you were asking about chocolate Greg - Divine is widely available and has extremely good ethics and traceability. Vivani is a German brand with good social and organic production policies - I particularly like their 85% dark and they do a 92% which is also nice - but only available in smaller shops and online. Equal Exchange is another good brand. Check out this link and watch for when they do a 20% off offer - yes they stock G&B's which I guess remains an 'ethical' company within the Mondelez empire:

http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/category/groceries-and-everyday/chocolate/chocolate-bars/?limit=192

It's good that the large multinationals have to some extent embraced the Fairtrade purchasing ethic but as you can see from the following link the situation remains rather confused and even though Cadbury's Dairy Milk says it's Fairtrade there is no guarantee the actual chocolate has come from a Fairtrade source as whatever Cadbury's buys ends up in their general supply chain. So the reality is you might be eating chocolate that has been produced under poor working conditions or even child labour.

http://www.traidcraft.co.uk/blog-entry/does-cadburys-still-smell-of-roses-when-it-comes-to-fairtrade

I know WoL is not really the place to bang on about the rights and wrongs of Fairtrade chocolate but it's a subject close to my heart and we bang on about all manner of things here so why not, if only for a minute.

As I write Steve P has just sent me a begging letter so I promise to make up for my moment of campaigning and donate to WoL's worthy cause via PayPal. ?

All the best,
Colin.

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

very nice, the pain of everday

Comment is about Typical (blog)

Original item by Simon Widdop

interesting stuff stu, i like it.

Comment is about seasonal attraction disorder (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Hi Colin. Thank you very much.

And yes, I am African

Comment is about I love you the Sky (blog)

Original item by Rachel Mhlongo

Hey Adriana. Thank you for your comment. You interpreted it right. I guess the first part is about a girl who is in a relationship with someone she identifies as the sea. However, the poem is also inspired by various musical artist I like to listen to like Willow Smith from a specific song she has called 'Sound'. In the song she openly says the sea is a lady, someone she tries to save from their own rage. Herself. I guess that is where it all started, I tried to put myself in the position of Willow, but in this case, the lady being mighty, yet beautiful and very desirable. So in that first verse, the person she 'looses' her self to is not a man, but a woman, herself.

She becomes one with the person or the sea and with the entire atmosphere of the scene as seen throughout the poem. It seems the sea and all her surroundings including the sun complement who she is and continue to shape her perfectly. In her elation, she reflects on a kingdom for them that was washed away (this has some political undertones to it). Yet, she also takes pride in the fact that she fought for that kingdom still ('roar loudly to the west'). However, her fantasy ends when the sea moves back in with the tide, leaving her yearning for her/his presence still.

I would say its a love story with a hint of national pride to it. I guess its a lot of feelings in one poem.I hope you can also gather your own meanings from it.

Comment is about I love you the Sky (blog)

Original item by Rachel Mhlongo

some very interesting imagery here! nice

Comment is about I love you the Sky (blog)

Original item by Rachel Mhlongo

Hi all, many thanks for your thoughtful comments.
David - thanks for sharing, it's a strange and bewildering moment when you know things have moved to a irreparable state.

Cynthia - as always I appreciate your honest and thoughtful comments! I hope you know I wouldn't never try to put it on or fake it for the trivial for the purposes of a poem and i'm sorry if it seemed that way.
i know what a butcher shop the world is - I didn't mean to devalue one thing for another.

Comment is about Here Is The Truce (blog)

Original item by Tom Harding

I'm a Cadbury's man, too, Mike ... you can't beat the taste. What chocolate do you buy now, Colin?

Comment is about The Cadbury's Man (blog)

Original item by Mike Bartram

Yes, I too like Betj. He manages rhythm beautifully. My favourite is Pershore Station - a poignant intertwining of the railway theme and regret.

Comment is about BETJEMAN (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

You know how much I always like your work. And this is really good.

What I question - just a little - are the final seven lines that draw on the terrible images of life and death in all-out war and devastation. The collapse of relationships can be life-changing, but are rarely death-producing, such as these circumstances used for poetical effect.

We have always been honest with our thoughts. I express my opinion with respect, always. It is certainly at odds with the other comments.

Comment is about Here Is The Truce (blog)

Original item by Tom Harding

The poems mark a stage that i have gotten through; so they are special to me but too others I would like to get the feelings across(what I wish to work on). I can't get them to re-live that moment as me xxx

Comment is about Samantha Howard (poet profile)

Original item by Samantha Howard

Honestly i am not afraid of critism. I need it to learn. After some of the major issues i have over come (this isnt a challenge), i am difficult to offend. I just need to get better at refining my writing and i hoped this oppertunity might offer that. I really am greatful of advice or critism.

Comment is about Samantha Howard (poet profile)

Original item by Samantha Howard

Martin, missed you last night in Sale. Ian W' was excellent, as were all the regulars.

And so is this work. There is such a bold, swinging style to your poems these days, a freedom of lines that just picks up and carries the reader full tilt from start to finish, with panache. You fully deserve all the comments given.

And congrats on POTW.

Comment is about Wimpy bar days (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Yvonne - I thought the 2nd one couldn't reach?
MC - they invented curmudgeon in Yorkshire.

Comment is about MR GABARDINE MAN (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Welcome to WOL, Samantha. Poetry is a splendid way to 'sort things out'. If 'each piece means the earth to you', perhaps you'd rather not have comments which you might find actually offensive because you are currently so sensitive. It would be wise to say so.

Comment is about Samantha Howard (poet profile)

Original item by Samantha Howard

I share your admiration for the poet, MC. And he was awarded the Queen's Medal for Poetry. And they did make him poet laureate ...

Comment is about BETJEMAN (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

This is short, pointed, and very well written, creating a clear physical, emotional and even philosophical scenario.

The title, with its extended ambiguity, is superb.

IMO, this short piece is really talented.

Comment is about Porcelain. (blog)

Original item by angi largatzis

Very bold topic, and bravely attacked. Rather convoluted, but what thoughts wouldn't be, on the barest concept of 'purgatory'. It's a deep and divisive idea that has harnessed and harassed fine minds for centuries. Good for you for taking up such a thorny subject. Writing poetry is a superb way of sorting through personal complexities.

Comment is about Purgatory (blog)

Original item by angi largatzis

Thank you for your beautiful comment! My face is getting fatter lol, I'm going to the face gym! ?

Comment is about Elizabeth Faitarone (photo)

I think you might just be a bit of a cynic! Join the club! ?
Nice piece.

Comment is about Never trust a lover who ... (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

I love some of the rhymes you have found:

melanises / photosynthesises
frizz / consciousness
Mozambique / speak

thanks for posting your poem Rachel. Can I ask, are you in Africa?

Comment is about I love you the Sky (blog)

Original item by Rachel Mhlongo

Good one.

Comment is about BETJEMAN (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

JC - do you mean you are the most curmudgeonly person
living in Yorkshire - and misplaced the full stop?
I keep getting reports on my TV about how hospitable
the Yorkies are!

Comment is about MR GABARDINE MAN (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Had to make a new profile because my old one doesn't want me to log in anymore. Just wanted to let you know and hope all is well!

Comment is about Matt (poet profile)

Original item by Matt

"I love this yummy frolic
From a Cadbury's choc-o-holic!"
P.S. My own preference is for a Fruit and Nut bar when I'm not snacking on Snickers.

Comment is about The Cadbury's Man (blog)

Original item by Mike Bartram

there's a flow to this which is very appealing and I love that you added The End! at the end.

your profile pic is to die for and I want all of those colours now ? please.

I feel a little giddy - maybe it's paint fumes - I've been painting a door but it's white - your colours are so much better.

Comment is about Neverland (blog)

Original item by Maranda Shavon

I like this - your writing has the feel of being just on the edge of something - as in being not fully, what's the word, not too self-absorbed or confessional - as if you are holding back a little.

there is also a touch of the gothic in the images and most certainly with your choice of photo which for me is not a bad thing.

it would be interesting to see where this poem could go if you removed the words Heaven / Hell / Purgatory and set it free into a totally fictional world.

thanks for posting angi.

Comment is about Purgatory (blog)

Original item by angi largatzis

Ah so that's where the Donny Macman went! He disappeared after he flashed at two old ladies when one had a stroke and the other laughed. Brilliant. Keep up the good (bad) work.

Comment is about MR GABARDINE MAN (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

very dark. my cup of tea (:

excellent

Comment is about Purgatory (blog)

Original item by angi largatzis

excellent martin. really enjoyed this. cooking on gas with this topic for me

Comment is about Wimpy bar days (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Magnificent, John, if unsurprising to anyone who has had the privilege to attend your Stockport sessions, thus witnessed the finesse with which you craft your own work and subtly guide and coach in the sessions there. You make a significant if unsung and understated contribution to the poetry scene. It's a pity you don't put yourself about more, poetically speaking. Very well done.
Two WOL laureates in short order? It isn't just the mighty Mersey that emerges in that town.

Comment is about 'Mature Student' by JF Keane is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

thanks all. i guess that, for me, love is a lot like the seasons, it has its warmth and its cold but whoever it is that you love, or that loves you, the act of love is always there.

Comment is about seasonal attraction disorder (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

A great vibe on Monday night at the New Inn, thanks to fine poetry from Ray Pool, Andy BJ Low, Kyle McHale (congratulations on your happy news, Kyle!), David Andrew, Alex Twyman, Karen Izod, Alwyn Marriage, Eddie Chauncy and Andy V Frost - not forgetting comperes Rodney Wood and Greg Freeman, of course. And also not forgetting Duncan, Ray's musician friend who came to listen and ended up reading a poem he had jotted down on the night, about the film 2001 and its director Stanley Kubrick. Very good it was, too. Come back next month, Duncan! He was obviously inspired by the poetry he was hearing. It was a night of good and interesting conversations, judging from postings elsewhere on social media!

Review is about Write Out Loud Woking on 17 Oct 2016 (event)

Keep writing, Maranda..a child's perspective needs always to be heard.

elP

Comment is about Maranda Shavon (poet profile)

Original item by Maranda Shavon

I wonder, now, how many of us would like to smash to bits that vending machine..and thereby wish we were that guy that somewhat frightened us?

I liked this from its very beginning.

elP

Comment is about That Inevitable Question (blog)

Original item by Suki Spangles

When all else has failed, distance is a barrier..independence a blessing.

Strong imagery here, Samantha.

elP

Comment is about Ghosts Of Monsters (blog)

Original item by Samantha Kay Freeman

Winter is dreadful here..the only thing I look forward to about it is the havoc it wreaks upon the dormant insect population that prevents mild plagues from coming into bloom in the warmer months.

Anyhow, I'm still focusing in on the first verses, but I know the last two lines are, for me, particularly cozy.. like love in spite of a sort of enforced suspension of life and the living.

elP

ps
David's enlightened me a bit with his idea..autumn allows us to embrace something dreaded. I could keep changing my comment endlessly through the evening as ideas dawn upon me...almost like knitting--catch and pull through.

Comment is about seasonal attraction disorder (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thank you for all the feedback (and your kind concern for me, which is very touching). It's fascinating to see what other readers get out of a poem - I'm delighted that tenderness and other gentle emotions have been found here, that really pleases me because I think they do have a part to play in the story I was trying to tell, but I didn't intentionally put them there iyswim. So it's best value ?

I actually wrote this in response to the coverage of Ellie Butler's death and the subsequent conviction of her father for her murder. I live in Sutton, my children are of a similar age, and I think about Ellie a lot. Particularly the fact that she lived almost her whole life in a place of love and safety, then was taken out of there by a judge who not only gave her back to her abusive parents but made it very difficult for concerned parties, of which there were many, to raise further safeguarding concerns.

The judge in question, Mrs Justice Hogg, retired just before Ben Butler's trial began and to my knowledge has never made any public comment on the matter.

I wonder how it might feel to live every day with such a decision.

Comment is about Justice (blog)

Original item by Suzi Challenger

I love your work anyway John, but this so definitively among your best bearing all the hallmarks of a well thought and constructed poem. Well done John richly deserved.

Comment is about 'Mature Student' by JF Keane is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

great poem Martin - thanks for the free ride on the nostalgia slide - for taking me back to my Brighton days - skateboarding down the seafront ramps - avoiding the London skins when we were punks - and later - finding my way back to my Kemptown bedsit - holding on to the moonlit aquamarine railings - blind drunk against the sideways rain - the pain of the sun on a dead calm sea - hungover, next day, driving - delivering wines and spirits for Unwins offy - to the old ladies and sgt major drunks - the pubs the drugs the late night clubs - the tramps the queers the burned down pier - and all the touristy stuff we were too cool to notice - except maybe the amusement arcades - space invader pinball wizards - fish 'n' chips from the Chinese near the station - they always asked did we want them open or wrapped - on Monday I'm going back again - just for the day - but it won't be the same as all my yesterdays. Have you seen these btw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWsTb0FYknI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qyl38XISe0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTBcJh4GmN0

Comment is about Wimpy bar days (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Not really my style! Definitely appreciate it though

Comment is about Dillon Johnson (poet profile)

Original item by Dillon Johnson

Thanks, Martin. I too couldn't respond on here for ages to you as I was on my phone and that bloody Chat Box obscured the whole page!

Comment is about MR GABARDINE MAN (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Loved the poem
It has authenticity, honesty and familiarity and a sadness

Comment is about Samantha Kay Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Samantha Kay Freeman

Martin,beside lifting my spirits,this poem also made me very hungry! Whats for afters?


Loved it! yummy!



Rose.?

Comment is about Wimpy bar days (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

thanks for your kind comments on 'Eater Of Worlds' Ray - checked out your own post and it contrasts nicely - the problem with such a graphic news story is that we poets all see the potential for the imagery and nerve shredding - but the perspectives are always refreshingly, subtly different. Good stuff mate
Ian

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks for the comments on 'Eater Of Worlds' Stu - appreciate it. The Wigan thing went well - we'll catch up some other time I'm sure - always family first :-) I have a morbid fascination with clowns due to the reading of Stephen King and Peter Straub - the all time classic spook out is 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' film and book - cheers
Ian

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thanks, Martin, these Mediterranean souks are so evocative ?

Rick.

Comment is about "Fit for An Angel" (blog)

Original item by Rick Gammon

this certainly resonates with me, a nice piece

Comment is about Here Is The Truce (blog)

Original item by Tom Harding

cheers everyone, much appreciated.

Comment is about when a dog returns to consume its own vomit, it does so through choice and not hunger (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Justice, hey?

People can't agree on the best ice cream; not because they're stupid but because they have differing opinions.

Justice suffers from the ice cream syndrome, unfortunately.

very good poem, well done Suzi.

Comment is about Justice (blog)

Original item by Suzi Challenger