Hi Ray - thanks for the comment on my Leningrad poem.
I did see the programme you mentioned and some of the
views brought back some memories. I still have a guide
to the city somewhere - bought whilst there. What its
citizens had to endure during those terrible siege days
doesn't bear thinking about. But I guess that "stoicism"
is a trait in the Russian personality and it was never more
necessary than then and there, not helped by Stalin's
reported indifference (and worse) towards the city and its
inhabitants.
Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)
Original item by ray pool
Each time I venture south west and meet up with locally
based family, we try to make a trip out on the moor -
taking in a cream tea (of course!) on the way...either at
Badgers Holt or Widdicombe. The loss of the rail link to
Princetown is surely a case of real regret, especially
thinking on how it could have been a superb addition to
the preserved lines that are doing well today. And what
a fine subject it would have been for a moorland poem!
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Greg I've answered this!
Graham
Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Mon 11th Jan 2016 15:36
And we are all Diamond Dogs because of him...well put together...
Comment is about Rebel Rebel (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
Hi Greg, sorry to trouble you , but I wanted to change my profile picture and I can't see an easy way. I don't want to lose or confuse my existing profile page ! Any help out there? Ta.
Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)
Original item by Greg Freeman
aye up Jon - thanks for the comments on 'any winter Saturday...' blimey you must have some time on your hands if you're trawling back to Feb 2014 - I'd forgotten writing that one.
Ian
Comment is about Jon Darby (poet profile)
Original item by Jon Darby
A very nostalgic trip and an interesting piece of the past Mark. I don't know if you watched the BBC 4 piece on the orchestra of near starving musicians who played Shostakovitch's symphony no 7 in 1941 (2?) and broadcast it through external loudspeakers as a broadside to the German troops. Apparently it made a colossal difference to the morale of the Germans who thought it would be a pushover!!
Ray
Comment is about LENINGRAD - a Cold War memory (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Thanks Mark; I have been thinking about you and in particular I remembered that you had Devon associations, I think this surfaced after my poem about
The Miner's return home. Princetown is a real moor town and you may know it had a railway at one time, sadly wiped away. Apparently the moor was pretty cut off during 62/63 - I cycled over it in 1960 , it took a whole day of suffering. A place of immensity and of many moods and rife for descriptivity. I'm glad it struck a chord.
Ray.
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
A worthwhile trip back in time via the pleasure of handling
and viewing old books. Arthur Mee was celebrated for
his writing of an England now lost forever. Used bookshops
often stock his books and also others of a similar vintage,
such as "The Wayfarer's Library" imprint. The illustrations,
where included, are a riveting reminder of what used to be,
with the scenes of streets largely devoid of motor cars,
and folk staring with undisguised curiosity at the camera,
never failing to arouse a sense of regret for what has gone
forever.
Comment is about A visitor (blog)
Original item by Phil Ireland
Great work! I really enjoyed reading. I love an air of positivity.
Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
The atmosphere is palpable, combined with a well-caught
evocation of the bleak life and landscape of other days
"on the moor".
My grandfather served in the prison service, latterly at
Dartmoor Prison and my mother had childhood memories
of pre-WW1 Princetown before the family moved to Torbay, where she subsequently married in the early 1920s.
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Underhand - ho-ho.
I too have fond memories of our Oxford Street C&A - the
only shop where I could find a pair of men's trousers on
the rail with a 35" leg. The M&S maximum then was 33".
Glad to say the latter has caught up - even to delivering
to my local branch for collection from an online order.
Comment is about C&A (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
twice I've heard the wind recite 'turn back'
what a line.
this is great. could well have been written from the front line of some huge medieval battle. rare that you find poems that transport the reader to that area and time. great stuff.
Comment is about The Fourth Magi (blog)
Original item by jeremy young
Thanks, Vicki. I thought about a final line like
"So womankind could tell which was
The back and which was front"
But I couldn't think of a rhyme.
Comment is about C&A (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thanks all for your consideration - This inn takes the biscuit in terms of atmosphere, even today. It lies on the road that crosses the moor through the middle(not the A30) which takes you to Princetown and the prison.
It is isolated, and has a reputation over its long history
for having a constant fire, never put out! A great snug of a place with lots of scrubbed tables and random chairs, never been themed thank God. Right by the pub were two tin mines The Golden Dagger and Vitifer (another great word). The pub was the obvious watering hole. A nice antidote to bland tweedom in the catering world.
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Lady Denyse
Mon 11th Jan 2016 11:36
Beautifully written, wonderful analogies.
I confess that I had to look up the word "ennui".
Comment is about The Fourth Magi (blog)
Original item by jeremy young
J Graham
Mon 11th Jan 2016 10:54
It sounds a great inn! Love this one x
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Ha!! Oh C&A! This made me chuckle! Thank you x
Comment is about C&A (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thank you guys, I really appreciate your support! I really look forward to reading and writing more ...I just need to be carefull not to get busted on here when I'm at work... Ooops! X
Comment is about Stu Burton (poet profile)
Original item by Stu Burton
seams were hacked at the Golden Dagger,
heaps left scabby by the running rills,
and the echoes of sweat rang out by day
at the ever pressing mills
(thats my favourite bit)
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
a good one this ray. you paint a vivid picture of both night and day in the same place, and i felt i was sat at the bar as i read it!
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Stu, Vicki is right.
To me poetry allows me to break some rules that mainstream writers would perhaps scorn.
Use spellcheck if you can, accept critique without being churlish but never feel that you have to change your work because of it.
Makeup some words if they sound right (I do) it all adds to the mix.
Just get writing and chase the Muse
Comment is about Stu Burton (poet profile)
Original item by Stu Burton
Hi Stu - I don't feel I can offer advice as I'm still learning myself (& honestly struggle too sometimes!) but all I can do is tell you how I do things! I don't think spelling is important & if you're worried use a spellcheck (I do!) likewise with grammer - I try to write as I want the reader to read it. I've liked the pieces you've already posted - I think you have a good style. It's a brave thing that us creative types do - we bare our souls. Not everyone will like your words but if you own them wholeheartedly then what else matters!! Keep going - Vic xx
Comment is about Stu Burton (poet profile)
Original item by Stu Burton
Thanks Julie - I was worried it was a bit too self indulgent - hence the title! I'm glad you liked it xx
Comment is about Self Indulgent (blog)
Original item by Pixievic
J Graham
Mon 11th Jan 2016 02:24
Love this one.
My favorite line - surrounded by happiness built on the fragile foundations of youth.
Comment is about Self Indulgent (blog)
Original item by Pixievic
Lady Denyse
Mon 11th Jan 2016 00:10
Whew! Glad to hear it! Well, then. You did great!
Comment is about The Dying Man (blog)
Original item by Smash Lee
Lady Denyse
Mon 11th Jan 2016 00:08
I hope that I am analyzing this correctly - that this is a tribute to your childhood? The picture of toy soldiers stuck in my head, but by the time I got to the end, I was not sure!
Comment is about A box of mini soldiers, some dice and Sean Bean (blog)
Original item by David Addington
Lady Denyse
Mon 11th Jan 2016 00:05
Beautiful. I loved everything about this!
Comment is about THE WARREN HOUSE INN DARTMOOR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Thank you D! I like yours xx
Comment is about Trumpets, Burglars & Puddles (blog)
Original item by Pixievic
Thank you, much appreciated!
Comment is about My take on words of wisdom. (blog)
Original item by Stu Burton
I think we all do that! It's very good!
Comment is about My take on words of wisdom. (blog)
Original item by Stu Burton
Thanks Patrick just read The Smile that's what it did to my face.
Comment is about Patrick Rushe (poet profile)
Original item by Patrick Rushe
I think I would know this was you Andy even if it din't have your name attached to it. I love the lines
' picking money like nettles
wrapped in ripped hankies'
Nice one
Comment is about The Heaton Park Tunnel Mystery (blog)
Original item by Andy N
I like this Preeti - powerful x
Comment is about What (blog)
Not much more to say other than I liked it - a lot! X
Comment is about A visitor (blog)
Original item by Phil Ireland
Yes - a shiver - simple but to the point x
Comment is about After the flood in the Lakes (blog)
Original item by David Addington
I like the sentiment - and 'twilights harmony' nice x
Comment is about Worlds Apart (blog)
Original item by Smash Lee
It's from a scene from a movie. I was inspired to write about it. A man who lives in an old broken shed by the ocean is dying and sends his farewell letter in a bottle into the sea hoping that it'll reach the one he loves back home.
Comment is about The Dying Man (blog)
Original item by Smash Lee
THFC this afternoon JC. That was a load of poop too
Comment is about Poop Poem (blog)
Original item by Leorah Rohnaz
Says it all. The brevity and the straight forward language (especially "Perpetual twilight") brings a shiver.
Comment is about After the flood in the Lakes (blog)
Original item by David Addington
A great write Steve. You've set the bar of quality very high for yourself.
Ken
Comment is about solitude (blog)
Original item by Steven Dark
Thaumaturgically Charged and andy n thank you so much for your lovely comments, the piece achieved its end. Thank you.
Comment is about solitude (blog)
Original item by Steven Dark
Lady Denyse
Sun 10th Jan 2016 15:34
Those were my favorite lines, as well, especially the last two. I loved the visuals and the scents that arrived whilst I read this.
Comment is about A visitor (blog)
Original item by Phil Ireland
Sun 10th Jan 2016 15:32
Thank you Adam, it is loosely based on the writings of John of the Cross a 16th century monk, mystic and poet and, hopefully, experience...thank you...
Comment is about Hermitage (blog)
Original item by Patrick Rushe
Powerful and moving words, although I'm sure there are a few references here I don't fully understand, i like this very much.
Comment is about Hermitage (blog)
Original item by Patrick Rushe
John Coopey
Mon 11th Jan 2016 19:02
35" leg, MC!!! You didn't want trousers; you wanted drainpipes.
Comment is about C&A (blog)
Original item by John Coopey