4820 - Flat flap

Woke early, Chan's last day here, briefly saw
Her pop into the kitchen and the fridge
While at work, she messaged with a picture
Of the keys on the table, a message
Of goodbye and good luck. Now a passage
To Korea for her, as the fireworks bang
Back here in Salford, keeping heritage
Alive, it really feels like sturm und drang
Round here! Now the flat's empty, couldn't hang
Fire on a bottle of wine. So let's pour
It out while I ponder finding just which
Person's right for this flat. Talking to Chan
Last night, got feedback, so I can be sure
Who would fit well here and how much to charge

4055 - Rumble in the jungle

What's new in the news? Catalonia
Holding an independence referendum
On Sunday, Spain's police hysteria
Trying to stop it happening to them
Meanwhile a volcano's starting to hum
And hiss on Bali, residents beware
The monkeys and snakes have gone on the run
They feel the rumblings and they're getting scared
Humans, take note and move on out of there
In Yosemite Park, California
Could there be an earthquake about to come
The mountains are shedding their stone and the
Climbers are at risk. In Estonia
About Brexit, Theresa must keep schtum

4049 - Day in, night out

No plans for the daytime, maybe Louis
Would get in touch, but no - football comes first
For him - anyway, I checked out movies
Starting with arthouse 'Home' venue, and best
Choice it was - 'In Between' - set where I'd just
Been this April, Tel Aviv, so I knew
I'd love to see that, and it wasn't lost
Time, powerful drama, hunorous too
About three women, all three struggling to
Get by in a sexist world. I should see
More films set where I've been on wanderlust
Belgium this December is in my view
Maybe Cumbria and Scotland could be
A few good days' drive through the autumn mist...

3956 - Happenings ten hours' time ago

The last day of this heatwave, so they say
It will be a relief when it's ended
Now it's midnight and I'm watching Newsday
On BBC's news channel, with Brexit
Returning as the main story, as it
Gets underway, the negotiations
Between UK and EU. Blown to bits
By ISIS, who set off an explosion
The old queen gave a frail peroration
On Brexit, in Parliament, while hubby
Phil is in hospital, staying in bed
There are yet more North Korea tensions
Trump's complaining again. Andy Murray
Crashes out of Queen's tennis - bad luck, kid!

Wed 21 June

3901 - Israel Day 6

Day in the city of Jerusalem
Multi-ethnic, religious, everything
Began with coffee and pastries, and then
A guided tour, descriptions interesting
Christian, Armenian, Jewish, Muslim things
Old walls, churches, synagogues and temples
Stood at the Wailing Wall, but not knowing
What to pray about. Later, climbed the Hill
(Mount) of Olives, proved to be time spent well
Then to Mount Zion, and King David's tomb
Surrounded by Orthodox Jews praying
Reading, singing, dancing. But not quite all
Still had to record a video again
Up on the hostel roof, the light fading...

Tue 25 April 17

3900 - Israel Day 5

An early rise. I shared a room with Grant
A friendly American film-maker
And keen photographer. Talked to him, and
Stephanie from Australia. We had a
Long chat, sat in the kitchen for 4 hours
In the fine Fauzi Azar Inn, it's in
Nazareth, the site of some holy powers
Displayed, the Annunciation for one
Visited the church today where 'twas done
And Nazareth Village, with actors who meant
To show the first century lifestyle to the
Tourists. Grant paid my fee - what a great man!
Caught the bus to Jerusalem, now I can't
Get wi-fi or make calls - what a shocker!

Mon 24 April 17

3898 - Israel Day 3

A tiring day. The heat is so hot that
Even an Israeli thinks it's too hot
The day was dominated by the task
Of shooting my song video. Did three strolls
In the end. One central one near the boats
Overlooking the beach. Was so nervous
Then walked for miles to find somewhere remote
Found a deserted hill which I felt was
OK to run through the song, but of course
I forgot one of the lines - what a prat!!!
But did it. It was better, still a lot
Of room for improvement. Sunbathed, then chose
The hostel balcony for Take 3, sat
On the floor, and once more, lyrics forgot!!!

Sat 22 April 17

3897 - Israel Day 2

Despite my late arrival, rose early
For my first full day here in Israel
Woke at 7 and tried the Israeli
Breakfast. Fried eggs were nice, but salad hell
First task, to get cheap clothes at the Carmel
Market, then explored the artisans' stalls
Went up Shalom Tower, the view was real
Cool. Then, Neve Tzedek, suburb where all
Began, up Eilat Street to Jaffa. Call
From the minaret heard. Now saw the sea
And the white beach close up. Walked for a mile
Back up  to Tel Aviv, a brief paddle
And a good sunbathe. I now feel sleepy
Might try to rest, rehearse my song. We'll see!

Fri 21 April 17

3823 - Busy bee, fuzzy foxes

Today I've stayed in but been so busy
Washed clothes, and read my new book on Israel
Wrote some ideas in that book Pearl bought me
Which already seems to inspire me well
To come up with new gag material
Heard Man United's thrashing of Leicester
Away, on 5 Live radio, meanwhile
The Foxes look dangerously close to the
Drop. I hope they do plunge down, way down there
Into the second division, only
One year after being champions. Oh well
That's what you get for hubris, Lice-ces-ter!
Shouldn't have taken those drugs, James Vardy
Now the evening's nearly gone. Effing hell!

3521 - It is finished!!

Yes! What relief! I've done my last assign-
ment on the TEFL online course. Hooray!
I'm happy with its quality, so I'm
Hoping I will pass the course. Anyway
Last night, even before doing it, they
Had my overall course mark as 90
Per cent! Tomorrow's my TEFL last day
So my tutor has all day to mark me
Then I can tout for business, quality
Teacher, well-qualified to help them climb
The linguistic ladder to fluency
Whether they're from Spain or from Italy
Or maybe somewhere farther off, like Chin-
a or Japan. Come on, please step this way!

3440 - Get your claws out

Good night out last night with D and N, a
Birthday treat, bubble tea, then Chinese meal
From the Szechuan region. Soup's not starter
It's a huge bowl, a main course, this revealed
Itself early on, and I'd nearly filled
Myself up before the big crab was served
I struggled with the bony claws and soiled
My hands with soup and gloop, chopsticks reserved
For something I could use them for, but loved
It, as did D, but he had to recover
From the spicy pepperness, an ordeal
That numbed his mouth and filled him up and paved
The way for a cool pint at Gulliver's
Stayed in today, but tomorrow, more meal!

3349 - Three lines on my forehead

Busy day, woke up early, that was good
Had time to look at the TEFL website
For two hours, teaching tips, although I would
Rather keep it to one-on-one, no shite
Teaching whole classrooms, now my hair is white
Well grey but heading that way soon enough
Jobs in China and Japan, thought I might
But no, maybe not, that could be too tough
Would rather teach one at a time, above
One becomes stressful, converse with low blood
And other pressure, just fun with no bite
Teach about England, show and feel the love
Then watched Derby beat Wolves, in a good mood
With Lou and Vee, then Nancy - well good night!

3344 - Feast of cows

I need to write this quick, then get to bed
Been to Comedy Night at the King's Arms
Will now get that material out my head
Shouldn't be hard, it won't make me alarmed
To lose it, it's lost already, no harm
Done. The usual fighting, The Middle East
At each other's throats, all of them Islam
Against Islam, it's a religious beast
Meanwhile, myself, I've had a late night feast
Tuna in a can, that's what I have fed
Myself, and now bed beckons, spreads its arms
Fortunately soon my efforts are ceased
And I'll be sleeping, no I don't mean dead
Just snoozing, like cows and pigs in the farms

3318 - Refugee rhetoric

The migrants are locked out of Hungary
The old route to the European Union
For one day they were encouraged to flee
Serbia via the eastern Croatian
Border, but once again, patience has run
Out with these large numbers not going through
The procedures, but simply migrating
Without permission, counting on EU
Mercy, human rights, jobs and homes. Though you
Accept they've seen bad things, it's hard to see
How they can all fit in. Can't the UN
Oversee aid and help, let revenue
And expertise flow to these poor countries
Making the Middle East fit to live in