3264 - Hippy barthday

Always satisfying to hire a car
And get it back safely without a prang
Especially to Chorlton, that's a place where
I always lose my bearings, and feel anx-
iety, but I did it. Special thanks
To my mother, her birthday today, God
Knows how old she is, but no tanks
Could stop her in her tracks. We had
A nice meal at Ellie's. I should have had
Cod and chips, the chorizo was a far
Cry from filling, the lemon tart seeming
Far from big enough to fill my real bad
Appetite. Big up to Jo and Vee for
Being good company, we even sang!

Sat 25 July

3223 - Age of enlightenment (of the hair)

Went with Josie to Old T yet again
This time there was a fun match on
Man U Legends (old players) up against
Bayern Munich All-Stars, including one
Old great from my childhood years, the German
World Cup winner from '74, Paul
Breitner, then he had an afro, long gone
Now just thin grey hair ... how the hair does fall
Out in places, and get thinner. It's all
So inevitable, Paul. Yes, a win
For the home team, Jo's brought luck when we've gone
To watch games there, three out of three. Walk tall
United fans, though they're below the en-
emy, City, at present (they've less funds...!!)

3098 - Train to Alphaville

Got sleepy at work this afternoon. I
Didn't stay up so late but hammered it
Probably because Louis said goodbye
And I was free to kind of celebrate
Though of course that's not the right word for it
Also spoke to Tania unexpected
A call on my phone came really quite late
And we both kinda gushed 'bout Jo and said
How great she is, which she is, though her head
Is now almost teenage and she'll defy
Us both at times, but not for long. Spirit
Of '77 right now being led
By Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express. I'll spy
That moving landscape, late April - can't wait!

3089 - Big new Apple

Josephine's 12 today, though not quite yet
Not til ten to midnight, strictly speaking
Last night was awake for hours, so bit short
On energy today, but still going
To Manchester with her and enjoying
It (not the 'Pool as planned - not enough time)
She got an i-phone 5C, was fondling
It all day (it's not from me - from her mum)
I bought her a pink phone case. That was from
The Apple store. Lunch at Essy's. She got
Gammon as usual. I was finishing
Off her uneaten beans. With our full tums
More shopping, then Starbucks. Time to collect
Her, mum, then train back, and now, just resting

3088 - Future travel

It's Friday night, I'm home, should have been out
But that fell through because of the weather
So now I'm preparing to be without
Wakefulness, because tomorrow is the
12th birthday of Josie, and we both are
Gonna go to Liverpool. Before that
Get a parcel from the post depot where
It lies. That's Claire's present, then I must meet
Josie, then get the train to Scouseland. What
That means is an early-ish night, allowed
No late night, got to rest and recover
Today I booked my flight with easyJet
To Prague in late April, when I will shoot
Around Central Europe. I'll soon be there!

About Fri 30 Jan

3076 - Professor Short Hair

It's been a nice birthday though I stayed in
Went out Friday, am out tomorrow too
Saw Josie yesterday, and there's work friends
Giving me presents (maybe) when I go
To the office. I need a haircut though
So I hope there's time at lunchtime to get
My not-so-long tresses snipped. Wrote some new
Lyrics to I Fought the Law and some great
New ones for Rivers of Babylon. Wait
Til Tuesday night to see it. Sickly grin
All round, I hope. Not much now left to do
Most of the day I've spent lazily sat
Been reading Dickens' 'Great Expectations'
Gonna read a bit more. Good night to you! xx

3062 - Putting you in the picture

Pearl's birthday, her twenty-seventh. Early
On, at home, nearly lost all my photos
From 2014, I pressed the wrong key
And they vanished. Mentally I froze
Then found calm determination. Get those
Pictures back somehow, anyhow! I did
Eventually do it, thank God. Later, Jo's
Mum dropped her off at the station. Wanted
To get to Pearl's flat by four. Divided
The teams up different this time. Though closely
Fought, my team lost 'Articulate'... Voice rose
To a high pitch, not just mine! Then well-fed
At Evuna, Northern Quarter, eighty
Quid but good food (and wine!). Thanks, amigos!

3026 - Fave rave

Some fun posts on Twitter and Facebook, yeah
After writing this, I will play guitar
Then read my book of pop music, nearer
And nearer the eighties I get. Writer
Thinks the early eighties were the best years
Largely, I reckon, because of his age
I'm slightly older and my top era
Would be the late 70s, just a page
In time before his fave, when all the rage
Was post-punk, new wave, disco, whatever...
Wait! Reggae, two-tone, late era rock stars
It had it all. But there was good tuneage
Also in the early eighties, for sure
But since then it's gradually got poorer

2970 - Old age rampage

Today saw a leaving do, retirement
Arrives for one more person, one more stage
In the journey reached, one more era spent
One more face that may never re-engage
With mine, one more time Father Time and age
Have worked their dubious charms, though should be said
Retirement has its good side, a new page
Opens, unpaid work, new friends, trips abroad
And this is where I'm envious - mortgage paid
Traditional roles, country lady and gent
But in future it could be all the rage
To live in the city, choose not to fade
In the same way, keep up the excitement
Chat, eat, drink, shop, walk, keep up the rampage

2940 - Dearth of mirth

What can you say about it? What can you?
What is 'it?' you ask. The Worst Comedy
Night in Salford, that's what. It's hard to do
But me and Dermot are qualified, see?
We've done it often enough to be free
With comments. Tonight we both turned up there
And did a double act, professionally
(Not.) Where was everyone? Seemed there was a
Generational divide, and the 'ha'
Was lost on some of them. But this is true
There few jokes to speak of, but quickly
In the interval, the noise of laughter
Reasserted itself, but not on cue
During the acts quiet reigned reliably

2562 - Josie the trendsetter

This is late (by one day) cos stayed up late
To write and send scripts to the BBC
The weather today was so warm, so great
It was too hot to wear my coat - sweaty
I'd have been, so I left it as Josie's
We went to Manchester, to Selfridge's
She looks at all the make-up - you see, she's
Learning, becoming savvy - teenager's
Outlook developing, although in years
She's only just eleven. Heard a shout
Or two in the distance - turned out to be
An anti-fracking demo. Jo had fears
'Bout being caught on camera, being put
In jail for being a hooligan, maybe!

About Sun 9 March, written Mon 10 March

2525 - Oceans Eleven (of beer)

I won't attempt to recall everything
Because I've not long got home from a meal
And drink with work chums, and another drink
But suffice to say that it's somehow real
Life does sometimes still retain some appeal
I had a good lie-in, energy plus
Worked well, then down the Knott for some dark ale
Then to Castlefield, Albert's Shed, starters
Was soup, then the main course swordfish, minus
The sword, why surprised that the sword's missing?
No dessert, just another beer, all's well
Today was Josie's eleventh, the cusp
Of adulthood, that girl's quickly growing
Tomorrow we'll be out, fun will prevail!

Fri 31 Jan 2014

2519 - Dark sky blues

Today the sky was dark, heavy with rain
As Josie and me caught the train to town
On it were lots of City fans again
We've seen that before as we've headed down
To Manchester to shop. Some kids goin'
Probably cheap cos it's a Cup match. It
Is Josie's birthday next Friday. Went round
Selfridges and the Arndale quite a lot
But she wasn't sure just what she should get
For her present. Got lip balm, but the main
Item she chose was a grey top she found
In Superdry. Today I really thought
She had grown since last week! Such rapid change
And growth! On the train back, City again
Crowd on board, but I don't know if they won

2513 - Birthday boy

It's been a good day, Louis' 24th
Birthday, spent with him and his mum in town
It's a crossroads for Louis - he goes forth
Looking for a new job, new housemates, soon
I will miss him when he leaves, but he's grown
While here, hopefully, not that I'm a role
Model par excellence, let myself down
Sometimes, but I've done better than my old
Man did for me, I think. We got to roll
With it, take our time, etc - good grief!
Here's to many more times when he comes round
Or we meet up in groups to bare our soul
Or even better, have a right good laugh
For what's the point wasting time with a frown?

2512 - Love to you

It's my birthday - hurray! It's fun getting
Old, well better than the alternative!
It's weird being alive in '14, seeming
To belong to the First World War, to live
In someone else's era, to survive
So long through the decades when my era
Was the 70s / early 80s, with
Glam. prog, new wave, reggae etc
We've come such a long way, we've come so far
Yet although it might seem self-deceiving
There's still so much to come, so much to give
Here's to all those lovely folk that's out there
Here's to lots of fun, lots of travelling
Lots of laughter, and of course, lots more love!

2497 - Hobble, bubble, toil and trouble

It's Pearl's 26th birthday, we went out
To the 1847 Bistro
Near the Art Gallery, amusing eat
Most of the group had nibbles, it was so
Vegetarian, it was hard to know
What to order, but managed in the end
Poor Vera was on crutches, so was slow
Of movement, as was her mother. I sent
Out for a taxi, found one quickly, then
Piled in with difficulty. To her flat
Then me and Louis walked home. Had to go
To a takeaway en route home! Good fun
Seeing Grandma again. Daisy said that
I was like Basil Fawlty! Oh dear, no!

2496 - Hurry for a curry

Worked pretty hard, a good attention span
Because I'd had a really good night's rest
So here we are again, once more in Jan
And tomorrow, Pearl will be 26
Tonight, though, I met her for a real test
Of stomach capacity in Rusholme
(Manchester's curry mile). So many fast
Food places there now, me and Pearl we roamed
Up and down looking for curry. We found
Ourselves rejecting the Mughli. We've been
There a few times for curry in the past
But it's sold its soul, so we moved our bums
To Spicy Hut. You can eat all you can
There for far less, and then just catch the bus

2488 - Hip op tick tock

I forgot yet again to write a poem
My excuse this time? It was Christmas Day
And I was busy having a good time
Stayed with my mum. Although she has a frayed
Right hip, she was up for a hop today
In the pleasant winter sun all along
The prom at West Kirby, our tops arrayed
With Santa hats, mentally both still young
Bringing smiles to all so that nothing's wrong
Some nice food and TV, watering the stem
Of the plant of family unity
And continuity. Year's nearly gone
So we reflect, reflected in sea spume
All the rights and wrongs equally we weigh

Wed 25 Dec 2013

2433 - Cheshire cool cats

Sunshine and smiles, day out with Josephine
Walked round the park, dodging dogs on the way
What happened to the tree we climbed - it's been
Removed, maybe - branched out - it's crept away
Like the mobile trees in Tolkien. It may
Be my faulty memory that's playing tricks
We also went to Macclesfield today
Again just to the park - but soon she'll hit
The age when that's all over, so I mix
Trips to restaurants and country towns, and e'en
Art events, with simplicity and play
She won't be young much longer - the clock ticks
You know, and then another kid has-been
Becomes a supposed adult for always

2418 - Rock of pensionable ages

Been out to see a Johnny Winter gig
At the RNCM in Manchester
The man is very small, he sure ain't big
He stoops and looks real frail, but still packs a
Mean punch - the band rocked non-stop, and harder
Than many bands who try but are still young
It's true, the blues are easy, well easier
Than less-prescribed and simplified forms, hung
As they are on those twelve bars and then slung
Back out endlessly - but the beat still kicked
And all through I tapped my toes and fingers
All these white-haired old men attended, un-
able to climb stairs, using the lift, sticks
And limps, all at this raucous ear-blaster