The reservoirs were running dry, but today it's our patience it seems! I was working in a club in Watford , no air con and I remember it being 100 degrees in there. The chicken in a basket didn't help. A nice political twist to it....
Ray
Comment is about 1976! (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
A sensuous poem, Adam. Atmospheric.
Comment is about Springtime For Adam (blog)
Original item by Adam Whitworth
Thanks for this, Greg. It made me think of the Oval in August, with the outfield burned to a crisp and the West Indies racking up nearly 700.
Comment is about 1976! (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
A brave opinion, but a minority one, I suspect, Hugh. (Or tongue-in-cheek?)
Comment is about The Tory leadership contest should not be happening !!! (blog)
Original item by hugh
Thanks for these observations, MC. Yes, it's true that not all celebrities and politicians disappoint. Many of them behave impeccably in public. Pleased to hear you had all these good experiences.
Comment is about Frost, not Nixon (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you for kind comment, Adam. I suppose this poem is ironic, in the sense that the invaders claim it is not war but a special military operation (an even fancier name for the same thing).
I have an innate suspicion of all things military, with the uniforms and culture of forced obediance. When combined with cowardly initiatives, such as long-range bombing of schools and shopping centres, it is too much.
The territory of Ukraine has been violated and its people have a right to defend themselves. But I want this war to be over as soon as a just solution is available.
And my thanks as ever to Frederick, Tom, KJ, Holden, Clare, Hugh and K Lynn for liking this.
Comment is about Fancy Names (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I've never quite understood the personality cult that surrounds a leader. Surely the KKK or the Hitler Youth just carry on with a changed leader, why should I consider my opinion on the outfit?
Comment is about The Tory leadership contest should not be happening !!! (blog)
Original item by hugh
Very well done.
It's so hard to take an alternative stance on these issues, even when everyone must sometime.
Negative comments about our boys and 'help for heroes' don't go down well while any kind of jingoism and supposedly patriotic jazz comes in a constant stream.
You've managed to say your piece in a way that I suspect won't upset too many wonderful people. Congrats.
Comment is about Fancy Names (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Love this! Where was Greta back then?
I’m waiting for a ‘Minister for the Bleeding Obvious’.
Whatever will the young ‘uns do when us lucky boomers have died out?
Comment is about 1976! (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
<Deleted User> (33719)
Sun 17th Jul 2022 04:38
Really enjoyed this Tom. I particularly like ~
'While the poplars trees
sway their shadows
on the ceiling above'
Comment is about Saturday (blog)
Original item by Tom Harding
Sun 17th Jul 2022 00:47
A truly powerful poem, John! "If only I'll sell him the right to the light" is such a brilliant and profound line! 🌷
Comment is about Prophecy (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Sun 17th Jul 2022 00:37
Thank you so much, John, your kind comment really means a lot! 😎
Comment is about Cardboard (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
A cleverly constructed, entertaining poem, Russell.
Comment is about Clouds of White (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Clever and very thoughtful as always Tom, to have imbued a fly with some dignity in a way and to slightly compromise the human condition into such compartments. Reverse roles.
Ray
Comment is about Saturday (blog)
Original item by Tom Harding
My main complaint is the mediocrity that has now become today's excellence. We praise the mundane and the not so good,
as if somehow it makes up for what we know we are failing to
achieve nowadays. But there is hope in the small courtesies
that can be met in our daily lives, even if they do not appear to
be practised or promoted by some - notably the politically
employed - in our public services. It's more of the "me...me"
standards that prevail for too many in those jobs...when they
should be about "you...you".- or at the very least - "us...us".
Comment is about Post War Bliss (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Welcome back Julie to the cost of living crisis.
Comment is about Home Sweet Home (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
enjoyed the match for the same reasons
Comment is about A pride of Lionesses (and all the other teams) (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
got the image, I will reconsider mine and a fly's life
Comment is about Saturday (blog)
Original item by Tom Harding
Very much enjoyed this Greg
Comment is about Watching England with Carol Ann Duffy (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Fascinating, Greg! I suspect Carol Ann is a Scotland fan and I love her referencing the 'wally with the brolly.'
Great stuff! 😀
Comment is about Watching England with Carol Ann Duffy (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
You are right, Keith. Times have changed and not, necessarily, for the better.
Comment is about Post War Bliss (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
A brilliant synopsis of modern life and its values, Holden. Very cleverly expressed. As ever!. 😎
Comment is about Cardboard (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Gave me pause fot thought, Stephen!
Comment is about A Song Of Earth (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Gratitude for your comments, Steve, and thanks for the Likes, Frederick, Stephen, and Holden.
Comment is about Watching England with Carol Ann Duffy (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Sat 16th Jul 2022 03:30
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Stephen, I'm truly grateful! 😊
Comment is about Cardboard (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Hiya Nigel Thanks for sending in the audio of 'who's knocking at the door' I really enjoyed it and it was fab that you read it ☺ I emailed your son about it instead of you by mistake. I was away and needed to reformat your audio file.
Anyway we'll broadcast it this Sunday on Allfm.org after 3pm 🎉
Comment is about Nigel Astell (poet profile)
Original item by Nigel Astell
“Trussed up”, Stephen? I think there’s a rather niche website that caters for that sort of stuff.
And thanks for the Likes, Frederick, Stephen A and Holden.
Comment is about LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thanks for the likes and comments for this silly write. I prescribe a new pair of trainers and increasing your steps per day Stephen A. 😁🌈
Comment is about New Pandemic (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Thank you for reading and the supportive comments, very much appreciated.
Comment is about Mask (blog)
Original item by Mike Bartram
There's far too many cardboard cutouts kicking about, Holden! Wonderful stuff, as usual.
Comment is about Cardboard (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
I've got this, Julie! Is there a cure?
😄
Comment is about New Pandemic (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Great finish, Julie! Could be one for 'I'm sorry, I haven't a clue.
Comment is about New Pandemic (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Grim but ultimately truthful, Stephen. Thanks.
Comment is about A Song Of Earth (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
One of your best,John. Concisely chilling and heart warming at the same time.
Comment is about Incident in a Salford park (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
I enjoyed reading this again, Greg, and apart from the celebrity angle of CAD, it made me think of Fabio Capello, a fish out of water who almost achieved greatnesss with England. I remember him celebrating the equaliser until he realised it had not been given.
Comment is about Watching England with Carol Ann Duffy (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
I've had some interesting variations in connecting with notable
names over the years and have known colleagues with their
own experiences. I have always been impressed by the percentage of those who "measure up". Bryan Forbes, the celebrated film-director/scriptwriter; Jeremy Irons - another
famous name in that busy industry. Both took the time and
trouble to respond at length to my uninvited correspondence.
Denis Compton, the great sportsman of yesteryear who used a
local pub and responded to my in absentia request (e.g. via
the personable bar manager who ran a great pub) to sign
my second-hand copy of the great man's autobiography..
The almost immediate responses from senior Royalty's
representatives and their gratifying grasp of the rudimentary
rules of polite social etiquette. The failings of the likes of
Lord Brown (arrested for drunk driving by a non-nonsense
colleague) and another Lord (Wilson's security supremo)
after he crossed the path of a night duty patrol car driver who
feared no one and no reputation....and ended up in court as a result...with the magistrate finding against him. Other names
stir through my memory over those busy decades that closed
the 20th century here in London. People can impress and
people can disappoint. The former
are even now recalled with pleasure and respect.
Comment is about Frost, not Nixon (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
All political careers end in failure, John. I know mine did. (Voted down in a bid to become my local party's ward treasurer about a thousand years ago). But to think of being ' trussed' up like that....no, you're quite right.
Comment is about LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I'm prepared to give it a go, John, at least for 15 minutes.
And thanks to Nigel, Frederick, Keith, Stephen, Rudyard and Holden for the likes.
Comment is about Frost, not Nixon (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I think the "red tabs" (general staff well behind the lines) were
the real objects of that derision, not the officers in the field who
kept up their men's morale and led them "over the top". to what
they themselves must have known was certain (or as near as dammit!) death.
Comment is about LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I agree about the human propensity for cruelty but not totally
with Mark Twain. There are many examples of animals
attacking each other without obvious cause - and many
examples of humans stepping in to save animals from themselves or from some helpless situation that, without
human intervention, would otherwise have tragic consequences.
Comment is about Incident in a Salford park (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Good point, MC. Even in the First World War, I believe deaths and casualties among officers was higher than the ranks, confounding the seductive myth of “lions led by donkeys”.
Comment is about LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Better put that thought alongside the one that remembers
how those who sought overwhelming power over others were
not averse to leading their troops into battle themselves - willing
to risk all, including their own lives, for the prize they sought.
Warwick the Kingmaker was one such example.
Comment is about LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
1 9 2 Alien transporter
bus passengers abducted
next stop Mars
Red Planet Cafe
I don't care
says Slack Alice
swollen lips crave
somewhat different diet.
Comment is about July 2022 Collage Poem: Tired Pleasure (blog)
Original item by Stockport WoL
I first posted this here many years ago, but I'm re-posting it in response to an idea about 'celebrity' poetry by John Botterill, prompted by a poem by Stephen Gospage. I'm not sure that poets count as 'celebrities', but anyway ... The picture shows my two walking weekend companions getting their books signed by the poet laureate after her festival reading that night. And obligatory plug ... this poem is included in my collection Marples Must Go!, published by Dempsey & Windle last year
Comment is about Watching England with Carol Ann Duffy (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
John, don't get me started! I've certainly got one or two of those. Well, famous poets, anyway ...
Comment is about Frost, not Nixon (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Stephen. Do you think we should have a famous people/ celebrity poetry challenge? Whaddya think?😂
Comment is about Frost, not Nixon (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Russell Jacklin
Sun 17th Jul 2022 19:07
Thank you Stephen
Comment is about Clouds of White (blog)
Original item by JD Russell