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

And here are some of the better photos

Last night was great

In this photo you can see (left to right): someone from National CND, old man who looks like Michael Foot, Mark, Jan – (in red holding the banner) and – erm, some other people.  Should have uploaded a different photo with all my friends in.  Not to mention Bruce Kent.  I’ll find another one later.

Last night:

Present: Peter, Jan, Yvan, Claire.  Also, back from Lifebeat – Holly!  She brought with her a number of necklaces and bracelets that she’d made.  I made pizza and salad and hoped that others would bring snacks.  In fact everyone brought wine so we ended up with 2 bottles of rose, one of white, plus 2 wine boxes (one of which Steve had mauled in an attempt to wrestle it open) and half a bottle of red.

A good had was time by all.

the pizza went down well, and the plinth video generated a lot of interest.  We watched another one of a woman in the middle of the night doing shadow puppets to an audience of one (a policeman).  It is great to see what people come up with.  And the best thing about this whole project is – it’s a celebrity-free zone!

We need this.  We need a return to people being themselves, valuing what they are and what they have to offer.  Being interested and interesting – and above all, not worrying about what they look like!

Long may it continue.

Gormley for President.

Kirk out

PS Oh, and Peter’s photos were much appreciated also – here are a couple – showing my supporters with their banners, and one with me doing a victory dance when I’d finished.

This is my absolute favourite photo of the Plinth – I’d just finished and was jumping up and down in elation!

Have you come far? What are you reading?

Wrote an article about the Plinth for OM magazine, a yoga publication.  Steve came round and we watched the video of me on the Plinth.  I don’t seem to have made it into the week’s highlights, although that does say “Last week’s highlights” so maybe that was the week before (That was the week, that was – remember TW3?).

I am reading an Alan Bennett called The Uncommon Reader.  It’s about the Queen discovering a mobile library outside the Palace and starting to read.  As with all Alan Bennetts, every male in it is gay.

Trinity today.  I shall wear my new skirt.  Then this evening people are coming round to watch the video and eat pizza.

Drank a lot of wine last night.  It was great!  Oh, and Steve, having bought a wine box for the first time, complained about how hard it was to get the wine out.  Turns out he’d dismantled the box and tried to get the wine out by wringing the bag!

We put him right.

Kirk out

PS Oh!  And we have booked a week in East Sussex, near Pevensey Bay.  Should be great!

Leicester Mercury article

Here is the link:

www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Liz-joins-plinth-artwork/article-1230521-detail/article.html

The Life of Dumbledore

Watching HPHBP again before it goes back to the library.  Dumbledore has four names – Albus, Percival, Wulfric, Brian Dumbledore.  I have deconstructed these:

Albus – Latin for white, a good guy

Percival – a medieval knight

Wulfric – a Saxon warrior

and

Brian – he’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy

PS Some people have said they weren’t able to watch my poem about the Vestas people, and they were wondering whether it had been expunged for political reasons.  Seems unlikely, we think

Kirk out

PS Watched it again and it is on there

Good morning Judge

Feel as if I’ve got over a hump and can start moving forward with my poetry and stuff.  The plinth was a great thing and the poems came across really well on the internet – we watched the video yesterday.  Will try to put a link here.

This morning Mark is at Igreen and Splea (see previous post) earning some money.

Yesterday we had a very social day.  CND Hiroshima vigil in the morning (I did a few sun salutations and an ex-soldier came up and had a long conversation with one of us about how he had changed his views) followed by breakfast in town, reading the Mercury article (see yesterday’s post), then I went shopping and bought a FANTASTIC new skirt (when I’ve finished hemming it I may upload a picture) followed by coffee with Anna who was also shopping in town.  Then off to find a top to go with the skirt, then met Mark’s mum for lunch, after which Daniel and I scuttled off to Game or Game Boy or Game Action or one of those places to immediately spend the money he had been given.  I think he has about £5 left.  Still, he seems happy with his games.  And finally, home at around 3-ish.  I am hemming the skirt as it drags along the ground a little – it’s not quite a full circle skirt but not far off.  £22 from Voodoo.  Check it out!

And so to bed, as Pepys was fond of saying.  An early night.

Didn’t wake up till 6.30 this morning.  Not too bad.

We are having a video party on Sunday night, for those who couldn’t be there on Weds.

Photos of me

Here’s a photo of me on the plinth.  I’m also in today’s Mercury – check it out!

Kirk out

PS Yes, I know there’s three pictures of me.  Thought it hadn’t uploaded the first two times.  Still, it makes a nice triptych!

The early-burly of the first commuters

This was a phrase that came to me this morning.  Yesterday was BRILLIANT!  It was AMAZING to be up there, to see the London skyline as I did my stretchs and twists, to look over at the clock of St Martin’s in the Fields and see how I was doing (the time really flew – it didn’t seem like an hour), to see people down below – they’re really close and you can talk to them if you want.  Oh!  And Bruce Kent turned up, which was great – haven’t seen him since 1980-something – and a couple of London CND people with a banner and the square was FULL because it was lunchtime and everything went great except I wasn’t really practised with the megaphone and kept getting feedback or not being heard so the poems didn’t come across that well.  Still, they will have come over on the internet I expect. *

Afterwards I did the only decent thing and got drunk.  Found a brilliant pub just off the square and quaffed (that’s the only word for it) several pints of London Pride.  Chris turned up and we introduced him to the pub.  A had time was good by all.

Then back to Leicester and we marched straight down to Pizza Express.  By the time the food arrived I was ravenous.

Horrible glass of Chianti though.  That was a mistake.

Slightly hung over this morning but not too bad.

The early burly catches the curly wurly.

So thanks to all who came and supported me.

Will try to watch it on the net now.

Kirk out

*They did!

Wednesday afternoon, 1 pm

Don’t forget!! Set clocks and watches!  Programme alarms!!!  Tie a knot in EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAARGH!