New Year : Back to the coalface
Pleasures
Stacks of Books
Salford 15th September 2018
#CFFC #Books
It’d be true to say – I like reading.
I go for books with a bit of character in them, Goscinny and Uderzos Asterix books were a favourite of mine as a kid – and I’ve now got my hands on six anniversary editions
My favourite author is Terry Pratchett, he created some brilliant characters. And I’m happy to say I had the pleasure of meeting the man himself at a Waterstones bookstore in Manchester, before his untimely death. One day i’ll have the nerve to pick up and read his final epic – the shepherds crown – but till then I’ll satisfy my discworld fever, by reading one of this lot (and the smaller paperbacks)
and when i’m bored with that (NEVER! sic) youll find me skimming through my comedy collection – The Goons, Monty Python, Morecambe and wise and Scott adams
Almond and Raspberry Bake
#Threewords #Food #Baking
8th September 2018
I was never a fan of almonds as a child
come to think of it – i never liked any nut if it was still in its shell.
it might have had something to do with the way you could never break them open
after the joys of unwrapping presents and the christmas lunch there was always the pain of cracking them open with a small hammer
and the feel of shards of broken shell inside your mouth.
So i avoided them in my youth – picking them out of my portions of fruitcake, watching what kind of fudge i was eating – that kind of thing.
Marzipan was public enemy No 1
even the favorite chinese was scrutinised for the phrase “May contain Nuts”
funny thing was i’d eat everything else – even chillis in a curry.
Till one day coming home from college – i’d entered a cafeteria nearby for a warm drink before catching the tram home. I liked the look of the cake in the display so i ordered a piece….”Almond and Raspberry Bake ?” – The chef asked
Errr…”Yes Please”….I Paused….”Just a small slice”
My mind got transported to being ten again. I’d just ordered edible dynamite.
The hot chocolate wafted under my nose….I couldn’t leave it
I broke off a bit with the fork and swiftly started to eat,
It was different to my childhood memory – not grainy or sharp – and what’s more – it was sweet….with the raspberry jam, it was like eating a raspberry sponge…and it made the hot chocolate taste nicer in a way
By the time i’d finished my drink – the plate in front of me was empty
The edible dynamite – hadn’t exploded
So i paid my bill – and decided to celebrate
“Can i have another slice of that – for the way home please ?”
Astonish
As the acrobat flew into the air
Some held their breath
totally transfixed by the mid air cartwheels
only a single rope stopped the artiste seeing
night stars before sundown
incredible feats of daring occurred under the big top
some may have called him foolhardy, but at the end …everybody
hailed the master acrobat and his tip top tumbling act
Riff
Right about now
in music classrooms in high schools up and down the land
four piece bands are being formed and
fret boards are taking a hammering
Repeated notes
in ordered formation
fill empty spaces on the musical page
forming a foundation to create something magical
Rythum and Blues follow guitar
in concert halls up and down the land
following the familiar formation
followed by the star playing the guitar strings
Eggy Bread
This ain’t no restaurant “French toast”
it’s made over burning logs
in the country air
Foundation for the morning
Set against a glorious sunrise
and cups of camp tea
Thick crusty bread
absorbed in a lake of
golden runniness
Bacon awaits its partner
as it cooks away
in its fat
Poor Man’s omelette ?
after a night on the hills
it’s the food of kings.
Knives and forks ?
or eaten as a sandwich
only quandry – sauce Red or Brown ?
Happy
#CFFC #Letter H
So, what makes me Happy ?
Bird Bath
San Rafael, Albufeira, Portugal
29th September 2017
Sat around the sculpted edge
Petite feathered friends, preen
And pamper, dipping into and
Rolling about, in the clear blue water
Ripples create shapes as
Out and in they hop about,
Water splashing about on the
Surface.
Stained Glass Window
Salford 18th September
Poem borrowed from my page at Allpoetry.com
A tale a bit crafty, a bit religious, but all by me
Artwork created at Craft Sessions at Brain & Spinal Injury Charity in Salford.
As the Sun comes up,
its light shines through
the panels of coloured glass
angling the now coloured light
painting a picture,
of scenes on a floor
And as the sun shines,
through that brightly coloured window
reds cast with yellows
and greens cast with blues
as molten lead holds on tightly,
keeping the picture alive
