7/7/26

ARMS RACE

There’s a lot of noise in the political sphere about the defence plans announced by the PM, with military leaders and defence ministers condemning it as too little. On the contrary, it seems to me that we spend too much on defence and cut spending in most other areas– including the cuts to the aid budget which not only cost lives but also reduce our soft power, make con...

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As my book hits the shelves (or the on line equivalent) I thought I'd shae the poem at the heart of it - as audio and below.  I will be formally launching the book itself in Dorking on the 17th April- anyone in the vivinty who wants to come just let me know. And the book is available on A Love Letter to The Planet, and the people on it (this is Amazon, Waterstones will have it shortly)

And gere...

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‘He’s not Churchill’

Who knew?

But then the speaker isn’t Eisenhower

Isn’t Kennedy

Biden

Either of the Bushes

Isn’t Ford

Teddy Roosevelt

Isn’t Franklin D

Or Truman

Washington

Lincoln

Isn’t even Tricky Dicky

All these men had faults

Failings

A taste for war

Uncontained sexual appetites

A disregard for the law

One should have stuck to m...

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There seems to be a lot going on in the world, much of it unpleasant. Not that unusual you might think, but the degree of unpleasantness is higher than usual as the USA launch death and destruction on hundreds of people in Iran – many of them ordinary citizens going about their business, including children. While few would pretend that the Iranian regime is a caring or civilised one, raining death...

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Sitting with a group of friends this week I found myself involved in a discussion about the benefits and perils of AI – the dangers of over reliance on the one hand or, on the other, the competing perils of being left behind, less able to cope without the dominant technology. The threats to jobs and livelihoods and the potential for improved medical care, speedier responses.

Technology always s...

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Sitting with a group of friends this week I found myself involved in a discussion about the benefits and perils of AI – the dangers of over reliance on the one hand or, on the other, the competing perils of being left behind, less able to cope without the dominant technology. The threats to jobs and livelihoods and the potential for improved medical care, speedier responses.

Technology always s...

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Certainties

I’ve been thinking about the challenges of singing a fugue and its relevance to everyday life. A quick and crude explanation for the non-musicians reading – in choral music, and elsewhere, a fugue consists of a theme, or themes, sung in one part and taken up by the others at different times, with some variations, overlapping and building, weaving together an interlocking a...

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I thought I’d start the New Year with a moan. Why not? Everyone else seems to be at it. Saying the country is broken, finished, a toilet. A lot of negativity which does nobody any good. And it’s all nonsense.

Now, I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong of course. As a country we’ve done some stupid things - Brexit, ending up with Boris or Liz Truss as PM, falling for the monetarist claptrap, sell...

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I thought I’d start the New Year with a moan. Why not? Everyone else seems to be at it. Saying the country is broken, finished, a toilet. A lot of negativity which does nobody and good. And it’s all nonsense.

Now, I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong of course. As a country we’ve done some stupid things - Brexit, ending up with Boris or Liz Truss as PM, falling for the m...

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Inspired by the nonet challenge I've played with form and come up with a combination of reverse word and forward word (is that the nomenclature?) nonets with a seasonal thoiught and CVhristmas, and Chanukah, wishes for everyone...

Peace

always

our desire

despite the world

all that is evil

the hatred and the greed

against which we lack power

things which we w...

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sleigh

reindeer

working hard

parcel laden

timely reminder

of warm-hearted giving

as we find humanity

and hope that the killing will cease

holding on to the promise of peace

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Featured in my latest blog, a seasonalpoem. More in the blog - 

Parkin pigs and plot toffee, trick or treat and mischief. Which traditions persist?
https://tonyearnshaw.substack.com/p/remember-remember

Gunpowder, treason and plot

An August afternoon

gangs of kids roam the countryside

looking for wood

branches, twigs, garden cuttings

November is coming s...

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My latest blog on https://tonyearnshaw.substack.com/p/a-person-is-a-person-through-people

And the poem wiuthin nit is...

Ubuntu

I am because we are

breathe because we breathe

eat because we eat

there is no other

only us

I grow when you grow

grieve when you grieve

shrink when you shrink

there is no other

only us

I hurt when you hurt

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With my colleagues at Mole Valley Poets I celebrated a few days early - becauise the venue only opened at weekends. The theme of play was interpeted in many waus, and sometimes ignored. My own take was to read some of the poemns I've been writing recently in which I play with fairy stories, recasting for today's world. One of them is below: 

Beauty and the Beast

A scary predicament...

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This poem formed part of my substack blog this week...I’ve written before about it being okay to feel joy, even when there is so much suffering in the world. Actually, it’s more than okay, it’s a need

Ambush

Ready to rush

from where it’s hiding

lurking in the rocks

disguised by the clouds

behind every bush

a shaft of light

spring in the step

lift of the...

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It’s Refugee Week- There are many things to about refugees to mourn and regret – the circumstances which cause them to flee their homes, the people who trade on their misfortune, the hostility from some people in the countries to which they flee. There is also much to celebrate - the growth in understanding as different cultures, religions, and races find their common humanity, the new ideas, the ...

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‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’ Wise words from Samuel Beckett, a hero of mine who also wrote ‘All poetry is prayer’ – a thought I have taken to heart, and a subject for another time.

We love in a culture which sets great store by success and yet the greatest learning comes from mistakes, from failure, even from pain. We can then improve, do better...

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On one of the occasional Wild Poets walks run by Mole Valley Poets, we came across a Folly – Broadwood’s Folly, a round tower on the slopes of Box Hill, half hidden by trees, but commanding a view across the valley worth admiring.

A Folly tends to get people thinking, speculating about purpose, past usage, and the builders, in this case Thomas Broadwood, of the piano family, who ...

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I've been writing regukarly on substak for a few months now and finding it a good way to access a wider audience. Most of ther blogs involve poetry, often haiku or haibun. The latest is https://tonyearnshaw.substack.com/p/camels-and-bicycles 

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A new venture for me, in an effot to reach a wider readership I've added a substack account. I'll try and publish on here in parallel - juggling a range of media now but with a litle less time devoted to theatre production ,aybe I'll do better than I have in the past! Three posts so far, each with a poem, which won't always be the case. For more see https://tonyearnshaw.substack.com 

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Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

I know that, strictly speaking, the Magi, are still on camel back following a star but I also know everyone is bored with the story by epiphany so here is my final Christmas related poetry blog. Courage, doubt, fear and wonder, in the story of the Magi. What had they been part of? Like us, they wondered whether ‘this was a future they wanted to know’…

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Rooftops

Brushing soot off his tunic (new, wipe clean, breathable material) he surveys the rooftops.

He belches, the last lot’s food offerings (whisky, milk and breakfast cereal) playing havoc with his digestive system.

Whistling for the team (trained to perfection by the reindeer whisperer) he prepares for the off.

Straightening, the man of dreams consults his watch

...

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With a week to go befiore Christmas, I thought I'd ignore the noise and controversy and focus instead on music and hope

Mary Sang

Mary sang, a fine contralto, deep and pure.
Joseph played bass, metronomic, steady, 
the beat nailed to the floor.
He thought the boy should play guitar
and made him one from fine cedar;
strings of camel gut, fret board inlaid
with finest golden sa...

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Image courtesy of Marilylle Soveran and Flickr; Creative Commons.

Hard to believe that it's December and we're coming to the end of a year that has presented many challenges. In the Christian tradition, candles are lit for Advent, representing hope, love, joy, peace, and the light of the world. This year we're waiting for vaccines, an end to lockdowns and tiers and I've tried to ...

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I was enjoying sitting in the garden, pondering the beauty and the timelessness of nature, compared to the fickleness and unreliability we see in our leaders and found myself writing a villanelle. First draft below – may yet be edited but I wanted to share it now.

Constancy

Reminders of a life, a dream now torn
Scabia, flags and tulips, forget me nots
Behind the privet hedge a rolling lawn

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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...

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I've tended to have an old fashioned view of libraries - a very positive one, but limited to book borrowing, quiet spaces for reading and a children's corner. Of course, there is much or to a modern library than that and I have become involved with a couple of aspects of Surrey Libraries of which I was previously unaware.

The first of these is a poetry blog. This is a regular feature which incl...

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Some poems seem to stay topical, even when you'd prefer they didn't. This is one of them.

Abdullah

Omar is a fighter,

Arifa is a nurse

And Abdullah?

Abdullah is twelve

Omar is dangerous.

Arifa is a healer

And Abdullah?

Abdullah is twelve

Omar kills hostages

Arifa tends the wounded

And Abdullah?

Abdullah is twelve

Omar’s full of hat...

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Salt spray the sensation you’d think to miss,

the heaving deck your only anchor

as the sun rises on set sails

and the canon roars.

A shout into oblivion, the black

trajectory of the missile falling

short, creating a fountain of brine

while the mate mouths

oaths and the captain shouts.

Blood on the decks as all hands

wield mops and pails ...

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Olympics in Dorking

When the cyclists come through Dorking

They'll do so at a speed 

that's probably illegal 

At least those in the lead

They'll shoot round Pump Corner 

As a speeding, flashing bunch

While we watch for a moment 

And then go back to our lunch

We'll raise a cheer, they'll raise some dust

Don't get some in your eye

No. Watch the wa...

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