He liked a little giggle,

To ease his nagging pain;

He giggled at the Middle East,

He giggled at Ukraine.

He giggled at the climate’s pranks,

And at the unemployed;

He giggled at inflation,

At communities destroyed.

He giggled at the experts,

Predicting doom and gloom;

He giggled at the warheads,

Directed at his room.

He giggled at the cinders

...

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I’m batting at eternal number ten.

My mediocre talent falls apart;

Soon I’ll be walking back on nought again.

I’m in a team of skilled, well-coached young men,

Convincing me that cricket is an art.

I’m batting at eternal number ten.

I do not move my feet or sidestep when

A lethal bouncer flies towards my heart.

Soon I’ll be walking back on nought again.

I ...

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For me, Galton and Simpson were up there

With Pinter, Stoppard, and all the others.

‘The Reunion Party’ was their peak.

Nineteen sixty-five, when Tony Hancock

Struggled on through his final, fading depths.

Not seen for twenty years, his army mates,

Grown old, have changed, and not for the better.

Oh, disappointment, exasperation!

(‘Oh God, man. You’re not a squirrel; have a...

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