3277 - Tattoo-va

My tattoos are healing nicely. After
Getting up, tore off the clingfilm and took
A shower, the bright dye running over
The bath and shower curtain, little brook
Of red ink down the plughole, with a suck
And a bubble. Back home now, just taking
It easy, in my vest to let air circ-
ulate on the tattoos with covering
Of Bepanthen to help with the healing
Process of these three brightly-coloured scars
They're not even that sore, so I'm in luck
Now what to do tonight, I'm wondering
Might get some beer in from Sainsburys super-
market and play guitar, then TV look

3237 - Make it hard

Completely forgot to do yesterday's
Sonnet diary. Well, remembered at one
Point, but then forgot again as I based
Myself in the moment, distracted from
A magazine, a TV show. Early on
I painted walls and window sills all white
Trying to cover discolouration
Brown stains and dirty fingerprints. It's nice
Now but not even. Guess I need advice
In decorating technique in this place
Played guitar, struggled at first, the volume
Was a bit quiet to hear the music, plus
I wore my Soviet hat and some dark shades
To make it harder like a performance

About Sun 28 June

3230 - It'll be all-white on the night

I'm happy with my Father's Day alone
Been out plenty, Friday and Saturday
Had cards and prezzies, pictures on my phone
But felt a bit worn-out, late yesterday
So I decided I'd stay in today
Need to refresh, and also to rehearse
My comedy, which as usual, was way
Rushed, had a quick read of it while the noise
From the washing machine span round my ears
Yet more white paint on bedroom wall, it's done
Now more or less, the paint tin's near-empty
And at last the walls look white like they're s'posed
To, not so streaky and brownish. Backbone
Broken, poor Tania's in a ward today

3225 - The One Day Late Show

Oops, one day late, I did so much last night
I didn't post a sonnet, clean forgot
The main reason was painting the walls white
In the spare room (I didn't start til 8)
Then played guitar, watched Big Brother til late
And went to bed with 'Mrs Dalloway'
By Virginia Woolf, depression and fate
Of a gloomy end looming large each day
As borne out by Ginny's watery way
Of ending it all, fed up of her plight
In real life (and death). Well, now that I've put
This belated entry online, today
Will be covered shortly, when I shall write
About Wednesday - that's today - not as hot

Tue 16 June

3220 - Get in!

I'll quickly write this, then play my guitar
Then watch Top of the Pops 1980
Not sure if I'll do much after that, for
It'll be getting late, and energy
And will-power running out. Still, I am free
To decide to do anything, nothing
That's not always a possibility
Want to stop drinks and smokes the remaining
Half of this month and beyond, and looking
For a new bed, but first task's buying a
Paint roller and white paint, brighten up the
Unused bedroom, then start advertising
For a tenant for it. Could be before
My September Balkan break, hopefully

3217 - The Russian wind is coming

Not enough sleep last night, can't wait to get
In bed, no energy left. Watched two hours
Of a French film, will watch the rest the next
Time I get the time, between sun and showers
The sun's still up, but will it allow us
To finish before its gold light has gone
It's fairly chilly, Russian winds blow us
Or Arctic or Atlantic, where've they come
From, not sure. Tomorrow, presentation
At work, and a submission to submit
And later, a quiz in the pub, where pours
The beer once more, as it did last night. Fun
I suppose, but I think I must try yet
Once more to stop for a while, get focus
 

3208 - The colour of mud

Before buying a bed for the spare room
Thought it needed painting - the walls looked bad
Grimy and dirty, discoloured. The gloom
Would be dispelled by applying a tad
Of white paint over the bad patches, add
Some brightness, not that much paint was needed
There was only one pot left, so I grabbed
It in Poundstretcher. I prised off the lid
To my dismay it looked brown, but I stirred
Away with a spoon and it turned white. Spoon
Sacrificed for a good cause, time to pad
My tiny cheap brush on the wall and slide
It over those stains. But no whiteness bloomed
Instead a sort of pale brown darkly spread...

3180 - Not such a blue night after all!

I'm writing this on Sunday, I'm afraid
But that is because of last night's night out
In Nuremberg with Julius - went on late
He was supposed to go at ten, did not
And in the end missed his train, stuck about
The station all night, I suppose - oh dear
He seemed to lose his bearings easily
At least I found the station. Drank some beer -
Much beer, even - thank God I didn't steer
In the direction of Bamberg! (He'd said
Let's meet there!) After dark, buildings were lit
In blue light, but missed it all. Did see a
Flaming sculpture, though. I slept well, delayed
Getting up til 12. Missed breakfast, no doubt!

Sat 2 May

3174 - Phoney baloney

Phone trouble on the eve of holidays
This is bad timing, the camera is broke
Can't connect to Facebook or read emails
If I don't get this sorted, travel's fucked
And holiday snaps will go up in smoke
Not sure what to do, guess I'll have to talk
Tomorrow lunchtime to O2 shop guys
Or maybe the Samsung repair shop, walk
In there for the third time before goodbyes
To the UK? But time is short, it flies
Before I fly spray-on tan orangeways
That's EasyJet to you and me, a look
Out of the window at the clouds always
Cheers me on my way, this time it's to Prague!

3161 - Kitchen sink drama

A quiet day after yesterday's extreme
No big occasions, no enormous crowd
A few of us at work, a pared-down team
The rest still on their Easter leave, no doubt
Felt a bit jaded, felt a bit washed-out
Anyway, now I feel like relaxing
I've recycled bottles and cans, that's good
Of me, and also cleaned the kitchen sink
I didn't realise that its colouring
Had turned a kind of brown stain over time
Having read an article all about
Germs in the kitchen, stung me to bleaching
Instead of just wiping it. Now it's clean
And shiny silver! The flat's looking proud!

3140 - Glory glory

Poor Josie's ill at home off school today
But good news cheered her up before too long
I got a call from Man United. They
Said she'd been selected to walk along
The Old Trafford tunnel, shyly clinging
To a United player's hand in hers
Then walking onto the pitch as roaring
Reaches a crescendo, Reds and City's
Rival fans outshouting each in chorus
It's the kind of experience kids pray
For, especially at that age. Dreams aren't wrong
She dreamed recently of meeting players
Now it's on the horizon, on Sunday
The 12th of April. Sing your football song!

3139 - Sunday Sunny Sunday

A lovely sunny Sunday in the spring
Next week the clocks go forward, giving light
That lasts an hour longer in evenings
That's when I'll buy some flowers to go right
Into this empty vase on my desk, bright-
ness brought to the flat's living-room, colour
Maybe some daffodils, yellow and pert
It's nice doing up the flat, make it more
Liveable in, appealing to others
Done lots today, cleaned the spare room, taking
Those dusty coarse woollen mats finally out
They're in the recycling bins now. The floor
Is marked in pencil, double bed sizing
Yes, it should fit OK when floor's made right

3095 - Evening of light

The sky is red, the evening still has light
Work and shopping are done, the winter's soon
Ending too. Holiday plans are in flight
And soon there's a tattoo trip to Brighton
I may have one or two new ones inked on
This morning, before work, I was about
To eat breakfast, I was in the kitchen
And before that I was in the toilet
When I heard loud cooing coming from out
On the balcony, also saw the sight
Of flapping wings through the window. Pigeon!
Those darned birds bugging me again, without
So much as a fly your leave! Leaving shite
Everywhere! So I chased them off. Begone!

3044 - Ram Raiders in Chelsea

Derby have just kicked off against Chelsea
In the Capital One Cup (the League Cup)
Listening to that match as I type quickly
Not spending too long pondering, but stop
Towards the end of each line, coming up
With a suitable rhyme. The Rams attack!
No - they've messed it up. They've been at the top
Of the Championship (Div 2), but slipped back
Slightly this month - against Leeds they were slack
And at 'Boro could have lost heavily
But kept it to a two-goal loss. We'll flop
Against the UK's top team now, odds stacked
In the Blues' favour with their quality
Come on the Rams - keep trying 'til you drop!

3023 - Green Day in Salford

A fun night out at The Crescent, Salford
A pub I've not been in for some time now
Did a few gags, all memorised - that's good
Nice to know sometimes my mind works, you know
And then read a couple of poems, so
Combined the two in ten minutes, the last
And top slot of the night. The night may grow
Which is fitting cos they're the Greens, and sussed
About politics which is good, a must-
Vote option far as I'm concerned. I scored
A hit, I hope, met Red who hosts a show
Each Monday at Sandbar. Don't let the dust
Settle! He described it and said he would
Consider me for a slot there, so wow

3020 - Ball to face

Saturday is seeing Jo day and we
Went shopping in Stockport, mainly Primark
Where I got brown shoes and two jeans, forty
Quid only, then Jo looked for sports shoes, make
Important of course, and what made its mark
Most was the make of CR7 - that's
Cristiano Ronaldo's football boot, dark
Background with glittery finish, such glitz!
It may form part of her Christmas presents
Along with last week's United onesie
It's exciting, I almost want to bark!
Accident in Decathlon - our ball hits
A woman in the face, glasses fall free
To the floor, she complained, she was hard work!

3014 - Milk but no alcohol

I'm chillin' out on Sunday in my pad
Tickin' off all the boxes, spendin' nowt
Listenin' to hot music, that's never bad
Spiritual healin' makes you jump n' shout
Fire those water pistols at the dumb crowd
Played guitar, now some punk classics are on
It's fun to have that shit on fairly loud
Not too loud tho cos it's not Beethoven
He got deaf, he didn't have to listen
Just drank some milk, white's the colour of good
Allegedly, maybe that's bullshit, would
It matter either way, what do words mean?
If words mean nowt, then poetry's a tad
Over-rated, unless it has a beat

3013 - Present and correct

A fun day visiting Josie Wosie
Hopped on the train to Manc Piccadilly
From there we caught the tram down to Old T
Realised this was an opportunity
To buy Jo's things for Christmas and birthday
For part of her Chrissy prezzy, onesie
In Man U design, looks very pretty
Then for her birthday that's in January
She wants to watch United play with me
So I bought two tickets, Reds v Burnley
She thinks the Reds will win, so she's happy
And for me, this present-buying's early
I can afford it, living frugally
Now in Dec and Jan I'll have more money

3012 - Look, don't touch

It's Friday night, but should I play guitar
Or give my hands a rest? After last night
They've felt a bit strained, You know how hands are
When they're over-used. My digits like sprites
Fly over fretboard, sonic dynamite
Portraying thoughts in fractions of seconds
But maybe not tonight, no not tonight
Which means I'll just relax as bed beckons
Read more Clough biog, read how he descends
Deeper into alcohol, still deeper
In his green top, his face flushed red and bright
He'd battle on without Pete, his best friend
So now, as I wonder where's Louis, where?
I'll settle down for a night cheap and quiet

3004 - See all without travelling

Exciting news, oh yes, exciting news
Is it a royal baby? they wonder
No, that's not it, I've got three new tattoos
On the upper arms and lower shoulder
I'll have you know that's a bony area
And so quite painful to be inked thereon
What were the tattoos of? you all clamour
OK, here goes. First, a souvenir from
Paris, the Eiffel, a silhouette, strong
And straight. Next, the Slovakian crest I used
The one central to their national banner
Last, the two-headed eagle, Albanian
Emblem, black, on red background. Fun to choose
My images, soon may a chance recur!