1730 - Football, cucumbers and ethnic cleansing

In the news today, FIFA's corruption
Sepp Blatter, 75, expects to
Continue as president, carry on
Despite the scrutiny he's been put through
Tin pot dictator, he shall not be moved
Meanwhile, some cucumbers in Germany
Imported from Spain have caused a to-do
Some have died from E. coli, so Louis
Had better wash his before instantly
Scoffing them whole like he does. Are they from
Spain? Not sure. Ratko Mladic, general who
Went ethnic cleansing back in the nineties
In Bosnia, is now in detention
And that's today's news, so good night to you

1729 - Turn of the page

Today I read the whole 'Turn of the Screw'
By Henry James, before my son arose
And turned on the football. Thinking back to
The eighties, as a student, I once posed
In Birmingham Library, quite engrossed
In his 'Portrait of a Lady' although
My image of the author always goes
Back to the boredom I felt reading through
'The Ambassadors'. And so the score now
Is 2-1 to James. Good books, I've read two
Terrible, one. It's possible, of course
That twenty-five years on I might allow
More credit to the story I eschewed
Today I fed and drank upon his prose

1728 - Stormy May

The cold wind and the frequent showers of May
Replaced the warmth and sunshine of April
The soil needed rain, and the clouds obeyed
The farmlands and the moors have had their fill
At least in the North West. Eastwards it's still
Too dry, and southwards too the crops wither
I'm off to London, semi-tropical
Capital of this land where the weather
Ruins the cricket match, all open-air
Activities are uncertain, those grey
Threatening clouds always likely to spill
Their tears on us; but London's oh so fair
(Apart from the pollution) when I stay
Down there, as I will next weekend with Pearl

1727 - Manchester Disunited

So Manchester United lost tonight
And lost heavily to Barcelona
Boxing analogy - not a fair fight
It got messy with Messi and Villa
Rooney's goal, though good, seemed almost unfair
It wasn't to be another Bayern
Not another final won against the
Run of play like the one in '99
Okay, United won our League, but then
Arsenal fell apart, Chelsea's blues weren't slight
(Fifty million for Torres!) Manchester
Rivals in light blue, City, might soon win
The local crown, and Ferguson's hair's white
United, are the glory years over?

1726 - Get up, stand up

Another performance, not disastrous
Stood up, and that felt easier for sure
Than sitting on a stool. Nervous of course
But benefitted from the solid floor
Did two songs, both of which I'd played before
A tactic that paid off. First off, 'Tick Tock'
Like last time, that went down well, and after
Some compliments were paid by unknown folk
Which are the best kind a singer can take
Next song, 'The Other Me' - mistakes, of course
But better than last time. There was uproar
Later during another act - it rocked
To the sound of shouts, lads running through doors
Chased out by someone, to dropping of jaws

1725 - Take the biscuit

Felt good today, after a nice lie-in
Drove to a meeting just by the airport
It went on a long time, wagging of chin
Being more extensive than we had thought
About tax I guess we get passionate
(Believe it or not)... Back to my office
Parking outside, but it was now too late
For my next meeting. Ate my sandwiches
At four o'clock. Not starving though, because
They'd brought some tasty biscuits in a tin
To the morning meeting at the airport
And so the moral of this sonnet is
Junk food can have its uses, if you're in
A long meeting and needing some support

1724 - Temptations of hibernation

I feel like resting, chilling out, tonight
I'm still recovering from my exertions
Of yesterday, a seventeen page write-
A-thon of poems; reading descriptions
In 'Roads To Santiago' - depictions
Of Spain by a Dutch writer, with sixty
Pages read. Bought bus tickets to London...
Today, woke quite early; at work, busy
Got home, not much time, did washing while the
News was on, had tea. Obama, despite
Not really caring, smiled, fulfilled functions
The UK stop, tour of diplomacy
In neglected old Europe. But we might
Become prouder to be Europeans

1723 - Keyboard on fire

I took today off, still got lots of leave
And I've spent all afternoon just writing
And writing on until the close of eve
It's nearly eleven, now I'm starting
Today's sonnet, oh yes, and I'm starving
But I've not stopped for a moment to eat
Not since lunchtime. It's been quite exciting
To be so gripped, to be in writing heat
Two long new poems, redrafted, complete
And several short ones, some found in the leaves
Of my orange notebook, left there waiting
To be rediscovered and made more neat
And some brand new. I had so much to give
Because no noise had disturbed my sleeping

1722 - Stairways to heaven and hell

The guy who recently moved in upstairs
Is doing more DIY than Fritzl
He bangs, drills and scrapes into the late hours
The banging started at the terrible
Time of 5:20 this morning, a lull
Following, but my sleep was disturbed then
And I was wracked with fatigue, a struggle
To do any work or even talk when
You're barely awake in body and brain
At the office. And yet nevertheless
Another part in Chorlton Festival
Was waiting for me this evening up in
The top room at Lloyds Bar, a small affair
It was, with help from my friends (a little)

1721 - Keyboards, wigs, empires and poetry

In 1721 Bach composed
One of his most enduring works of all
The suite called The Brandenburg Concertos
Before moving to Leipzig; what a full
Composing and procreating schedule
(Twenty children, though some died young, no doubt)
This was also the year Robert Walpole
Became the first de facto PM, clout
Now with a commoner, bewigged and stout
Peter the First, Emperor of the Russias
Fully extended his westernised rule
Becoming known in the process as 'Great'
Back to today, Chorlton Festival shows
On radio, and Jude's reading, both went well

1720 - We gotta get out of this place

Me and Josie went to Knutsford today
A Cheshire town, prosperous and pretty
Ate at the Rose and Crown - I had to pay
Twenty five pounds for that - then went to Ye
Olde Sweet Shoppe (for sweets, of course) after the
Inevitable park visit, and then
Walked into Tatton Park, a big country
Landscaped park with deer, sheep and old mansion
What worried me was the forecast of rain
But Josie had to have her fill of play
On monkey bars and various rides, money
Falling from my coat pocket as I leant
Backwards to pull her in the air. Signs say
Gates close at seven. Quick, let's run, Josie!

We only just got out of the park before being locked in for the night - and heavy rain was forecast!!

1719 - The Queen in green

The Queen's four day state visit to Ireland
Has just ended with the flight home, a wave
At the top of the plane steps, a smile and
Disappearance, green dress and hat and brave
Confrontation with legacies that have
Soured relations for so long between us
On the first day the black limousine wove
Through eerily empty streets, protesters
And supporters alike kept clear of this
Important moment in Dublin. Her hands
Laying a wreath, helicopter above
Disturbing the silence, the distant hiss
Of protest barely heard in this new land
In these new islands - both of them, God save

1718 - It's official

Oh where has yesterday's energy gone?
Lately, however, couldn't but notice
How stuffy it is, and how overcome
We all are, here in this crowded office
With windows closed to keep out the cold breeze
Which only hits those who sit near windows
And that includes me, and I nearly freeze
While those further away stay hot since those
Air conditioners were switched off. So, with closed
Windows, and with there being no air con
As afternoon wears on, I've noticed this
Drowsiness affecting us as it goes
Warmer with the spring and summer season
It's like some tropical prison, it is

1717 - Mind's wide open

Hey, I feel wide awake just for a change
I had a good night's sleep and I feel good
No doubt tonight I'll go back to the same
Old waking up early routine, but should
That happen, at least I have understood
The feeling of being more wide awake..
I worked till quite late at the office. Would
It have been okay to leave sooner, make
An early departure? No, that would break
The new team plan of working hard. The strain's
Going to be showing soon on some. Did
Exercises at home, and guitar. Took
It to a new level. Me and Lou staying
In to watch a film, but first - I need food...

1716 - Night of the Iguana

Four guys, passing time, sitting in a bar
Red light illuminating our table
Waiting to go on, asking them to pour
A Guinness. Have they finished? All bubbles...
So they pour it again...It's drinkable
I did intend to do some songs tonight
But bottled out, feeling too vulnerable
Some other night, some other night, I might...
Some sink a drink or two to lose the fright
And loosen the tongue, raise the mental bar
But I think drink makes thoughts unthinkable
The first guy's on, fretting fingers in flight
It takes some guts to put on a guitar
Mine waits at my flat, quiet, invisible

Written while waiting to do performance poetry at the Iguana Bar, Manchester

1715 - Reignfall 2

The year of our Lord 1715
Saw the first Jacobite rebellion
Also the death of Louis the Fourteenth
That magnificent monarch of the sun
Spent over seventy years on the throne
But whose legacy was sole royal power
A backward step to ultimate ruin
When weaker kings abused their state, the poor
Would overturn the system, Robespierre
And 'friends' - but that's still way ahead, unseen
At this point in history, but England
Had already lopped off the divine hair
And head of Charles the First, Cromwell had been
Tried and rejected, monarchy reborn

1714 - Reignfall

The Georgian era began in the year
1714, on the death of Anne
Last Stuart monarch. Now the Hanover
Clan were imported, and so now began
In this year the era known as Georgian

Back to the future, the 15th of May
The year of Our Lord twenty-eleven
I read and watched sport, amazed at how they
Swam in the docks of Salford Quays, the spray
Of dirty water there, and rainwater
In Manchester where they raced up and down
Deansgate.

Later, I rehearsed with mates, stayed
On to perform poems in Bolton, where
I even won a free bottle of wine!

1713 - Windy wonderland

A showery day, strong wind, occasional sun
Me and Josie went for a carvery
In Stockport, then we went to see my Mum
In the Wirral, in the town of Greasby
'Wirral' and 'Greasby' - etymology
Goes back to the time of the old Vikings...
Oops, I got sidetracked a bit there, sorry
While at my Mum's I caught the game while things
Got a bit wild, my Mum and Jo singing
Gracie Fields and Flanagan and Allen
Songs, believe it or not, from a CD
I played in the car. Man City lifting
The Cup was good. United probably won
The League today. There's late highlights to see

1712 - Louis Louis

I'm on my own right now, Louis' not here
He must have gone to see some films tonight
At any moment I thought he'd appear
To watch Cardiff and Reading's play-off fight
Streamed from Sky Sports which we don't pay for... wait!
He's just walked in! He's back from seeing an
Okay British film, Attack The Block, that
Is about battling hoodies and aliens...
Hmm, sounds a bit strange, but each to their own
He's staying with me for a while. Last year
He was here for the summer. Funds were tight
I bought his food, got no rent from my son
Now his film course is done, he's paying me
A bit of rent, until his London flight

1711 - The green and the blue

They're all out to get at Neil Lennon
The manager of Celtic football team
He's been sent bullets and bombs, been jumped on
His club plays in shirts of hooped white and green
It's the mainstay of Glasgow's Catholic scene
Irish immigrant descendents its fans
But even recently there has still been
Conflict between them and the Protestants
Who support local rivals in Scotland's
Largest city - that's Rangers, who pull on
The dark blue shirt, and loyal to the Queen
Both sing songs of hatred inside their grounds
Instead of just concentrating upon
Football. Dangerous, not merely obscene

A version replacing the original one that was posted Thur 12 May

1710 - Cities - where are they now?

1710 was the year old Peking
Outgrew Istanbul as largest city
If this is true it shows that I'm learning
New things each day of great interest to me
We Europeans always assume we
Had the largest cities, though no longer
We feel we invented urbanity
But Uruk, in Iraq, is far older
Uruk's probably what Iraq's named after
Mesopotamia saw the first building
On a large scale. Now Mexico City
Beijing (still) Tokyo, Lagos, Jakarta
Are among the largest, and still growing
... and Seoul, and Lagos, Sao Paulo, Delhi...

1709 - Manchester Man

A busy day, woke early, read my mail
Watched the morning news, while grabbing breakfast
Lots to do in the office as usual
Two decaffs and several teas, day went fast
I explained to a visitor our tasks
She had big ... where was I? ... Met with a friend
Walked along the riverside till we'd passed
Regent Road, by the casino. (No spends
To throw away in there!) Around the bend
On Asgard Drive, to my flat. Got a call
From Alan, whose car was parked by the flats
Then Jeff arrived, and so time to begin
Poetry practice (to music). We'll all
Do these pieces live, give you all a taste

1708 - Obama Osama Barcelona

What's been happening in the news lately?
Well, Osama's shooting in Pakistan
By the Yanks has caused some controversy
The Yanks in turn question how this man can
Have hidden there for so long. Cameron
And Clegg are falling out now that we've had
The alternative vote referendum
The Lib Dems lost, first past the post is trad
But firmly in first place. Now Nick is sad
But swears he'll fight his corner more. Derby
Have had a poor season, Nigel's best fan
Would admit that, while Man U fans are glad
They've won more leagues than Liverpool. Victory
Over Barcelona next month? ... Small chance

1707 - Life is a waste of time

They say that time is precious, but they mean
The most valuable thing of all is life
It's worth more than money, our very being
It's the one thing we treasure, that we love
Above all else, except the kids or wife
Or even more than them in some cases
Each day therefore we must try hard, should strive
To do all that we can. The clock races
And cracks appear all over our faces
Youth is quite something, we're all fast and keen
But it's used up by the time we arrive
At understanding the many pieces
Of the jigsaw puzzle, yet still can't seem
To put it together before the scythe

1706 - Rainy day in Bournemouth

It's been one of those long motorway trips
I drove us to Bournemouth and back today
About 500 miles in all, a stiff
Leg or two on my part, but I'm okay
Now, and pleased to be back nice and early
Having seen a match down there, the last ground
Of all the football grounds we had to see
We've been to them all now, been all around
(Bournemouth lost to Rochdale.) Tried to leave town
Quite sharp but went the wrong way. Drove real quick
As we wanted to catch Match Of The Day
Which will be on soon when this sonnet's down
Eleven years they've taken, these visits
To all English soccer stadiums. Hooray!

1705 - Nice, nice, nice

It's nice to go out or to stay at home
It's nice to eat and also nice to drink
It's nice to do without or to have some
It's nice to feel complete, but nice wanting
It's nice to speak and also nice to sing
It's nice to be good and nice to be bad
It's nice being dirty, nice to get clean
It's nice to have, even nice being had
It's nice having a mum, nice being dad
It's nice spending, but nice saving income
It's nice to vegetate and nice to think
It's nice to laugh, even nice being sad
It's nice to stand tall and nice to be prone
It's nice to be in the black and the pink

1704 - Nice n' difficult doesn't do it

I was quite confident about tonight
I had a good new song, started off well
I couldn't make the whole bar remain quiet
I wasn't too bothered, I thought the spell
Of this complicated new song would fall
Upon them all and grab their attention
It's amazing though how the pressure tells
The last few times I've not felt such tension
Although I do forget lyrics often
This time though I wasn't relaxed but tight
(Not drunk) and I sang some bits wrong, but still
It got worse during the solo - I'd gone
To jelly in my fingers, missed my notes
Must I do complicated, not simple?

1703 - A look back at The Black Book

Woke up at three, read numerous pages
Of the famous novel called 'The Black Book'
I took the day off. Opportunities
Taken, and I finished Orhan Pamuk
And his story set in Istanbul. Look -
Place names I recall from my trip last year
To Greece and Turkey. Pamuk seemed to cook
Up a dizzying brew (raki, not beer)
Saying that films and books and all culture
Are like a mirror in which images
Of reality are multiplied. Took
Me a while to read it but now I'm there
Next up to read, 'Ramallah Diaries'
About life in the West Bank. Wish me luck...

1702 - Everlasting divorce

It's taken months to sort out my divorce
A simple affair, I've been there before
Arranged it myself, no need for lawyers
But this ex wanted a consent order
And that's what's cost us. The solicitor
Has been slow, inefficient and costly
There's no dispute over assets or care
Of children, so we're not quite sure how he
Has dragged it on so long, but legally
He knows more than we, so we can't enforce
A smaller bill or prove that he's been poor
At his job. Caught by the short and curly
Hairs, we must pay up for these pointless wars
Of paper and email, but how long for?

1701 - Bin Laden binned

The Yanks kicked ass at last, got Osama
He wasn't in a cave, but a nice house
Congratulations sent to Obama
By David Cameron and all of those
Karzai in Afghanistan said it shows
It's Pakistan where the terrorists are
Abbottabad, near Islamabad, was
Where Bin Laden's been guardin' himself, where
Maybe with the locals' help, he was sure
They wouldn't find him, but hell yeah, yee ha
They shot him full o' holes, they showed their claws
They pulled his beard, said '9/11's your
Fault, buster,' and with their guns they bust a
Hole in his head, dumped him beyond the shores

1700 - The green green grass

A beautiful blue sky, a chilly breeze
A day out with two daughters to Lichfield
A lovely drive past springtime fields and trees
To Staffordshire, the idea appealed
Not been to my old home town since dad keeled
On Prince Rupert's Way, spoke with Dave Carter
An old next door neighbour. His son's in Hale
Down the road from Wilmslow. We walked to the
Beautiful dark cathedral with three spires
Ate at the Tudor Cafe - chicken, peas
Carrots, cauliflower. Boring. Revealed -
The market square, its wares worth a good stare
A game of rounders by Stowe Pool, then please
Just ten minutes in Beacon Park - it's cold!