Update

Hi all

Settling into a pattern of being back at weekends and in the woods Mon – Fri.  It seems to be working well.  Writing-wise, I have written a number of poems and planning for the novel is continuing.  The working title is “Knots”, which refers to a number of things, mainly the knots the characters tie themselves in and which form the pattern of their relationships.  I have done a big diagram of all the characters and how they relate to each other and it does resemble a huge knot.

At the weekends I am trying to lick Holly into some sort of shape so that she can eventually take GCSEs.

Oh!  And I’ve improved some of the songs I wrote and will probably set more to music.

And

Here’s a limerick I wrote yesterday:

Panem et Circenses*

A Big Mac and Strictly Come Dancing

that schedule’s a boil that needs lancing

It’s not nice to see ya

my burger tastes queer

Don’t tell me our culture’s advancing.

*  Bread and circuses – what, according to the Roman Emperors, is all the people needed to keep them happy;

Oh!  and I wrote a scene for a short play on BBC 7 (“chaingang”) but couldn’t find an internet cafe in Loughborough to send it from.

To Mirch Marsala tonight where we are having a meal generously provided by our friends Peter and Noel.

PS I’m writing a series of limericks on Friends, which begins like this:

It starts with a Rembrandt or two

who say that they’ll be there for you

a fountain, some jiving

a bride who is skiving

cos everyone says she’s a shoe

The idea is to write a verse for each series.  I’m really into limericks at the moment

W at the Y

Word tonight at the Y theatre Leicester. I shall be reading a couple I sent off for the Mslexia poetry comp, judged by Ruth Padel. She is apparently a descendant of Darwin – which brings me beautifully to a short story I’m going to write about Richard Dawkins, in which he is going to have a road-to-Damascus conversion and become a born-again Christian. It could happen! In fact I think it’s more likely that people who cling tightly to dogmatic views can turn around and embrace the exact opposite view. And I tell you this: Richard Dawkins the evangelical Christian is going to be ten times the pain in the arse that R D the atheist ever was.

If you haven’t read The God Delusion, it’s an interesting rant – I mean, read. I can’t argue with anything he says about religion: it’s the things he doesn’t say that I object to. Yes, religions have been guilty of corruption – but so has politics and business. Yes, religions are guilty of indoctrination – but so is politics – and no, there isn’t any evidence for the existence of God – but how could there be? As Mary Midgely points out in her article, A Plague on Both Your Houses, science does not and cannot concern itself with metaphysics. To say there is no scientific evidence for God is like – like – like an octopus saying there is no sky. Which reminds me of Blake’s Newton, trying to measure the world with compasses, which in turn reminds me that some time in April Peter and I (and possibly the daughter) are going to London to see the Picasso exhibition. Can’t ask the daughter at the mo’, because she is still in Wales. If she ever comes back, I’ll talk to her. Or if she reads this blog…

Ho ho ho.

Yes, it’s been too long..

..since I posted a parody of TS Eliot.  This is a parody of one of his lesser-known poems, Coriolan, which I can only assume from the title, is about Coriolanus, a play I don’t know.

Corrie-olan

Oak, stone, oak, cobbles, oak, stiletto heels

over the Street

and the trombone wails, the cat jumps

from the tiled roof

Here come the titles.

Press the volume button

- I can’t hear. Such a press of people

on the sofa. How many? Count them.

Are they coming? No. Not yet. Who is it?

It’s

Ena Sharples

100,000 curlers in her hair

mouth askew

and now

Elsie Tanner

smoking her 10,000^th cigarette

what about Ken Barlow?

Is he coming? Is he there?

No.

Here she is now, look.

There is no make-up on the eyes

nor lipstick on the lips

the mouth a blur, talking, talking, talking

O Hilda.

Hilda in the kitchen, Hilda under the sofa

searching

for an ashtray.

At the still point of the burning cigarette

O Hilda.

Now the adverts come. And we put the kettle on.

Now comes the tray bearing

tea

tea

mugs of tea, and now

Oak, cobbles, oak, stone, oak, stiletto heels

over the Street

It’s on again.

Laugh! How we did laugh!

That’s it now. Trombone rolls the credits

Shall we turn over and watch Brookside?

WE SHALL.

Just been reading Wendy Cope’s “Making cocoa for Kingsley Amis” which has a brilliant TS Eliot parody in it, which escapes me and sadly the book has now gone back to the library.  So you’ll just have to look it up yourself.

i am going to enter a poetry competition judged by Ruth Padel.  I need to read some of her stuff to get an idea of what she might go for and see what I’ve got.

Just collected all my short stories together and I’ve got about 15, which can’t be bad.  Send a couple off recently for a competition.

TTFN!

PS Peter has a new blog – ratae.wordpress.com

On his way to Preston

Sayings of Peter:

Gets worse, dunnit,eh?

AIn’t that the truth?

Peter was always on his way to Preston

there are two tragedies in life

one is not getting to preston

the other is getting there

(I’ll tell the story of Preston another time.  Right now I have to get ready and teach.  May my students forgive my psychosis.  Pray for me)