Not hiding behind the "we are..." Who "we" anyway? Count me. This shit has gone on for, what? About 76 years. Silence is compliant.

Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum L. Shot) Smart robe Jack-the-preacher  pops up in spring wearing i-tal colours black, gold and green.

How much do I want that stage? I went to the Verve Poetry Festival celebration of spoken word open-mic culture in Birmingham. A showcase event for four crews. I knew - to nod to at least - some on stage and audience. I have performed for some. I put my name in the hat for … Continue reading Intentions and actions

I am very pleased to have been asked to contribute a poem to Outsideleft, "I Know You're in Pain." https://www.outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2955 Jay Lewis, who is one of the editorial team, approached me after I spoke verse at Verve Open Door in Birmingham on 16 Jan 24. We exchanged email addresses. A week later, I saw him … Continue reading Outsideleft Sunday Poet

The purpose of any writing is to affect a reader's view of the world as it is. Maybe making a judgement in the cold light of a sober morning, or using the righteous incandescence of powder and spirits at night. In the face of Gaza, Aleppo, Mariupol and any number of other mass graves with … Continue reading The objective corellative

I am using JetPack, the WordPress back end spun out into a useful micro and meso blogging/ social-media posting app. Now, if we could read federated (not Meta "curated") posts through a personally chosen interface I might bunny hop back into view 😉

Tell myself into the story that needs to be told. About the truth of kindness in all things. But, wait. Is there also a truth of uncaring? There seem to be people who care more and care less. There are times that I care more or less. And things in all these things about which … Continue reading What I need to do?

I am a naive user of federated social media. Loved the Adobe Air Tweetdeck when Twitter's api was still open. But that is an old story. I just opened an account on the big Diaspora pod, diasp.org. I loved the idea of Diaspora Now it has to have a phone app. And Fedilab works well … Continue reading Diaspora 101

Breakfast at Bannisters. No greasy spoon. Stack of sweet corn fritters (a rare delicacy in Britain) on a bed of baby spinach, no less, served with home made tomato chutney. But the price was nuts. Not unusually so. Just the daily, where cod and chips is now £12. My breakfast with coffee was most of … Continue reading Cafe society