2429 - Hard days and nights

I'm tired now, having slept not quite enough
After a late night out down Salford way
With Dermot, rehearsing then a few quaffs
Of ale to wash anxieties away
Mind you., all seems on course now for Wednesday
Night at Manchester's Three Minute Theatre
Where there'll be an eccentric cabaret
With Dermot and me possibly winners
Trying our best to be weird and perverse
Tonight after work, I'd plenty of stuff
To get down to, like my first chance to play
The two songs I'm doing at Guitar & Verse
On Thursday at Gulliver's. It's quite tough
But it gets easier and becomes okay

2428 - Animal magic

The final rehearsal for Wednesday night
The xylophone, the juggling balls, the lot
I don't want to give away the secret
Don't tell anyone, don't reveal the plot
Amazingly, it should take four minutes
That's all we've got, for better or for worse
The ideas are plenty, but time is short
Four minutes is a blessing or a curse
Magical Animals we have rehearsed
And now there's tomorrow to get it right
In our own minds before we have that spot
With agents and audience who may be terse
But a few pints should make it out of sight
Practised spontaneity's what we've got

Mon 29 April

2427 - Family album

A rainy day in Marple, not the place
To go on a wet Sunday, shops are few
We sat in Costa Coffee - Jo's first taste
Of proper coffee (iced) - I had one too
I brought some old photos for her to view
You know, actual photos in an album
The kind they used to print in Boots when you
Had to wait two days til collecting them
The early noughties, Tania's pregnant tum
Young Josie in nappies, ten years of space
Between me and those skies seemingly blue
In these happy pix, cleared of the humdrum
There were good times, but smiling camera face
Is a small picture that should be seen through

2426 - Liverfool

A day spent reading and watching football
A night spent at some friends engagement do
First a narrow win for Man City, all
Their high-paid stars just about won a 2-
1 win over West Ham. The real news - who
Went down to the Conference - Barnet! At last!
Then saw Liverpool beat Newcastle - ooh
A painful 0-6 for the Magpies, crashed
To the ground at St James' - they were crushed
Then out to Andy and Cathy's, one full
Plate and then several pints, some music too
I needed booze to get me through the slush
But now I'm safely home, 2 a.m. calls
Me to my bed - a peaceful night to you!

Sat 27 April

2425 - When you say nothing at all

A nothing day, nothing to say, nothing
To play, no place to go away, nowhere
I'm not depressed, just keen to get going
With this daily sonnet, no time to spare
Need the toilet, not that my readers care
To know that, I dare say, that stuff's quite gross
But when you gotta go, you know you dare
Not not go for too long, and so I'll post
This blog, then hasten to the bog, a dose
Of my waste product odiously dropping
Into the toilet bowl's rancid water
About the weather, it's not warm as toast
The sun's out but there's a cold wind blowing
Like the wind out my ass that's soon coming

2424 - The Old Pint Pot

What happened today? I don't really care
It was a so-so day at work,ho hum
But this evening, exercises, guitar
And comedy rehearsals with my friend
Not so long to go, 1st of May, that's when
We'll debut as a double act on stage
Went through the act at least twice, odds and ends
Improved with each run-through, improved with age
Then after those rehearsals, some beerage
Down the pub, the Old Pint Pot, that is where
Our post-rehearsal chats take place, the hum
Of conversation and music that plague
Our thoughts to some degree but don't deter
Our thoughts from having their full expression

Thur 25 April

2423 - Victorian historian

Two nights without enough sleep! Last
Night I was buzzing after comedy
So got back out of bed in underpants
And grabbed my best insomnia remedy
No, not that, a book, you fool! Currently
Reading 'The Victorians' (A.N. Wilson)
A fascinating period, and sadly
Neglected at school (yes, I was there, once)
You've got to hand it to Victorians
They changed the world, it seemed to change so fast
Under their stewardship, society
Changing from peaceful rural to urban
Sprawl, railways sprouting branches, reaching most
Backwaters, mobilising, setting free