Hold onto your Bibles…

I’ve found the other poems.  Here they are:

Genesis Triptych

1.

The female form

goes down a storm

still Adam’s bone remains the norm

2.

the man’s the default setting

the woman straight to video

the buck that you must conquer

in your wedding rodeo

3.

We reproduce

you bring your juice

by Israel out of Syracuse

Exodus

exit baby

out of me

you the author

bring the tree

Leviticus Lyric

fibres mixed

behaviours fixed

out and lambed

you’ll be damned.

Continuing our Jenson Button theme, I’ve found a writer at the library called Toby Litt, which definitely sounds to me like some sort of qualification in the arts.

Any more?

They’re onto me…

at Fenwick’s.  I’ve been using their toilets rather than go down to the market, which takes me 15 mins there and back.  I honestly thought they didn’t care but today I was followed by a security guard who nodded significantly at a member of staff as I went by.  So I guess I won’t be doing that again. 

I wrote some poems and thought I’d saved them onto the key-drive but they’re not there.  Except they are, but in a different format.  This drives me crazy – I keep running into problems because we don’t have Word at home.

I can remember three of the poems:

Genesis Triptych

1.

the female form

goes down a storm

tho’ Adam’s bone is still the norm.

2.

the man’s the default-setting

the woman straight to video

the buck that you must conquer

in your wedding rodeo

3.

we reproduce

you bring the juice

by Israel out of Syracuse

I’ve always thought that “ontome” ought to be a word in its own right – like “infamy” – you know, as in Kenneth Williams shouting “Infamy!  Infamy!  They’ve all got it – ” you know the rest.  In Carry on over the Rubicon, or whatever it was.  Ontome, ontome, they’re all onto me!  See?  It could work!

TFN (now drinking 50% less tea)

To my waiting public…

Just realised I didn’t tell you about our plans for the weekend.  So sorry to leave you hanging on like that.  Today we have been shopping, collected Mark from his stint on the CND stall, failed to buy any dinner-plates, succeeded in buying Daniel’s Xmas present, plus some t-shirts for me and slippers for Daniel.

I am hankering for the Saturdays I used to have – meeting my mates in the pub, hanging out, being social.  Nowadays everyone has a Life (with a capital Li*).  Tomorrow I am going to the Martyrs and Mark is going to the cathedral for something relating to his Lay Reader’s course.

Saw Joan (Mark’s mum) on Thurs.  She is waiting for an operation on her knee.

That’s all the news.  Oh!  I am recently getting into Daphne du Maurier, whom I avoided for decades for no better reason than because my mother liked her – and finding her much better than her reputation suggests.  I think I would almost class her than a great writer.

Also reading Proust in French (!)  reading the English first, then the French.  Awesome!

Enjoy your weekend.

*   By which I mean, they have families and houses and gardens and shopping and cars and mortgages and, above all, Work.  Oh, the work!  We have friends who used to be a big part of our lives whom we never see now, because of Work.  I could do a whole Proustian thing on the nature of work and how, pac-man-like, it gobbles up your cookies of time and energy, but I’ll save it for another post.  You know what I mean, anyway

That was the week that was…

Busy this week.  At library working in the day.  Have a collection of poems now which is all dressed up and has nowhere to go.  About half-way through a radio play about some people stuck in a lift – I’ve got the beginning and the end, just need about 20 mins in the middle.  Also getting on with the novel.

Hired a car for a week and will be working up at the chalet next week.  Teacher training tomorrow.

Had a brilliant afternoon at Regent College discussing Holly’s options.  They were great!  Very positive about Home Ed and trying to work with us.  If all goes well Holly will be applying there.  So great to meet some people who are flexible, interested in you and not in making you jump through hoops.

A very positive experience.

Also, breakfast at Tomatoes this morning, a sort of church cafe with newspapers, cooked breakfast (including veggie), live music and chat.  Great!

Stay cool.  Have a good week.

TTFN

Pray for Today

Remember Play for Today?  I thought instead of poem of the day I could include a prayer for the day.  That should ensure that my readership drops, like Leningrad in winter, to below zero.

Can you have less than one reader?  Strictly speaking, I suppose the readership would drop to three:

The three men I admire most

The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost

Recognise that?  It’s a quote from “American Pie”.  Chris complained when I played it at my birthday party (there, Chris!  I’ve mentioned you four times).

Still, I find myself devoid of inspiration.  So I’ll leave it for today.  Although I came across a good thought on the Yoga Journal (www.yogajournal.comI) about a woman who learned acceptance after stepping barefoot in a dog turd!

Bruce Almighty is also about this.  He complains about having a mediocre life, and doesn’t appreciate what he has until it’s gone.

What do I complain about?  This house.  I need to start to appreciate it.

So: that leads us to the prayer for today (I promise that my prayers will not only be non-denominational, they will be suitable for all faiths and probably wishy-washy agnostics as well – erm, sorry, I mean, those of little or no faith.)

Prayer for Today

Wherever I am today, may I accept

that that is where I am.

whoever I see today, may I accept

that they are with me

Whatever I have today, may I accept

that this is what I have.

Whatever I am today, may I accept

that this is who I am.

Change starts with acceptance

Chenge begins with me.

OM

Yes, we know!

Thanks to this blog, all conversation between family and friends is now redundant.  I turn to them and say, “Oh!  By the way, yesterday I…” and before I can go any further, they will say, “Yes, we know – we read it on the blog.”

Mark is now recording my thingy.  You know, my thingy! When pressed, he explains that he is recording my video of the Plinth so that we have it In Perpetuity.  Or at least until the meltdown of all technology.  In which case I will have to fall back on my memories.

Holly is going to Nottingham at an unfeasible hour this morning.  Daniel is having a friend over.  I have no plans.  Or at least, I don’t think I have.

Booked the car for 2 weeks, so we’re all set.  Vague thoughts about visiting an uncle of mine in Bexhill.  I may or may not.  It’s been a long time.

Oh, and that guy on Author’s Attic who was going on and on and on about Russians has started to go on some more.  I have told him (politely) to shut up about it.  The guy who preached at Trinity on Sunday also went on and on and on.  There’s something about him I find disturbing (yes, he is the same one whose sermon on homosexuality I walked out of some weeks ago).

Kirk out

PS  On writing an email to freecycle instead of putting my area “West End” I wrote “Wet End”.  Sounds about right!

PPS Turns out it wasn’t him (on Author’s Attic) but someone responding to him.  But I think we should really let it go now.

God, I miss the screaming…

Yes!  Yes!  Almost back to normal now.  I have written a couple of poems to do on the plinth and it’s really coming together now.  They are called “Peace One Day” and “Action!”  I’ll put them on here afterwards – don’t want to pre-empt the event.

I’m wondering if I should have a megaphone, and if so, how poems about peace are going to come across when shouted via a megaphone.  Reminds me of Vogon poetry – hence the title, which I think comes from the H2G2 film.

Tying up all the loose ends today.  Practising, and hopefully booking a holiday.  I’m staying tomorrow night with a friend of Claire’s called Anna – and for a while I thought she lived near St Peter’s Church, Edmonton, because she’s in London N9.  Turns out London N9 is quite a big area.  She’s not even near Oakfield Rd, Stoke Newington, where my grandparents came from – and it isn’t easy to get from one place to the other on the tube.  Ah well.   The holiday cottage I really want, though, is in Rustington, and I know that’s near where my grandparents retired.  Rustington is only a small town.

My head is coming together.  Thank god.

Kirk out.

(Oh, all right then – if you don’t know, it means “Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.  2 H’s and 2 G’s – geddit?)www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/

Help! We’ve come to church by mistake!

Unexpectedly went to Church of the Martrys today.  We were walking to Trinity when I felt All Wobbly (to use the technical term).  I said to Mark, I’m not going to make it – and at that point we were opposite the Martyrs!  They welcomed us very warmly.  I guess there’s a chance we might start going back there.

Couple of rounds in the park – felt fine doing them but a bit wobbly after.

Holly has gone to Lifebeat.  Claire and Stuart took her this year.

Kirk out

Should have said: Help!  We’ve come to church by mistake!  (Withnail and God)

Happy Birthday to – Ugh!

Mark’s birthday today – 42.  AND it’s on a Thursday.  I bought him Richard Dwkins’ God Delusion and a book called The Case for God.

I am not feeling well today.  I think I’m just exhausted from waking up at between 4.30 and 6 am every morning.

For the last month.

Going to stay in bed today.

Yawn

Out

Speaking of total veg…

Yesterday Mark and I both fell asleep in church.  And the sermon was not boring – in fact it was good (Mark wishes it to be recorded that he didn’t actually fall asleep – he was just resting his eyes.  My grandad used to do a lot of that.)  On the way home, we both realised that we are exhausted – in fact I had asked for prayer for a holiday.  The woman who prayed with me was very nice and asked permission to touch me on the shoulder – THIS IS IMPORTANT – others please take note!

What we need is either:

an injection of cash

or

someone with a house by the sea who would like to swap and stay in our chalet in the woods.  Any offers?

It’s raining today.  Yesterday I spent the whole afternoon and evening watching films and having a bath.  I watched:

Shaun of the Dead

Shallow Grave

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

Bruce Almighty

We did stop watching How to Get Ahead in Advertising to listen to the Archers.  Does anyone hate Matt Crawford as much as I do?  Also, I was wondering whether Annette is actually going to meet Jazzer rather than Alice’s friends – but I could be wrong about that.  I just have the feeling she’s Up to Something.  (Wednesday: she wasn’t, at that point, but last night Jazzer phoned and she ditched her plans and agreed to go out with him.  The words “hiding” and “nothing” come to mind.)

Film-watching very therapeutic – went to bed at 8.45 and feel much better this morning.

Today I am going to train in the park at lunchtime.  All this week I will be training at 1 pm because that’s when I’m going to be up there!

And it’s raining.  Mark (blessings be upon him) is going to join me.

reluctantly.

Kirk out