Poetry - August 2024

Last of the Summer Wine

Holmfirth is a beautiful place
Some associate it with a television series
But actually there's plenty more about it
With a gig venue that has crowds to please
A lovely tap room serving Magic Rock beer
And heading away towards the hillside
A little vineyard sloped below a farm
That gives you small batches of wine with pride
Taking the tour shows you just how
The process is of getting the vines planted
And having them ready to survive the weather
Getting the harvest that they all wanted
Having the chance for the grapes to grow
And fortify into a crisp fresh white wine
Having some of that on the balcony afterwards
Showed that it tasted really divine
When the focus is on locally sourced produce
It's well worth giving the local wine a go
You would be surprised by what it made here
And definitely one I'll have to have more of you know.

(Having a tour of Holmfirth vineyard recently shows just how much care and attention is put into the wine, especially the white, which was rather good. Definitely well worth trying out.)

Dramatic Dovestones

On the other side of Oldham and Ashton
And heading towards the Pennine moorland sky
Sits an open space of water at Dovestones
Where you really feel at one as nature passes by
You can walk around the reservoir
With the trees that accompany you along the way
Admiring the view over the basin
With the sky rolling in over hills and far away
You sense the changing weather coming over
Sheltering in the palm trees as it rains
And watching the clouds move over you
As it then turns back to dry weather again
It's definitely got drama and scenery all of its own
With its hillside and watery charm
Makes me wonder why I didn't come here sooner
To be with my love walking arm in arm.

(What a lovely reservoir and place to walk around. Why didn't I do this sooner?)

Hillside Hideaway

Built into the hillside
Was our little weekend hideaway
A well appointed apartment that had
All you needed for a comfortable stay
A sofa you could sink into
As you could watch television with some wine
A wood burning stove that also heated the oven
And you could make your food taste divine
There is also a walk up the vineyard
If you wanted to dine in the restaurant there
We decided to go there for breakfast instead
And that offered lovely views whilst there
A bed that felt so comfortable and soft
Sinking into a nice deep relaxing sleep
Admiring the views and realising
We wouldn't be walking up these hills so steep
It was a comfortable place to be
And one I can highly enjoy once again
We just need a good excuse to come back
And hopefully not with Pennine rain!

(The vineyard in Holmfirth also had a small set of apartments built into the hillside to stay at. These were lovely and comfortable and just felt nice having a stop over together.)

The Madness of Kew Palace

Being in Kew Gardens
Meant we had to try and visit the palace
A place once a royal residence
Amidst the "madness" of King George
There's so much history
Within the walls and the rooms inside
And yet walking through reminded us
That yet you can be a prisoner, nowhere to hide
No one knew properly of his condition
And so would treat him as a mental case
Chaining him up inside certain rooms
Almost as if being hidden in disgrace
Yet the palatial rooms showed family were near
And wanted to be offering their love
But all they seemed to get for efforts
Was a chastening from those politically above.

(Walking round Kew Palace certainly was interesting if not for all the history inside...)

Tabby Cat Haiku

Brian sees Tabby
A stand off ensues all night
No one wants to move!

(Brian the cat does want to make sure his territory is his, and any sign of a tabby cat is of course met with a suitable stare off..)