Love Poetry Extraordinaire
LOVE POETRY EXTRAORDINAIRE I believe that many people may find a lot to relate to, argue about and be moved or amused by in my new book. How could you know? Poems about love has just been published by Amazon. It’s available as an ebook kindle download, or as a 100 page paperback. How do […]
Poem about Iraq
A poem about Iraq in 2003 Tony Blair’s visit to Southern Iraq early in 2003. He explained the wisdom of the war. MY POEM A Message from Tony Blair to the People of Iraq (Written a few days after the start of the attacks by US and UK forces, March 2003. It has been claimed […]
Apple strudel – verses for St Valentine’s Day
Apple strudel – poem for St Valentine’s Day My darling, you are the apple strudel of my eye, naughty but nice. And yet, friends warn me that you are dangerous and I’ll live to regret that we ever met. I don’t agree, my delectable extrovert. Time will tell our fortune and I shall be content […]
Love is its own reward
Poem – Love is its own reward A poem for NHS workers and everyone in caring professions who go on caring for others, even though they don’t receive the recognition or respect or pay that they deserve. In spite of the main idea of the poem, love alone is not a sufficient reward. Love […]
My new book of poems about love
My new book How could you know? – Poems about love Love experienced, love observed, love examined from different angles, love in the context of human life in all its variety. – This is an exceptional book of love poetry. It goes beyond expressions of adoration, wonder, longing, and loss – the rhetoric of love […]
Cleo Laine – Jazz Singer
Cleo Laine, brilliant documentary I strongly recommend you to see the Cleo Laine documentary on BBC iPlayer. I bought the All About Me Cleo Laine LP well over 50 years ago, and I once saw her with the Johnny Dankworth band in Worthing. So I knew she was a wonderful singer with a great voice […]
Hans Zimmer – Film Music Genius
Fascinating documentary about a musical genius Hans Zimmer is the most successful composer of film scores this century. His story was told in a recent BBC2 documentary which can now be seen on BBC iplayer or downloaded from the internet at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001d9jf/hans-zimmer-hollywood-rebel It tells how he was expelled from eight schools in Germany before his […]
Jazz 2022 in Brighton Fringe
Jazz 2022 in Brighton Fringe This May and June sees the largest arts festival in England in action in Brighton. Here are some terrific jazz events: More info at https://www.brightonfringe.org/whats-on/ Chris Coull and gig information
Brilliant South Coast Jazz at Shoreham Just West of Brighton
Just experienced another brilliant jazz morning at the Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham. Sunday 5th December 2021. Mike Hatchard’s “Jazz Breakfast”. Top musicians on brilliant form. Duncan Lamont saxophone and flute, Nils Solberg guitar, Paul Morgan double bass, Mike Hatchard, Keyboard. A scintillating morning. Mike runs these events every month on the first Sunday of the […]
Willie McBride – a popular folk song relating to the First World War
I don’t know how widely known it is that some very popular and excellent folk songs were written about The First World War long after the event – poetry often overlooked.One of the most popular is the lament for the death of Willie McBride, but its meaning is wider that just that. I have heard […]
Climate change? – Poem – What little I know
This is me in the Mojave Desert, California, in 2009 Climate change is not new Ever since there have been climates on earth there has been climate change. Today we know that large areas of the earth are threatened by rising sea levels and other areas are threatened by droughts. Such problems have been common […]
A modern poem for Remembrance Day
One of nearly 400 memorials at The National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire A Hymn for Remembrance Sunday May be used as a prayer or sung to the music, Finlandia, by Jean Sibelius Grant peace, O Lord, across our strife-torn world,Where war divides and greed and dogma drive.Help us to learn the lessons from the past,That all […]
Remembrance Day – Sources of Remembrance Poems and Readings
The sculpture by Ian Rank-Broadley is perhaps the best known memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire. It was inspired by the Ancient Greek tradition of carrying dead heroes from the field of battle on a shield. Here the shield has been replaced by a stretcher and a grieving family has been […]
A witty, insightful and entertaining film about a mature woman with problems with work and romance
French Film, Aurore, I got Life A witty, insightful and entertaining film about Aurore, a 50 year-old woman looking for love and struggling to cope with men, work and other stresses. I Got Life Aurore with her friend Aurore meets her daughter’s boyfriend Aurore is divorced, looking after her two teenage and maturing daughters and […]
OUR YORKSHIRE FARM – New series
Welcome return of that positive, inspiring and cheerful programme about a couple raising 1000 sheep and nine children – OUR YORKSHIRE FARM. New series. 9pm Tuesday 5 October 2021, Channel 5. We are gradually catching up on all the previous programmes using the watch-again facility, “My5” via my phone and Chromecast. Brilliant people, brilliant family. […]
Hurst Festival 2021 is in full swing
DON’T MISS OUT. The Hurst Festival is in full swing in the village of Hurstpierpoint, a few miles north of Brighton. Joe Stilgoe We are going to see Joe Stilgoe on Thursday 23rd September. Dazzling pianist and great entertainer. Also Other events. Variety There’s amazing variety. A top Queen tribute band in the church on Saturday 18th. Drama […]
Great TV – Our Yorkshire Farm on My5 Watch Again
Great TV – Our Yorkshire Farm on My5 Watch Again Our Yorkshire Farm A TV programme that is truly positive and life-enhancing. You may not be interested in sheep farming as a topic but it is hard not to find the events on this particular farm really interesting – especially if you have ever tried […]
Philharmonia – psychological thriller on All4, on demand
Philharmonia – psychological thriller on All4, on demand Philharmonia is a French six-part psychological drama. We are watching it on All4 via our phone and chromecast but there are other ways to access All4 free on demand series.The story is set in Paris, mainly in the concert hall of a top French orchestra. The cast […]
Montalbano – the last ever book and film
Montalbano – last ever book and film Have we seen the last of Montalbano? One episode has not been shown on British television. This episode is called Beloved Salvo, My Livia. It was shown on Italian television on 8th of March last year, 2020, and viewed by 9 million Italians. It has still to be […]
All About Montalbano – the international TV and literary hit
All About Montalbano – the international TV and literary hit Montalbano and The Young Montalbano Montalbano and The Young Montalbano are two crime series set in Sicily.They have enjoyed huge worldwide success. And in Italy, when the series were running on tv, 45% of the Italian population viewed the dramas. The title roles are played […]
Ernest Hemingway – Fascinating BBC Documentary on i-player
Ernest Hemingway – 1899–1961 – Fascinating Documentary on BBC i-player We have just started watching a fascinating BBC iPlayer documentary about the life of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was one of America’s most celebrated novelists and short story writers who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. He was a war reporter and himself a […]
Buddy Rich – Nutville – Driving Jazz Performance
For many years I have heard talk of Buddy Rich as “the greatest drummer in the world”. Recently, through the gift of YouTube, I’ve been able to see and hear him at work. I don’t agree with “best in the world” titles but Buddy Rich is certainly a great drummer and what’s more he’s a […]
Outstanding Sculpture by Brighton Artist, Alison McGechie
Last Saturday (5 June 2021) I went to an exhibition of sculpture in stone, ceramics, wood, and metal by my friend, Brighton artist, Alison McGechie. The exhibition was at the Coachwerks workshop and gallery. Her work is outstanding as you can see by the photographs on this page and more on Alison’s website. Link at […]
Errol Garner – Concert by the sea
Concert by the Sea – the famous Erroll Garner Concert Concert By The Sea was one of the first LPs I ever bought. I was 18 at the time and very impressed by the energy and style of this great pianist, Erroll Garner. This was 1960. The recording had been made in 1955. Live performance […]
Important and fascinating book about Iraq
Iraq, its breakup and exploitation by Western powers, is described in this important and fascinating book by Riad El Taher, O Daughter of Babylon. Riad El-Taher, born in Iraq tells the story of his remarkable life: how he came to Britain as a teenager and trained as an engineer and worked for a number of […]
Two witty, thoughtful and entertaining films about mature women with problems with romance
Two witty, thoughtful and entertaining films about mature women with problems with romance The films, one English and the other French, are about two mature women looking for love and struggling to cope with men, work and other stresses. – Bridget Jones’s Baby (not about the baby) and Aurore/I Got Life. Bridget Jones’s Baby is […]
A United Kingdom – true, political, social, romantic drama
A United Kingdom – a moving and important film Romance / drama, 2016, 1-hour 51 minutes Directed by Amma Asante Seretse Khama – David Oyelowo Ruth Williams – Rosamund Pike Currently (April 2021) available on BBC iPlayer, Amazon, etc This powerful, and impressive love story concerns Seretse Khama, a black, Oxford educated law student in […]
Waterway blocked
Waterway blocked – from facebook
Brilliant French psychological tv drama on All4 – in French
Bruno Debrandt and Julie Gayet as Florent and Victoire in French drama, “Torn” This 6-part French tv drama has recently arrived on the All4 free streaming service. In French with English subtitles it is called Torn in English. Its French title is Soupçons, (Suspicions) which I think is more fitting. Also, there was a mini-series […]
The Bridge, Saga Noren and the pornography of violence
The Bridge, Saga Noren, and the pornography of violence The Bridge, Swedish/Danish crime series, is addictive (We’ve watched 29 episodes, almost at the end of series 3.) but isn’t there really too much of the pornography of violence? Our addiction We started watching The Bridge near the beginning of lockdown in March 2020 and after […]
Support British Musicians and the British Music Industry
Support British Musicians and the British Music Industry Brexit in practice shows that negotiated arrangements are, in some cases, very unsatisfactory. Something needs to be done to correct problems that should never have arisen. Power is with The European Commission The difficulty now is that the real power to make changes lies with the unelected […]
Anticipating 2021
Anticipating 2021 My first thought about the coming year is a feeling of great gratitude to the people who have developed vaccines against covid-19. My second thought is a similar feeling of gratitude to all the people who are under exceptional pressure and workloads and work so hard in the NHS to look after the […]
Barnard Castle Eye Test IPA
Brewed to commemorate Dominic Cummings’ historic visit to Barnard Castle – Barnard Castle Eye Test IPA, 6% proof. If you tried it you may have needed more than an eye test to continue driving. I missed out but apparently you can buy empty cans as collectors items on eBay.
Poem – What do I know?
Poem – What do I know? What does anyone know? What do I know? The origin of the universe its scale its destiny are beyond my understanding. This earth so rich so poor so vulnerable so uncontrollable is all we have. I accept that I am less than a speck in the sandstorm of stars. […]
The Announcer – great little drama on All4 – in French
The Announcer – great little drama on All4 We really enjoyed and would strongly recommend this powerful story. Described as a period drama The Announcer is set in 1962 in de Gaulle’s France and the time of the Algerian fight for independence from France’s colonial rule. French youths are dying in a fight they cannot […]
Spotify needs a new formula for sharing revenue with musicians
Spotify dominates the music industry of the world with its music streaming service. In December 2020 it is a company valued at 60 billion dollars. Currently 90% of Spotify’s huge revenue goes to just 1% of the musicians on its books. 99% of musicians share the remaining 10 percent of revenue. This cannot be right. […]
Shoplifters – A film I highly recommend
Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (2018) Winner at Cannes of the Palme d’Or. This is a deep, fascinating, absorbing film that you may find yourself thinking about long after it is finished. Father and son shoplifters returning home on a cold winter night in Tokyo come across a small girl shivering outside her house […]
3 Ten-line poems – Heatwave, First day at uni, A heart in winter
I write the occasional poem. Here are three of them. Writing a poem in ten lines is a useful discipline. It concentrates the mind. I think poems should pack as much meaning as they can in the fewest possible words. I am not a fan of gushing words, clever but meaning little. Heatwave The hottest […]
The ten-line poetry competition – My covid poem
For ten years the small town and port of Shoreham-by-Sea, on the south coast of England, just along the coast from Brighton, has had a thriving, popular literary festival. This year (2020) being the tenth anniversary of the festival the organisers decided to run another poetry competition. The requirement this year was for a ten […]
