The phone goes ping, ping. Someone’s poking me.
Oooh, a text. Who can this be ?
A thought, a plan, or maybe just a wave, which
I save, because it has enriched
My day. Then I send back my reply, and try
To be witty, and clever, but mostly it’s meant
To return their compliment.
28 May 2009
The text message
27 May 2009
The Burton Road Strip Launch
This is an advance notice of a local arts project being launched on Burton Road. It is entitled “The Burton Road Strip” and is centred around a series of poems and photographs published on this website on the subject of some of the shops, eateries and pubs on Burton Road.
The work is being displayed at the Gainsborough Festival on Saturday 6th June and is being showed at local studio No10 Burton Road the following weekend on Saturday 13th June.
The Lincoln event will be announced/covered on the Rod Whiting Breakfast Show on Radio Lincolnshire on Friday 12th June.
On Saturday the Studio at No10 Burton Road will be open from 1pm showing “The Burton Road Strip” together with other work by local writer and poet Tref. At 4pm on this day we are planning some readings together with a glass of wine which you are very welcome to attend.
25 May 2009
What to do on a bank holiday Monday
A no pressure potterday,
None of this making hay,
That’s what you have to do,
On a bank holiday.
23 May 2009
Nothing exists outside these four walls
Nothing exists outside these four walls,
The light is reflected on the windows and
All is black beyond the glass.
My access to the external world
Is a mobile phone which is used
To send text messages,
And Facebook.
It is a virtual world.
I finish a bottle of red wine
And have nothing but my thoughts
And the tick of the clock on the kitchen wall.
The kitchen
A sirloin steak, rare, 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the second, coated in crushed black pepper.
A simple salad , lettuce, vine tomatoes and spring onions with olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar dressing.
Caramelised red onions and whole button mushrooms cooked in their own juices.
Salt, pepper and Dijon mustard.
Wolf Blass, Yellow Label, South Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.
Crusty white bread with butter.
Blackness outside.
Silence.
Thoughts at sundown
Anne and Joe have gone to Grandad’s birthday dinner on the Wirral. Hannah is out babysitting. Tom has gone to a party and John is in bed early because he wants to nurture all his strength for a cricket match tomorrow. An unusual situation.
So I’m sitting here watching the silhouettes in the garden and listening to the birds call their last for the day. I have a bottle of red wine at the ready in the kitchen but it is as yet unopened. I’m waiting for the right moment. That moment when I feel ready to get the griddle out to cook the steak.
The occasional car is still heard on the road at the front of the house. I can’t understand this having spent all day ferrying children to and from their various activities. People need to chill out now and they can’t do this whilst driving.
It is still May but June is fast approaching and I do wonder what happened to spring? I’m sure I happily observed it as it was emerging but somehow the season seems to have rushed by.
Life is incredibly busy. So much so that I often have no idea what is happening the following week. I have to check the calendar on Sunday night to understand where I am going to be and what I will be doing over the subsequent few days.
Because life goes by so quickly the one thing I learnt long ago is the need to savour every minute of it. The children, Anne, friends, and to enjoy everything I do as much as I can. Including work.
Time to cook that steak…
19 May 2009
The Northumberland, Kings Cross
GUINNESS
Robbie’s funeral
Thurs 28th May 10AM
St Pancras Cemetary
High Rd East Finchley
All welcome
RIP
DVDs 4 for £10 – from a Chinaman in the pub
Happy Hour
Mon – Fri 5pm – 8pm
£2 pint or bottle
The men sit at the bar drinking or play pool. Women and children, if there are any, sit at home watching TV.
Pool knockout – every Wed, £2 entry, winner takes all.
The workers away from home have all gone back to their digs.
A foreign couple, he with a half pint and she with some clear liquid, sit watching the adverts having finished their conversation. They occasionally talk. Then they go home.
17 May 2009
Random Symmetry
I see a random symmetry
As the drops hit the puddle
And concentric circles grow
Until they collide and are consumed.
Cares vanish as the rings fade,
Geometric self-hypnosis,
Walking in the gentle rain.
Shell garage
Food on the go,
For people on the move.
Snap your fingers
To the rhythm of a
Pork pie and a pint of milk.
Hit on a coffee
For those wide awake moments.
Mars bars and Lucozade
For that morning after
Energy lift.
Body fuel by Shell.
photo by Andy Benn
16 May 2009
Old Bakery Restaurant
If awards are your scene,
This is a must
For Mediterranean cuisine
If atmosphere is your thing
Come on in.
Family run fine dining
At its best
At your behest.
Coop
A visit to the coop,
Always pays dividends.
Double points,
On Fair Trade products.
photo by Andy Benn
Greenhouse
The ambience,
Suits ladies who lunch,
Take their time over brunch,
Who like their gossip hot,
And their coffee black.
Lucky
If you feel Lucky,
Head down the strip
For some mainstream chow,
Mein on the menu,
Though not by chance
Is this a numbers game,
But you don’t have to gamble
Whilst old favourites are there,
And hunger is the spur,
You’d be prawn crackers not to,
Thirty two, twenty seven,
Beef curry, fried rice please.
photo by Andy Benn
Museum Of Lincolnshire Life
Attention!
Passers by please note,
Entry is now free
And the café is open
Six days a week.
First timers
Are very clearly
Welcome.
Report to reception
Upon arrival
For guidance with your
Visit.
McColls
Tobacco
Confectionery
Chilled drinks, snacks
All at McColls
Groceries,
Fresh food
Bread and cakes,
All at McColls
Top-ups
Lottery
Newspapers, mags
All at McColls
photo by Andy Benn