3164 - Coping

Just got back from a gig at Sound Control
In Manchester, the act was Julian Cope
He's about to go to Ireland to hole
Up and write new songs. We all hoped
He'd do some old stuff of course, but the scope
Included newer stuff which I quite liked
So I shelled out ten quid and I bought 'Trip
Advizer' - yes that's how it's spelled. He spiked
Maybe in the eighties but he's since psyched
His fans with other stuff, written a whole
Lot of books and whatnot. Quite a few popes
Have come and gone but he's still here and miked
Up for the occasion. Downstairs I told
His daughter of my travels in Europe!

Thursday 16 April

3132 - St Patrick's hat-trick

Woke up at nine, still tired but thought I could
Watch The Championship, but it wasn't on
Why not? I could've slept longer in bed!
Still, though I stayed in, managed to have fun
Need to recuperate after not one
But two rather late nights with some drinking
Actually, lots of drinking. It was fun
Friday out with Helen, and enjoying
The St Patrick's Day vibe, and then driving
To Greasby to see Mum and have a good
Meal and laugh there at Ellie's Restaurant
Followed by a night out, drinks and chatting
Today mainly I dismantled the bed
In the spare room. Goodbye bunk bed (wooden)!

2476 - Bottoms up!

A birthday drink for Steve and Tony Mac
Starting about four in the afternoon
Tony Mac is leaving our team at work
That’s a shame, he is a fun guy, a boon
To the banter, Irish, but no buffoon
If that sounds racist, it’s not meant that way
The Irish are great, it’s just rhyme, a tune
In words. I hope to go back there someday
I’m sure I shall, Ireland’s over the sea
But very close. You always have good craic
I fit well with them, cos I’m such a loon
Myself. Oops - there I go again - sorry!!
No insult intended. The pissed walk back
Home afterwards. Forgot to write my poem!

Fri 13 December

2409 - The Irish, Welsh and American Rover

Today I had three new tattoos, yes, three!
The first one was the red dragon of Wales
The second was 'I love New York' with three
Letters and a red heart, bringing back tales
Of long ago in the eighties, our trails
Around the cheap shops of old Manhattan
Forget Fifth Avenue, though shopping malls
Out on Long Island I went to often
Sadly there was little more than nothing
To see there (apart from girls!). Tattoo three
Was a shamrock, a symbol green and small
Representing my Irish trips, driving
From Knock to Cork, stopping off at Bantry
Also Dublin and towns beyond the Pale!

2462 - Tom Brown's body lies a-moulderin' in the grave

Last night put together some comedy
But found out today that there were no slots
No work's ever wasted, no tragedy
That I won't do it tonight, won't go out
Quite like the solo routine 'what I wrote'
Watched 'Tom Brown's Schooldays'- not a good version
'Come Dine With Me' from Dublin on a plate
You can't beat the accents of old Ireland
Do dey moit nat be yer sloice of gammon
At least not going out means I can see
And cringe at England playing Brazil, not
Easy even at home, but there, with Wayne
Rooney our only star, it could be three
Nil to them, or worse. They'll knock off our spots

2458 - Upsetto over Netto

Just watched a boring game - England / Ireland
But at least all seemed happy, no trouble
New German-looking kit worn by England
New Irish kit too, kit sales free-for-all
Dull day, with a fair amount of rainfall
Walked by the old canal on the way in
But felt if I went home that way I'd fall
In, slipping on mud or wet grass. Climbing
Out of that canal would take some doing
And all my mp3 music lessened
To useless plastic mid muddy bubbles
Just rescued my bag from Sainsburys - leaving
It there in the basket was what happened
My Swedish Netto bag, you are my all...

2051 - What me and Katy did

A busy day at work, with four meetings
One of which I dodged. First, a video
Link to Belfast, policy updating
From me to them, with the Intel Bureau
In London also joining in. Could go
To the library to return DVDs
Because I dodged the midday telephone
Conference. Got a Paul Simon hits CD
But my laptop won't play it properly
A telecon to Newcastle taking
An hour from one til two, and then one more
Typed up some minutes, and at five was free
Rang Katy for three hours, was great hearing
Her and imagining her touch, you know

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

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

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

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

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

1998 - Omagh God

Saddam opposes inspections, then caves
Water on the Moon? Good Friday, Belfast
Suharto goes, Pakistan misbehaves
With nukes, Tsar and kin reburied at last
French World Cup, Congo war, Yangtze outsplash
US embassies bombed, East Africa
Omagh high street bombed, meanwhile Google starts
Hugo Chavez wins in Venezuela
Deaths of Pol Pot, Ted Hughes, Frank Sinatra
George Michael caught in Beverly Hills lav
Tommy Lee beats Pammy. I run quite fast
Up and down Snowdon, and round Stockport where
I now live, with a lodger, and I have
A second job (promoted in my first!!)

1997 - You can run, but...

Divorce finds Ireland, Tamil Tigers fight
Algerian war and Tupac in Peru
Hale-Bopp Comet, suicide at Heaven's Gate
Versace shot and Blair PM, woo-hoo
Bertie Ahearn hello, bye Mobutu
Hong Kong goes back to China, and Di dies
Louise shakes baby, Teresa dies too
Scots and Welsh parliaments soon, French truck strikes
Block ports, hello to Mary McAleese
Luxor shootings, Kyoto saves climate
JK Rowling and Philip Pullman do
Kids sci-fi, Titanic and Girls of Spice
Mike Tyson bites an ear, I run up quite
Tall hills, drive my green Ford, and move anew

1994 - From the Yorkshire Moors to the West Bank

Bosnia's still a seething cauldron of hate
The Scream is stolen, oh no, oh Oslo
Fred and Rose West, don't go inside their gate
Baruch Goldstein and Kurt Cobain's gun show
Somalia's a failure, say US. Whoa -
Berlusconi wins in Italy and
Andreotti had Mafia links. Don't go
To Rwanda, they're chopping off their hands
And killing in the churches. Nelson Mand-
ela President. John Smith dies, Blair takes
Job from Brown. OJ Simpson, drive more slow
US lands in Haiti, and Brazil lands
USA World Cup, IRA placate
I head north by bike, and love to video

1987 - More time on Maggie's Farm

Reagan held to blame for Contra scandal
Zeebrugge ferry sinks, Iraq's gas bombs
Thatcher wins for a third time at the poll
The world population is 5 billion
Docklands Light Railway, Hess dead in prison
Hurricane in England, Black Monday hits
King's Cross fire, IRA Enniskillen
Intifada, Palestinian conflict
Lethal Weapons and Full Metal Jackets
Spycatcher and Commitments (Roddy Doyle)
Mike's Bad, George has Faith, there's Roses n' Guns
Mike Tyson, Steve Davis, Nelson Piquet
I graduate and we live in Lichfield
A while, then Mancs again, now she's pregnant

1985 - I'm so excited with the USA

IRA bombs RUC in Newry
Chile earthquake, a million left homeless
Beirut car bomb, AIDS blood tests come to be
Gorbachev is chief of the Soviets
And with Ronnie in Geneva he meets
Bradford football fire, Heysel disaster
Schengen ends border checks, some EU states
Rainbow Warrior, hole in the ozone layer
Live Aid by top bands, Back to the Future
Nintendo's Super Mario, look through the
Windows from Microsoft. I'm engaged as
I fly off to Long Island for a year
At New York State Uni, Old Westbury
Drinking, smoking, snogging... and some studies

1981 - Class of '81

Greece joins EC, and earthquake in Athens
Hostages released, deal struck by Reagan
Poland has martial law against unions
Brand new stainless steel car, De Lorean
Tejero waves his gun around in Spain
And I go on a school camping trip there
Reagan shot, Bobby Sands self-starvation
London Marathon, Buck's Fizz, streets on fire
In Brixton and Toxteth, Columbia
Space shuttle, Pope shot, in France Mitterand wins
Yorkshire Ripper jailed, AIDS, Ian Botham
Charles and Di, MTV, Sadat beware
CIA helps Contras, Marley succumbs
Tom Baker morphs into Pete Davison

1979 - Apocalypse postponed

Bantry Bay French oil tanker explosion
Shah of Iran flees, hi Ayatollah
Airey Neave, Warrenpoint, Mountbatten bombed
Carter/Brezhnev SALT II in Vienna
Manchester tragedy, the Woolworth's fire
Pope goes to Poles, shows solidarity
Afghans invaded by USSR
China begins its One Child policy
Maggie Thatcher, union-basher, Tory
PM. First Euro Parliament election
Films - Muppet Movie, Apocalypse Now
Alien, Manhattan. Music - at ten, the
John Peel Show, with Banshees and Fall sessions
Joy D, Ruts, Jam, Two-Tone and Gang of Four