Btw, the other man is President Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire enjoying dinner at the Élyssée Palace, while his lads did well in the Africa Cup of Nations darn sarf.
Category: Competition
Another sonnet for the pomes comp
Its all a load o balderdash! Dyou wish
To keep those pesky commas in mid-air?
How can they influence the price of fish?
If bookshops want to drop them, do I care?
Them Waterstones will still sell books, I smise
Like Boots will do the drugs and Tiffnys jewls?
And Ronald will make burgers, Sainsbrys pies?
Do squiggles in some logos make them fools?
So lets go back to dear old GBS.
He knew a thing or two bout grammar stuff.
Lets rite it ow we say it – dont digress.
Of snobby arty farty crap – enuff!
Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
I shall! And sweep that comma clean away!
Sonnet-Waterstone’s: A rally cry.
Waterstone’s: A rally cry.
In London, Kensington, young Waterstone,
It would appear, sold out to a stranger,
So punctuation is now in danger;
Waterstones, now writ, lowering the tone.
Grammatically unsound you say, but hark!
Printed books or wet garden stones for pools?
Or are apostrophes for older fools,
We ancient pedants who insist and bark?
No, war it is and we are right to fear
The loss of this small mark, by which we own
Still our proud language, although loud we moan.
Standards will not slip despite those who jeer.
Save the apostrophe I hear you cry,
In this small mark all we possess must lie.
January Short Story Competition: What then is time?
“There was really nothing he could do but be patient. Freedom could come in the next hour, or the next century, or never.”
Hugo registered this thought and decided it was intensely irritating to deal with a creature who regarded any division of time smaller than a decade of no particular importance. Continue reading “January Short Story Competition: What then is time?”
Waterstone’s – poetry competition
That little floating comma causes grief,
An apostrophic pain one might aver.
But syntactícal failures find relief
In three so simple rules . They’re de rigueur. Continue reading “Waterstone’s – poetry competition”
Next Poetry Competition
Back to where it all began, with a sonnet. Any rhyming scheme you like, but it must be 14 lines of iambic pentameters (with conventionally acceptable variants).
Subject – Waterstone’s or Waterstones.
Deadline – Sunday 29th January, midnight GMT.
Poetry: 10-January 2012 the Results.
They were all good, there really is an abundance of talent on this site (sometimes it does take a little drawing out).
To use a quote from Janus, I am kind of “rumpty-tumpty” poet myself (if I am any poet at all and I make no claim). As result I do like a rhyme in my pomes and I was drawn to Ara’s late entry and Janus’s masterful compilation of place names for that reason, but for staying with the theme and evoking the kind of perplexity that only a new beginning can do, I must award the “Poisoned Chalice” this round to Bearsy. Well done, that Bear.
A Friendly Poke
Just a reminder that the Poetry Competition has but a few more days to run, it will of course be extended indefinitely, until some contribution from the female side is received.
By way of encouragement I offer this little piece from a local paper. When I read It I thought of Bearsy who has favored this form in the past, I have a hard time with the sonnet, something about counting in fives.
Continue reading “A Friendly Poke”
Eat, Drink and be Merry – 20th. Photo Competition
Well, it is the season, and to encourage participation let’s make this one easy. We will all be doing this in the next few weeks, so take along that pocket camera and get some good ones.
Eat Drink and be Merry, closing time – Midnight January 15th 2012
Results of the 19th Nervous Photographic Competition.
The deadline is here, so, as Gregg Wallace says “STOP COOKING NOW!”
It is a shame there were not a few more pictures, but the ones that are there are varied and show some great imagination. I am surprised no-one took a picture of the fairy on the Christmas Tree. Yes, I know the joke about Grumpy Santa and his striking elves!
Continue reading “Results of the 19th Nervous Photographic Competition.”
Boadicea's Chariot 
You must be logged in to post a comment.