1751 - Lazy Louis

Louis, he has been a naughty chappie
He's been down in the big smoky city
His mobile phone's always off, battery
Needing recharging, or it's credit-free
He was supposed to return on Friday
Then changed it at last minute to Monday
Last night I waited up, but no Louis
I went to bed without too much worry
Knowing how unreliable is he
At keeping in touch, or indeed any
Boring task he sees as unnecessary
It's thoughtlessness most likely, or lazy
Refusal to take things seriously
He's coming back tonight, allegedly

1750 - The heat is on

The heat is on - I'm drying the bedsheets
On the radiators, having washed them -
But that's not the only source of this heat
There's aches and pains in elbows and knees when
I play guitar, walk far, or try to run
When will something go right, big style, or will
It all prove wasted effort to go on
Trying to succeed when everyone's still
Deaf, dumb and blind to all but a quick thrill
Or searching for someone they can exploit
For their own ends, competing with my ends
They are so often oppositional
Or indifferent, keen also to compete
For attention so grudgingly given

1749 - Feast of Faust

In the year of 1749
Goethe was born, classicist, romantic
Author of Faust, and something that it's time
I read, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
He was mad about Shakespeare, took a trip
To Italy and Sicily; his log
Of that journey had such a readership
It's satirised in 'Middlemarch' - a book
I have fond memories of. Father's Day took
Me to see Josie, ate Mexican, mine
Was Aztec Jambalaya, hers a thick
Burger I helped her eat! We were in luck
This weekend with the sun, yesterday's fine
Day at Tyldesley Festival, fantastic.

1748 - Irish-American tragedy

The Kennedys are on TV again
A drama series, documentaries
Fifty years since JFK's election
We're treated again to their tragedies
First, domineering Joe Senior, his eyes
On the White House, opposes FDR's
Wartime policies, pays a heavy price
Knowing he'll never get there now, he has
A plan. His sons will simply take his place
But his favourite Joe Junior's wartime plane
Is shot down. Now Jack must aim for the skies
In his place. He gets there but in Dallas
Is also shot down. Bobby, next in line
Is shot down too, the kids left in pieces

1747 - Jacket required

Normally from April to October
I go out without a coat, if it's dry
But apart from April it's been colder
This year, and the coat's been on all through May
And the first half of June, and it's been my
Donkey jacket I've worn, so thick and warm
The wind's blown so hard, otherwise I'd fry
Normally, but not in this summer storm
I've ordered a new jacket - it should come
Any day now. The material's cooler
It's a Mod jacket, I suppose. I'll try
To look like it's '80 or '81
For the Berlin weekend I need new gear
As my old jacket's pockets rot away

1746 - Bye bye, Charlie be good

Bonnie Prince Charlie was a hard drinker
And since the French invasion had not come
To help his cause in time, his forces were
Dispirited, retreating to the gloom
Of Scotland in winter, not home to him
Despite beating Hanover at Falkirk,
Another win like Prestonpans, he'd some
Drinking to do in Bannockburn House, work
Of reclaiming the throne on hold, the talk
And smiles of the fair Miss Clementina
Of more interest, perhaps. No general's son,
He commanded badly and had to take
Flight from Culloden to Hebrides' shore
And thence to French mistresses and boredom

1745 - The Flying Scotsmen

Here we are at the '45 Rising
The Scots and Tories dreaming of Stuarts
Back on the throne's got Protestants fuming
Only a small minority of Scots
Supporting Charlie's fantasies, they're not
In the mood for more absolutism
Life's not so bad joined in this British knot
Best we all resist French domination
By Madame Pompadour and Louis Quinze
And George II was quite impressing
Leading the troops at Dettingen, without
Running like James in '90 at the Boyne
The Irish Brigade may do their talking
But from Derby back north go flying Scots