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Mike McPeek

Tue 3rd May 2022 15:22

A dark piece, but nicely captures the zeitgeist of our very current times - good stuff!

Cheers
Mike

Comment is about Make-Believe (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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julie callaghan

Tue 3rd May 2022 14:05

Heavenly 🙏

Comment is about Idle (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Tom

Tue 3rd May 2022 11:43

Clare, I love this poem. Fantastically written. Am going to give it a 3rd read now. Excellent stuff. 👍

Comment is about French Doubles (blog)

Original item by Clare

Holden Moncrieff

Tue 3rd May 2022 01:39

Thank you so much for the kind comment, John, I really appreciate it! 😊

Comment is about Resisted Paths (blog)

Original item by Holden Moncrieff

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Reggie's Ghost

Mon 2nd May 2022 22:39

Yes it is a bizarre situation when sections of the world are in total devastation, whilst others not very far away are living in comfort.

Comment is about Make-Believe (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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John Botterill

Mon 2nd May 2022 22:30

Stunning poem Claire. You certainly know how to tell a story which rings true! 😀

Comment is about French Doubles (blog)

Original item by Clare

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John Botterill

Mon 2nd May 2022 22:23

I agree with Greg. You are helping us focus on what is going on. Thank you, Stephen!

Comment is about Make-Believe (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Greg Freeman

Mon 2nd May 2022 18:27

Another marvellous poem, Steve. Thank you for these constant reminders, to stop our attention wandering.

Comment is about Make-Believe (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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M.C. Newberry

Mon 2nd May 2022 17:33

Business is business and advertises to elicit more business, from
which the government takes income. I don't see food and drink
ads. carrying warnings ("This stuff makes you fat and spotty"/
"Beware of becoming an alky"! etc.!) - with added referrals to
sources of "help" and "advice". to save the weak-willed from themselves. Now, I must check the 5.45pm at Windsor via PaddyPower.com, on this bank holiday to see how my £2.50 E/W
gets on..😏

Comment is about "GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY" (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Coopey

Mon 2nd May 2022 15:49

I have no issue with you that your decision to have a bet or not, how much and how often are your domain alone, MC. But John is right; the very purpose gaming companies have in advertising is to make money ie to elicit more betting. Why else do they advertise? If they were really concerned that some punters were getting in over their heads they wouldn’t advertise celebrity punters winning. If they were really concerned they would show skint punters losing.
Put another way, what detriment would it be to a responsible gambler like yourself if they didn’t advertise?

Comment is about "GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY" (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Coopey

Mon 2nd May 2022 14:10

Thankyou, Ray and Kevin. And for the Likes, Stephen and Kevin.

Comment is about LIVING DOLL (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Stephen Atkinson

Mon 2nd May 2022 14:01

Thank you Adam, Tom, Julie Ray & Stephen for the encouraging comments. I just woke up with a version of it in my head one morning! Not sure where it came from lol, but glad you like it. And thanks for the likes K.Lynn, Clare, Kevin, Holden, Rudyard & J.C. 🌷🌷

Comment is about My Lonely Love (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Stephen Atkinson

Mon 2nd May 2022 13:23

Poor Granny Slugshaw. New bloomers required. 🤣. Nice one K.J.

Comment is about The Queens Garden Party ( Granny Slugshaw) (blog)

Original item by kJ Walker

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John Botterill

Mon 2nd May 2022 08:56

Great fun KJ. I can just picture the scene! 😂

Comment is about The Queens Garden Party ( Granny Slugshaw) (blog)

Original item by kJ Walker

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John Botterill

Mon 2nd May 2022 08:41

There is always hope, Holden. Another fine poem!

Comment is about Resisted Paths (blog)

Original item by Holden Moncrieff

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John Botterill

Mon 2nd May 2022 08:35

A civilised society is not one where people with obvious addictions are preyed upon by unscrupulous and largely unregulated businesses, MC. I am in JCs corner here. Bookies mouth platitudes and pretend but their business model is predicated upon sending gullible people to the bread line 😕

Comment is about "GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY" (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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kJ Walker

Mon 2nd May 2022 08:03

Thank you John, Ray and Stephen.
Yes John I hope to get to the next Well Spoken, and will be doing this one.
Liked the Spoonerism Ray (I might nick that one)
Indeed it was a good job that they were outdoors Stephen.

Cheers Kevin

Comment is about The Queens Garden Party ( Granny Slugshaw) (blog)

Original item by kJ Walker

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Bill Dodsworth

Sun 1st May 2022 22:43

Thankyou Stephen.
I was going to remove this one but so pleased you got something out of it. I’ll leave now.
Feedback shouldn’t be important but I’m new to this so… it is.

Comment is about The Office (blog)

Original item by Bill Dodsworth

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Emeka Collins

Sun 1st May 2022 22:40

Thank you, Stephen.

Comment is about "Ayaka" (blog)

Original item by Emeka Collins

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John Marks

Sun 1st May 2022 20:59

Thank you Ray and a happy May day to you and yourn.

"Sweet May hath come to love us,
Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us
The very clouds move on." Heinrich Heine

I am not a generous commentator on others' work, I'm much too focused on my own. So I will not throw stones.

"I wonder why I don't go to bed and go to sleep. But then it would be tomorrow, so I decide that no matter how tired, no matter how incoherent I am, I can skip an hour more of sleep and live."

- Sylvia Plath, 'The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath'.

Comment is about Insomnia (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 18:52

Thank you very much, Ray.

Comment is about Red Sky at Night (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 18:48

Good job they are in the open air, Kevin. Great fun.

Comment is about The Queens Garden Party ( Granny Slugshaw) (blog)

Original item by kJ Walker

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 18:44

Superb, Adam.

Comment is about Season Of The Leaf (blog)

Original item by Adam Whitworth

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jennifer Malden

Sun 1st May 2022 18:05

Liked this one! Hope you will both be able to walk in The Elysian Fields. I miss my last dog enormously.

Comment is about GOD, MY DOG AND ME (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:53

Just perfect, Stephen.

Comment is about My Lonely Love (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 17:47

It's testament to the power of the current situation that a poem can stand alone and still have a resonance - seeing the allusion to Ukraine brings it into deep focus. Excellent.

Ray

Comment is about Red Sky at Night (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:46

A fine and deeply felt poem, Emeka.

Comment is about "Ayaka" (blog)

Original item by Emeka Collins

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M.C. Newberry

Sun 1st May 2022 17:41

JC - It's always a pleasure to debate issues with you, because
you possess those essential attributes: reason and humour.
The point about hypocrisy is taken but I have the feeling that it
is, in its perceived and visible aspects e.g. the tags of "BeGambleAware. org,/"Take time to think" etc. + the posters
& leaflets placed in bookies, merely a product of the pressure
brought to bear by political posturings who like to look good
by "doing something". Nanny knows best!! When I joined
www. paddypower.com to add some betting fun to my horse
-racing interest, I was obliged to provide a bank card PLUS a
chosen financial limit per week, restricting my punting activity.
The rules were clearly set out. It is a choice to indulge in
betting or gambling and has long been so. Just as it should
be in any mature world. The warnings and advice are there
to instruct and guide those who fancy a punt. whatever
their chosen interest. In my book, that alone is overkill when
freedom to think and decide are hugely important in any
civilised society. I expect - no, I demand - the respect that
allows me to make up my own mind - to enjoy or suffer the
consequences. That's what life is about, isn't it? Cheers! 😐

Comment is about "GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY" (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 17:40

Why no comments on this John? It's got a unique continuity and lost and found quality to it. The time quotes punctuate perfectly the insidious problem of the twilight zone and it has humour too, which is some achievement in itself!

Ray

Comment is about Insomnia (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:39

A great poem on the insanity of war, David.

Comment is about Martial Music (blog)

Original item by David Cooke

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 17:36

It's really amazing how resilient the Ukrainians are, they are made of stern stuff. I suppose decades have hardened them to endurance - we are all holding our breath and hoping for the best, whatever that can be. It all reminds me of Dresden and the terrible outcome of that, although eventually after the communists patched up a sort of elastoplast period, such was the pride there that a national day is celebrated to remind people of the catastrophe. Any nation can kill en masse let's not forget.

Ray

Comment is about An unexpected challenger (blog)

Original item by Jennifer Malden

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:25

I enjoyed this one, Bill. I reminded me of the BBC radio series 'HR'.

Comment is about The Office (blog)

Original item by Bill Dodsworth

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:22

I think this sums up the nature of the conflict perfectly, Jennifer.
'A cyclist as rigid as his bike' : that's perfect. Tough stuff, but it has to be said.

Comment is about An unexpected challenger (blog)

Original item by Jennifer Malden

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 17:19

Delightful and full of irreverent fun Kevin, not for the haint farted.

Ray

Comment is about The Queens Garden Party ( Granny Slugshaw) (blog)

Original item by kJ Walker

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 17:16

I like this Stephen, it has a romantic and alluring quality, and particularly Garden of Souls is great.

Ray

Comment is about My Lonely Love (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 17:13

I never bother with foreplay John, so I just read the last two lines which I liked very much - tempted to rhyme that word just to be chummy (or is it gummy?) The poem goes down well i'd have thought.

Ray

Comment is about LIVING DOLL (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:10

This is a marvellous poem, Brenda. I love the way it links the details of the slumbering household to the animals and then to nature's struggle for life, as exemplified by the Hawthorne tree. In spite of the unequal nature of the task in hand, this is still a poem of hope.

Comment is about The Hawthorne Tree at Night (blog)

Original item by Brenda Wells

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 1st May 2022 17:02

Thanks, Holden. Yes, although it is tagged 'Ukraine', this poem is more universal than some of the rcent ones.

And thanks to John C, New Shoes, KJ, Stephen, Rudyard, Brenda, Ursula, K Lynn and Bethany for liking this.

Comment is about Red Sky at Night (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 14:38

How kind Graham. I always appreciate your input.

Thanks Stephen, this is true to my actual experience so it reveals quite a chunk of my life's motivation. I was never quite convinced that to pursue a natural talent brings fulfilment. Aye that's the rub. A bit like an author having to write advertising slogans....

Hi Jennifer . It's satisfying when a phrase just pops into your head and works! Sometimes it happens, and other times it doesn't. I try to only put poems on now that I feel have something to tell.

Thanks for reading and liking John, Stephen Holden Brenda Ursula and K. Lynn. Always appreciated.

Ray

Comment is about THE ONE WHOM TIME FORGOT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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raypool

Sun 1st May 2022 14:27

Thanks for the extra likes, Russell and Aisha.

Nice to hear from you Jennifer - I cast my poetic net wide as you know form irreverential to fantasy and daftness. This one was a bit of all those!

Ray

Comment is about WHILST IN PUTNEY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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julie callaghan

Sun 1st May 2022 13:19

Thanks for the likes

Comment is about Professional (blog)

Original item by julie callaghan

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julie callaghan

Sun 1st May 2022 13:18

Thanks for the likes

Comment is about View From 30,000 Feet (blog)

Original item by julie callaghan

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julie callaghan

Sun 1st May 2022 13:17

Just lovely.🙏

Comment is about My Lonely Love (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Tom

Sun 1st May 2022 12:59

Beautiful!

Comment is about My Lonely Love (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Tom

Sun 1st May 2022 12:57

Thanks Stephen, Stephen, Holden, Bethany and Jennifer for reading and for the 'likes'. 😃

And thank you Jennifer for your lovely comment (as always). I've been wanting to write this one for a year now but didn't know how to approach it - the title popped into my head one day and unlocked it... The magic of creativity.

Comment is about The Hidden Lake (blog)

Original item by Tom

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John Coopey

Sun 1st May 2022 12:33

Another gem, Kevin. I look forward to this next Well Spoken.

Comment is about The Queens Garden Party ( Granny Slugshaw) (blog)

Original item by kJ Walker

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John Coopey

Sun 1st May 2022 12:30

Your usual high quality, Stephen.

Comment is about Oh Sweet Bird Of Youth (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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kealan coady

Sun 1st May 2022 11:47

I still haven't been able to figure out why he invaded in the first place 🤔

Comment is about 'Our waking breath': makar Kathleen Jamie delivers poem-letter from Scotland to Ukraine (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Adam Whitworth

Sun 1st May 2022 10:51

It's good

Comment is about My Lonely Love (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Stephen Atkinson

Sun 1st May 2022 10:47

Thank you John & Emeka for taking the time to like & comment. 🌈

Comment is about Oh Sweet Bird Of Youth (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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