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Harry O'Neill

Mon 7th Dec 2015 21:36

If anyone wants to know the tasks that lie
before us over this problem, they should
carefully read Tony Blair`s (yes Tony Blair)
recent speech in Washington.

Our decision will inevitably (I.M.O.) lead to some
(hopefully United Nations) boots on the ground.
If ISIS are defeated and the populations return
the problem (given Turkey and Russia`s stance
towards Assam and the Kurds) will be who is going
to govern such a bewildering conglomeration of
different loyalties. one thing that seems very off
the table is any chance of pluralist democratic rule.

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Coopey

Mon 7th Dec 2015 16:25

I remember that, MC. It was 2 Scottish blokes with a guitar who were resident folky satirists on some 60's current affairs programme. Jimmy somebody or other and somebody else...

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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M.C. Newberry

Mon 7th Dec 2015 16:02

"He's football crazy
He's football mad
But now his team keep losing
Poor Jose's looking bad!

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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M.C. Newberry

Mon 7th Dec 2015 15:50

Placing yourself upon a cliff
Should give you cause to wonder if
Sense has gone beyond recall -
Proving pride propels a fall!
:-)

Comment is about WAR AND PEACE (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

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Anita Connor

Mon 7th Dec 2015 14:11

Well oldlancsman you have taken me down my memory lane even though mine was in reddish, Stockport. Loved your expression of what used to be. We definitely had the best time in our country.

Anita.Connor

Comment is about The Demise Of My Town (blog)

Original item by oldlancsman

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John Coopey

Mon 7th Dec 2015 13:30

It's the Hope that kills us, Graham.

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Graham Sherwood

Mon 7th Dec 2015 11:29

Top 4 Top 4,Top 4rrrrrrrrrrrr

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

J Graham

Mon 7th Dec 2015 03:31

Thank you for writing this.

Comment is about The Killing of the Innocents (blog)

Original item by Tina Rooney

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John Coopey

Mon 7th Dec 2015 00:00

It's difficult to fathom, Greg, the turn-a-round from last season.

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Greg Freeman

Sun 6th Dec 2015 20:47

It grieves me to say it. But I tend to agree with you, John

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Coopey

Sun 6th Dec 2015 20:14

Don't think the original lyrics of "You better come home, Speedy Gonzales" would have quite worked, Tommy.

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Tommy Carroll

Sun 6th Dec 2015 20:12


Racist. "Go home"? Sorry I meant xenophobe. Oops J I forgot;-). T

Comment is about JOSE MOURINHO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Bastard

Sun 6th Dec 2015 18:29

Thank you stu.
ever had a thought that twists you tighter and tighter, coiling smaller and smaller the louder it gets until suddenly it comes rushing forth like a nosebleed?
Can't sleep. Can't eat. Don't really feel anything but the tightenbell ticking of a ratchet over your whole being?

Stillbourne Small, at your service.

Comment is about iceberg (12/06/2015) (blog)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

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Tim Ellis

Sun 6th Dec 2015 17:24

There's a video of me performing this poem here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktwSam2Z6sE

Comment is about Fracking Hell! (blog)

Original item by Tim Ellis

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Stu Buck

Sun 6th Dec 2015 16:10

this is excellent. really enjoying the work i have read. clearly a very talented writer.

Comment is about Chicken soup (blog)

Original item by Charlotte Peters Rock

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raypool

Sun 6th Dec 2015 15:59

Stu well done. To me maths and destruction come together as I was crap at maths. I also have a Webley 22 and it is tempting - but I love the simple creatures ! It awaits a finer destiny.
Wonderful poem , tells the story with great sweeps and its thought provoking about youth,and I enjoyed it.

Ray

Comment is about cat (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

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Stu Buck

Sun 6th Dec 2015 15:52

i named the ratchet in my skull
"Stillbourne Small, the catapault"

i think this is the finest piece of absurdity i have ever read.

this is great. a highlight of my day.

Comment is about iceberg (12/06/2015) (blog)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

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raypool

Sun 6th Dec 2015 15:49

Yes David, I thought so too - but you know, anything goes!

Stu, An elevation of the art at the end I thought gave some credibility to a load of shit. Thanks both I knew you would see through it.

Ray.

Comment is about TIME WELL SPENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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Stu Buck

Sun 6th Dec 2015 15:31

damn it, you stole my pun!

the last two lines are hilarious!

Comment is about TIME WELL SPENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

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Stu Buck

Sun 6th Dec 2015 15:30

thanks ian - i was hoping to disgust! not quite 'the wasp factory' standards though. glad you enjoyed it.

david - i have indeed used the same event before in a brief part of the poem 'sandy' but decided to zoom in as it were and flesh it out.

Comment is about cat (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

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Julian (Admin)

Sun 6th Dec 2015 14:03

Hi OLM

I love your reminiscences, being an old Lancashire chap myself, though from Oldham. I used to teach at Maitland Street, of Skeffington Road, near you, in the 1970s. keep up the good work please! Have you recorded any of these on audio? If not, please do.

Cheers.

Julian

Comment is about oldlancsman (poet profile)

Original item by oldlancsman

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Michelle

Sun 6th Dec 2015 13:12

Great write up Isobel, I'm sure it will be another fab night. Merry Christmas all!

Comment is about Catch the choo choo to Write Out Loud Wigan's Christmas party at the Old Courts tonight (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Ian Whiteley

Sun 6th Dec 2015 12:47

this is really good Stu - I sort of want to turn away from the picture you paint - but you watch until the end. That 2 line pay off at the end is chilling. Good stuff

Comment is about cat (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

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Ian Whiteley

Sun 6th Dec 2015 11:47

a man stands on the edge of a cliff
"I know what I shouldn't do
but I'm not sure what I should do"
QED

Comment is about WAR AND PEACE (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

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Stu Buck

Sun 6th Dec 2015 09:53

this is one of the best things ive read in ages.so powerful and full of emotional punches. enough descriptive parts and detail to make me believe you (and therefore I) were there. its just brilliant writing. Daughters dry of tears died first is a fantastic line but there are so many. I really do love this.

Comment is about Chinese Village - 1960 (blog)

Original item by Charlotte Peters Rock

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John Coopey

Sat 5th Dec 2015 20:38

Not disputing it, Tommy. That's because the West was the last to trample there. But its footfall was was not the heaviest just the most recent. And, of course, do you believe the problems of the region owe nothing to its Arab populations?

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Tim Ellis

Sat 5th Dec 2015 20:37

We've got to the end of the first week of the Paris climate conference, and I gather a document of some sort has been produced after a lot of wrangling between negotiators which the politicians will have to fight about next week. I don't know yet what the document says, but I've no doubt it falls well short of anything that will help us. But at least they're talking about it seriously now. We can but hope.

Talking of hope, although I've only sold one, single online copy of my pamphlet since I published it, I'm going to post the link yet again. I'm a poet, I have to be optimistic!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Speak-Unspeakable-words-overheating-world/dp/1519178085/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449347744&sr=1-1&keywords=speak+the+unspeakable

Comment is about END OF HISTORY SALE! (blog)

Original item by Tim Ellis

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Tommy Carroll

Sat 5th Dec 2015 19:13

John I cover most of it

your comment below vis-a-vis historical involvement. The following: "The West are responsible for much of the turmoil in the area, especially since
WW1.".

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Coopey

Sat 5th Dec 2015 13:57

Enlightenment No 2, Tommy. The Balfour Declaration and Sykes Picot Agreement undoubtedly contributed to the mess. But didn't the Ottomans have a benign little sojourn there for a few centuries? And haven't Muslims been killing one another since the 6th century? And didn't that nice Mr Hitler cause hundreds of thousands of surviving Jews to seek a national homeland in Palestine?
No, Tommy, your contribution as a Westerner to the cock-up is real but is only one of many.

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Tommy Carroll

Sat 5th Dec 2015 12:53

Enlightenment no1 (as requested John) Why is it the West's duty to resolve the turmoil in the region with "shock and awe". The West are responsible for much of the turmoil in the area, especially since
WW1.

*Below is a link. UK spent 13 times more post war


UK government spent 13 times more bombing than on rebuilding post war

TRIPOLI, LIBYA - AUGUST 29:
Herald Scotland:
Jody Harrison, Reporter / Sunday 26 July 2015 / News

Published Sunday 26 July 2015 /

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Greg Freeman

Sat 5th Dec 2015 10:56

Good to hear that the spirit of the Tudor lives on at the Old Courts, Isobel. Thanks for the update, and for another great piece.

Comment is about Catch the choo choo to Write Out Loud Wigan's Christmas party at the Old Courts tonight (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Tim Ellis

Sat 5th Dec 2015 10:26

Not completely accurate I'm afraid, M.C. The survey found that there are approximately 3 trillion trees in the world which is far more than was previously thought. The bad news is that we've lost about half the world's trees since the start of human civilisation, and we're currently losing 10 billion every year. Let's get planting some more!

Thanks for your comments Steve, Stu and Cynthia.

Comment is about One hundred reasons to plant a tree (blog)

Original item by Tim Ellis

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Greg Freeman

Sat 5th Dec 2015 10:10

Julian Jordon, Judy Gordon and myself once held an impromptu Write Out Loud meeting in the wonderful station buffet bar at Stalybridge, as featured on the famous rail ale trail. Many thanks to Andy N for featuring the waiting room poems on his blog http://onewriterandhispc.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/poetry-at-stalybridge-train-station.html

Comment is about Lines in a station waiting room: poets brighten up the day for passengers (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Isabel Hope

Fri 4th Dec 2015 23:46

Love this! it has a decided yet still questionable tone that rings true

Comment is about WAR AND PEACE (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

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John Coopey

Fri 4th Dec 2015 23:13

It does seem to me that everyone who is certain of what we shouldn't do is clueless as to what we should do.

Comment is about WAR AND PEACE (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

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John Coopey

Fri 4th Dec 2015 21:38

I think the key phrases for mr in this, MC, are "tribal" and "religious dogma". The Middle East is beset with divisions too irreconcilable for the West to solve.

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Lynn Hamilton

Fri 4th Dec 2015 19:23

Thanks Graham, Mr LDLB and Cynthia.

Graham, it is and I have plenty of it!

Mr LDLB, I'm always seem to be in the shit, it's just the depth that changes!

Cynthia, yep your probably is correct but this 'shit' is subject to change on a daily basis according to taste!

Glad you enjoyed it ;) x

Comment is about SHIT (blog)

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M.C. Newberry

Fri 4th Dec 2015 18:21

Poems in praise of food are always welcome - especially
mouth-watering examples written with obvious delight.
Having said that...
Personally, I'd spend my money
On a pot of Rowse's honey!
:=))

Comment is about Cherry Jam (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

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M.C. Newberry

Fri 4th Dec 2015 18:14

A very recent Google survey tells us that there are more
trees than ever before. A short reassurance that these
premier gifts from nature still stand in the defence of our
world.

Comment is about One hundred reasons to plant a tree (blog)

Original item by Tim Ellis

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M.C. Newberry

Fri 4th Dec 2015 17:55

The essence of these lines is understood. But it's always
easy to be wise with hindsight - as I will show with my
own opinion that George Bush Senior failed by not pushing
on with the guidance of his general "Storming Norman" and
seeing the job through. This failure gave his opportunistic
son Dubya the chance to return and add to the mess.
However, the tribal nature of the Middle East would have
been entirely suited to Lincoln's words about some people
and all the people. Trying to please that lot is an ongoing
puzzle that is beyond the ability of the "West" to solve...
beset as the region is by the sort of religious dogma that
makes the situation in Ireland seem like Sunday School.

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Stu Buck

Fri 4th Dec 2015 17:26

tiptree. as fine a choice in jam as you can get. i love mrs darlington but thats local to cheshire and north wales i think. she certainly lives round here anyway. sensual and provocative. makes jam sexy. a great poem, especially the meta pay off which is funny and pointed.

Comment is about Cherry Jam (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

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Stu Buck

Fri 4th Dec 2015 17:24

thanks cynthia! im really glad you liked it. round here the council wear bizarre, pale orange jackets, hence the papaya tinged. i remember someone once telling me they'd rather read a thousand poems that make the mundane interesting than one about love and war. its stuck with me!

Comment is about drain (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

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John Coopey

Fri 4th Dec 2015 17:24

The situation is indeed complex, David, although it seems it has had the effect of making experts of us all!
I am convinced that where we are today can be routed back to our failure to take action against Assad. That doesn't mean necessarily that we would be now somewhere better but we would be somewhere different, and personally I'd have rolled the dice.

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Coopey

Fri 4th Dec 2015 17:17

Enlighten me, Tommy.

Comment is about The Masterly Strategy of Inactivity (Not In My Name) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Cynthia Buell Thomas

Fri 4th Dec 2015 16:21

Tim, I'll get back to this - I love 'list' poems.

Comment is about One hundred reasons to plant a tree (blog)

Original item by Tim Ellis

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Cynthia Buell Thomas

Fri 4th Dec 2015 16:16

Do you mean 'traveller' as in the word ''gypsy'? Or someone who simply 'travels'? Not sure there is a difference.

'In Absentia' is also really good. IMO, you have the touch of the 'artist', a gift which I think is very rare among writers. It's not just originality of ideas, but also their unusual association, and the power of diction to express these relationships in a meaningful manner.

Always just an opinion, and always with respect - always.

Comment is about Celia (poet profile)

Original item by Celia

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Cynthia Buell Thomas

Fri 4th Dec 2015 16:06

I totally agree. It has a powerful idea, the imagination to pursue it, and the words to effect it. Very intriguing. I look forward to reading more of your work.

Comment is about Dead of night (blog)

Original item by Celia

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Cynthia Buell Thomas

Fri 4th Dec 2015 16:01

Fabulous - full of vivid imagery, sound effects, great diction selection, humour - and all to describe a very common occurrence that has become real poetry - as can anything - any time - anywhere. I salute you!

The 'papaya tinged workers' is great - not sure whether it's their jackets or their faces; and so was 'gentleman' to describe one of the crew - the value of the unexpected word.

Comment is about drain (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

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Cynthia Buell Thomas

Fri 4th Dec 2015 15:48

There is much to admire in this poem, and much that is contradictory. I think the 'writer' needs to take a positive stand. Must he find the needed strength to continue daily living from 'outside influences'? Or can he raise, access acceptance and understanding from the depths of his own attitudes and personal courage?

This internal battle is with us all, all the time. Keep exploring, and certainly keep writing.

And welcome to WOL. You'll really enjoy it.

Comment is about You can't hurt the boy (blog)

Original item by Eric Berard

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