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Sonnet That’s Not Funny!
Sonnet That’s Not Funny!
It is a truth which I have long acknowledged, that a man, or indeed a woman, in possession of a fascistic turn of mind must be in want of a sense of humour. Various creative events, involving Led by Donkeys appear to have vindicated my position.
Shall I compare thee to a lettuce, Liz?
Word salad, wilted ’s served when you’re on tour;
That Iceberg’s ...
Thursday 22nd August 2024 11:16 am
Echoes of playtime
Walking around an empty hospital
Hearing voices, standing still
It's a strange feeling
Knowing there's no one on these grounds
Empty beds are blocking
As painful feelings are unlocking
Buried away in their homes
Scarred, anxious and alone
Yet the voices are protruding
Rebounding and allusive
Screams of fun and play come across
From another world now at a ...
Wednesday 10th July 2024 3:32 pm
Dr Google
A problem shared is a problem halved
and of knowledge I am starved
so here I am Dr Google
Seeking support, not a Doctors' retort
You are there for me 24/7
Delight in a worriers heaven
A different diagnoses every night
hoping this search might be right
Speaking face to face is overrated
Full of judgement, bile and hatred
while my toy gives the answers
loo...
Thursday 28th March 2024 12:04 pm
Hello Goodbye
A rosy glow adorns this morning’s sky,
today, we regulars pay our respects,
tomorrow, with an angel I will play.
A quiet bloke, he’d been around the world,
of Africa and engineering spoke,
of vintage motorbikes, and automatic cars,
the pros and cons of smart-or not-TVs,
of pacemakers, the NHS, and stuff,
and never took his little trilby off,
a different one from time to ...
Thursday 1st February 2024 9:35 am
Support worker
Hoody, vape and tatt
All night I've been sat
Another coffee will wake me up
Here's a magazine, take my cup
Alone on the ward, feeling bored
My eyes crush a matchstick hoard
Marks and scuffs on the walls
Remind me of times, restraints and all
Long days and nights settle in my thoughts
Old faces, names, and incidences haunt
Decisions made, young people blamed
...Wednesday 24th January 2024 10:12 am
Strike up
Savouring the solace
Subverting the scene
A spectre on the surf
Sublime and serene
Suffering the silence
Shaping the sun
Scuppering the smog
So sane with someone
Staffing submerged
Sheepish and surged
Scared as the scurried scatter
Splurged and so shattered
Shanked and superfluous
Serious and stained
So sad to see
Striking...
Wednesday 24th January 2024 10:02 am
Hokey Okay
Hokey Okay - Experiences with the mental health teams
The police bring you in, next thing you’re out,
In out in out, fucks your head about,
They do the okay okay and turn you around,
Claiming that your mindsets sound!
Woahhh you’re okay okay,
Noooo, ill chokey chokey,
Woahhh, you’re okay okay
Head hurts, alarms sound ah ah ah
Then you’re back in again, out ...
Sunday 17th December 2023 10:22 pm
Manifesto of Hope (with quote, not paraphrase)
Rise, like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth, like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many—they are few!
(From the Masque of Anarchy by Percy Bysshe Shelley)
Below is what I consider to be a Manifesto of Hope, to whose motives and principles I wholly subscribe.
Public ownership of all public services and infrastructure, including ...
Friday 6th October 2023 10:10 am
Quick & Easy Brain Rapid Surgery
You know what’s wrong
with NHS target times,
they need to take tips
from recipes online.
Where nothing’s
difficult or complex
to achieve.
Three ingredients
and ten minutes
is all you’ll need.
Ready in a flash,
easy to fling together.
A scalpel, a doctor
and hey presto,
the patient
gets better.
Easy as pie,
easy on the eye.
...Tuesday 15th August 2023 3:30 pm
Screwed!
But sir, it wasn’t us, that’s so unfair!
We’ve only been in power for thirteen years,
It was those nasty Europeans, there,
Made of Britannia such a great pig’s ear.
It wasn't Hunt spelled with a C who wrote
That pamphlet saying “Kill the NHS”,
It was those forinners in small rubber boats,
That made the UK an omnishambolic mess.
Oh look at that, a dead cat in the street!
...Wednesday 22nd March 2023 7:21 pm
Jack's Story
First they came for freedom of speech, but I did not speak out
Because my sources told me what I wanted to hear,
Then they came for the Poor, but I did not speak out
Because I was not poor,
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, but I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist,
Then they came for the Socialists, but I did not speak out
Becau...
Wednesday 15th February 2023 12:55 pm
National Emergency: Life or Death Fight for the NHS!
General Strike Now!
Mick Lynch + Eddie Dempsey = Absolute Stars! "For the Many, not the Few in the Cayman Isles"
The NHS-hating Tory hypocrites said “clap”;
Like the fool that I was, in the cold at our door,
I cheered and I whistled for the Tory claptrap,
While those partying scumbags sicked up booze on the floor,
Set emergency alarms off; and the Met Plod did ...
Monday 16th January 2023 11:55 am
俳 句 General strike now! 1
Poor little match girls.
Can you hear the people sing?
General strike now!
Wednesday 14th December 2022 12:46 am
Claps Won't Pay Bills
In 2005, Jeremy Hunt, as Health Secretary co-authored a policy pamphlet calling for the NHS
to be replaced by an insurance system.
On page 78 the pamphlet says that “our ambition” should be the de-nationalising of the provision of healthcare in Britain.
The book was put together by Douglas Carswell, and its authors include Tory MPs Michael Gove
Daniel Hannan, Greg Clark, David Gauke, ...
Saturday 10th December 2022 7:35 pm
Etonian Gaslighters
But sir, it wasn’t us, it’s so unfair,
We’ve only been in power for nigh twelve years,
It was our friend le Putain, over there,
Made of the NHS such great pig’s ears.
It wasn’t Hunt spelled with a C who wrote
That pamphlet saying “Kill the NHS”,
It’s old gits, and those refugees afloat,
It’s them that’s got the UK in distress.
Oh look at that, a dead cat in th...
Wednesday 7th December 2022 10:58 pm
Minch Surgery last Monday
It might be gout, arthritis,
I’ll take some blood.
What for?
To test for uric acid, diabetes
and other things, he muttered.
I might have asked: Like what?
But with his box of needles out
I worked on breathing calmly,
averting eyes from the likely spot;
although there was no pain.
Even at this age there is something
in my look that makes him tell me
I am brave.
Good boy, or...
Saturday 25th June 2022 10:00 am
Captain Sir Tom Moore
His Walk inspired a nation,
100 yards to a 100 years, what motivation.
From an army veteran to a NHS hero,
Even the Queen came to say bravo.
Knighted and UK number one,
Now "you'll never walk alone".
You will forever remain in our hearts,
To heaven as your soul departs.
Rest in peace Captain Sir...
Thursday 4th February 2021 12:40 pm
Masks And Whiskers
half-dead they do linger
machines tinkle and purr
medics swathed in plastic
distressed humans a-stir
beneath ICU wards and
amid odd cavities galore
smaller fauna breathes
distant the muffled roar
who considers the mice?
they live in hospital too
a big enough challenge
without this virus stew
if you listened carefully
on dozing wards at night
...Sunday 24th January 2021 1:06 pm
#1 (bitter pangs)
Bitter pangs
Leak puddling
To the floor
The GP
Noxiously
Unconcerned
By women
Crying 'ouch'
For sick notes
Saturday 9th January 2021 11:47 am
Ode to Covid Carers.
Ode to Covid Carers.
To intensive care and virus wards each day
In every town they make their way.
Caring souls, disguised in blue and white,
To fight against the Covid blight.
Shift after shift, through night and light
Brothers and sisters of mercy face up to our plight.
Masked, shielded, smocked and booted
lonely, fearful, solely commuted
on the near empty bus and...
Wednesday 5th August 2020 12:54 pm
Heroes In Blue
Unprecedented times, the like never seen before
This pandemic has shaken us all to our very core
A whirlwind ripping through our cities and towns
The evil coronavirus wearing its invisible crown
It does not care if you are rich or poor
A Royal, a minister or the boy next door
No matter what age, wealth, colour or creed
Affecting us all, and with devastating speed
We have a ...
Sunday 5th July 2020 7:27 pm
The things that must be done
Encouraged by comments on my latest blog - and reminded that I always intend to post my blogs on WOL and usually get distracted before doing so - I'm repeating a blog from a few weeks ago which I didn't post here. With thanks to those who commented on the last one!
I've been thinking about what happens next. There's been a lot of talk in the press, and shared posts on social media, about t...
Saturday 4th July 2020 12:39 pm
Clap For Key Workers
Ten weeks on,
clapping for key workers is coming to an end
Clap your hands,
in appreciation, for their dedication we commend
Every person,
old and young, women, men, girls and boys
Clap your hands,
whistle, shout, cheer, together make some noise
At the window,
by the front door, on the step or in the street
Clap your hands,
bang a drum, beep a horn and st...
Thursday 28th May 2020 9:29 am
Heroes In Blue
Heroes In Blue
Unprecedented times, the like never seen before
This pandemic has shaken us all to our very core
A whirlwind ripping through our cities and towns
The evil coronavirus wearing its invisible crown
It does not care if you are rich or poor
A Royal, a minister or the boy next door
No matter what age, wealth, colour or creed
Affecting us all, and with devastat...
Thursday 14th May 2020 1:58 pm
WE live by the hands of others
We live by the hands of others
Not seen by you or me
They pass the parcel
Stand at the till
Nurse the wounded
Or keep order
We live by the hands of others
Not seen by you or me
Our hands scrubbed clean and safe
But…
We live by and are grateful to others
Who have to live day by day with that terrible fear
Friday 24th April 2020 12:38 pm
NHS Workers
All remember and do not forget
Those to whom we owe our greatest debt.
They help us when we are in distress;
It is all of those who work for the NHS.
Around the clock they are always there,
And all this time they surely care.
Though it is something that we just expect
From those who deserve more respect.
Each worker endlessly strives
To cure and save all of our lives.
So sure...
Friday 27th March 2020 3:57 pm
Still life
Noel and Liam have still not made up
And it looks like the millers will
never win the cup
Theresa is still in number ten
And not much has changed since
Maggies den
We are still plagued with mass unemployment
Far too many are becoming insolvent
Everywhere people sleeping on the street
Too many families with nothing to eat
Still we can't bridge the north south divide
People still wait f...
Friday 25th May 2018 10:41 pm
Wake me up
Wake me up when the storm has passed
And the ravens have left the tower
Wake me up when the war machine
Has finally run out of power
Wake me up when the bigots
Have finally opened their eyes
And all of the presidents have given up telling lies
Wake me up when the tables have turned
And lessons have been learned
Wake me up when the big game hunters
Have finally paid for their crime
...
Thursday 24th May 2018 7:49 pm
Unwanted
Unwanted
I sit upon a judgement chair
And watch the lights
And hear the sounds
That emanate from over there
Where broken hopes
And dreams abound
You pay me well
But do not want me
Sitting there where you could sit
Taking up your place in hell
Amongst the blood
and tears and shit
I came from Spain
To ease the pressure
As hospitals began to...
Monday 5th March 2018 7:58 pm
Just a Nurse
A daughter, a mother and a nurse, sleepwalks to work
On four hours’ sleep, as the moon peeps above the clouds.
The sun snuggles under the covers.
The familiar uniform bares her arms against the breath of December.
Clinical blue shrouds her worries of money troubles
And ailing family members
She wears a compassionate smile.
There are blisters on the soles of her feet,
From chasing the lost ...
Tuesday 27th June 2017 2:14 pm
Pay the price
Hospitals full
No beds for care,
Government money
All too rare.
Dementia patients left to cope
Danger, stranger, lost all hope.
Children waiting months to see,
Counsellors to set them free.
Schizophrenia, write them off
No one really gives a toss.
Benefits the only way,
Stop them having any say.
Depression that's just a joke,
Just a crushing wall of smoke,
Watch it take yo...
Wednesday 8th March 2017 9:09 pm
National Wealth Service?
National Wealth Service?
I do not want to lie under accountants sheets
when my body rattles out its failing beats.
Nor do I want to pay for every brick
on those, sad days, when I am feeling sick.
I do not want the most important thing
to be the amount of money that I bring.
I do not think the currency of health
should be determined by your misers wealth.
I couldn’t care less where the...
Monday 4th May 2015 4:35 pm
The Prophet of A and E- this is a poem in my new play
Lulled and startled-
Bleeding by the babbling brook of the caged telly
Lulled and startled-
Snapped bones jar at the swish of the double doors
That shroud the curses of fun loving nurses
Skin as raw and cold as corn beef
Some teath broken
From biting the apple
This man has been picked on
Battered
And buggered
All his life
You know
He’s been squashe...
Saturday 21st December 2013 1:09 am
What if the NHS was one of us?
No home, no job, just 12 good friends.
Betrayed by one who swore they never would.
Died too soon for pointless reasons.
What if God the NHS was one of us?
Sunday 7th April 2013 4:13 pm
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