Forward To The Past

Post 44: Amazing Echiums and Garden Notes

There is only one subject on our radar at the moment, and that’s the garden. But especially, our amazing Echiums! We inherited these giant Viper’s Bugloss, when we moved here in 2004. Initially, they were classified as ‘mystery plants’, until we discovered, and identified them in a local Mencap garden. With climate change creeping ever […]

Post 43: Influencers and Agony Aunts

PROBLEMS 1992 Dear Auntie . . I’m ever so lonely And my boyfriend’s gone off with my mate I think I’m too fat, though my chest is too flat All in all, I’m a terrible state Dear Auntie . . . I hope you can help me […]

Post 42 Mayday, Mayday, M’aidez

MAY DAY MAY DAY M’AIDEZ It’s the May day holiday Time for play and get away Blue sky pollen high Swallows twitter as they fly Time to sit in warming sun Summer rituals begun Birds are everywhere in song From morning light to evening’s long May Day May Day Hear the calls from […]

Post 41: Spring Gardening

The days are lengthening and the trees are greening.Thrushes sing from early morning to early night. Fruit tree blossom clothes the bare branches. We delight in the animal life that finds food in our bird friendly borders and beds. And we rediscover the joy of gardening life. These two poems were written some years ago; […]

Post 40: The Paucity and Plenty Paradox

The Robin and the Worm Springtime’s about and I venture out On a perfect gardening day I prune and shear I cut and clear And watch the robin hovering near It’s never very far away From disturbed earth a worm appears And winds across the grass Its progress though is rather slow While it decides […]

Post 39: Topical Turnips or Scrumptious Swede?

I was going to relate a heartwarming garden encounter for this next post. But, after the discussion about the replacement of turnips for tomatoes, I was minded to go with this repeat of an ode I wrote in February 2020; which was meant to be a lighthearted take on our exodus from Europe. BRELEGY […]

Post 38: Princes, Power and Presidents

POWER COLOUR November 1995 Grey, Power colour Colour of granite and the city suit Grey; colour of thunder clouds And battleships, colour of grime And stone quarries And the grey men Behind the smoky windows Of their grey limousines I am ambivalent regarding the advantages, morality and preference of […]

Post 37: Who are Indigenous?

I read that far right groups are using the phrases ‘Indigenous Britain’ and ‘Migrant Britain’ as another ploy to demonise their imagined enemies. I prefer to call these ideologues ignorant rather than stupid; but that is based on the assumption that they haven’t bothered to check the facts; or their own personal DNA. I think […]

Post 36: New Year Resolution

Resolution’s something that we’ll need this year. This will be the year when we find out if the human race can turn the tanker round, can work together for the good of the planet, because, guess what? It’s the only way that things do work. If robotics have taught us anything at all, it’s that […]

Post 35 Solstice by the Sea

Two poems written in the nineties; at around this time of year SHORESCAPE 1991 As the tide ripples in It falls on the sand like silk White, gleaming in the dying sun The iridescent folds of vaporous cloth Cling for an instant Then slip languidly away Revealing the dampened skin of sand Glistening with abandoned […]