Poetry - September 2025

Manchester Is Blue

Being at the Etihad for the derby
Is always tinged with nerves and excitement
Both in equal measure as kick off draws near
And the City fans are in their element
Winding up the manager Ruben Amorim
As they say he's never gonna win again
And crying in the Stretford End
So will the Reds go down to a loss again?
The game kicks off and City start well
With Erling Haaland wanting to prove a point
The game does get a little muted and tense
But then as if by magic, celebrations in the joint
As Phil Foden proves the difference
And someone local who gets what it means
As he manages to get a shot in on goal
And delirium happens as it's played on the screens
Half time and one nil and I'd take that all day long
But we really do need to go for the kill
United came back to win two one last time here
So we need to avoid them having their thrill
Of course the difference this time is Doku
As he heads down the wing with suitable aplomb
He sees a pass into Erling Haaland
And he dinks it over the keeper for celebrations to come
Later on the ball is forward
Haaland is inside his own half too
He can't be offside, leaves Maguire behind
And scores majestically dinking it true
It is three nil to City and it's all chilled out
As the United fans leave early for London
But for us dieheard blues we're loving this
And a sweet victory makes this a special one.

(Winning a Manchester derby is always special, but to do it with relative ease was thoroughly enjoyable overall it has to be said. Naturally it helps when you have someone like Erling Haaland up front.)

I Blame Mr Kipling

As a child I ate many of his cakes
Including what he called a Cherry Bakewell
Some icing on the top with the cherry
And everything just really felt so well
But of course it's not a real bakewell tart
To Derbyshire you really need to go
And sample the proper tarts and puddings
That are so fine when savoured on the go
The pudding has that lovely texture
With the jam underneath to the taste
And no sign of any icing whatsoever
That really seems like it's put to waste
I blame Mr Kipling for the illusion
He's putting on many a child everywhere
Thinking that his cakes are fit to have the name
Bakewell, but he shouldn't really dare.

(If you ever go to Bakewell in the county of Derbyshire and have a proper Bakewell tart or pudding, you'll know that those Mr Kipling's Cherry Bakewells are just impostors in disguise..)

Vanguard Vengeance

I've now completed the Vanguard Way walk
Sixty six miles over ten sections
From Croydon all the way down to Newhaven
And it's actually proved to be a lot of fun
Heading out through forests and to Surrey
Seeing the greens of Chelsham Common
Then on via walks and forests over the M25
And to Limpsfield Chart for a pint in the sun
Autumn stepped in and it was a muddy way
Along the downhill country paths to Edenbridge
Before Spring meant the longest walk of all
To Forest Row through mud and sludge, all of it
Then onwards via golf courses and chalk hills
Where Poundgate just had a pub to drink in
Before then the warm weather and a walk down
To Blackboys with its quaint village to be in
The Spring better weather really helped then
As I did the next section to Golden Cross
Although the farmer's fields of bulls to avoid
Did make me feel slightly nervous
It was then a short four miles to Berwick station
And as it was a nice sunny day
I did the next section back to back as well
Heading via Alfriston with steps up hills today
It was then down to Exceat Bridge with a view
Over the Cuckmere Meanders to the sea
And a walk via Seaford Head with the views
Of the Seven Sisters looking back at me
The final push down through Seaford itself
And on to the town of Newhaven
Where now the route is revised a little
So you go to Newhaven Town station
It's proved to be a really good walk
And one that I can really recommend
Now in future do I go South back up North
And at the home of Croydon where I will end?

(I have really enjoyed walking all ten sections of the Vanguard Way and to complete it really did make me feel like I had a sense of achievement too.)

Revised Commute

The new office means a new commute
And a new way of working out where to go
You could get the train but that will be packed
Or the bus, but that may be more slow
There's no tube available for you
So it's a case of working out the options and cost
One is cheaper but takes more time
The other is quicker but expensive at most
So it has to be a compromise maybe
If you get up early enough and take the bus
So the morning can be when you do that
And then in the evenings take a train with less fuss
That does mean at least the cost comes down a bit
And that may help work out what is best
But nonetheless as they say
A change is as good as the rest.

(Certainly when companies move offices across central London, with it being so large, the different commute is one to take into consideration - especially if some people have flats and houses based on where their commute is.)

Autumn Cat Haiku

Brian likes the leaves
He crunches with his front paws
On the patio.

(Brian the cat does enjoy a nice walk in the patio with the leaves and has a little crunch of them as he walks on top of them. Awwww..)