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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:42

Portmacadoo

would that be anywhere near Porthmadog?

Comment is about Lover on vanishing island of dreams is not what she seems (blog)

Original item by Kevin Vose

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Stephen Gospage

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:31

Cheers, Keith. I will be seventy this year and this inspires me. To see Daniel Barenboim return to conducting after illness in his eighties give us all hope.

Comment is about Not yet Dead but Buried (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:29

Lovely💐

Comment is about I Will Remember (blog)

Original item by Melinda Mills

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Stephen Gospage

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:25

John, the intelligence of this poem warms us like a glass of Glenfiddich!

Comment is about Drift & Swell (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:24

I once had a job as a bouncer,
The wages were daylight rubberry!😟

Comment is about A job for a yob !!! (blog)

Original item by hugh

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Stephen Gospage

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:22

Thanks, Uilleam. Our society is not perfect and we always have to be vigilant.
And thanks to John B.

Comment is about Muttering (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Stephen Gospage

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:21

Ralph, I am a little older, but this poem swept me back to that time. It is so beautifully written. Thank you.

Comment is about Mexico 1970 (blog)

Original item by Ralph Dartford

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:17

showing disapproval puts you on a list.

It's happening NOW,
in the UK.
being arrested
for what someone "says"
you said.

Comment is about Muttering (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Stephen Gospage

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:15

Thank you for the comments, John, Keith and Reggie's Ghost. I agree that we must never take democracy and freedom for granted. It is both strong and fragile at the same time and always has to be defended.

Thanks to Nigel, Frederick, Steve, Stephen, K Lynn, Hélène and Flyntland as well.

Comment is about Muttering (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:13

Glenfiddich-a lovely drop- and the solution to all of life's mysteries-or perhaps that's Jamieson's Irish, my dad's favourite!

Comment is about Drift & Swell (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:06

We are indeed:
a reservoir waiting to be tapped.

As is this grandad's wallet😉

Comment is about Not yet Dead but Buried (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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John Marks

Wed 4th Jan 2023 17:01

A happy new year to you. I don't know Keith, the old cop out of the agnotic, I know. But (a)theism is a leap in the dark. The older that I become, the less I know. However, as you say Keith, glimpses and gleams of another dimension occur. I was put in mind of William Wordsworth's Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood:
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day.
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

The whole poem is here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45536/ode-intimations-of-immortality-from-recollections-of-early-childhood

Comment is about Triptych (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

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Ralph Dartford

Wed 4th Jan 2023 16:57

She was a lovely woman. Always held me close to her chest when I was upset about something. I've changet it to 'warm'. Perhaps more appropriate. The family were clearly Jewish within the poem already.

Comment is about Mexico 1970 (blog)

Original item by Ralph Dartford

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 16:51

...a penchant for softheartedness.
Ineed !We went for a bite to eat in the countryside this afternoon; in the cafe the sight of two mums with new-born babies turned this grandad's head and heart to mush.
😥

Comment is about Let Me Dream (blog)

Original item by kimberly

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keith jeffries

Wed 4th Jan 2023 16:41

I have read all the information relating to this competition and would strongly recommend it to all in Write out Loud.
Keith Jeffries

Comment is about Roger Robinson to judge £5,000 Bridport prize (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Wed 4th Jan 2023 16:35

If I may be so bold, what on earth is a Jewish bosomed mum?😊

Now pickled herrings-I just love them!

Comment is about Mexico 1970 (blog)

Original item by Ralph Dartford

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M.C. Newberry

Wed 4th Jan 2023 12:52

As I approach the end of my 8th decade in this life, I am not
personally aware of being viewed as "on the scrap heap" - but
if so, I'll take all the advantages! In the meantime, I recall the wisdom from an oldie of my acquaintance back in the 70s who
sagely advised the younger me always to "take part" in life.
That can be adapted to circumstances but certainly returns its
own variety of benefits. My own advice: Hang in there!! But
try not to let it all hang out! 😊

Comment is about Not yet Dead but Buried (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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Melinda Mills

Wed 4th Jan 2023 04:12

Thank you Rose for your warm Welcome, I really appreciate it!

Comment is about Melinda Mills (poet profile)

Original item by Melinda Mills

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Rasa Kabaila

Wed 4th Jan 2023 01:31

Thanks Stephen. Wishing you a beautiful new year too. Are you and the crew keen to start up our poetry challenges again? I would very much like this!

Bug hug,
Rasa

Comment is about The Back Up Choice (blog)

Original item by Rasa Kabaila

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Nigel Astell

Wed 4th Jan 2023 01:12

Playing the same
song of yesterday
but today somehow
it sounds different.

Comment is about Global Warming Haiku 37 (blog)

Original item by Andy N

<Deleted User> (9882)

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 23:32

What I would call a breath of fresh air type of poem-love it!


👍vueko




Rose 💋

Comment is about me me me (blog)

Original item by lon

<Deleted User> (9882)

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 23:27

Keith you have played an ace with this absolutely fabulous poem
which I would love ( if it were possible ) to be read OUT LOUD to the whole world so that those regardless of nationality

who conveniently turn a deaf ear when this subject is mentioned couldn't fail to do anything else but-
sit up and take BLOODY NOTICE! once and for all time

thank god for and bless our golden oldie silver surfers-unsung heroes most of them without any doubt

Rose 💋

Comment is about Not yet Dead but Buried (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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Reggie's Ghost

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 21:48

I occasionally watch a youtube video of ordinary Russians being asked their opinions. There is genuine fear to say what they actually think. We often don't appreciate the freedoms we have in the west.

Comment is about Muttering (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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keith jeffries

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 21:18

John,
This poem intrigues me as the Trinity is three as is our world three dimensional, as are so many things in life bound together in threes. Body, mind and spirit. A fourth dimension is there. I feel it somewhere but it remains aloof and I cannot grasp it. Is that dimension beyond our vision and comprehension? Could it be heaven or life eternal which our finite minds are unable to perceive?
Lines three and four of your poem brought a smile.
Thank you for this
Keith

Comment is about Triptych (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

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keith jeffries

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 19:43

A poem which needs to be broadcast loud and clear as we are on the verge of losing some of our essential freedoms, including freedom of speech. The right to say what we think and feel and the equal right to hear a different opinion to our own. If this is abandoned then we are in a dictatorship (1984). It is only around the corner.
Thank you for this
Keith





























Comment is about Muttering (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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David R Mellor

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 18:38

Thank you stephen and best wishes for the new year

Comment is about This is the Body I Love (a year of terror 2022) (blog)

Original item by David R Mellor

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John Coopey

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 18:22

We should never forget how fragile is the construct of democracy. It needs to be perpetually defended.

Comment is about Muttering (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Tommy Carroll

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 18:07

Thank you Keith, Helen and Leon for your comments
🙂

Comment is about Wheeled luggage (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 17:28

Stay strong, Mike. It's a difficult time. All my best wishes.

Comment is about Let Summer Be Nigh (blog)

Original item by Mike Bartram

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 17:23

Quite right too, Rasa! Happy New Year to you.

Comment is about The Back Up Choice (blog)

Original item by Rasa Kabaila

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 17:18

A very interesting read, Keith. I remember (sort of) back to the fifties and it's true that everything seemed to be black and white, or grey with limited colour. I wonder why? Perhaps people wore more drab clothes and things were painted in darker hues.

Thanks for this.

Comment is about All things are..... (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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Flyntland

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 16:17

I go back further than you Keith but I still have vivid memories of deprivation - poor food and little of it ( bread and Oxo - couldn't afford Bovril) no books - no toys and a severely limited education.
Doctors had to be paid for if you could afford it.
No, it was not a poor but happy time - it was depressing.

Hand carts of Nutty slack from the coal yard are more memories that I share with you., but brown and dark green are the colours that I remember, and everything dull.

We have indeed become weakened by the 'I want what I want and I want it now' mindset.

Life did improve but I am scared now at the horror that is the NHS. - dying in a corridor is no way to end a life.

Well written Keith I think that you got everything in there.

Comment is about All things are..... (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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John Coopey

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 15:10

Ah ha, MC! But I had a plan.
I wore full length cycle shorts to simulate the effect of a wet suit with a t-shirt and kagoule over the top to try to offset the sea’s equivalent of wind chill.
But as Mike Tyson said “Everybody’s got a plan until you get hit in the face”!
And for “hit in the face” read “dragged backwards and forwards over the shingle by the undertow”.

Comment is about ROLLING IN THE DEEP (HORNSEA NEW YEAR SWIM) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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M.C. Newberry

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 14:24

Like Skinny dipping - or how to reduce the size of bodily parts?
I recall a swim in an outdoor pool out of season in Essex - and
still remember how the shock of the cold expelled the air from my protesting body and how I could barely draw breath to replace it as I struggled to pull myself out of the water.
You can keep your ocean frolics!

Comment is about ROLLING IN THE DEEP (HORNSEA NEW YEAR SWIM) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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M.C. Newberry

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 14:17

Despite its sound of nature in strife
Rain in its rhythm brings promise of life.

Comment is about it's raining (blog)

Original item by lon

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Graham Sherwood

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 14:16

Horrifyingly, I have heard it said more than once that it needs another war to buck this country up!

Comment is about All things are..... (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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John Coopey

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 14:15

I got my hopes up earlier today when I thought I got a voicemail from her, Stephen. Turned out it was Dell computers asking if I wanted an upgrade.

Comment is about ROLLING IN THE DEEP (HORNSEA NEW YEAR SWIM) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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M.C. Newberry

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 14:13

These lines are indeed timely. Somehow, the offspring of a
hardy "make do and mend" generation became weak and
spoilt, with expectations that defied modest reality - as if they
feared losing what had been granted to them by the stoic
accomplishments of their forebears and finding themselves
having to meet similar unwelcome demands on their lives.
Society became easy prey to false hopes, seeking assurance
by lowering standards across the board - with mediocrity the new "excellence". Look at our government and those it
chooses to refer to - or reward with "honours". The strong have become weak and the weak strong.

Comment is about All things are..... (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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Flyntland

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 12:04

Gentle - hauntingly sad - and Oh so beautiful

Comment is about I Will Remember (blog)

Original item by Melinda Mills

<Deleted User> (9882)

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 11:55

Welcome Melinda! Hope you enjoy this great poetry site in which I know you will do very well indeed!

cheers chuck ( as they say in Lancashire 😁 )




Rose 💋

Comment is about Melinda Mills (poet profile)

Original item by Melinda Mills

<Deleted User> (9882)

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 11:52

I know EXACTLY where you are coming from Melinda with the words of this wonderful bitter sweet poem







Rose 💋

Comment is about I Will Remember (blog)

Original item by Melinda Mills

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Flyntland

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 11:50

Nigel, frederick, John, K lynn and the 'Wlde pair' thank you all for your very important likes -
Thank you also to Helene and Stephen, your comments are encouraging and dispel self doubt

Comment is about HUG (blog)

Original item by Flyntland

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Tom

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 10:35

Just came back to comment on your recent poem - but it's vanished... It was touching, anyway.

Comment is about Graham Sherwood (poet profile)

Original item by Graham Sherwood

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 09:12

This poem speaks to a deep-seated instinct for security and companionship. I really enjoyed it, Flyntland.

Comment is about HUG (blog)

Original item by Flyntland

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 09:06

John, all you need after that is some smart Alec in a coat and scarf saying 'It's not worth it, you know'.

Mind you, it was that warm on New Year's Day here (15°) that the water might have been quite nice!

Has Adele been on the phone yet? It's only a matter of time.

Comment is about ROLLING IN THE DEEP (HORNSEA NEW YEAR SWIM) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 08:56

A great start to the new year, Ray. Not sure about too much smiling but I'll give it a go. All my best wishes.

Comment is about NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 08:50

Thank you for the comments, John and Flyntland. We need these little parachutes, hopefully of the right kind, to stay optimistic about 2023.

And thanks to Nigel, Frederick, K Lynn, Rudyard; Rose, Hélène, Patricia and Stefan for liking this.

Comment is about Parachutes (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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John Coopey

Tue 3rd Jan 2023 08:38

I fear the parachutes may be of a different kind, Stephen. But, like you, I hope.

Comment is about Parachutes (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Graham Sherwood

Mon 2nd Jan 2023 22:41

Interesting you mention smiling at strangers Ray. I often see miserable looking people and think they look miserable and then realise I might be one too. My mother used to say if you walk along with a smile on your face people will think you’re half-sharp! I rest my case.

Comment is about NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Mon 2nd Jan 2023 22:38

I try to "do the rounds" of WOL, giving everyone a fair crack of the whip, which can be time-consuming if one is to be considerate - Happy new year Ray, from one old codger to another😉

Comment is about NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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