Saturday 31 March 2012

2034 - Walk on

What a long day with little Josephine
The clocks went forward last week, and the light
Lasted an extra hour. Seems like we've been
Walking for miles, first to Ned Yates, a light
Lunch, a look around the sheds, plants and what-
ever else at the garden centre... then
A walk past grazing alpacas, delight-
fully colour-coated beasts, going in
The Plough & Flail, playing outside, walking
Back to Wilmslow town, heading for the green
Spaces of the main park, but there's no sight
Of a toilet! I go wherever, in
An alley, behind a tree... Josephine
Crouched behind a fallen trunk! Chips! Good night!

Friday 30 March 2012

2033 - Fuels rush in

It kicked off today, workwise, not with rows
Falling out, divisions, cliques, bullying
No, none of that - I mean the petrol queues
And the future fuel shortage, following
The Government's somewhat careless scaring
Of drivers nationwide, saying 'Fill up!
And more besides! Fill jerry cans!' - leading
To panic at the pumps. The unions up
To no good again... or should drivers stop
The endless tax rises on fuel somehow
Even by striking and so disrupting
The supplies of fuel they bring to top up
Petrol stations? My job's to try to ease
The fuel shortage - for that, we're preparing

Thursday 29 March 2012

2032 - Cold after Turkey

What a cold evening, and I'd no jacket!
At work, found out some quite useful info
On EU procedure, and a website
That should help in that area, and also
Some legal stuff solicitors don't know
On post-detection audits. Left early
With Steve's permission, meaning I could go
And watch the Turkish film at 3:30
Followed by a classical gig for free
Beethoven, but decided I didn't
Want to stay for Sibelius Number Two
Symphony again, seen it maybe three
Times live now. Walked home shivering in the night
In my thin shirt. I'm back in, warmed up now!

Wednesday 28 March 2012

2031 - What a to-do to decide what to do

So many things to do, or I could do
Is life about these opportunities
And taking them fearlessly? Not a few
Failures are guaranteed, but should we seize
Them all, and if so, why? Or should we ease
Up and relax through days and years, breathing
And resting like wisecats, not busy bees?
Do we opt in, or out? It's fun running
But not when it's physically damaging
And takes time from... well everything else you
Could be doing, or not doing. The skies
Are pink and purple, someone's murdering
The sun, he's below ground, think I know who...
Stabbed by the crescent moon, that horn of sleaze...

Tuesday 27 March 2012

2030 - Punky party

A neat day off work, simply relaxing
Didn't even go out, spent no money
I sat and smoked what was left, thus passing
Time painlessly while watching the TV
Is this what life's like for all Jeremy
Kyle's guests? Watched his show, twice, took a few pix
Of me to send, shaved, watched two DVDs
The first, Dylan Moran live, saw him switch
From topic to topic to more topics
Skilfully, as if in the pub, musing
Then I watched most of 'Punk Rock - The Movie'
Loads of rare early Siouxsie, even bits
Of John McKay on guitar, Shane dancing
In '77 at the Roxy

Monday 26 March 2012

2029 - Pictures of Lily

Sat at my desk but thinking of that girl
We are about to exchange sexy pix
It's nice to do that, stay in a safe world
But have fun showing off our naughty bitz
For weeks now we've been sending saucy texts
She started it, I resisted strongly
But she's turned into a temptress, a minx
And now I'm looking forward til I see
Her nooks and crannies all revealed to me
And not just that, her smooth soft skin revealed
And not knowing what she might send me next
I've also got to send some, naturally
It's only fair, and she seems to be, well
Desperate to see me too, and to connect

Sunday 25 March 2012

2028 - In and out the A2 road

A lovely warm sunny day, no jacket
A lot to do and it took all day long
First, had breakfast and then read Louis' script
Next, checked out the routes to and round London
But I was late, I had to get the van
Drove back home, loaded on Louis' boxes
Manchester was sealed off (a marathon)
But got to Pearl's (at her mum's), did the biz
Loading up again, then to Grandma Do's
(Where Louis' DVDs went), then drove it
To New Cross (Pearl's new place) - got the route wrong
To Hainault, where Louis lives, but it is
Amazing, I always get there, no sweat
Then home with foot to the floor. Phew, I'm done!

Saturday 24 March 2012

2027 - Happy days, warm nights

It seemed like the year's hottest day so far
The girls were all out in their shorts and tights
Or shorts and bare legs - plenty of eye fare
And I gladly paid the fare, caught train right
Into the city with Josie, caught sight
Of Pearl on the balcony, and her mum
In the flat, then Louis got there, a slight
Stroll to 'Dough' where we ate Italian
Vee and Pearl went to see 'Chicago' and
Josie and me went to 'Oklahoma'
(A knick-knack shop) and there bought a few treats
I got a vinyl record-style clock, fun
For the living-room. It's ticking louder
Than the old one! A happy day, alright!

Friday 23 March 2012

2026 - What is work worth?

I'm sitting here at work on a nice day
But I'm not sorry, don't want to complain
Friday afternoon, I'll soon be away
And this job really isn't a great strain
Those poor kids, many with a well-honed brain
From years of education, good results
What is there for them now? No, down the drain
With ambition, prosperity, just hulks
Sun-bleached on the beach, seen on depressed walks
Through beautiful nowhereland, every day
The same, the same old routine, lacking aim
Like my late teens, when catching train or bus
Just to get out, spending my dole money
On records, clothes...but at home, in the main

Thursday 22 March 2012

2025 - Dream on

A good night's sleep, but awoke with backache
Good dreams, though I've forgotten what they were
Sometimes forgotten dreams can reawake
In conversation, or when the idea
Is resurrected by something we hear
A Proustian memory-jogger, memory
Not of real life, but of the life in here
Internal, surreal, fantastical, the
Agglomeration of reality
And personal perception, our own take
Filtered through our own love and our own fear
Strange brew, strange view, even to we who see
This nightly movie through closed eyes, and make
It simultaneously while lying there

Wednesday 21 March 2012

2024 - Resting my weary head

That third night out I wrote of yesterday
It's not come to pass, for I need a rest
Too tired to play guitar, long since I played
Maybe tomorrow... But I've made the best
Of tonight, watching 'Bloom' - a Dublinfest
Based on 'Ulysses' - and the Pope's recent
Visit to Venice - now the football - just
Heard City are beating Chelsea, they went
Behind but now it's 2-1. The Apprent-
ice starts tonight, I'll catch the end. OK -
I think there's a text from H... Love in jest...
Soon there may even be some pictures sent
Could have done poetry or comedy
Tonight out there. Once more, the delayed quest

2023 - 3 Minute Hero

After I got back home from the Sandbar
Last night, I decided I had to write
A piece for a new night - that's tomorrow
Or tonight now, of course - tonight's the night
Because of this, I went to bed real late
But nonetheless woke up fairly early
And decided I'd something new to write
For another poetry night on Wednesday
At which there's a £5 fee for entry
There's open mic slots and some poetry star
Or other, and some local folks they rate
But back to tonight, at the 3MT
(3 Minute Theatre) - I did 3 or 4
Minutes early on - not the best of nights

Tuesday 20 March

2022 - The sands of rhyme

I'm here in the Sandbar once more, once more
It's dark, subdued, the poetry film plays on
Performances from 1984
There'll be some recitations when it's done
Some invited readers, and I am one
I've written some punk-themed stuff for tonight
Hopefully when I read, my nose won't run
Brian Patten's reading, dair hair curls so tight
This tiny notebook's great - it fits inside
My inside jacket pocket, with my store
Of two pens, good quality, that someone
Got me for Christmas - I've used it to write
Some ideas down, sparked by Mr Roger
McGough, and this sonnet, and maybe more...

Monday 19 March

Sunday 18 March 2012

No entry for this day (a very rare event) - it slipped my mind. I did a fair bit of writing of performance poetry for Monday evening, but obviously forgot to write my daily sonnet that day. Oops!

Saturday 17 March 2012

2021 - I'd forgotten what it felt like

I'd forgotten what it felt like - a cold
Has gripped my ear, nose and throat department
And brought it down like stock markets when told
About banks' financial mismanagement
I'm sniffy and I don't mean snotty, meant
Full of it (not full of shit), though my nose
Is full of snot, we ain't got amusement
My two nostrils - I need the skills to close
Them like a dam to stop damaging flows
And what about my throat? I was too bold
With speech today - verbal outpourings went
Forth rather like a firth, and the pain rose
I feel like Rod Stewart when he has sold
Out tours and strained his throat when he shouldn't

Friday 16 March 2012

2020 - An evening with Jesus

I've got a cold, my first one for ages
An itchy nose, running a little bit
Tired, could have had one of my sick days
But cos I'm so hard-working (!) I didn't
Luckily I'm staying at home tonight
I've got 'Jesus of Nazareth' with me
A miracle, please Jeez, make me feel right!
How come I have such blessed company?
He's only on a borrowed DVD
I like to watch this stuff as Easter nears
His life story - or myth - is hard to beat
It describes cleverly how life should be
And still has relevance today - all those
Who believe, derive their false hopes from it

Thursday 15 March 2012

2019 - It noh funny

I've got a bug, my nose feels nuclear
At work today I felt I was melting
But afterwards I went to Manchester
And enjoyed a comedy night, laughing
At the short fat compere whose bullshitting
Was less funny than his students' acts - well
Done to them, very brave. I was drinking
Guinness, four pints in the end. I am ill
But despite my nose and throat state, I still
Bought ten fags on the way back, for failure
To buy a single fag from the smoking
People I met led to a lack of will
And I bought a pack I didn't need. Saw
Both Manchester clubs receive a kicking...

Wednesday 14 March 2012

2018 - After the yoghurt is over...

A good few evenings off the sauce - tonight
I've done the ironing, and the door's stayed shut
Keeping me warm, no need to turn on heat
No open door to let the smoke drift out
I've eaten well, enjoyed its taste, and foot-
ball was watched without recourse to the can
I was going to shower and wash hair next
Shaving first, and dyeing my hair mid-brown
But then, after the Chelsea match, it dawned
I hadn't yet done my daily sonnet
I'd left it later, see how things panned out
Rather than writing it too soon. This plan
Was enabled by sobriety. Tight
Money scene, mortgage up a hundred quid

Tuesday 13 March 2012

2017 - The ballad of pork scratchings

New strategies to help me quit smoking
Last night in the pub I had a coffee
To start with, then ONE pint, thus allowing
Legitimate beer intake, moderately
And then, I thought, and that thought was the key
I don't need a drink now, my thirst has gone
But what would be perfect next after the
Alcohol, would be a snack, so there's some-
Thing to consume as I sat looking on
At the acts, and this food could start soaking
Up the beer, shrinking its efficacy
Leading me away from drunkenness, when
I'm vulnerable to the weak-willed buying
Of a pack of ten. Pork scratchings for me!

2016 - They're havin' a laugh...

Here we are in a bar in the city
Two quid - one if you're poor - to see it all
There's poetry and then there's comedy
A few faces I know, names I could call
The first half was okay, the interval
Was okay too, now it's the second half
The comedy acts were all quite surreal
Now John on keyboard, he is quite a laugh
Dolphin Man, then Janet complete with scarf
I started off with a cup of coffee
At the break I bought Guinness - such a small
Amount of liquor shouldn't be enough
To make me buy cancer sticks on the way
Home. I'm off them for now, and that's real cool

Written Monday 12 March

Sunday 11 March 2012

2015 - Minty airport

Last Monday, it was still Life in Venice
Despite the previous night's heavy drinking
A fun breakfast in the Hall of Mirrors
Style dining room of the hotel. Walking
To the bus, then along the strip linking
The lagoon city to the mainland. Flight
From Marco Polo to Manchester stings
My ears. Despite being extremely tired
I went by taxi with two friends that night
To an ex-pub lived in by anarchists
In dim blue light we tried entertaining
Them with our comedy. I shook with fright
No, with the cold (I think). A piece of piss!
The only hard part's the remembering

Diary of Monday 5 March

Saturday 10 March 2012

2014 - Venice Menace

What could have been the trickiest of days
Turned out just fine - a taxi to Trieste
For 35 euros. Cappucinos
Through the train to Venice, no sleep, no rest
But how could I, when we went to the best
Place for a few hours' wander, and a test
Of navigational skills, canalside walks
From the train station to San Marco, guess
Where we finished? Yes, Irish bar, of course
And saw Spurs-United, the Reds on course
For a title challenge. Our bill, crazy -
84 euros... Guinness is the best
I'd like to think we lasted the whole course
And went to Hotel Belle Epoque to snooze

Written while very drunk in Hotel Belle Epoque, Venice, Sunday 4 March

Friday 9 March 2012

2013 - Adriatic 2

A lovely breakfast, Hotel Vodisek
In Koper (also Capodistria)
The sun streamed in, and then the slightest trek
To the town's train station, with Ljubljana
My destination. Two and a half hours
Later I was there and saw the castle
On the hill, hazy with the sun at rear
I practised, reading Slovenian until
I felt confident, but it's still babble
To my ears, except 'Happy Meal' in Mac
Which a local lady said near my ear
At least my new black boots are comfortable
My heels aren't bad, but now my tendons ache
So here comes our second night in Koper

First draft, Saturday 3 March

Thursday 8 March 2012

2012 - Adriatic 1

Up at five, walked up to Piccadilly
Met John on the way, train to the airport
Sunny day, great flight, no delay, could see
The towers of Venice in the blue, then caught
The bus to Mestre station - can report
That mainland Venice isn't beautiful
Long train ride to Trieste, in March sun walked
Along the bay and back, then glasses full
Of Grolsch, followed by a nice Chinese meal
Hopped on the bus to Koper over the
Border in Slovenia, where the bus brought
Us really close to Vodisek Hotel
After this sonnet we intend to be
Drinking in the old town before we know't

Diary of Fri 2 March

Wednesday 7 March 2012

2011 - Arab spring, Swiss autumn

The Arab Spring starts in Tunisia
Bouazizi self-immolates, this turns
Into a nationwide issue and the
Longtime President flees. Egypt soon learns
And ousts Mubarak. Libya also yearns
To end Gaddafi's forty-year crackdown
(He's killed in October), rebellions
In Yemen, Bahrain, Syria. Slowdown
In economy drags on, loans abound
Japanese tsunami, Fukuoka
William and Kate's wedding, and Norwegians
Shot and blown up by madman. He is found!
Osama drama in Pakistan! Car
Used for trips, then junked. Swiss trip - lakes, mountains

Tuesday 6 March 2012

2010 - Turkey trot

The tallest building now stands in Dubai
The Haiti earthquake destroys Port-au-Prince
Polish president's plane falls from the sky
Iceland eruption removes pilots' wings
BP oil well blows, causing huge Gulf slicks
EU bailout for Greece, Spain wins World Cup
In South Africa. Many Wikileaks
Pakistan monsoon floods, miners brought up
In Chile. What is North Korea up
To? EU loan for Ireland - that's where I
Drive to with two mates - Sheep's Head, West Cork - it's
Pretty in summer. An Amsterdam trip
Then Athens, Delphi, Thessaloniki
And Istanbul by bus, carpets, mad flings

Monday 5 March 2012

2009 - The towed-away hired car blues

Sonnet blog, poetry, home recording
Music, even some live singing, Bantry
Gig and west of Ireland tour, me driving
A hired car from Knock to Cork (no Blarney)
And later, round south west France, Spain, and the
Douro Valley to Porto. And Paris
In May, a Belleville gig. And Janet D...
Iceland's financial fall, a French plane hits
The Atlantic, swine flu, Iran protests
Dodgy Ahmadinejad win, shooting
Of Neda, Michael Jackson drugs OD
Al-Megrahi released by the Scottish
The EU Lisbon Treaty is coming
Into being, EU Pres - Van Rompuy

NB: My French hired car did get towed away in Vigo, Spain after I'd parked it in a bay reserved for vans and lorries! I paid a lot, shall we say, to get it back!

2008 - Financial and other black holes

Petroleum hundred dollars per barrel
Stock market falls after US subprime
Crisis. Aussie PM Kevin Rudd tells
Them sorry for child-stealing. Bank crash time
Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers. Debt climbs
In Greece and Ireland. Fidel resigns, Raul
Takes over the family firm. They decline
The Lisbon Treaty in Ireland - they will
Get it right the second time. Meanwhile, Bill
Gates steps down. The Beijing Games go so well
CERN in Geneva, concerns of malign
After-effects, could create a black hole
Out with young Vicky from Oldham, oh well
Split, saw P in Paris, Barack did fine

Written Sun 4 March

2007 - The news and the muse

Bulgaria and Romania join EU
Celeb Big Brother starts racism row
Madeleine McCann snatched in Portugal - who
Did it? Greek heatwave, woodlands so hot now
Last Harry Potter published. Jericho
Summit between Olmert / Mahmoud Abbas
Marion Jones took drugs all those Games ago
UK boycott if Mugabe attends
The EU-Africa summit. Alas
Benazir Bhutto's assassin got through
I leave Blogit at year's end, start to go
To a poetry group, and have a bash
At live poetry reading with a view
To entertaining them, and this I do...

Written Sat 3 March

2006 - 06 of the best

Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke, pilgrim
Deaths in Saudi, Egyptian ferry sinks
Ahmadinejad brews nukes in Iran
Montenegro strikes out, and Italy's
World cup champs, Zinedane Zidane can't think
Straight, Israel in Gaza and Lebanon
I'm now back in my Salford flat, driving
In Ireland with Louis, and I've moved on
To the Oils Team at work, and soon begin
My Daily Sonnet blog, each day writing
These 14 lines. The Thai PM is sunk
In corruption, but later he buys Man
City. Baghdad's Sadr City is grim
Fiji coup, bombs in Madrid...That's '06

Written 2 March

Thursday 1 March 2012

2005 - Boyne Baby Boyne

Dubya Bush's back (why?), Iraq at polls
Kyrgyz trouble, China says Taiwan's ours
Pope JP2 dies, Benedict enrols
I'm in my new flat in Salford some days
Then back to Wilmslow, domestic affrays
Blair wins third election, bombs in London
Hurricane Katrina, south USA's
Day of dread. Baghdad bridge is falling down
Muhammad cartoons, Kashmir earthquake, and
Saddam on trial. French face transplant unfolds
My job is excise policy, the laws
That govern aggregates levy. We've gone
To Dublin and the Boyne Valley, car rolls
Along Irish roads with Pearl and Louis