Poetry - March 2023

I Stand With Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker has always spoken out
About the plight of refugees and what we can do
Leading by example he has housed some himself
And raised awareness to what the situation is
It wasn't a surprise that he would react
In the way that he did to proposed new laws
Finding them abhorrent and the wrong move
And tweeting his frustration to the followers
What then happened was a storm of media bias
As all the right wing press wanted him sacked
They claimed he worked at the Beeb so was impartial
And showing support was such a heinous act
Yet we all know there's double standards
Because if he did say he supported the policy
Then the likes of the Daily Mail would be excited
Rubbing their hands with a horribly joyous evil laugh
So it was inevitable that pressure did tell
And the axe fell to Gary on the Friday
But what they didn't account for was the football family
All pulling together in a show of support
First, the pundits pulled out of Match of the Day
The commentators also refused to work
Football Focus fell next by the way side
And no football that weekend was left unaffected
It was a sign of support and solidarity
That proved that they all knew Gary was right
I stand with Gary too - because he was using free speech
And as a freelancer, he had the right
It was inevitable that the impasse would end
And that he will be back on our television screens
But all the political jockeying shows that
Interference is clearly on their agenda
Playing right into the hands of Gary and others
Who clearly think that there is that thing happening
Spectacular own goal scored by them all
And when the dust settles on all of this
Remember it was Gary Lineker who stood for what was right
And that the right wing media are enemies within the BBC.

(Not much more to say - but the records will show that all who backed off the BBC on the weekend of 11th and 12th March and stood in solidarity with Gary Lineker, whether they be back room staff, producers, pundits etc, all deserve the right praise for sticking together. There's a lot of workplaces who could learn from that.)

Feed Bunny Shaw and She Will Score

This season in the WSL
There's been one scorer on red hot form
She plays for Manchester City too
And knows where the back of the net is
Already just this year alone
There's two hat tricks to her name
Plus four in the FA Cup at Bristol City
With goals galore in her veins
I went to see City in action
And Brighton put up some resistance
However, Bunny Shaw was fed
And she scored the goals that won
The second goal right at the death
Showed that you fight to the end
It was a display of pure class and determination
Which made me appreciate it more
She's been having mentoring from Shaun Goater
A player who became a legend in Blue
And if Bunny Shaw keeps up her efforts
It's only a matter of time before she is too.

(Wow. What a season Bunny Shaw is having for Manchester City Women this season. She definitely feels more at home and certainly having a City legend like Shaun Goater there to help out really has paid dividends.)

Delia Smith Wants Capers and Lime

I used to watch Delia Smith's cookery programmes
And one thing always sprang to mind
Is it that she always used capers
Or she would always it seems to like lime
It's true: she proclaimed 'I think this could do
With a bit of lime, I love lime, don't you?'
She always used capers imported from abroad
You had to get them from a market which you cannot afford
Anyway, she is now making some ice cream
And it's a vanilla flavoured treat - a dream
But then she decided to add some lime to it all
Made the ice cream pleasure mean totally naff all
She even used it in her tea, I bet
Or maybe the obesssion didn't her yet
All that capers and lime meant a heady mix
Of her storming onto the Carrow Road pitch
Claiming we needed a twelfth man here
Where are you? Let's be having you, she sneered
And then it was back to the boardroom
With more capers and lime to lighten the gloom.

(The halcyon days of every single Delia Smith cookery programme and using capers and lime in just about everything!)

The Lake

The wind whistles gently by on a Sunday afternoon
Everything seems to peaceful and tranquil
As the air seems to float by like the water
As I take a walk around this melodic scenery
The rustling of boats’ sails are gently audible
Families with children happily play
And in amongst all the peace and calm
Is the relaxed state of mind I’m in today
I sit on a bench under the shade of trees
Perched up on a slight incline here
It’s my own little space I really love a lot
It’s where I feel calm and safe and warm
I could watch the sun go down here forever
I wouldn’t care if it was the middle of the night
I feel safe in this idyllic location
And it’s one I’ll only share with those I love.

(A very special lake, a very special place, somewhere I feel very happy at.)

Snowy Cat Haiku

Brian loves play time
Except when it a snows a lot
No ice on my paws!

(Brian the cat was surprised to see snow this weekend where he lives - he tried to play out and didn't like the snow and ice one bit - much rather be snuggled up to his Mummy, quite right too!)