5006 - Manchester near united

Today felt low at times but still used it
Wisely, going for a long walk, something
I've not done enough since the lockdown hit
Cold wind and grey sky, Salford Quays, crossing
The Ship Canal, continued following
The tram track for a while round Trafford Park
Thought about possibly continuing
To the Trafford Centre, but that's a walk
And a half, so turned back. At Booth's, bought pork
Pie and shepherd's pie, but no fear, didn't
Eat both! Played uke pretty well. Practising
Is paying off. Though Netflix called, thought, Dork!
Beforehand, do a new comedy skit
United versus City recording

4932 - Rock n Real

A pleasing day, work went OK, and then
Exercised for the second night running
Press-ups done up from seventy to an
Almost respectable eighty-five. In
No time I'll hit the hundred mark. Playing
The uke soon after, maintained my standards
Rocked some instrumentals and Led Zeppelin
My uke's become a hammer of the gods
Then enjoyed mint-flavoured lamb steaks, no spuds
Sadly, but some spaghetti put in pan
With peas - forgot quinoa - brought to boiling
Point, plus mushrooms. Listening to Real Madrid's
Home tie against Man City. Once again
Will City fail in Champions League winning?

4918 - Well again

Knee nearly better, but I still thought best
Not to do exercises today when
I got home. Instead, passed one more uke test
Playing to Sparks, Bowie, so well again
I play the uke better now than most men
Moving from bass line to lead effortless
Then cooked while listening to Derby defend
Against Bristol City with no success
At least in the first half, so the wireless
Came on, hearing some new tracks, put on list
Of 2020 fave songs. I'll listen
To the list as it grows over the next
Few months. Now watching a film of the blessed
Saint Sir Thomas More this winter season

4894 - Ketching up with people

A long day with a lot of achievement
Got up in time to watch Andrew Marr's show
Wrote a new song and then some merriment
In the form of a JFK sketch, though
It needed ketchup as a prop, and so
Bought some from Sainsbury's and I cooked my lunch
Rang Louis on his birthday, radio
On while I dozed, then caught the tram to watch
Liverpool v Man U, the rivals' crunch
Match with Barbie Mugabe, and we went
To two pubs in Chorlton. Beer was a no-
No, for I was to perform song and sketch
Later, where the audience was in ferment
And chaos reigned, but made a video

4882 - Old Pratford

What a funny evening with Josephine
We went to United versus City
At Old Trafford, but we couldn't get in
Through the turnstile. They said just go to the
Ticket office, a long walk, and soon she
Joined me there in the longest-ever queue
I was angry, having paid liberally
For our tickets and membership. A few
Cheers came from the distant stadium, and you
Knew it wasn't good. City were winning
By one, then two, then an own goal made three
When we got seen, we almost said Boo-hoo
I'd brought last year's membership cards. Flippin'
Heck! But we saw the Reds score. Oh so funny!

4881 - Fun and games

Felt alert today, and needed to be
Work was intense, but got lots of it done
With great help from Charlotte and Tracey G
I feel I'm growing my reputation
And tomorrow should be a day of fun
A relaxed team meeting with fun and games
Watching Arsenal - Leeds Cup confrontation
Tomorrow, I'll be at a stadium
Watching a game with Jo. Hope we keep warm
For United - City. I suppose City
Are slight favourites, and last year City won
The Carabao Cup, but, well, neither team
Really wants to make it through to Wembley
In this outdated old competition

4858 - Cold cold Christmas

A boring day at home, and cold throughout
The boiler's dead and I sat in my coat
I was recovering from my drinking bout
So took it easy, played uke note for note
Along with some Spotify tunes by rote
In the evening, forgot my shivers by
A fun spell on Facebook, though still not put
My songs on from a week ago, so I
May do that on Monday, when at last my
New boiler is installed, when I will shout
For joy, whack the heat on, remove my coat
Looking forward to the heat, I won't lie!
Meanwhile, was so engrossed in online chat
Match of the Day was completely forgot!

Sat 14 Dec

4831 - Pasta master

It's getting late, and I must say I've not
Done much artistically as I hoped to
But otherwise it's been good. Showed the flat
To Ryan, who was interested but who
Later lamented in a message, blue
That he was unable to move in, so
The room's still free. Robin called, and who knew?
He was in Salford, with Liz, could I go
And meet them? Well, yes, I did, the talk flowed
And there's talk of a do next summer at
Their house in Lichfield for the family crew
Some of them will be shocked, put on a show
To astound them, I'm sure they will be rocked
Then watched England easily beat Kosovo!

4829 - What I can remember of last night

Last night I drank wine, and once again I
Struggled to finish it - that's not so bad
I'm off it tonight, I don't want to try
Boozing again just yet. Last night I had
A fairly good time, saw the live England
Seven nil win against Montenegro
But it was cold when sitting outside and
Inside with the door open. OK Go
Were on my headphones - I like them. Also
The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets rocked my
World - what good albums! Haven't filled my pad
Yet, so messaged Ryan, although it's two
Days since he emailed me to notify
His interest in the room. At least I've tried

4828 - Delivery at slow pace

What a pain I endured on the way home
I walked miles to the post office depot
On a cold dark evening, my megaphone
The object, but a collection point no show
The gates were locked, though there was lighting glow
From the inside. On Wednesdays it should be
Open until 8, but tonight, well, no
Sign of life. I've arranged delivery
On Saturday morning. Watched England v
Montenegro, seven nil the score - boom!
Kane got a hat trick, a young team you know
Is always gonna do better, cos we
Are hot on speed and directness when goin'
For goal, it scares them, it's the way to go

4804 - This fella loves Bella

Josephine said last night let's meet. I thought
She would choose instead to watch Man U on
The TV at home, but instead we met
At Manchester's Piccadilly station
Ate at Bella Italia, Cross Street, one
Of my favourite eateries. It didn't
Let us down, lovely flavoured pasta, down
My gullet too soon, but in my palate
It was delightful. While on Chapel Street
She said, why don't we go to Old Trafford?
Liverpool were the visitors. Sat down
In the Lowry Theatre, I had a flat white
She had a coke, and I voiced humorous thoughts
About the weirdos in there walking round

4798 - A night at the races

Felt a bit low on mental energy
Maybe cos was awake from four til six
Thought maybe tonight would hear from Louis
But no, so watched England and some racist
Abuse from the Bulgaria fans. Score? Six
Nil to the Whites. I mean, the Mixed Races
I mean the Three Lions. Much better since
That poor show in Prague. They tied their laces
Properly this time, ended with glad faces
Aside from that, the Queen's speech Brexitty
In nature, poor dear looked old, frail, bewitched
By Boris's manoeuvres, some traces
Of disagreement visible, maybe
Or is she a leaver, Elizabeth Rex?

4795 - Czech your facts

Tonight I watched Czech Republic / England
And despite an early goal, England lost
It' took me back to the day when Iceland
Beat us when Hart let in a harmless shot
But mainly how our players couldn't get past
Anyone, always sideways and back, no
Matter that they were big stars, and the cost
Of their paypackets would bankrupt and blow
Apart whole countries' economies, so
Frightened of the occasion. They returned
To this mode tonight, and gave up the ghost
As soon as the Czechs equalised, a throw-
back to the heady Hodgson days, look stunned
Like rabbit in headlights, boxer concussed...

Fri 11 Oct

4766 - Political football

Hard day at work, following a late night
Out at XS Malarkey with some friends
And then when back home, watching the highlights
Of England versus Kosovo, defence
At fault on both sides, but goals made amends
And England won 5-3. Drank quite a bit
Which contributed to my jaded plight
Today, but still managed to do a lot
As one of the many making Brexit
Preparations, although we don't know quite
When, or even if, the confusion ends
The Tory government has failed in its
Bid to hold an election, expedite
Leave with increased numbers in Parliament

4762 - Monty Write On

In all weekend, and after last night's fail -
Or maybe I deserved relaxation? -
Today, Saturday, I spent pretty well
Coming up with ideas that may go in
Next year's show. Such early preparation -
Just shows the Fringe is kind of addictive
The competition gets under your skin
And you want to do better and to give
The next show the best chance, more than you gave
The first, which was nearly a sorry tale
Also watched live football played by England
Who beat Bulgaria 4-0. Yes!!! We won!!
And played my uke just like ringing a bell
Followed by watching some Monty Python

4695 - Milan Day 6

Lie-in til 10, had chosen not to do
Much. Caught the airport train, we almost missed
Platform 13, Garibaldi - oh, phew!
Just made it! Burger King nuggets and fizz
Then to the airplane at Gate 36
Milan to Manchester, temperature drop
Glad I'd changed out of shorts to long trousers
Partial cloud cover, potentially a strop
But honestly, a relief, I can't stop
Thinking GB's coolness is something new
And refreshing, no hot sun, not oppressed
Couldn't resist when I got home, a drop
Or two of beer. Watched England's women flop
Now it's bedtime. To all you, here's my kiss x

Tue 2 July

4665 - Match of yesterday

Yesterday evening all that I could do
Was listen to the big match on radio
While half-asleep on the sofa, trying to
Recover from Friday's misbehaviour
Pleased Liverpool beat Spurs because they are
The better team and almost won the League
Losing to City by one point - unfair
For them to finish with naught. Now, a big
Trophy is theirs once more. Nine this morning
Soon after I'd got up, Chan walked in through
The door, now she's resting. Planned to video
In a big coloured tent thing that was rigged
Up at Salford Media City, but too
Late, chance gone. But I'm filming tomorrow...

4661 - Don't shoot the performer

Spent time and energy this morning on
Social media, posting new things, trying to
Engage with people out there, having fun
Also trying to arrange a shoot, but who
Is free to do it? Looks like they can't do
It, though I've four assistants from my ad
Incredible, but it just goes to show
You can't rely on any girl or lad
General reliability's SO bad!
What will I do when Edinburgh comes?
Hoping for help from peers to get me through
Podcast at 6, Reaching the Press, with food
To hand while I watched on my small i-phone
Europa League final now, from Baku...

4650 - Sweet FA Cup

I've not done what I hoped, but still I've had
A good day, dominated by two things
The FA Cup Final, Man City thrashed
Watford six nil, quite rightly too, thrilling
Nice to see a final with goals going in
The other thing was the Eurovision
Song Contest from Tel Aviv, where I've been
Nice to see shots of the beach I've been on
The winner, don't know why, the Netherlands
I thought the best songs were by Norway and
Italy, Australia also. Britain
Came last, ridiculous, but not so stunned
We don't get that it's about glamour. Bad
Choice yet again! But still enjoyed the songs!

4647 - Lions, lambs and the Rams

A workmate was rude to me this morning
We never spoke again and I'm not sure
I will speak to him much more now, going
Forward, because he can just snap and roar
Like a sick lion on the office floor
It's not just me either. Our manager -
Now in a new job elsewhere - said before
He left, several times, that he felt despair
At this man's unjustified behaviour
To people in general, he's annoying
Good chat to Y, who I manage. After
Discussing work, we discussed for an hour
Religion, technology, other things
Now bring on the Leeds/ Derby match... and beer