Category: Competition

A Pome for Bilby

Herbs and spices

For Father’s Day, I got a book
Hello, says I, that’s worth a look
But it seemed to promise lots of labour
A barbecue cook book by Weber.

In it one hundred lovely recipes
For incinerating meat and veggies
Ways of cooking piggies and birds
Not for anyone but for nerds.

In order to flavour these comestibles
I would have to raid the wife’s vestibules.
Loads of rosemary and thyme
And other herbs that just won’t rhyme.

Then, of course, there are the spices
Many of these can lead to vices
Many used in a marinade
The results washed down with lemonade

Or, preferably, a nice Chilean Carmenére
Continue reading “A Pome for Bilby”

Dopes

Bus stuck at finish of stage one

Yer gorra laff! Just picture it: a hundred and fifty lads on bikes going like the clappers for 120 miles on Corsica. Then minutes from the finish somebody jams a team-bus on the line. Panic ensues. The finish will now be 300 metres before the line; half the riders get the message and start sprinting; lots of them fall off their bikes; the bus is extracted and the finish line reinstated.

Guess who’s been using up all those illicit drugs since the big clean-up .

July Poetry Competition

Painting by Henri Rousseau (for JW)

I was so entranced by the ‘Magic’ theme that I find myself unable to think of an interesting subject for the July poeticals.

Therefore, this month’s competition is open … except for the inclusion of the names of two herbs (they have such beautiful names) and one creature. You may add more herbs and creatures, if you wish, to create a fragrant, poetic casserole.

Any form, length etc.

Entries by midnight on 21 July 2013.

June Magic competition result

This is the part we all hate- choosing a winner. Still, it must be done. Only four entries but what the competition lacked in quantity it made up for in quality.

It was quite Testing for me reading Soutie’s paean to an upcoming star in the world of rugby. It also begs the question just how many Petersens/Pietersens are there in South Africa? Nonetheless a fine ode and no derogatory rugger snipes from me.

The mighty Janus once again made his rhyming so effortless in his story of a relative that is a clockwork genius. Living in the land of Lego as he does, I’m sure Janus is no mean constructor and destructor of blocks himself. Very interesting thread in his post as well.

Bilby has proven herself to be an accomplished wordsmith. Beautifully written with an emotional ending. Proof indeed that are many talents on board the Chariot.

PapaG’s entry had me chuckling from the start. Best title for a poem in a long while. His manic romp through a magic show conjured many images. He really got in the act of this theme. Very funny and it did appeal to me.

Thank you to all who entered, you’re all stars. The winner is… Continue reading “June Magic competition result”

Fame

A hunter gatherer aims his bow and arrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cherished colleagues are known to deplore the cult of celebrity, particularly when good runners, singers, toadies and assorted prats are awarded Honours for our pains. But soft! What light at yonder window (etc.)? Allegedly it’s all in the genes – the latest and greatest excuse for almost anything you deplore.

So see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23046602  – wherein the evolutionary tale is told.

In the dark ages social status was determined by skill at hunting, shooting and fishing, which explains why the great and good anno 2013 still set store by such qualities.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – again!

Magic: JW’s Poetry Competition

On a bladderwracked, forsaken isle,
all swirled about with wind-blown gulls,
a wild man keeps his hut and hearth,
eschewing what he held most dear;
awash in toxic madness.

A giant monster, gnarled and raving,
marked by sun and raging winds,
bewitched beneath a pregnant moon,
and twisted like a mandrake root;
harbouring ancient sins.

Continue reading “Magic: JW’s Poetry Competition”

Monroe

No, the other one – of ‘Doctrine’ fame. In short it allowed the good ole boys to stop other kids playing in their own backyards too close to the land of the free. And in the ’80s Sheriff Reagan and Col. Oliver North sent some help to the Contras in Nicaragua, funded by the sale of arms to Iran. And all on the hush-hush too.

 The two canals

So I wonder if there’ll be some behind-the-scenes jiggery-pokery again in Nicaragua now that the pesky Chinese plan to compete with the US-controlled Panama canal by digging a new, much better one? Will the US of A bribe the poor Nicaraguans to reject the project? Has the Pres already told the Chinese to butt out? And will we ever know?

A pome about magic

I had a boy cousin (still do, come to that)
Whose whole world was, for him, a machine.
While the rest of us played on our bikes in the sun,
He took his to pieces – and not just for fun –
Testing modifications. Would this version run?
With occasional sweets in between.

 

 

 

One Christmas he had an old wireless set
Which he proudly displayed on the floor.
He’d removed all the parts and dismantled its case;
Examined each valve, disconnected the base.
Then (magic!) restored ev’ry one to its place;
Switched it on and it functioned once more!