4993 - Mr Clean not Mr Bean

Clean since Saturday evening, paying off
Although tired, still did exercises and
Just now, this evening, uke session take-off
My mind felt clearer than usual, my hands
Obeyed my quick mind, and in wonderland
A lifetime's dreaming turned reality
As like a god, was able to command
My fingers to go where they had to be
And at the speed of thought, yes, instantly
Am enjoying being clean right now, no bluff
I know it won't last, but just for instance
I'm reading at last, about '63
And Dallas, a Stephen King book, and tough
Arms and stomach muscles, yes it feels grand!

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

4900 - Cinema Gates

Woke up so late, drifted til half-past ten
Showered after breakfast, and then soon Jo
Messaged to say she was getting the train
And we'd meet at Deansgate, so had to go
Anne Frank's Diary was on BBC2
I saw the end of that, then met Jo at
The lift on Deansgate, then we went to
The Gasworks opposite Home. She would meet
Friends and then go and watch Jo Jo Rabbit
While I fancy watching 1917
So when I've written this, it's a retro
Trip back by cinema to World War One
Could win best film at the Oscars, it's tipped
So why not check it out right now, you know?

4760 - The old country

Visited Vee in Ancoats to give her
The scarf from Edinburgh that I had bought
(At her request!). There two and a half hours
And walked home. Not much more now to report
Ate a late tea, watched TV, and I caught
The latest boring non-Brexit news and
Now it's colour film from the war they fought
In the forties. The countryside looks grand
So much beauty lost, the trees and green ground
Makes me nostalgic for my childhood years
When we could always walk for such a short
Distance to find wild brambles and fields, hands
Picking berries for jam. Then the super-
markets were new and fewer on the street

4759 - Winehouse of Commons

Too tired to do dating websites tonight
Or networking on social media
Simply read a few pages, fairly light
Of a book on wine - quotes and trivia
Then History of Scotland (Neil Oliver)
On the TV, concluding that series
Strangely, with James VI becoming the
Heir to the English Tudor royal rulers
What about the rebellions, enclosures
Until Queen Anne it was still separate. Right
Up to date, back to Brexit bullshit. A
General election bid hits the buffers
As Labour abstain. They don't want to fight
For power until Brexit's killed or neutered

4408 - The milk of human blindness

Just been rooting through old poems, sonnets
In congested ring-binders, days of old
When to type and print out your latest thoughts
Seemed modern. How quaint! Paper, you can fold
And even post it! Postman in the cold
Like the milkman or coal-deliverer
You are all spectres from an age not gold
I was a paper-boy, pushed newspaper
Through letter-box. A box made for letter,
Birthday and Christmas card, or wrapped presents
In jiffy bags and parcels bright and bold
People posed in costly animal fur
Their jewels on show, doorway of The Ritz
Riches - the dream with which we're all beguiled

4372 - Eddie Lizard

Woke early for a Sunday, mainly read
This daft David Icke conspiracy book
About ancient gods all being the same god
Religions, like wars, made up by the Black
Nobility (Phoenicians) and a pack
Of white Aryans, with lizards in control
Of course he believes that Shakespeare wrote fuck
All of his plays, the guy could barely spell
He suggests Francis Bacon wrote them all
When I was at school, they said Holinshed
(A historian) was the main source, he took
A lot from there. Today I ate my fill
Four or five meals were stuffed into my head
Did no comedy work, but played my uke

4242 - Soviet reunion

April showers the order of the day
The Russia story remains the main one
The west united, Europe, USA
Seeming to enjoy attacking Putin
All part of the great game, the old routine
Russia penalised for trying to compete
And even worse, for actually trying to win
When it should know that's an unlikely feat
For such a small economy. When it
Was the Soviet Union and they
Stretched as far as Germany, an iron
Curtain of fear, they could turn up the heat
If only through rhetoric and display
But still relatively poor even then

4241 - ZZ Flop

My eyes are hurting, I'm so bloody tired
It's cos of yesterday's comedy show
Which went on late, I went on late, I tried
Some new stuff, remembered most, and with no
Notes on stage this time, gave it a good go
It was a long night, and so to relieve
The pent-up tension, necked some drinks, and so
Ended up staying up late like a sleep thief
It went quite well, at least that's my belief
Now I'm knackered both outside and inside
But bedtime's coming in an hour or so
Right now on TV, it's Histoire des Juifs
With Simon Schama. Hope it will provide
Lots of good shots of places that I know

4207 - I throat about you

Oh my God, sore throat's back with a vengeance
Not gonna get much sleep again tonight
Been thinking it was getting better. Plans
To overcome it by myself going right
Out the window. Why can I never fight
It off til I get antibiotics?
And when's my chance to ask the doc to write
A prescription tomorrow? Do the doc's
Open early so that I can up sticks
And make the union meeting that begins
At 9:30? Mechanics Institute
Is the historic venue, the first mix
Of delegates from different unions
In the 19th century - that's the site

4167 - The Lunch Bunch

Lunch at the Indian Tiffin Room today
With Farah, Emma, Andy, Steve, and me
The birthday boy. Thali, like a buffet
On a tray, with some bread, rice, two or three
Tasty pots of food, tapas-like, and we
Had a good natter, about pensions - yes
Not my chosen topic, necessarily
And memories of Burnage, and places
To get a curry in those areas
Not doing much tonight. Main thing to say
Is I watched The Book Thief, moving movie
Of death in Germany under Nazis
Now it's a film called Idiocracy
It's bloody awful. Bad end to the day!

4096 - Talkin' bout a revolution

I forgot Thursday's sonnet. Too tired
And preoccupied with the interview
On Friday. I remember that I tried
Only to watch some TV, and to view
Lucy Worsley's third Romanov review
Alexanders 2 and 3, Nicholas
1 and 2, revolutions 1 and 2
1905, and '17, of course
I forgot my diary with all of this
And with the pressure, and my brain was tired
With 11 hours of prep. So would you
Be tired and forgetful with all that stress
(It paid off, I think. On Friday I did
Very well, best yet in an interview!)

Thur 9 Nov

4085 - No baulking at the Balkans

Nice day out with Josephine - wandered round
The shops in our usual way, aimlessly
Sundays these days are so busy in town
The temperature, in the shade, was chilly
Ate at Pizza Express, discussed maybe
A Balkans trip next year, to Serbia
And Bosnia was not rejected. She
Is into war history, and there's lots there
Sarajevo, spark for the First World War
Belgrade, even Kosovo would be sound
I'd then have been to all Balkan countries
In the evening, meal at Sandinista
With N and D, then a film that expounds
The Death of Stalin. Good - not so funny

4068 - Hire and hire

An interesting day out of the office
In a famous old trade union building
The Mechanics Institute on Princess
Street, near the Town Hall - what a great setting
Not only for today's union meeting
But also just maybe somewhere to hire
For a comedy evening, or something
Similar, so I took a phone picture
Of the room hire details on a flyer
Pasted on doors inside. Back home, Carla's
Looking forward to a new phase - moving
To Leeds, hopefully more gigs, a career
In catering or some other service
Job. And so another day is closing

4067 - TV OD

Wet day and evening, slight headache, weary
From last two hectic days, relieved to get
Home, watched a history prog about D-
Day, old black and white film that's been coloured
Then a travel show interestingly set
In St Petersburg, where I'd like to go
Next year, after the Baltic States. Then next
It's The Apprentice, the popular show
Where budding entrepreneurs in teams blow
Lord Sugar's, or more likely, BBC
Money, designing hotel rooms that met
The luxury market's needs. The boys know
One will be fired from the boardroom shortly
Yes, I am glued now to my TV set

4034 - Ukraine Day 11

Got up at ten, but still an action-packed
Day out in Odessa. I was concerned
It looked gloomy, nay rainy, could have fucked
Up plans for sunbathing on the beach. Turned
Out nice again. Headed for Potemkin
Steps and port area, took lots of photos
Of these, the beach, and old-style cars parked in
Suitably old-style and Eastern Bloc pose
As the afternoon went on, the sun rose
And it was great on the beach. Then I tucked
Into a fab fish at a small place on
The prom, and no longer needed to go
For tea anywhere. Soon I felt knackered
Lots of walking. Hopefully, bit sunburned?

Fri 8 Sep

4031 - Romania Day 8

A good morning buying three new t shirts
From a cheap place round the corner from here
At the Umbrella Hostel, then hurtled
Towards Unity Square, Bucharest. there
Just in time for  the tour, which went to squares
And so-called palaces, and museums
There's actually quite a lot to like, but spared
Myself the tour of the inside within
The massive Parliament building that sums
Up Ceaucescu's madness. Ended up shot.
His wife Elena was a little queer
They were shot in '89, Christmas-time
After the tour I walked til my feet hurt
Now I've seen Bucharest, I can declare!!

Tue 5 Sep

3980 - Putting me through the mill

A tiring hot day but with a downpour
On the way to Piccadilly station
Dry afterwards, walked around Manchester
With Jo, ate at Wagamama, going down
To their basement in the Printworks, and then
We had a quick look in the cinema
Nothing to see there. Walked to the Northern
Quarter, two great shakes at Black Milk. Later
After popping home and showering, I saw
A show with Vee - Cotton Panic - a raw
Depiction through music and dance, cotton
Crisis of the northern mill towns in the
19th century, US Civil War
Meaning no cotton imports. Freedom won!

3920 - Sun 14 May 17

Woke up quite late, very dehydrated
Watched TV, chatted with Carla, and thought
I probably wouldn't achieve much, my head
Not at its clearest. Nevertheless, put
Ideas on paper for next Wednesday's spot
At the Whalley Range night I liked so much
Last time I did comedy there - a lot
Of fun, friendly people there, a nice touch
Of variety with the acts, not just
Comedy but song, dance, and all things weird
Also I finished my book that's about
Medieval siege warfare, covering such
A wide swathe of history - even read
Of how Jerusalem crusaders fought...

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