We have drifted into November like leaves blown gently against a hedge. A climbing rose clings stubbornly pink to the archway in the back garden but there is little left to cover the gangly apple visible through the curved frame. It is a peaceful time. The belly is full.
Author Archive
Drifting into November
Saturday, November 5th, 2011Another notch on the season’s belt
Thursday, October 20th, 2011I turned the heating on today. Another notch on the season’s belt. I’m feeling strangely calm, important decision made. That’s it. We won’t be going back. What now? Winter’s approach. Nosebiting cold. Wait for the storm.
What’s it going to be like with the Olympics?
Saturday, October 8th, 2011…whatsis name now oh hang on, Vince Cable worra lump of wood – its unbelievable they don’t know nothing guv they don’t know what’s going on in the country. God they should get themselves out and about a bit more guv, they should get themselves out west, go west.
You’ve only got to go 8 miles, 10 miles west the whole area, the whole area Ruislip, Ickenham, Hillingdon, Feltham, Hayes, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Slough is a war zone, the police won’t even come out in Slough. You call the police they won’t even bother to come out. They’ve got the Rumanians, the Bulgarians, the Poles they stand on street corners, 20 or 30 men. 20 or 30 of them there they stand on street corners and all they’re looking at is to kill each other. It’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable and we’ve let it go and it’s too late now to stop it.
I’m a bit upset today because I was playing golf this morning but (more…)
The October Paradox
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011Tshirt and shorts with bare feet contrast with the hard to walk on lawn covered in wrinkle dry leaves painful to the naked touch. The start of autumn and end of the summer overlap, rugby replacing cricket but rainless scorch remains. Panic strikes a production-eased ice cream industry settling down for the off season. Perspiration drips off my nose and onto the table.
Box ticked
Thursday, September 1st, 2011Box ticked
Been there
Done that
What next?
Gortenbuie
Saturday, August 20th, 2011
All is calm in the land of giants,
On a rare windless day,
Water the only sound,
Life has stopped.
The sheep, still in the roofless cottage,
Belongs there as much as any,
Regular visitor, like us it has not moved
As the heavens move all.
The generations have not returned,
Chilled hearth, three chimneys,
One lofty precious pot survives,
Defiant, hope in an unforgiving land.
Two oaks guard the ruin,
Glacial debris,
Turf covered stone,
The eagle, the stag and the mountain hare.
Revolutions pass and global markets crash
But here the peace is deep,
Across the glen shadows creep,
Expectations of tomorrow.
Time rediscovered, absent clock,
Decisions of the day fundamental,
Seconds counted by the foot, unscientific measure,
Tired, we lie in our beds and absorb the noise.
Scottish roadside signs
Sunday, August 7th, 2011Soft tyres waste fuel
Always wear a lifejacket on or near water
Be a courteous driver
Don’t drive tired
Watch your speed
Drive carefully
Drive to road conditions
Tiredness can kill, take a break
Heavy rain and flooding forecast, drive with care
Don’t text while driving, don’t risk it
Back over the border the nature of the signs changed:
A1 (S) night closure, 14th August
After forty years of mortarboard and gown
Sunday, July 17th, 2011The outgoing headmaster is far from retiring,
It’s pastures new, not out to grass,
His mark is made, register overflowing,
On final examination, the best in class.
For Mr Paul Strong who after 25 years is moving on from William Farr School to pursue other projects.
traffic report
Monday, July 11th, 2011The herd winds slowly home,
Nose to tail, unthinking! lost,
Frustration the daily grind
Staring and more dull staring,
Unquestion!
The reports come in,
Collection of incidents,
All roads blocked, all routes crawl,
Times have been better,
The short lived excitement of the clear run
Now lane swap looking for the extra yard
Attrition of the modern motorway
Trench warfare system.
Veneer of self determination
The traffic jam goes nowhere in a hurry and that is life.
the deep twilight
Monday, June 27th, 2011the deep twilight
the deep twilight
stillness before the night
millennium of silence
The silent piano
Saturday, June 25th, 2011I hear the silent piano,
inarticulate virtuosity
played only for one soul.
Masterclass in deep relaxation,
as the mind escapes
the tempo falls and rises.
Confusion of Harmonies
Monday, June 20th, 2011Sharp
Harmony injected into my shoulders
Pummel,
I can feel my face swelling up
Pounding
Nearly cry out
Chop
The futility holds me back
Relentless
Will this never stop?
Knead
Not sure I want it to end
Explosions
Naked, open fields, expose to the elements
Ripple,
Wave upon wave, carried in upon the wind
Deafening
Initially my eyes screw up but I learn to
Relax
real live son in action
Friday, June 10th, 2011I can hear the 2nd movement of “Allegro Handel sonata as dur” resonating through the house, filling every corner with the rich flowing sound of trumpet. Glass of wine in hand I lean back, eyes shut, and soak it in. It is a particular source of pride. No CD, no MP3, just real live son in action.
it’s only natural
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011Speeded up 5 x by mistake – tis by such flukes that great discoveries are made. This isn’t one of them but someone might want to confirm the bird species?
The aeroplane
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
I have woken up
We sit obediently in rows
Occupied with our own musings
Watching the map of a flight path
That moves too slowly
Eagerly anticipating every small change
Frankfurt, Mainz, Bonn Cologne
Staring ahead at the curtains that separate
The poor from the privileged occupants
Of the business class cabin
The duty free trolley makes it’s way
Pushed by stereotypes
Aachen, Eindhoven, Utrecht, Brussels,
One hour to go and the drinks trolley
Interrupts the monotony
It is a disappointment.
I wonder if the man and woman
Sat next to me are a couple
They both have the same ebook reader
But have not said a word to each other
He orders a Ginger ale and sits there in contemplation
Watching the bubbles
Something to do, reads the list of ingredients
And squeezes the last drops out of the can
Looks a bit like Lenin.
The English channel finally appears on the map
And I can see good old Norwich
Looks a beautiful cloudless day out there,
I miss the Internet connection
We are cocooned, insulated from the world
Revolutions and tsunamis go unnoticed
Their ripples do not reach thirty thousand feet
Dinners burn and children scrape their knees but we are oblivious
And completely unfocussed,
Lives revolve around new major decisions
Shall I get up to go to the toilet?
Is there a queue?
Man reads his book
Having memorized the inflight magazine on the outward journey
Bruges, Dunkerque, NORTH SEA,
Upper case copied faithfully from the monitor
147 miles to go, thats downhill
My ears pop and the couple have a nuzzle
He whispers something and she laughs
Two little girls watch a movie on what looks like an iPad
Open mouthed, blue and pink headsets
That keep the rest of us thankfully ignorant.
The captain pushes the joystick forward
Assuming they still have joysticks in commercial airlines
I imagine he is reliving the old days in the RAF,
Take her down Caruthers, enemy fighters at one o clock
My ears pop again and I wonder what book she is reading.
I will never find out. Also I don’t want to be disappointed
I don’t want to find out it is some trash novel, or highbrow history
Which would reveal something about her.
After three hours of non communication I want her to remain mysterious
Rush hour at Heathrow and we are in a holding pattern
30 minutes to landing
Aaah I looked, the book is called Bone Magic
Will have to look it up later
We bank again as the plane flies in circles
Eeeeoooww dakadakadaka got him that time Biggles
The fields down below are green squares
I see no plane plummet, plume streaming from punishing
Machine gun bullets fired by ace pilot
Perhaps they can see it out of the other windows
No matter
The nose lifts up slightly as the captain tries to hold her
The muscles on his face tense as he fights the G forces
Beads of sweat appear and the stewardess arrives with a flannel to mop his brow.
Ooh you are brave captain!
He regains control and the aircraft gets back on an even keel
The passengers all cheer and a woman names her baby after him
Someone on the row in front adjusts the air jet above their head
And the kids movie appears to have ended because
Juvenile American accents are now to be heard
Down below rows of ordered red bricks appear
Suburbia disappears in scattered cloud
I don’t suppose they are both reading the same book.
Newspaper read by man in front “Septic Sepp, FIFA in scandal”
I don’t want to know, I am in a cocoon dammit
Their model of ebook is called a nook.
Will have to look that one up
Probably a BOGOF or maybe 50% off the second if purchased at the same time, I don’t know
Woman on the other side of the aisle cuddles bloke
The daylight indicator on the map shows we are approaching the middle of the day.
Casablanca, Alexandria, food for thought, fuel for the imagination
Close those eyes and picture the palm trees. No breeze so no swaying although occasionally a coconut is heard dropping to the desert sand
God its hot
Ahah, cabin crew ten minutes to landing!
The plane perks up and the toilet facilities are no longer available
Remaining drinks containers (ok plastic ups) are collected
And I have to switch off…
The eagle has landed
BA675 non stop Istanbul to London Heathrow, 3rd July 2011