1041 - In Ireland 3 - Cork and Kerry Mountains

Torrential rain all day, till around six
Drove from Killarney to good old Bantry
Across the Gap of Dunloe, with its tricks
Of tight bends, sheep and rain, incessantly
Caught sixty winks down by the Bantry quay
And then found Bantry Boys’ Club (That was hard!)
Tonight was a good night for poetry
It seemed to go down well, seems to have scored
A local hit: a succession of bards
Some more traditional, some with music
Even some kids and food, additionally
And afterwards… What happened afterwards?
Oh yeah, more drinks and chat with the poets
Who’d come from all Ireland and overseas
Sat 11 July

1040 - In Ireland 2 - Galway, Clare and Kerry

Ireland, day two - things went somewhat smoother
No large losses of money, cock-ups, stress
There is one thing that’s still crap, however
And that was the grand old Irish rain. Yes!
It never lets you down. It fell like piss
So I sat in the car in Ballyvaughan,
North County Clare, with my second breakfast
Of chicken and chips (wedges, as they’re known)
And then did my best to see The Burren
And the Cliffs of Moher in the shit weather
Drowned ratdom gets boring, I must confess
So, drove south: Spanish Point, Ennis, the town
Of Limerick on the wide Shannon River
On through Adare, to Killarney, and rest!
Fri 10 July

1039 - In Ireland 1 - Mayo and Galway

Ireland, day one - a day of big mistakes!
First off, I forgot to pack my glasses!
Not good when I’m driving a hired car. Yikes!
And then, at Liverpool Airport, there is
No BMI Baby check-in, because
My flight’s from Manchester, NOT Liverpool!
My taxi zoomed there (Cost: 50 knickers!)
A late take-off to Knock saved this damn fool!
At Knock Airport the car hire cost a full
Hundred euro more to insure ’gainst breaks
Or pay 300 euro for scratches
No time, or eyesight, to go driving all
Round Mayo. Knock-Tuam-Galway in three shakes
Galway’s always busy; it always is
Thur 9 July

1038 - Bags packed - tomorrow

It’s my last day at work before Ireland
Culminating in a Poetica show
In Central Library, and now that’s done
Tomorrow, pack my bags, and then I’ll go
On foot to Manchester, and wait below
The bus-stop, catch the coach to Liverpool
Airport, and fly to Knock, explore Mayo
Pass briefly through Galway. My schedule’s full
For the next five days over there. Meanwhile
I’m relaxing, now everything’s in hand
I’ve made a checklist I’ll check tomorrow
Morning; for now, I haven’t got the will
To pack my bags. My head is in the sand…
Mañana, mañana, mi amigo…
Wed 8 July

1037 - Fighting for breath

So here I am, late Tuesday night, fulfilled
I’ve gone to work, come home and played music
A good chat with Andy, with some beers swilled
This must be better than being fast stuck
In domesticity; there’s something sick
When individuality’s suppressed
When dreams are repressed by somebody’s thick
Obedience to society, that pest
That adds to nine to five’s slavery, worst
Of all when it extends its many ills
To our free time; that really takes the mick…
If I am allowed one final request
It’s that, before I croak, my life is filled
With doing what I want. Yes - that’s the trick!
Tue 7 July

1036 - Birth of a sound engineer

Been busy re-recording, last two nights
At least now you can hear the words properly
Whereas Sunday it all seemed a delight
Tonight saw problems with Audacity
(Sound recording software): it won’t let me
Use delay when I want, and I had to
Keep re-doing things, until finally
I had to give up. Disappointing, too
Was the new mic, when amplified: much too
Rough and distorted to use, though my flight
‘High Over Liverpool’ used it briefly.
The CD’s improved, however, thanks to
My curiosity on Sunday night
Finding sound effects on Audacity
Mon 6 July

1035 - Tennis sonnet

A quick sonnet, because it’s two-thirty
In the morning, and I’ve since gone to bed
But as I lay there, I thought suddenly,
Hey! I’ve not done a sonnet! Oh my God!
And so, here it is, written at great speed…
Played tennis in the early afternoon
Slowly improving, though I still can’t beat
Louis, who remains determined to ruin
My feeble attempts to compete, but soon
I’ll at least win a set. Then, on TV
I watched Federer beat Roddick, who led
But threw away the second set. Immune
To nerves, the Swiss player made history:
Fifteen Grand Slams! And now, it’s back to bed
Sun 5 July

1034 - 23rd anniversary

Just realised: today’s the twenty-third
Anniversary of my first wedding
And to make this realisation weird
Today I went round hers; we sat talking
About our two kids, then spent time looking
At our diets, and how healthy they are
On the Tesco website, and exploring
What could be done on her i-Phone; wonder
Of modern gadgetry. To Kylyra
I re-sent backing tracks, minus the words
Which I’ll deliver when I’m there, gigging.
Briefly saw Josie, then home, where I saw
More Monty Python sketches; the absurd
Aspects of Britishness got a kicking
Sat 4 July

1033 - Emerging briefly, then retreating

The rain and heat fell down alternately
But, thank God, in the evening there was sun
For the school barbecue. Josie and me
Walked over to it, and we had great fun
Josie’s face painted, then met the parents
A beer, a catch-up, balloon, pony toy
Games with Kirsty, and going for a run
Staying there till the moon was bright with joy
Back home now, it’s just me, a lonely boy
But in a funny way, that quite suits me
It’s quite nice to chill out, to be just one
No-one annoys me, no-one to annoy
The weekend’s here again: now, how shall we
Spend precious ‘us’ time, now that it’s begun?
Fri 3 July

1032 - Gremlins' and fools' convention

I’m in a long ‘everything’s going wrong’ spell
Technology, ambitions and all that
I know things can’t always go right, but hell!
Here I am, all alone in a hot flat
My internet connection, the one that
Has served me for three years, seems to be dead
I don’t think it’s my equipment. Been sat
All evening on the phone. One of them said
Something for which I wasn’t quite prepared:
“Buy a new micro filter.” I did. Well,
Still the same: no dial tone. They’ll call back Sat
Evening, or so they said. Yes, I’ve been led
A less than merry dance. Still, I can smell
The Irish fields and their green welcome mat
Thur 2 July

1031 - Summer rain

A hot day, once more with heavy showers
How long till flood reports come flooding in?
Meanwhile my net connection’s lost its power
I can’t post blogs or do my emailing
I put my Irish musical backing
On a CD and took it round Louis’
And emailed the tracks from there: here’s hoping
Ky gets them in the form of MP3s
I sacrificed Hebden to finish these
Out Thursday and Friday, so few free hours
Tomorrow it’s the slam competition
Friday, the school barbie. Eight burgers please!
They say that Walsh will win the slam, so there’s
My prediction… but upsets have been known…
Wed 1 July

1030 - 24 hours in Salford and Bolton

Last night Andy came round with Soundforge 5
We picked up Rachel en route to Bolton
The writers’ group met, consisting of five
Sat out the back of the Hen & Chickens
One exercise: to draw inspiration
From one of Gary’s books, brought in a bag
My book was ‘Death’s Eye’ (the explanation
For yesterday’s sonnet). I mustn’t brag
But I worked hard today. It was a drag
How the rain fell. Thought I wouldn’t survive
The walk home; thought I’d end up all sodden
My office wear reduced to soaking rags
But I borrowed an umbrella at five-
Past five, and walked home under its protection
Tue 30 June

1029 - Death's eye

Death’s eye does not look down on us tonight
For it has lost its visionary gleam
And so, not from death’s eye comes any fright
But only from our own internal scream
The light of death, a dark red laser beam
That penetrates our skin, reaches our heart
And, as we lie in bed, dissolved in dream
Some part of us tells us it’s time to part
Our own executioner, our own dart
Rises from within, reaches a great height
Then turns, descending, too fast to be seen
Not seen, just felt, victim of prisoner’s art
A cold black feeling spreading from one bite
Your hear your organs play your funeral theme
Mon 29 June