3267 - More poems about working and food

Still a bit knackered. Like to play guitar
In a while, not much else that I could do
But first, hang out my washing, and prepare
Some tea, I'm getting hungry, and so too
No doubt is Javi who is sitting there
On his phone. Heard him this morning, a few
Giveaway noises about half-past four
(In the morning), yes, he has that nightmare
Start to the day, shift starts at six, but you
And me would I think probably rather
Have a real nightmare in bed than have to
Get up that bloody early, it's not fair
Oh God, I'm really feeling this hunger
Better finish now. For reading, thank you!

3140 - Glory glory

Poor Josie's ill at home off school today
But good news cheered her up before too long
I got a call from Man United. They
Said she'd been selected to walk along
The Old Trafford tunnel, shyly clinging
To a United player's hand in hers
Then walking onto the pitch as roaring
Reaches a crescendo, Reds and City's
Rival fans outshouting each in chorus
It's the kind of experience kids pray
For, especially at that age. Dreams aren't wrong
She dreamed recently of meeting players
Now it's on the horizon, on Sunday
The 12th of April. Sing your football song!

3071 - Write-off

Louis is back after four days away
He's been staying at his Mum's flat in town
But he's asleep, maybe I shouldn't play
Guitar as I was going to, the sound
Might wake him. I'm surprised he's lying down
Right now, he must have worked real hard writing
While staying there, not just lazing around
If so, then from him I should be learning
A lesson in application, keeping
Going til the end of a project, stay
With it for a change, learn to keep ploughin'
On regardless, eyes on the prize, pushing
And hustling, but I hate that, can't obey
My own will. Drinking again. End of moan

3040 - Just about alright now!

Wow. Despite everything, the Christmas do
Came and went with me keeping myself dry
All those hours, others knocking back wine, you
Also see them with pints, they all get high
While you don't, and you're tired, last night you'd lie
In bed listening to neighbours' noise through wall
I heard them singing 'Alright Now' though I
Didn't recognise it at first. The wail
Of a student voice really couldn't fail
To wake me up and keep me awake through
Several hours of the morning. Then apply
A few hours at work, then a long work meal
Pleasant enough, but long, then a disco
And karaoke. Long hard victory!

3015 - Boom bang a bang

So tired today, below me or to side
A neighbour with the loudest boots is here
He or she (think it's he) started to stride
Noisily around, stomping on their floor
In the middle of Saturday night, for
Long enough to threaten my beauty sleep
And now this morning, the same din once more
Woke me around seven, I heard him keep
Not only stomping but bang, crash and bleep
(Rude words in my head). No way could I hide
Under the covers from this, guard my ears
And so, only six hours of precious kip
Under my pillow, I lay there and tried
To drop off again, but few dreams appeared

3014 - Milk but no alcohol

I'm chillin' out on Sunday in my pad
Tickin' off all the boxes, spendin' nowt
Listenin' to hot music, that's never bad
Spiritual healin' makes you jump n' shout
Fire those water pistols at the dumb crowd
Played guitar, now some punk classics are on
It's fun to have that shit on fairly loud
Not too loud tho cos it's not Beethoven
He got deaf, he didn't have to listen
Just drank some milk, white's the colour of good
Allegedly, maybe that's bullshit, would
It matter either way, what do words mean?
If words mean nowt, then poetry's a tad
Over-rated, unless it has a beat

2997 - Guitar hitter

Just played some real superfast mean guitar
Can still do that when tired as I have been
Tired as I've been, my guitar gets real far
My guitar's the star, it is no has-been
Though it has been slow, it is now so mean
You know what I mean, Harry? It's very
Go-go, it goes very far, it's unseen
It's over the hills, far away, query
It's whereabouts, have you seen it, Harry?
It doesn't tarry, doesn't spout words, blah
I'm married to its spirit, she's my queen
It's in top gear, it screams, there's no theory
It's noise annoys me not, shines like a star
One day we'll go out and we'll reign supreme

2978 - Rugger bugger

Interrupted sleep last night, loud party
After an hour turned light on, read my book
Neared the end of Mary Barton quickly
But left the last few pages, which I flicked
Through on the train to Cheshire, on the track
I was on track to finish, and I did
Reach the conclusion before getting back
To Manchester. What did we do? We sped
By train and tram once more to Old Trafford
St Helens and Wigan met there, rugby
Grand Final, striped shirts, beer bellies, the look
Ate curry at the Quays mall, then we heard
Loud horns blown. Back in town, bought for Josie
A phone case for her i-Phone 4 - it's slick

2907 - Brat's the way to do it

(Written next morning) Somewhat disturbed night
In the top bunk, few beers notwithstanding
Noisy bastards, people turning on light
The noise of the fan sounded like wanking
Nice breakfast at the Hostel Blues, chatting
To the friendly staff, suggested a tour
Of Bratislava. Turned out interesting
And made the most out of my short time here
Martina the guide. Two Mexicans were
Very pretty. Lunch with two guys. I tried
The Slovak national dish, and tried drinking
Kofola, a less sweet Coke, which was more
Appealing than beer right then. Saw more sights
On my own, then a quiet night's hostelling

Thur 31 July

2833 - The Oldcastle diaries part two

Just in case I forget that I have done
Oldcastle diaries part one, I will do
To follow on from these diaries part one
Oldcastle diaries, oh yes, part two
After work tonight, I tried something new
I went down the road to the Salford Arms
And tried writing there. At first there were few
Noises or distractions, and no alarms
Or surprises, and lines got wrote. Then harm
Came to the literary operation
They started playing tunes, I sneezed, and ooh!
Beer flew from my nose, and this nosey foam
Landed on my manuscript pages. Gone
Were my ideas, but I wiped them dry. Phew!

2788 - Spring in my step

I'm watching Graham Norton with Kylie
And Russell Crowe, and Cameron Diaz
And someone else whose names just escapes me
Perhaps I should be smoking something. Grass
Grows green at this time of year, leaves smell fresh
As I walk to work, sniffing plants, sometimes
I get a whiff of waccy baccy as
I make my way through Salford, the sun shines
In April, spring in my step, traffic lines
Up on Regent Road, then I cut through the
Sainsburys car park, away from the cars
And lorries, so I hear music that shines
Over the traffic's roar, and that makes me
Happier, to hear the bass, not just the brass

2514 - Pistachi Ocean Blue

A strangely relaxed day, though must hurry
With what I'm doing, as there's a deadline
Discovered pistachio nuts, a lovely
Snack at the office desk, salty and fine
Still plenty left in the pack til next time
Forgot gravy granules on the way home
Remembered the other things though that I'm
Almost out of. Boring neighbours. Alone
For now, Louis is holed up in his room
Tonight I've got to choose some comedy
For tomorrow at the King's Arms. I'll find
Something in my big joke book, I assume
This is a loud track, though it has to be
The washing machine's on in the kitchen

2475 - Amy, you're driving me crazy

I keep waking up halfway through the night
Why, when it's the darkest time of the year?
I sometimes do this in midsummer's light
When dawn comes early, but why, how now, sir?
I wake from a dream, my mind starts to stir
Last night I kept singing Amy Winehouse
In my head, of course, nothing you could hear
Apart from radio, all quiet as a mouse
TV reception's bad these days, I lose
The chance to watch most channels now, so might
Move to BT Sport, it should be cheaper
Than Sky broadband (with football as bonus)
Let's hope there's an end to my sleepless plight
I hate being tired, it's not clever or fair!

2465 - Mashed potato mountain

Awake part of the night, next door banging
Around about 4.15, are they off
To the airport early, are they flying?
Well, no, cos I just heard one of them laugh
And it's evening now. Must be feeling rough
By now. Although I was tired, once I rose
I felt energetic all day, enough
To see me through til five, and then I strode
Home, exercised, then ate mashed potatoes
I tend to make too much, stomach's aching
Feel like I'm going to explode in a puff!
Don't take that the wrong way! You could, I suppose!
Before my steam runs out, I'm finishing
With guitar practice, from Salford with love!

2358 - Rainy days and Saturdays

I'm in on Saturday night but been out
In the hired car to take Jo to Grandma
Drank too much but had a fine time last night
Some funny conversations, ha ha blah
Especially when I could hear, earlier
Later on in Odd Bar, the loud music
Made it at times quite difficult to hear
Me and Derm had no time to really think
About the many comedy shows, thick
And fast they're coming as the autumn starts
Hopefully what we've done this year so far
Will stand us in good stead, past shows we pick
From and improve. Today mainly rained but
The car kept us dry. Nice meal with my ma

2483 - Midsummer mudness

A surprisingly cold midsummer day
Slept quite late despite not much happening
Yesterday. Today it was damp and grey
Saw Josie despite last night's guides camping
She was woken at four thirty, talking
Co-camper being a pest. An hour later
The girls realised their tent was collapsing
So they had to wake up their guide leader
A large jolly woman. I've not seen her
But Jo describes things in detail when we
Get together at weekends, her talking
Non-stop about her news, views, top talker
For the first hour at any rate, then a
Fifty-fifty banter session kicks in

2445 - Canal flannel

Not as drunk as last night, not drunk at all
A mixed day weatherwise, both rain and sun
Walked home along the grand old ship canal
Then, once home, realised I shouldn't have done
I needed food from Sainsburys, shoes back on
And back out again. Still, in the morning
I hope I'll remember to go on down
The waterside, the peaceful scenes calming
Away from noisy roads, lorries roaring
Past, cement mixers, motorbikes. Ducks call
Birds land looking for fish, and insects skim
The surface of the canal slow flowing
The Irwell on its way to Liverpool
Me on my way to work, having spring fun

2345 - Slippin' and slidin' in Salford

Snow leaked through my brown shoes, made my socks wet
(I need new shoes, and socks, for they have holes)
On the way in to work, gingerly stepped
On slush and ice, there were no thick snowpiles
Luckily the walk is barely a mile
Just time to listen to a few old songs
A way to make that same old walk in style
As music complements the surroundings
Augmented by vehicle roars and rumblings
Around the corners they accelerate
Others expending health on daily toils
Like me, that's the way to be, the mind clings
To activity, loosens to stalemate
Work's a great benefit, it keeps us whole

2330 - After the ball-ache

It was party night late last night next door
Sounded like fun but none of them can sing
And the bass was cranked up, the playing poor
But they're good mates, bless 'em, they're doin' their thing
They should know when the X Factor's coming
To town, they should pop down to do clown pop
And hope they go down well when Lou's voting
They started at 3, about 5 they stopped
While they were playing around I did drop
Off and dreamed of loud live music, but for
Only a few minutes. Tried listening
To Radio Four over their noise, strange crop
Of loud and quiet, but which one was the bore?
Too tired for playing axe, exercising

2292 - After the party, the void

Yesterday calling, yesterday calling
If you are wondering why I didn't post
And lack of sonnet had you worrying
The reason was simply that I got pissed
At the work do held to celebrate Christ-
Mas, and clean forgot about my blog when
I got back home, struggled to get undressed
And flopped into bed, sleeping until ten
This last week I've slept til late quite often
Two or three times I've slept til nine, getting
To work quite close to ten. I'm quite impressed
By that, in my flat, where neighbour noise can
Disrupt sleep badly sometimes, and drinking
A sleep aid, after earplugs failed their test