Drink or change a CD. It don't matter
Which lane I'm in, no, either one will do
I see the smallest gap, weave in and out
Leaving them breathless, trailing in wonder
And reeling from the unexpected blow

Friday 7 January 2011

1586 - The Hay Wain

In a gallery, did you ever fall
Into a picture? I did yesterday
One of the most famous by Constable
Larger than I expected. It's The Hay
Wain (a cart of hay slowly makes its way
Across the River Stour). As I looked, gripped
My eyes feasting, I couldn't move away
I could have stayed all day. Felt like I'd tripped
In mind and body, drinking detail slapped
Or stroked on to the canvas. The footfall
And brief comments of others seemed to say
Ah yes, the Hay Wain. Next. Gallery-sapped
They trudged on, once-gallant warriors, enthralled
No more, now traumatised by each display

1585 - A visit to the National Gallery

From Charing Cross across to Trafalgar
Is a short walk. The National Gallery
Squats atop the square without being vulgar
There's no better rainy day sanctuary
First off, art of Renaissance Italy
Then Spain - Diego Velazquez appears
His St John of Patmos lit brilliantly
Caspar David Friedrich and two Vermeers
Constable's Hay Wain, Turner's atmospheres
Monets, Manets, Van Gogh's sunflowers and chair
Pissarro, Picasso... Needed coffee
But the cafe was full of glazed-eyed dears
Cake-clutching clutches of mother/daughter
And kids. Walked down Whitehall. Homeward journey
Thur 6 Jan

1584 - Protest poetry is back

Caught the 9.15 coach from Manchester
To London to take part in an event
At the Poetry Library, South Bank Centre
Poetic protest against government
A gathering of well-meaning dissent
I looked, but didn't spot George Osborne there
After the reading was finished, a friend
Of a friend said to us, 'He dyes his hair'
It's a shame in a way though that despair
Is necessary before we can stir
Ourselves to speaking out, to circumvent
The politicians using Westminster
For personal gain in this atmosphere
Of cutbacks, but it's time that's quite well-spent
Wed 5 Jan

Tuesday 4 January 2011

1583 - Up with tax

Today we've seen a rise in V.A.T.
It's up from 17.5 per cent
To 20 per cent, making things costly
I wonder if the economists count
This as inflation or whether they don't
Because it's not money but tax ... But still
The effect on us is the same. I can't
Deny I'm not ecstatic, not too thrilled
At things costing more, having bigger bills
But tax is there to help us, or should be
We get some benefits back when it's spent
Or should do. Mustn't be too cynical
Because that leads to selfishness and we
Can't all afford that kind of government

Monday 3 January 2011

1582 - Then and now

In 1582 ten days were lost
As the papal lands switched their calendars
From Julian to Gregorian, and most
People thought they'd been cheated of these days
And so weren't at all pleased. It was the cause
Of riots. This year also saw the death
Of Spanish Saint Teresa, who still draws
Admirers to the lovely picturesque
Walled city of Avila. Statuesque
She still sits in the main town square, while hosts
Of tourists drink coffee and take pictures
As if it was Agadoo. Meanwhile, best
Wishes to Pearl on her birthday, because
My darling daughter's reached 23 years!

Sunday 2 January 2011

1581 - A history of the Nether Regions

In 1581 the northern lands
Of the Netherlands (now the Netherlands)
Declared their independence, not great fans
Of nasty Philip II whose hands
Clung on to inherited Habsburg lands
This same Spanish monarch even had plans
To invade England, ruled by a woman's
Haughty virginal bastard Protestant's
Stubborn and illogical resistance
Meanwhile, back to that place just north of France
The prosperous northern half of Habsburg lands
Had fought the Spanish since '68 and
In '79 a union was planned
Which southern lands (now Belgium) never joined

Saturday 1 January 2011

1580 - Time for a new time

New Year's Day is rarely a special day
But it's still exciting to live to see
A new calendar hanging on display
Twelve more months of news, future history
Now for certain we are in the Teenies
Twenty-eleven's the year we're now in
If we used the Jewish calendar we
Would be in 5771
I wish we were. Let's make the change! It's fun
And more accurate. Major events, they
Would not be in minus numbers till the
'Birth of Christ', then starting again from 1
Even better, Big Bang as starting day
13.7 billion years 'BC'