The Royalists, defending Charles' power
Had popular support in the Midlands
And North, probably because folk were poorer
Than rich London and the southern merchants
In '43 fortune often changed hands
Cheshire was fought over, being the route
From north to south, Middlewich, Beeston and
Nantwich seeing skirmishes, but pushed out
In the end, the King's forces set about
Relieving besieged York's stone walls and towers
Prince Rupert's men and his dog Boye advanced
But camped on Marston Moor's exposed redoubt
Leven and Cromwell's horses in a shower
Sprang success for Parliamentarians
Sunday, 6 March 2011
1643 - Graduation day
It was my daughter's graduation day
A first in French awarded in Oxford
The place where she wore the gown of BA
In Wren's Sheldonian Theatre. Smiles were broad
And eyes were wide after the long hard road
From Manchester, while the occasional yawn
From tired parents and grandparents just showed
Maybe they can't speak Latin, looking down
From the high seats upon their kids in gowns
Afterwards, caps on heads, a time to stay
Still and pose outside for pictures, so proud
And rightly so. Now there's jobs to be found
Not so easy even for them these days
The real work's still to come, but let's applaud!
A first in French awarded in Oxford
The place where she wore the gown of BA
In Wren's Sheldonian Theatre. Smiles were broad
And eyes were wide after the long hard road
From Manchester, while the occasional yawn
From tired parents and grandparents just showed
Maybe they can't speak Latin, looking down
From the high seats upon their kids in gowns
Afterwards, caps on heads, a time to stay
Still and pose outside for pictures, so proud
And rightly so. Now there's jobs to be found
Not so easy even for them these days
The real work's still to come, but let's applaud!
Friday, 4 March 2011
1642 - English Civil War part 1
The English Civil War began that year
Of 1642, the final throes
Of the evil of supreme royal power
At least in Britain, though of course it goes
Without saying that other people rose
To tyranny than kings, such as Cromwell
But the principle of one man who knows
He can do what he wants met its death knell
Thanks to the economic strength, the wealth
Of sufficient House of Commons members
This did not of course suit King Charles and those
Around him, so he fled to Oxford, still
Hoping that by force he could still win clear
Victory over his commoner foes
Of 1642, the final throes
Of the evil of supreme royal power
At least in Britain, though of course it goes
Without saying that other people rose
To tyranny than kings, such as Cromwell
But the principle of one man who knows
He can do what he wants met its death knell
Thanks to the economic strength, the wealth
Of sufficient House of Commons members
This did not of course suit King Charles and those
Around him, so he fled to Oxford, still
Hoping that by force he could still win clear
Victory over his commoner foes
Thursday, 3 March 2011
1641 - The end of absolute monarchy in Britain
Charles The First was in 1641
Rapidly losing his authority
Raising tax without representation
Rarely endears kings in democracies
As the island of Britain sought to be...
Imposing anti-Puritan measures
In England, and raising his own army
To enforce reforms of a religious
Kind on the Scots nation, his dwindling purse
Meant he reluctantly called Parliament
Hoping they'd grant him taxes. Instead they
Opposed his measures and enacted laws
On the regular continuation
Of Parliament, and he had to agree
Rapidly losing his authority
Raising tax without representation
Rarely endears kings in democracies
As the island of Britain sought to be...
Imposing anti-Puritan measures
In England, and raising his own army
To enforce reforms of a religious
Kind on the Scots nation, his dwindling purse
Meant he reluctantly called Parliament
Hoping they'd grant him taxes. Instead they
Opposed his measures and enacted laws
On the regular continuation
Of Parliament, and he had to agree
1640 - Late train to Manchester
I'm now on the return journey heading
From London to Manchester. Here's Tamworth
A fucking boring place, so so boring
Lichfield Trent Valley next, not quite my birth
Place, but the town I came to at five months
Of age. Lichfield, Dr Johnson's birthplace
St Chad's Cathedral, three spires, holy earth
To me, only because it was my space
Throughout childhood, though it cannot keep pace
With London, New York, Tokyo. I'm saying
That we are biased when we elect first
The tedious places we grew up, those wastes
Of space we at the time found frustrating
But subsequently praise beyond their worth
Wed 2 March
From London to Manchester. Here's Tamworth
A fucking boring place, so so boring
Lichfield Trent Valley next, not quite my birth
Place, but the town I came to at five months
Of age. Lichfield, Dr Johnson's birthplace
St Chad's Cathedral, three spires, holy earth
To me, only because it was my space
Throughout childhood, though it cannot keep pace
With London, New York, Tokyo. I'm saying
That we are biased when we elect first
The tedious places we grew up, those wastes
Of space we at the time found frustrating
But subsequently praise beyond their worth
Wed 2 March
1639 - Late train to London
At the last minute, I've arranged to go
To London tonight on the Virgin train
To Euston, staying at the Thistle, so
Getting to the meeting won't be a strain
Tomorrow, seeing as it starts at ten
That's early if you live in Manchester
And I'm still tired out from Monday's drive down
There and back. At least now I have a fair
Chance of a good night's sleep, breakfast at the
Hotel, then all fresh, I can walk quite slow
To the meeting, ready to use my brain
Surprisingly or not, it is cheaper
To stay in a hotel than it is to
Go and return the same day. It's insane!
Tue 1 March
To London tonight on the Virgin train
To Euston, staying at the Thistle, so
Getting to the meeting won't be a strain
Tomorrow, seeing as it starts at ten
That's early if you live in Manchester
And I'm still tired out from Monday's drive down
There and back. At least now I have a fair
Chance of a good night's sleep, breakfast at the
Hotel, then all fresh, I can walk quite slow
To the meeting, ready to use my brain
Surprisingly or not, it is cheaper
To stay in a hotel than it is to
Go and return the same day. It's insane!
Tue 1 March
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
1638 - Sizzling Islington
It's late, so late for 1638
I've driven down to London and come back
Pearl was, as usual, so terribly late
In getting ready to leave home and pack
Her stuff in my small car, in which there lacked
Space for it all, but we still crammed it in
She's relocated to the big old smoke
A fashionable part of north London
Caledonian Road, full of hip folk
Near Camden and Islington. I'm half broke
Already this month, cos my car has ate
Eighty-five quid of petrol there and back
But she's safely there. I wish her good luck
In getting a job and having a great
Time with her housemates in her London shack
I've driven down to London and come back
Pearl was, as usual, so terribly late
In getting ready to leave home and pack
Her stuff in my small car, in which there lacked
Space for it all, but we still crammed it in
She's relocated to the big old smoke
A fashionable part of north London
Caledonian Road, full of hip folk
Near Camden and Islington. I'm half broke
Already this month, cos my car has ate
Eighty-five quid of petrol there and back
But she's safely there. I wish her good luck
In getting a job and having a great
Time with her housemates in her London shack
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