Category: Competition

This year’s word

I’m not hogging the home page deliberately. It’s the absence of other porcine posters that causes my glut, but I have to mention that the Oxford American Dictionary has plumped for ‘gif’ as the word of the year. Which only goes to prove that I no longer live in the real world. ‘Gif’, my Backside! Something to do with techie life, I hear. I can relate to one of the runners-up, ‘Eurogeddon’ though, that end-of-the-world state caused by eurocratic megalomania.

Another invention from the Great American Election debates – ‘Romnesia’ – struck me as deserving of a place in posterity, to denote that endearing quality displayed by all successful politicians.

Do you have any contenders?

Yet another modern GF

Ode to a sparkler


O slender wand, what pleasure looms
As Dad ignites your bulbous head!

That burst of light and hiss that comes
With flying sparks so quickly dead.

We practice chants and magic spells –
Abracadabra. Let’s play swords!

‘Til ‘one of us’, my sister tells,
Is writing all the rudest words.

And then, you’re gone. It’s dark once more.
Just wiry junk left on the floor.

Another modern GF – a November pome

My teacher says Guy was a terrorist – and
The Government practised rendition back then.
Is it true that this is a protestantfest?
No. (And please don’t breathe the smoke, dear.)

My mate and his dad made this really cool Guy,
To burn at the stake on November the fifth.
So can we have one of our own next year?
No. (And please don’t breathe the smoke, dear.)

‘A modern GF’ – a November pome

My name is Fookes, Guy Fookes, the spook.        
Yes, Doubl’-O-K, so spell it right!
Licensed to kill, I am, and look!
I’m all tooled up and fit to fight.

You’ll want to know who runs my show.
A British ‘M’? A Euro-cell?
The Mossad? CIA? Er, no.
Thing is, I actually don’t know. Continue reading “‘A modern GF’ – a November pome”

Photo comp #34 “Autumn”

I have just taken my dear old aunt to the dentist, and while driving her there, the autumn was very apparent. So, while it seems a trifle trite, the subject for the next comp is “Autumn”. This can be any aspect of Autumn from Halloween to Guy Fawkes or the (in our case, non-existent) apple harvest, or anything you think is representative of the autumnal season!

Deadline will be midnight on 1st December, as we should have returned from our Thanksgiving visit to Washington DC by then (hurricanes willing!)

Here is something to get you going, our Forsythia on the turn:-

Autumn colours

November Poetry Competition.

OK, lets see if I can get this done before I lose my internet connection.

We are well into the season of mellow mists and fruitfulness, so it’s too late for that.   There is however considerable disgruntlement about political happenings just about everywhere.  In spades here because of the thankfully soon to be over presidential election and elsewhere pertaining to potential acts of northern British secession, attack dog behaviour of ex-pat. Welsh antipodean prime ministers, or even the fare dodging antics of Chancellors.

So how about “A modern Guy Fawkes”  any length or scheme (but as always, extra points for rumpy pumpy)

By the time judgement day comes around  (no not November 5 or  6,  let’s make it November 30)  at least we here in the US will be free of the pols. until January, when hopefully a freezing cold Washington inaugural may take out some of the weaklings.

October poetry winner

I’m astonished by the amount of entries in this month’s poetry competition and also by the quality. Picking a winner was a difficult task as I liked a lot of the submissions. As individuals took the time to enter I feel it polite to put the time in and respond to all the poems singularly. It was fun finding the various film titles. Remember I sit on the fence on the big issues around here so I’m not a judge. Continue reading “October poetry winner”