NO BONHOMIE FROM ME
There's a breed that won't get New Year bonhomie from me
The culpable controlling Chinese Government Commie!
....................................................................................................
Friday 31st December 2021 3:30 pm
CHRISTMAS EVE
So...here we are on Christmas Eve
Another year almost done
Time to reflect on what we believe....
That affects us --everyone.
A hush will come as this day wanes
And our lives are sent to rest
Time to weigh up loss and gains
The worst against the best.
But one thing shines out above all
And enables us to cope -
When times seem set to see us fall
And that, ...
Friday 24th December 2021 12:58 pm
GENTLEMAN'S RELISH
There's something about Christmas few men will be knocking -
That young eye-opening discovery of a well filled silk stocking! :
..................................................................................................... :
Tuesday 21st December 2021 3:26 pm
WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND - a seasonal hymn
Lift up your voice, let all rejoice
And make a joyful sound
Cast off the care that we must bear
When Christmas comes around
Look to your hearts, that's where love starts,
Where life itself begins
And you shall know that faith will show
Forgiveness for your sins.
Look to His Truth, in age and youth
Salvation shall be found
As One they stand before His Hand
...Friday 17th December 2021 3:28 pm
THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS - an annual re-post
Perhaps even more relevant now, with Covid meeting Christmas again.
..................................................................................................................
How fitting now in deep December
When days are short and life is low
That in our hearts we will remember
Those we knew who had to go.
Christmas hours are briefly bright
Their spark is spent i...
Monday 13th December 2021 7:19 pm
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS - a song lyric returns
The recorded song version can be heard under "audio" on my profile page.
..............................................................................................................................................................................
At home all alone
So sad on my own
I was wondering how things were so wrong
When your face filled my mind
Loving eyes to remind me
...Friday 10th December 2021 3:16 pm
BEATING HEART
The beating heart of Christmas is its spirit of give and take
When goodwill and generosity come together to make
The effort to see the thoughts behind another point of view
And refrain from condemnation before thinking that act through.
The greeting "Merry Christmas" resonates in so many ways
Somehow warmer and more comforting than "Happy Holidays".
So let us all remember what th...
Monday 6th December 2021 3:03 pm
CHRISTMAS SNOW - a re-post for those away from home at a precious family time.
At home the Christmas snow is falling
I see it clear so far away
I hear the happy voices calling
See the children at their play.
Every Yuletide brings its reason
To celebrate old ways before
Family gathered for the Season
Friends and neighbours at the door.
Whatever in my life forsakes me
Wherever in the world I go
I bless this heart that always takes me
...
Wednesday 1st December 2021 12:25 am
NO FOOLING
Fool yourself if you must
By calling it love
When it's really lust
It may be filling while it lasts
Like a banquet
To a hungry soul who fasts
But here's a thought -
No...make that a question:.
Why do both bring acid indigestion?
..................................................................
....................................................,
...
Monday 29th November 2021 11:37 pm
LAZY WORK
Quoting other folk's stuff may be termed "lazy work" but here's one example - a "for sale" ad. - offered with its welcome miitigation of wry humour..
"Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition, £200 or best offer.
No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.".
............................................................................................
Friday 26th November 2021 2:18 pm
CAB TO A JAB
I had the invitation to a booster injection
As one of those oldies who warrant selection.
To my delight it was listed to be given close by
Albeit a shade too far to walk (or even try!)
So I decided to invest in a business which
Would see me arrive there without a hitch
To hell with the expense - I booked a cab
To take me in style to my booster jab.
And it certainly did that...
Wednesday 24th November 2021 5:57 pm
POLICING LONDON - BACK IN THE DAY
Policing London was never a job for the remotely faint hearted
Certainly not in those swinging sixties days when yours truly started.
Posted to the docklands and the Limehouse of old Chinatown
Where staff would swarm like howling bees to bring a welshing diner down,
And known villains slid by in their favoured MarkTwo shiny Jags
Never visibly short of a bob or two but never generous...
Wednesday 17th November 2021 11:13 pm
NOVEMBER DAWN
There's something about a November morning
A struggle twixt darkness and the dawning,
And when the Eleventh Day comes around
That feeling seems even more profound.
We lucky souls can lie warm in bed
While others before us lie cold and dead
In distant foreign plots of earth
Far from the soil that saw their birth.
Deprived of the future their hopes reserved,
Deni...
Wednesday 10th November 2021 6:43 pm
WHO IS IT?
Greta Thunberg: is that "Gretta" or "Greeter" ?
Such a shame she couldn't seem sweeter.
It would surely add to her media power
If she could look a little less sour!.
As for me I wonder about other things...
Like the cost of her travels and who pulls her strings?
.......................................................................................
Thursday 4th November 2021 5:51 pm
LIVING A LIFE
I find myself living in an infantile age,
With its petulant posturing and childish rage,
That rational reasoning seems pressed to assuage,
And common sense unable to engage.
In today's hothouse of hyperbole and hoke
It's just as well logic can take a joke.
......................................................................................
.
Monday 1st November 2021 1:05 pm
WHO?
Pray tell me who here is the victim....
The one who is heard shouting out - .
Or the one who is said to have kicked him
Unable to abide the corrosive uttered doubt?
..........................................................................
Wednesday 27th October 2021 4:08 pm
GONE
O England, my England, where have you gone?
Where is that land I once looked upon
When I was a laughing lad living the dream
Born of a time and a people who seem
Sad spectres calling vainly but their voices are lost
In a England so different and gone now at such cost.
.......................................................................................
Saturday 23rd October 2021 2:01 pm
NEVER AGAIN - an old style ballad lyric
(With feeling)
I shan't fall in love again
You won't find me like other men....
Foolish fancies from the start
Careless with this caring heart
I'll never smile again and say
I'm yours forever come what may
A stronger man is what I'll be
There'll be a wiser change in me
Love may lead other men on a merry dance
But I'll tell you now that there's just no chance
...Sunday 17th October 2021 3:24 pm
SUNNY?
When did you last see reports about the effects of the sun?
Ot its proclivity for uncontrollable activity (so far I've seen none!);
When did you last see reports about far-off solar flares
That might impart knowledge about closer climate cares?
When did you last see reports about the existence of sun spots -
Far away formidable influences that tend to transmit lots
Of violent up...
Friday 8th October 2021 4:04 pm
WHERE WAS THIS?
The tragedy of Sarah Everard's death obtained huge MSM coverage and comment, much of it critical
and aimed at the police. But where was this post-sentence observation attributed to the presiding
judge, Lord Justice Fulford? .
"This has been the most impressive police investigation that I have witnessed in the 30 years I have
been sitting as a part-time and full-time judge. The sp...
Thursday 7th October 2021 4:51 pm
WELL?
Briitain today seems like a well,
Its content corrupted and polluted,
Marked by a rancid criminal smell -
In greed and weakness foully rooted.
.................................................................
Tuesday 5th October 2021 5:38 pm
JUSTICE AND THE LAW - A DIVERGENCE?
NOTE: Thr following was written prior to the report that Sarah Everard's murderer received a whole-life
term. My idea of proper retribution/justice...IF it stands.
Some thoughts on a social aberration that continues to haunt society.
Every generation faces the same old conumdrum: how to control the human predators that seek to prey
upon the innocent and vulnerable. Today, we like to...
Thursday 30th September 2021 4:25 pm
RAGE
"Comments are disabled for this page"
Can put all poets in a rage.
I adapted this from a long-ago day
Since it matches what I want to say.
..................................................................
Saturday 25th September 2021 3:30 pm
LAST POST - a re-post!
There's this to say for getting old:
You take more care against the cold
And value each new day.
And this to say for getting old:
You want to keep and not to scold
The children at their play.
And this to say for getting old:
It's always welcome to be told
To take a seat and stay.
And this to say for getting old:
You may not be so brash and bold,
But ...
Tuesday 14th September 2021 3:43 pm
SICK
Does morbidity drag you down? :.
Does hypochondria make you sick?
Health is mainly a DIY thing -
Starting young can do the trick.
Lay the groundwork early
Foundations of fitness set
Withstand the sresses of later years
So...on your marks...get set!!
.................................................................................
Friday 10th September 2021 12:46 pm
IN THE WIND
An election commitment has been binned,
With higher tax the Tories are twinned;
Financially we've just been chinned,-
A Boris promise just a fart in the wind!
.....................................................................
Thursday 9th September 2021 2:22 pm
"A" PLUS AND "A" MINUS
The subject matter seemed beyond a poem but rather more suited to prose...hence the following.
The situation in Afghanistan engenders a certain sense of irony in yours truly, for the process and the recent outcome.
Both America and the UK were prime participants and somehow the lessons of history seems to have passed
them by in their dealings with that country and its inhabitants.
Cent...
Wednesday 8th September 2021 3:26 pm
MAUDLIN DAWDLING
I sometimes wonder on Double U-O-L
If happiness is shot to hell!
So much dispiriting doom and gloom,
Finding its way into the room
That offers a welcome open door
To join a party hard to ignore.
Bring your bottle of bubbly stuff -
Of good things we can't get enough;
Vintage or new, come...spread the cheer,
Smiling, you'll find us waiting here!
When maudlin dawdling is...
Saturday 4th September 2021 11:41 am
EXERCISE
I admit I speak from a certain age
In an era when exercise is all the rage -
But having had my share in the past
I seem to have done enough to last;.
Keen to lay the foundation provided
When youth and energy coincided,
Working to keep the body healthy
Without seeing multi-gyms get wealthy.
Now the years have accumulated
I view exercise as over-rated,
Preferring instea...
Monday 30th August 2021 2:39 pm
FREEDOM TODAY
It seems today's meaning of freedom
Now equates with selfish "me...me-dom".
................................................................
Wednesday 11th August 2021 6:22 pm
TWITS
The twits that are witnessed on Twitter
Are so often twisted and bitter.
Such a pity those eejits
Masquerading as half-wits
Aren't just a mite mentally fitter!
.................................................................
Monday 9th August 2021 3:15 pm
THAT WAS THEN
In modern times, again and again,
Different days and different men
Are brought to life to answer crimes
That were not crimes in other times;
Egregious though they're seen today,
Back then that view did not hold sway.
Widely practiced, this evil knavery
Now justly reviled worldwide as slavery
Was commerce created in human form....
Trafficking humanity was the "norm"
Th...
Friday 6th August 2021 12:39 pm
UNTITLED
Just when I think I'm getting somwhere,
Getting somewhere with you;.
Just when I feel I'm floating on air
Up in the shiny blue -
Suddenly you let me have what-for:
Baby, you slam my door!
Just when I think I'm getting real close,
Getting real close to you;
Just when I think I'm there and you're here
In a sweet meeting place for two -
Suddenly I find I'm flat on t...
Monday 19th July 2021 2:43 pm
VOLTAIRE LIVES!
A few words from an incisive intellect from the past to put the recent Euro Cup Final failure to bed.
"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."
...............................................................................................................................
Sunday 18th July 2021 1:48 pm
RESTRICTIONS ON FREEDOM
The ongoing situation of Covid-19 and its much-discussed effect on our freedom has me referring to a record
I kept of political restrictions on our lives in the recent past. How about these as a reminder of how they can
appear and mount up over time - for reasons that are often worryingly spurious and populist in origin.
Firearm certificate holders banned.
Fox hunting traditions outla...
Friday 16th July 2021 2:07 pm
BELIEVING THAT I LIED - a repost from a decade ago
I know that it always hurts
When I think of you;
And I know for sure it always will
Every time I do.
The memory of what we had
Just won't go away,
And knowing that it turned out bad
Darkens each new day.
I see that when we said goodbye
Something in me died.
You seemed to be so very sure
When you said I lied.
It wasn't just the words you used
To...
Wednesday 14th July 2021 1:44 pm
THE SIMPLEST KICK IN SOCCER
Whilst acknowledging and applauding the team effort that saw England reach the final of the Euro Cup,
the repeated failure of penalty takers to capitalise on success deserves comment, not least when
considering the following backstory in the beautiful game here in England..
Seventy years ago, Charlie Mitten of Manchester United was famous for his ability to score these spot kicks.
And ...
Monday 12th July 2021 11:43 am
GROWING OLD ALONE
Growing old alone
Has benefits to own.
No need for reassuring
(The very idea is boring!);
Company is at best
An interruption of rest
No need for noisy chatter
From mouths that do not matter;
No reminders in another's face
That time is moving on apace.
And when time makes its concession
To the Reaper taking possession
Better a detached but caring voice
Would ...
Sunday 4th July 2021 12:59 pm
HALF-WIT
Calling someone a half-wit can seem misguided at best;
To understand the reason there is this simple test:
Consider the reality that stares you in the face -
That applying the appellation presumes WIT to be in place!.
................................................................................................
Thursday 1st July 2021 11:33 am
GONE TO POT
So many seem to go to pot
(Do I mean drugs? No, I do not!)
Too much of a bad thing comes to mind
Just look around and you'll soon find
The evidence is all around
Ounce for ounce...pound for pound.
Leviathans loom large in life today
Sashaying their substantial way
The visible proof that a junk food diet
Is only OK if you DON'T try it.
A little of what you fancy may b...
Tuesday 22nd June 2021 12:53 pm
BE COMFORTED
When the fire within me dies
And my spirit soars beyond the skies
I shall need neither ears nor eyes
To meet and greet the waiting prize.
This much I know - this much is plain
That I shall be but born again
To take my place in the timeless train
Of Creation's own eternal chain.
So save your tears - your sad goodbyes
For this severing of familiar ties
Be comf...
Tuesday 8th June 2021 2:24 pm
SLAVERY KNAVERY
Slavery equates with knavery -
Who today would argue with that?
Evil is as evil does...
And wears its evil hat.
But every buyer needs a seller...
Market forces in the murk;...
About who was buying and who was selling
Sees one-way forces at work.
Across the world and throughout time
The two have conspired as one,
Without their cruel complicity
The deed cou...
Sunday 30th May 2021 2:53 pm
FLIGHT
Fancy a flight that sees your hair
Stand on end - try Ryanair!
You take a chance on getting where
You bought a ticket to get there.
Wherever that place "there" might be
You may get an extra flight for free
To some dire place you did not choose -
Fancy a stop at benighted Belarus?
Where they drag opponents from a plane
In defiance of diplomacy and don't refrain
From wa...
Tuesday 25th May 2021 3:08 pm
ROBUST
Carp and criticise if you must
But I'd prefer you to be robust'
Fight your corner, stand your ground,
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Raise your sights and take your aim
At this modern myth of "We're all to blame".
Pull the trigger and fire your shots
At those who have lots and ignore the have-nots.
Let your righteous bullets kick up the dust
And remind them of the word ...
Thursday 20th May 2021 4:41 pm
RICHARD
For my brother 30.01.1937 - 13.05.2021
No one lives forever - today that's been brought home to me,
And never send to know for whom the bell tolls - it tolls for thee, you see.
No recent answer to the telephone and emails that were ignored...
The mind conjured up its reasons - perhaps he just got bored
With the expectations that went with the thought.: Reply you idle man!
You're ...
Friday 14th May 2021 11:39 pm
TERSE
I note the frequent mention of "diverse"
But I'll keep my misgivings terse;
On its divergence from unity
Imparted with impunity
With no regard to the term "reimburse".
Friday 14th May 2021 5:33 pm
BARBARY COAST
While reading about Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera "The Pirates of Penzance" I was intrigued to find
information about the subject of piracy in general, not least the slave-taking activities of the infamous
Barbary Coast pirate mob from North Africa, essentially based in the ports of Tunis, Algiers andTripoli.
Throughout the 17th century and beyond, they marauded around the seas. Sai...
Tuesday 11th May 2021 12:48 pm
EMOTIVISM
You learn something every day, it seems, and a word previously unknown to me - coined by an American
philosopher - entered my existence the other day, chiming with much of what I note around me these days.
That word is "emotivism". It describes a state of mind that views things when a need or wish to see them a
certain way takes precedence of fact. The personal moral choice of what an i...
Thursday 6th May 2021 7:53 pm
BEDDED BLISS
I've long been in love with my bed!
You might say I'm easily led,
But it's a lifelong affair
That both of us share,
And we remain happily wed.
..............................................................
Sunday 2nd May 2021 3:49 pm
GENERATIONAL
After World War Two in a ration-ridden rubble strewn land
The baby-boomers arppeared and quickly made their stand..
With a parental generation that had shown the world the best,
They in turn showed their intention to be up to the crucial test
To drag this nation up by its bootstraps to prosper once again
And see a land that was on its knees stand on its feet and obtain
A future ...
Thursday 29th April 2021 4:15 pm
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