Give a man a free hand and he’ll run it all over you.
Mae West
Writing is what I do, but not always. Deadlines counter laziness, which is partly why I started this journal. Here’s a selection of pieces, old and new.
Poetry
32. X factors – the referendum: X marks the spot
33. Clocked – three poems spanning four decades
36. Right up my street – a soft spot for the downtrodden pavement
40. Staying in the dry – The Voyage of the Todorcim
43. Unequal opportunities – the interesting verb ‘to solicit’
51. Occam’s razor – live coverage of the end of the world
56. When in Corinium – Hysterical Historical Poems: The Romans
60. One small snip for man – ouch
72. Body shop rap – on the National Health Service
79. Field of Avalon – overheard in the poetry tent
84. Passenger lines – a day spent at a local radio station
89. Stanza and deliver – The Poetry Slam
96. Paradox sliced – Greek philosophy revisited
131. The age of heroes – fictional figures as mere mortals
144. Fossil fuelled – pieces commissioned by the local water park
161. Don’t bank on it – Words Ploughed into Shares
180. Writing about women – Wardrobe Mistress
185. National Poetry Day – three personal pieces
190. A necessary risk – I and We and They, a preview
210. Mercenary rhymes 1 – A was an Apple Pie and other re-writes
224. Mercenary rhymes 2 – Old Mother Hubbard and more
231. From Death and Taxes – a study in black humour
240. Mercenary rhymes 3 – The Queen of Hearts, et al
266. Lines of thought – poems for Boxing Day
280. Mercenary rhymes 4 – Rub-a-dub-dub, plus two
289. Mercenary rhymes 5 – Little Bo-Peep, Doctor Foster &c
301. Eye of the beholder – Signs of the times
305. National Libraries Day – Knit One Pearl of Wisdom
311. What’s in a name? – yclept
322. Tale of Two Taylors – on bullying schoolboys
365. Famous for its ducks – Slimbridge C.C. and other cricket poems
382. Gender agenda – Problem Page
405. Village Verses – Return Journeys through fields of rape
420. Cotswold Water Park – A wildlife walk and I am an ammonite
449. Mary had a tiny sheep – a great writing exercise
452. Smoking poetry – excerpts from Death and Taxes
472. Words with daughters 1 – script-writing for a folk tale
473. Words with daughters 2 – Fayra’s perilous journey
Satire and sketches
16. Short shrift – omg! a txt msg mare
19. Time and again – the opening lines of a radio play
48. Meeting targets – improving train travel, part 1
61. Service updates – improving train travel, part 2
138. Are you AAA rated? – star qualities and the alpha male
168. Conference 1: Clegg – the Lib Dems in Birmingham
172. Faster than light – money is disappearing into black holes
173. Conference 2: Miliband – the Labour party in Liverpool
178. All kinds of weather – an English obsession
182. Conference 3: Cameron – the Conservatives in Manchester
204. Blank cheque – an idea for a short story
213. Prithee, what news? – Shakespeare at the top of the hour
248. The Vu sisters – haven’t we met before?
309. Treacherous conditions – the terrorist group W.E.A.T.H.E.R.
329. Some silly stories – two pieces for children to act out
357. British Summer Tie – a word game inspired by a lost hour
369. Move Tiles – revised versions of classic films
424. The search continues – intelligent life? not on Auris-θ
Writing about writing
1. Signifying nothing – blogging is not my style, but…
20. Samba of Kangaroo – the married admirer of latent talent
29. Written work – writers on writing
37. Alphabet stories – a writing exercise
100. Take time to pause – the best words in the best order
267. Spurred on by football – writing to the full-time whistle
293. Exercise yards – planning to walk and write every day
294. Mensa Quest inquest – writing for a short-lived magazine
306. Garret, anyone…? – what to do with the attic
316. The default state – advice from Terry Pratchett
337. Comment-is-free fever – addictions and the internet
350. Improbabilities – on statistics and unlikely events
378. Being out at night 3 – the astronomer and the astrologer
422. Types of writer – a Smith Corona, an autobiography, and a crazy cricketer
448. Writer on the Road – a summer quest in Somerset
461. A helpful shove – Le Tour de France and its metaphors
509. Written on the Road – a concluding summary
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