There are insensitive, thoughtless and vacuous people everywhere.
Today UK children are going to school with not enough food in their bellies, and inadequate heating in their homes.
Today UK Teachers can't do their jobs for lack of books, and some are working in poverty.
Today UK children are going to schools that are literally falling down around their heads.
Today UK nurses are treating our sick and injured with inadequate staffing and equipment, some, whilst officially working in poverty.
( all that while Kwasi Kwarteng, who wrote a book calling for the destruction of the NHS is on the take for a £10,000 a day second job! )
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/26/kwasi-kwarteng-fake-korean-firm-boris-johnson-introduction
And what are the Daily Haters of UK journalism obsessing about?
The colour of someone's hair, the colour of his partner's skin, and the size of some Kardashian's arse!
Hey, shorty, get a life!😀
💓
Comment is about The Too Tall Tool by LADpoem (story of a 6ft 7 man) (blog)
Original item by LADpoem
I like this, Pete. It explores a lot of things and poses many questions. 'Black and white interference' is very evocative.
Comment is about Rain (blog)
Original item by Edbreathe
Thank you, Clare. I like the way the pace and rhyme of this makes it a fluent read. The message is a little pessimistic to some readers but I admire your honesty. I do see John's point about making amends.
But overall a really interesting poem.
Comment is about People Like Us (blog)
Original item by Clare
Love the atmospherics of this one, Greg. It is sobering to think that at the time of Beeching the internal combustion engine was seen as providing the transport of the future and that in a few years time its phase-out will begin. Nothing stays the same for ever; perhaps it is the turn of the branch lines again.
Comment is about Barter Books, Alnwick (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thank you, MC. Of course, I was not comparing British royalty to anyone, just pointing out (in a facile way, I suppose) that there is a continuum of cowardice between those who shoot animals for fun and those who fire missiles at civilians. In both cases, it is power exercised from a safe distance and targeting the defenceless.
Thanks to Steve and Stephen A for liking.
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thankyou, Graham and Greg. And yes, Yorkshire abounds in Viking place names, sitting as it did east of the Danelaw line. And Northumberland (Northumbria) meant lands north of the River Humber, ie including Yorkshire..
Thanks for the Likes, John, Jack and Stephen.
Comment is about IF THEY COME (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
New poem to mark the 60th anniversary of the Beeching report that resulted in the closure of most of Britain's branch line railways.
Comment is about Barter Books, Alnwick (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
I always thought most Yorkshiremen were Vikings, John! I love the Northumberland vibe and sense of history in this one.
Comment is about IF THEY COME (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Tue 28th Mar 2023 01:31
What a wise and wonderful message this is
Comment is about People Like Us (blog)
Original item by Clare
The French Revolution happened because of unbridled uncaring
excess indulged in by the privileged and powerful at the
expense of the far less so among the population. Out of
that revolt came the excesses of its own leading figures whose
conduct saw their own fellow travellers turn on THEM. Check
"Maximilian Robespiere" for starters. Violence has indeed
always been a part of the human condition and we ignore that
reality at our peril, but to compare our present Royalty to
other eras and their outcomes is too facile. not least for the
evidence to the contrary..
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Nice one! Can be read and interpreted in various ways that add
to its message - and perhaps, its challenge.
Comment is about People Like Us (blog)
Original item by Clare
But to make amends for what? For being alive? For being who we are? I lost my best friend to suicide: I have survivor's guilt as well as recurring grief. But sometimes I have to be cruel to be kind, and I try to begin each day a-new.
"Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I've taken for granted." Sylvia Plath
Comment is about People Like Us (blog)
Original item by Clare
Excellent JC.
I don't think we haven viking members so you should be safe!
Comment is about IF THEY COME (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Really lovely, inspired me this morn to live with peace & awareness. Thanks, Clare!
Comment is about People Like Us (blog)
Original item by Clare
Thanks Steve for your comment, an honest and beautiful one. Your friend sounds like she is in the midst of a difficult journey. I was a bit of a self fulfilled prophecy through a big part of my twenties. It's possible to find the light, but not always easy. I hope your friend can find some healing at some point.
Best wishes,
Rasa
Comment is about The Self-Fulfilled Prophecy (blog)
Original item by Rasa Kabaila
Hello fitzroy h.
I’ve been thinking about your comment addressed to me on Mirabel’s post: The Celtic Sea.
I’ve never viewed “The Enlightenment” as a discrete event, merely as a period in what’s been a gradual process in our increasing understanding and response to the world around us.
And the “British Dark Ages”? So-called because historians (Roman / Greek? et al) had recorded relatively little about the time after the Romans upped sticks?
Also, I suspect that some British historians right up to recent centuries, seized on that description because it appeared to justify the ambitions of British imperialists as bringers of the so-called light of “civilisation”, for example, to the likes of “Darkest Africa”?
Comment is about The Celtic sea / (blog)
Original item by Mirabel
This could almost have been written for a particular friend of mine. Sadly she does not want to be led into the light.
Lovely poem
Best wishes, Steve
Comment is about The Self-Fulfilled Prophecy (blog)
Original item by Rasa Kabaila
It's nice of you to mention that, Graham. It sounds like a most moving and uplifting occasion.
Thanks, Greg. Yes, the spectacle of those with power taking advantage of those who don't have any is a recurring theme now.
Probably best to keep Chazza at home for the moment, although 'it really is appalling' could have been used with some effect on the streets of Paris.
1649? A chip (or a chop) off the old block, as they say!
And thanks to Pete, Hélène and K Lynn for the likes.
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Interesting to link the royals and their 'harmless' country pursuits with Putin, Steve. Someone has mentioned 1789 when discussing the cancellation of King Charles's visit to France because of the current unrest. I always have 1649 in the back of my mind, too.
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Stephen, I was thinking of you last evening (Friday) whilst at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. See 'Singing through the Tears' on the blog.
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you very much, Keith. Some say that violence is part of the human condition, but I refuse to believe it. At least not this kind of violence - the violence of cowards, shooting (missiles or hunting rifles) from a safe distance at a defenceless target.
And thanks to John C, Nigel, Manish and Hugh for the likes.
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I've only just seen this, Linda. Thanks for the mention. My theory is that most of us suffer from some degree of 'imposter syndrome', apart from Donald Trump.
I really enjoyed the MA but I did it part-time, over two years and so had more time to settle in.
I'm pleased you enjoyed your dissertation though and you do some great work in encouraging others to be creative . .
Comment is about ‘I now help many people find their own pleasure in writing. You can't put a price on that' (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
I would, if I could, but I can't!😊
Comment is about வாழ்க்கை பயணம் (blog)
Original item by Gopikrishna
6 years Cynthia and I missed giving my responce? (Hiawatha)
Tommy
Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
Dorries the Sycophant.
And thanks for the Like, Nigel.
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Lina Lee
Sat 25th Mar 2023 11:39
Thanks a lot! amazing verse! I would not be able to write! a heaven images https://depositphotos.com/stock-photos/heaven.html l would look great here! I really like the associations and this is exactly what caused me just such associations!
Comment is about Images (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Re Old Testament question:
"Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4,King James Version
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
My Answer: I most certainly am my brothers'-and my sisters' keeper.
Another answer in the New Testament:
"When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35 One of them, an expert in Moses’ Teachings, tested Jesus by asking,
36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses’ Teachings?”
37 Jesus answered him, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the greatest and most important commandment.
39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’
40 All of Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Just saying!
Hope that clarifies my position on social justice.
😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇
Comment is about Screwed! (blog)
Paying by cheque-mate?😉
Comment is about A bad move having a meal out with a mate!! (blog)
Original item by hugh
Thanks (again)! I don't usually write 'political' poems, but... needs must!
Comment is about Who includes diversity... (blog)
Original item by Chris Armstrong
I will be re-titling this piece Stardate 22995.3 which is the star trek date conversion for July 12th 1969, the UK date for the launch of this great ongoing story,
I know I sound a bit geekish, but this was just 8 days before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and we all considered we would be buzzing around in starships very soon, especially a nine-year-old boy with a vivid imagination
Comment is about It was, and always will be, 1969 (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Yes I saw that Q. Time clip. Hilarious!
And this from Johnson sycophant N. Dorries.
https://youtu.be/7GePe_mp7Xo
In denial, lying through her teeth, trying to defend Johnson, claiming he’s being fitted up by a “Kangaroo Court”.
Again, absolutely hilarious, were it not for the tragic consequences for UK democracy.
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
A delicate and moving response to the horrors of war, Chris. I really admire this. The world needs a poem like this every day.
Comment is about Who includes diversity... (blog)
Original item by Chris Armstrong
Stephen,
Thank you for a poem of such poignancy. It made me think of how the world chases about and after all types of nonsense as others suffer in absolute torment.. Soldiers who die in their hundreds everyday whilst political leaders enjoy wealth and unlimited comfort.
Thank you for this
Keith
Comment is about Pot Shots (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thankyou, Julie. And for the Like, Stephen.
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thanks for the likes and kind comment Stephen
Comment is about Tree Blossom (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Thanks made me laugh and made me revisit my version from Jan 2022, shame this topic is still making headline news 14 months on! Mine was a different take and no comparison to yours though. “It’s not my party and I’ll deny it if I want to.”
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thanks for your thoughts, Stephen and MC. This is phenomenal. No-one, that’s no-one, in the Question Time audience thought BJ was telling the truth.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-65064708
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
The Pied Piper of popular political pastiche on song again!
I can even imagine Bojo singing this to Carrie in the privacy of
their home!! Were you composing when Nixon said "I am not a
crook" or Clinton; "I did not have sex with that woman"? or
Blair's shameless huge hit: "Weapons of Mass Destruction"?
Just thinking of what we have missed. 😎.
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Enjoyed this, JD. William Shatner subsequently became the master of deadpan humour, although he wasn't always aware of it. All sounds a bit Corbynite now - for the many, not the few (or the one!)
Comment is about It was, and always will be, 1969 (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Well said, Julie. The cherry blossom is already out around here.
Comment is about Tree Blossom (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Trevor Homer cites WB Yeats' poem "The Second Coming"
when referring to me as "the ever populist" (please enlarge on
that term if you can). It is a poem I too consider relevant to
the modern age for a variety of reasons. However, these are
not restricted to the rightful desire of a nation state to act in its
own interests when others do not. TH might refer
to the question posed in the Bible: Am I my brother's keeper?
A poet's style and perceived ability are indeed relevant when
commenting, but so is the content and intent of the material.
That's surely always an integral part of criticism or praise - and
an essential aspect of debate in poetry.
Comment is about Screwed! (blog)
I also enjoyed this poem very much (my previous comment was perhaps a little glib).
The Smogg's obscene views (e.g. on abortion rights) have to be challenged on every occasion.
Comment is about Screwed! (blog)
Thank you, Trevor. The Windrush scandal was just that - a scandal.
Good people victimised by incompetents for the sake of mean-spirited gesture politics (as you say).
Your poem is a hymn to their dignity and courage.
Comment is about LOST IN TRANSLATION (blog)
Original item by trevor homer
Well done, John. I think the text (well sung, by the way) brings out the fact that BJ has lied so much that he probably doesn't know, or care, that he is doing it anymore.
Lying is my way of life
It is my calling card
It's why I am so clever,
So devious, so hard.
Comment is about IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Tue 28th Mar 2023 09:36
Thanks John; the British Isles have a fascinating history.
Unfortunately, the enemy's already within and well-known: they named a bottle of sauce after them- HP-Houses of Parliament.
Actually Graham- what did the Vikings ever do for us?
They gave me blood of the Vikings - Dupuytren's contracture, that's what.
I've had several operations on both hands, mostly sucessful; not a painful condition but inconconvenient, especially me being a musician.😉
https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/dupuytren-s-contracture-the-viking-disease-explained
Comment is about IF THEY COME (blog)
Original item by John Coopey