Walking towards Cerne Abbas ...

Walking towards Cerne Abbas, we saw a kestrel - 

Nothing in the valley escaped its gaze - 

It walked the air like a stylish gangster - 

The wind shook the awakening trees - 

Below us were newly ploughed fields, a bible open to savage verses from Jeremiah, ragged robyn by the side of a forgotten lane - 

12.30

Friday 31 March 2017

Little Minterne Hill

Dorset

Poets singing in New York ...

How's your sports car? I asked the man who looked like Bill Murray in Lost In Translation - 

His wife went to Anne's yoga class - 

We often came across each other in the gym - 

I'd murmur morning and he'd smile his melancholy smile - 

Just like Bill Murray, I'd think, in the scene where he tells Charlotte I'll be in the bar the rest of the week - 

Fine he said - driving with the top down now - 

We've got two safe cars I said - a Peugeot and a Golf - 

I remembered a ride in a Morgan, Russell then suggesting we each buy half of an Aston Martin -

You have to drive with the top down Will had said - 

In my dreams I'd driven a landship from

Dublin to Castletown - 

A noble horse had won me a fortune in the Irish Derby - 

I lived in a house above the ocean - 

Through the opened windows I heard poets singing in New York - 

11.00

Thursday 30 March 2017

Purbeck Sports Centre 

Wareham

Dorset 

Invisible castaways ...

The skipper of The Monarch should be sipping rum I thought, not a cappuccino -

The Town Quay should be the haunt of lean mariners - 

There should be casks of Marsala being unloaded from rakish sloops - 

We should be hearing songs from tropic harbours - 

Len and I looked into the engine room of the steam launch - 

There, before us, was its oily heart - 

I can smell oil coal and smoke Len said - 

Soon the tide would turn - 

Steam would drive the shining pistons - 

Invisible castaways would voyage downriver - 

11.40

Tuesday 28 March 2017

The Town Quay

Wareham 

Dorset

Running faster than the hare ...

I walked barefoot across the lawn - 

I felt the cool touch of the garden upon my skin - 

Daisies were small stars in a green heaven - 

Celandines were a fearless yellow - 

I'd worn socks and shoes for too many days - 

Now I'd wear a wild shirt - 

I'd trace the outline of the moon - 

I'd chase the sun and run faster than the hare -

15.00

Tuesday 28 March 2017

The Old School House

East Stoke 

Dorset 

The bull neck ...

The Head of PE stepped onto the running machine next to mine - 

I'd been running for ten minutes or so, daydreaming, at ease with the world - 

A rasping yelp roused me from my vision of a languorous garden - 

I was no longer eating figs, lolling by an azure pool - 

I was no longer hearing exquisite verse, read to me by a girl with tawny skin - 

All I heard was a bully gasping for breath - 

Then he spoke - my physiotherapist says my quads are locked solid -

Ah I said - I see - 

10.30

Monday 27 March 2017

Purbeck Sports Centre

Wareham 

Two jumpers ...

My mum was wearing two jumpers and two skirts today - 

She got tangled up in the second jumper when she put it on - 

My dad got up to help - 

I wouldn't shout Anne said - she'll get upset - 

Don't you tell me what to do my dad said - Pegs has been my wife for 60 years - 

He looked in my direction - 

I wouldn't come between you and Chris he said - I know Pegs - 

09.13

Sunday 26 March 2017

Staunton Road

Havant

Darkness at Noon ...

I'm re-reading Darkness At Noon in the sunlit garden - 

I first met Rubashov under the shade of apple trees - 

I was twenty six years old - 

I cast a bright shadow upon the grass - 

Above my head were the heavy fruits of summer - 

Joyous nights would follow drowsy afternoons - 

The moon would shine upon a golden world - 

Here there were as yet no second thoughts - 

No stranger walked up a secret path - 

Day followed night without a pause - 

15.30

Saturday 25 March 2017

The Old School House

East Stoke

Dorset

Hockney in California -

The light of California filled the gallery spaces - 

Boys swam in azure pools - 

I imagined the artist, sipping Evian in a canyon home -  

The warm wind stirred his hair - 

Beyond the garden were wooded hills, then mountains -

The new world was drenched with colour, transformed by the magical intensity of his gaze - 

14.00

Thursday 23 March 2017

Tate Britain

London

Its tangled branches were leafed with blue ...

I've just mowed the lawn - 

It's the second time I've mowed it this year - 

The first time, I had to stop after a couple of minutes of mowing - 

The mower juddered and groaned, its oily innards banjaxed -

I had to drag it through the uncut grass, back to the shed with the cobwebbed bikes - 

The Lawnmower Man fixed the green beast - 

We stood on his driveway whilst police helicopters circled overhead - 

We'd driven past Fort Apache convenience stores - 

I affected the air of a man from the banjos - 

Today I left stripes on the tender grass - 

The apple tree's shadow touched my heels - 

Its tangled branches were leafed with blue - 

15.30

Wednesday 22 May 2017

The Old School House

East Stoke

Dorset 

I felt the shape of old names ...

The last time I visited the chapel it was mid winter - 

Seagulls flew above the stony fields - 

A bitter wind stung my face - 

Clouds cast their shadows upon the pale sea - 

The interior of the chapel was dark and cold - 

Today, Penelope and I heard skylarks - 

The warm air welcomed song - 

A fishing boat sailed round the headland - 

Above the white coastguard cottages the sky promised summer - 

Inside the chapel, bright yellow flowers had been placed in a vase - 

We gazed at the initials and dates carved into the patient stone - 

The sunlight poured through the narrow window - 

I felt the shape of old names - 

I was bathed in memory - 

11.30

Monday 13 March 2017

St Adhelm's Chapel

Adhelm's Head

Dorset

Remembering Volkan's words ...

I've always been nervy around dogs - 

It goes back to when I was a paperboy - 

There was a house, halfway down Bramber Road, where there was a dog which lay in wait for The Daily Mail - 

Each morning the dog would leap up behind the door, snatching the paper from the letter box - 

I'd see it through the panel of frosted glass, a blur of yellowy brown vicious fur - 

I'd hear it snarling, ripping an editorial to shreds - 

I dreaded the thought of it getting out - 

I imagined it hiding behind the privet hedge, leaping out to sink its teeth in my ankle - 

It's owner would say normally it wouldn't hurt a fly - 

But today Ruby, Gordon's dog, was a delight to look after - 

I sat with her in the porch of the church, stroking her silky fur - 

We listened to late afternoon birdsong - 

I remembered Volkan's words - dogs are like people I think - some are bad - some are good - 

16.57

Monday 20 March 2017

Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

East Stoke 

Dorset 

My dad remembers D Day ...

What day is it ? my dad asked - 

Sunday I said - 

The papergirl hadn't yet delivered The Sunday Times - 

My mum was waiting for the pick up - 

My dad put down his book about D Day - 

I remember the planes going over he said - 

They filled the sky - 

We all knew something was going to happen - 

There were Canadian soldiers at the end of our road - 

I was a Navy Apprentice -

They said don't worry boys, it'll be going on next year, you won't miss it -

08.00

Sunday 19 March 2017

Staunton Road

Havant 

 

Our past lives followed us like shadows ...

On my way to The Salt Pig, a former colleague recognised me - 

He nodded, smiled warmly and hurried on - 

The last time I saw him, he was wearing a dark suit - 

Clean shaven and smiling an Ofsted smile, he'd been drinking conference coffee - 

He glowed with the light of exemplary trajectories - 

Now he was bearded, wearing a worn wax jacket - 

We no longer had name badges pinned to our lapels - 

We stood in the car park, dodging pensioners' Skodas - 

Our past lives followed us like shadows - 

15.21

Saturday 18 March 2017

The Salt Pig

Wareham 

Dorset 

Remembering Mr Emmanuel ...

I looked up from the running machine - 

Outside, the Head of PE was herding boys onto the windswept field - 

His bull neck and shaven head reminded me of Mr Emmanuel - 

I'd hated PE lessons - 

Even now, I shuddered at the thought of those cross country runs, the cold mud of the goalmouth, the horror of the communal showers - 

I recalled lining up to vault the horse, Mr Emmanuel urging us to jump jump jump - 

Bigger boys had swung like apes from the ropes -  

At thirteen, to me they looked like men - 

Once I was slippered for repeatedly forgetting my kit -  

You again Bradey Mr Emmanuel had said - 

10.30

Friday 17 November 2017

Purbeck Sports Centre

Wareham 

Dorset   

The pilgrim outside Fathom's Deep ...

The bearded man sat for a while on the bench outside Fathoms Deep - 

He wore green wellingtons with thick soles and a leather hat - 

A pouched belt went round his waist - 

His camo gear was pristine, his skin deeply tanned - 

He'd placed his ruck sack behind the bench -

He rolled a delicate cigarette with one cunning hand - 

I wondered where he'd walked from, where he was going - 

It was as though a pilgrim had walked into the gentle town - 

He carried with him, I thought, the memory of sacred roads - 

His shadow had been cast by a scorching sun - 

Upon his tongue were the traces of ancient songs - 

 

11.00

Thursday 16 March 2017

Wareham

Dorset 

The Rajpoot takeaway ...

Waiting for our Rajpoot Takeaway, I sipped a half of Exmoor in The Kings Arms - 

A bravo ordered a large Dalwhinnie - 

Logs smouldered in the fireplace - 

The new landlord wore a navy blue polo shirt - 

A table of gaffers shared well worn stories - 

I put down my glass - 

Outside, a boy drove past in a banjaxed Corsa - 

I collected the Vegetable Biryani and Tangy Murghi -  

The Rajpoot was almost empty - 

Lonely cutlery shone on white tablecloths - 

Later, the courtly waiters would serve Vindaloos to boozy diners - 

Now, all I heard was Indipop, the sound of the Corsa returning - 

Takeaway for Chris I'd said - 

20.00

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Wareham

Swimming in the pool of the Springfield Hotel ...

 

I hardly stirred the water swimming across the pool - 

I remembered swimming here before, when my body was made of smoke - 

My heart was a wisp of vapour - 

If anyone tried to hold me, it was as though they were grasping air - 

12.00

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Springfield Country Hotel

Wareham

The shining sea had swallowed him ...

The blackthorn above Winspit was not yet in blossom - 

A heavy swell drove the waves across the rocks - 

Two cormorants flew low over the wavetops - 

A skylark sang - 

Three deer grazed upon the steep hillside - 

We stood on the clifftop path to St Adhelm's Head - 

Below us, the bright turbulent sea reflected the spring sunlight - 

I thought of the boy who'd drowned here one summer - 

The sun had warmed his flawless body - 

The sea had swallowed him under a shining sky - 

10.15

Monday 13 March 2017

Winspit 

Dorset

A pearl of memory ...

Soft rain fell upon the water meadows - 

The gentle sky touched the hilltops - 

Lean trees wore catkin feathers - 

Each raindrop was a pearl of memory - 

10.15

Sunday 12 February 2017

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Each breath we seized ...

We ran up the lane, past early morning daffodils and celandines - 

We heard the songs of invisible birds - 

Buds shaped like flint arrowheads were ready to open - 

The new sun was low in the wakening sky -

The river was a silver pathway -

Each breath we seized was a marvellous prize - 

09.30

Saturday 11 March 2017

East Stoke

Dorset

The man with a one toothed smile ...

I'm in charge said the man with his one toothed smile - 

Behind him were stilled clocks, wine glasses brimming with dust, a wooden effigy of an Egyptian God - 

Haven't you got cash ? he asked - 

His oppo leaned back in the creaking chair - 

I went to Shaftesbury Antique Market with two grand in my pocket - 

Do you know what I spent ? - 

£4 - on a pasty ! - 

We handed over two small notes for the folding chair - 

The oppo laughed - 

Is that all ? - 

I thought you were set on buying up the whole unit - 

I imagined, for a moment, that we were - 

What stories would we hear from those sad toys, that trumpet, that wind up gramophone?

15.29

Friday 10 March 2017

Dedannan Antiques Centre

Dortchester