Best Served Chilled

Macaroni penguin's
Make the best sauces
They might not taste like pasta
But if latitude's what you're after
Head south 
For a penguin arrabbiatta

When Will He Who Hath Taken Away The Sins Of The World Be Famous

Jesus was an 80's kid
He liked Bros
Died on the cross
Tore his jeans
For our sins
Son of God
Saw them on Top of the Pops
When he'd done his miracles
He'd take his Disciples down to the disco
John the Baptist
Loved his Kraftwerk
And Mary Magdelene
Played the synth

Page Watching

I've been page watching
For the past few weeks
Mostly during my lunchbreak
Or when I'm on the bus


Some people call it reading
But I think they're missing the point
I don't just look at the words
I look at the spaces and the numbers too


I find second-hand books the most rewarding
You can trace the signs of age
The imprint of ownership
In every crease and every fold


I know what you're going to say
Why not just stare at a blank page
If you're not interested in the characters or the plot
Then why bother to even look


But for me it's not about what's there
But what's not
And after an afternoon of page watching
I might go and read a book

Sandwiches

How do they know
When they come
Or where they go
Every day
I go too late
And I'm left
With no breadcake, barm or butty
They must think I'm nutty

Ducks V's Swans

You need ducks
To do the dishes
Stick their bums up
And hunt for fishes


Swans are all majestic
No one ever sees them
Get their heads wet


But I'm sure they still have odd days
When they forget

The Mouse in the House

Blackpool 4 Leyton Orient 2

LAUGHING DONKEYS............FREE
DONUTS......................5 for £2
CHARITY BAKING APPLES.......10p
SEASIDE DRIZZLE.............intermittent
BONNIE WEE MARKET...........more often than not
COFFEE AND A MUFFIN.........£1
BATMAN & ROBIN..............with two cans of Stella
ALAN BENNETT................50p
............................what a lovely fella

Turtle Talk

Crocodiles, sharks and hungry fush
You sea turtles
Have got it tough

Vinyl Transfers

I like the mp3's with the crackles
The one's that jump and skip
They sometimes sound nicest
When the speakers are off


When you open Media Player
You can't watch them spin
They have this strange way
That they keep going


They don't come in megabytes
They have multiple values
And you still have to wait to see
What's on side 2

Cherry Socks

Raised on a diet of Roger McGough,
Cherry pop
And odd socks
I chose books
Over tooth decay and funny looks

To Bee or Not to Bee

Writing sometimes-poems
That are too short to read
Designed for bus trips
And busy bees
My short stories
Never got off their feet
But at least I'm keeping
The bees happy

Cats and Bats

Bats are all black
And they have ears
They can hear things
When it's dark
Their hearts are in the right place
Cats aren't just lazy in books
And caterpillars
Really do like trees

Tears

Different tears come

At different times
Some gush
And others flood
Some happen when you're in a rush
And some even fall
When you're not in love
These tears can't be classified
There's no need

They're in me

Tiny Fireflies

Poem for Andy Cole

You scored my favourite goal
Do you remember the one
The ball came in from the left
Or was it the right
One touch
And the crowd were on their feet
You blinked
And I missed it

Poem for Paul Scholes

The little magician
Popping up where you'd least expect him
Sometimes with his head
Other times his toes
He could use anything
He was such a good technician

Poem for Roy Keane

Your reputation
Went before you
Whenever you took to the field
We were all scared 
You might lose it
But I always knew
You were a puppy
In a wolf's skin

Poem for Ryan Giggs

Expert dribbler
Better than most
You used to drive your mum berserk
Dribbling all the way from Pentrebane
To Whitchurch

Poem for Nicky Butt

The Guv'nor of Gorton
The northerner of South China
The free agent of Preston

Poem for David Beckham

You went to L.A.
For a holiday
They've got some nice shops
And Mickey's just across the Bay
But nothing beats the Trafford Centre
On a Saturday

Poem for Gary Neville

Anything for a quiet life
An evening in
Watching TV
Maybe catch some of Match of the Day
Or a David Beckham souffle

Poem for Dennis Irwin

You looked a bit
Like my Geography teacher
And you came from Oldham
To Manchester

Poem for Jaap Stam

Jaap Stam
The flying Dutchman
Took off like a bird
Landed like a pigeon

Poem for Phil Neville

The lesser known
Of the Neville's
While Gary was out dancing
You stayed at home
And did the dishes
You never knew
What you were missing

Poem For Peter Schmeichel (from a Liverpool fan)

You could have stayed
At the World Wildlife Fund
You could have let us win
Just one

Eagulls V's Seagulls

Eagulls are massive
But you never see them
Except on TV
But if they weren't massive
You'd have never heard of them
Because seagulls have got a lot more
Going for them

Another Rainy Day in Manchester

WORLD READINGS

storms
showers
p/cloudy
sunny
p/cloudy
haze
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
windy
rain
sunny
sunny
sunny
cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
storms
p/cloudy
sunny
p/cloudy
sunny
storms
sunny
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy

EUROPEAN READINGS

sunny
p/cloudy
showers
p/cloudy
sunny
rain
showers
p/cloudy
showers
showers
sunny
p/cloudy
sunny
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
sunny
sunny
showers
rain
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
p/cloudy
showers
showers
sunny
sunny
rain
p/cloudy
cloudy
showers
p/cloudy
showers
cloudy
showers
sunny
cloudy

BRITISH READINGS

cloudy
showers
showers
drizzle
drizzle
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
showers
cloudy
cloudy
drizzle
cloudy
showers
p/cloudy
showers
cloudy
p/cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
showers
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
p/cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
p/cloudy
drizzle
cloudy
showers
cloudy
p/cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
showers
cloudy
cloudy
rain
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
showers
cloudy
showers
showers
cloudy
cloudy
showers
cloudy
showers
cloudy
p/cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
drizzle
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
cloudy
drizzle
cloudy
showers
drizzle
cloudy
cloudy
p/cloudy
showers
showers
drizzle
cloudy
cloudy
showers
cloudy
showers
showers
cloudy
cloudy
showers

A Soft Landing

It's a long way down
3000 miles
With a mouth full of softies
Hardly the kind of mint
For overcoming fears
But they're chewy
And good for altitude

Business As Usual

No space for poems
In your passport
No place for TS Elliot
It's all business
But you can always read
Edgar Allan Poe
On your way home

Alexandra Park to Salford

Chapel Street in Colours

Chapel Street in Colours

In commemoration of Susan Sutherland Isaacs

Recent Drawings (January - February 2011)

The Music on the Hill

Blackbird Over Mountains

Edith Piaf in the Oysterblue Night

Self Portrait in Window