CHRISTMAS DELIGHTS

Carols by candlelight,
Ho ho ho the elves are packing with all their might,
Roasting chestnuts by the firelight,
It's in sight,
Santa's sleigh,
This festive night,
Midnight mass - let's hope there's no drunken fights,
Angels give reindeer carrots to bite,
See the children - faces full of delight



Merry Christmas to one and all from everyone at Headway Southampton.

Only the cutting of the grass is the same as before

Only the cutting of the grass is the same as before,
Everything else has changed now,
from getting to places, to sports,
The extra maths tone to my life is faded now,
But love still blooms in my heart forever.
Imagine I was riding a bicycle down Winchester Road,
I took a wrong turn down Station Road and it is after it has rained.
Life is considerably more energy intensive now,
But the love I live with now gives my life a glow
I have good friends here, who I know inside out... I think
well almost,
I still get the same buzz from sports and cooking,
or keeping a tidy garden (raking).

By Jegan

Fireworks Loop de Loop

Lock up your cats and dogs
and be mindful of hedgehogs
in your bonfire logs,
once again it's that
time of year,
when the fire brigade
are full of fear;
catherine wheels,
bangers, sparklers
and rockets,
don't put fireworks
in your pockets!
Are you going
to a firework party?
Here's some food
to keep you hearty:
sausage on a spit,
mugs of tomato soup,
spuds in foil,
whilst watching fireworks
loop de loop!

PS Olly's safety advice:
Remember fireworks cannot be tamed,
keep at arms length or you will be maimed!

Japanese Rugby

Our boys in white put up a fight
to stop the All Blacks in their tracks,
They performed a Haka but we invented rugby
So we made a human V - a V for victory!
On the field we weren't prancing or morris dancing,
we were scoring tries and advancing.
Now only the Springboks stand in our way,
C'mon let's lift the world cup trophy on Saturday.

Pomelo

What is a pomelo?
Not to be confused with a pedalo,
It looks like the offspring of
a grapefruit and an orange
the Frankenstein of fruits,
a botanical chimera.

It's the sized of a football,
with far less bounce,
brimming with Vitamin C
in every ounce,
It's pith is an inch thick,
if you eat it you will be sick.

Pomelo tastes a bit sour,
Jegan's not keen,
he finds the flavour obscene.
It originates from Asia
and now found in Totton,
don't keep it too long
or it will go rotten!

Daddy Long Legs

Every Autumn in the rainy season
Crane flies appear,
it's that time of year.
They fly in your face,
get caught in your hair,
for the squeamish
they are a source of despair!

What is their purpose?
What are they for?
Quite frankly
we'd like to keep them outdoors.

Spiders catch them in their webs
whilst children sit
and remove their legs
Daddy Long Legs or Mosquito Hawks
without their legs they just can't walk!

Roman Raspberries

The Romans gave us
aqueducts, mosaics and the Colosseum,
and fragments of pottery,
that can be found in museums.
Julius Caesar was an ill-mannered swine,
he threw folk to the lions,
and got drunk on wine.

The roman soldiers
were sticklers for order,
they built very straight roads
and a wall on the border.

They were big fans of summer fruits,
but sartorially they
preferred sandals to boots,
raspberries were their favourite food,
but they didn't blow them,
'cos that would be rude!

Cowes Week

Cowes Week
is a regatta extravaganza,
a maritime bonanza
a celebration of sailing and culture
don your yellow wellies and souwester
for this annual sailing fiesta.

Captain Mick is there,
on his motor cruiser Phoenix 1,
she's a beauty at 36ft long,
the cannon fires,
the race begins,
all entrants intend to win.

The Fastnet Tragedy
is front of mind this week,
40 years on
the memory of the lost is still strong
15 sailors lost their lives,
75 battered boats capsized.
a trial of seamanship,
demanding grit and sailing spirit.

Cycling in the Forest

We're going cycling in the Forest
yeah we are - honest
without a bike
we'd be hiking
we'll be trying trikes & bikes
& quads & stuff
we can't get enough - honest
if it's exciting
we'll return
which might be recycling
as we're speeding along (like Geraint Thomas)
we won't hit a tree - honest

Cake and Cricket

The contents of
Mick's fridge
are in this cake:
Harrods' strawberry jam,
half a dozen eggs,
Anchor butter
from New Zealand,
home of the Kiwi cricketers
(no hard feelings).

The England team
were jammy,
just like Mick's cake
(which took 2 hours
to bake),
that was a win
we were happy to take,
the cricket went
to a final ball,
and Mick's cake was enjoyed
by one and all!

Nature Brings Peace and Serenity

I like to stand and look
at waterfalls and babbling brooks
for hours on end
as foliage blends
into the forest's leafy canopy
nature brings peace and serenity
to me

My olfactory sense
is heightened
by the perfumes
of wild blooms
my mind gets lost
in the dampness of the moss

The leaves on the trees
rustle in the breeze
a symphony of birdsong
is music to my ears
I listen to the sound
of the woodpecker's
staccato rap
as it drills for grubs
in the resin and sap

I hug a tree
with all my might
I whisper
I need love not fight
it's nature's haven of security
Oh how I wish I could take it
home with me

By the Biscuit Poetry Group

Duty by Ellen S. Hooper

I slept and dreamed that life was Beauty:
I woke and found that life was Duty:
Was then the dream a shadowy lie?
Toil on, sad heart, courageously,
And thou shalt find they dream to be
A noonday light and truth to thee.

Survivor by Roger McGough

Everyday,
I think about dying.
About disease, starvation,
violence, terrorism, war,
the end of the world.
 
It helps
keep my mind off things. 

The Orange by Wendy Cope

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.

The Human Bee by Carol Ann Duffy

The Human Bee

I became a human bee at twelve,
when they gave me my small wand,
my flask of pollen,
and I walked with the other bees
out to the orchards.

I worked first in apples,
climbed the ladder
into the childless arms of a tree
and busied myself, dipping and tickling.
duping and tackling, tracing
the petal's guidelines
down to the stigma.
Human, humming,
I knew my lessons by heart:
the ovary would become the fruit,
the ovule the seed,
fertilised by my golden touch,
my Midas touch.

I moved to lemons,
head and shoulders
lost in blossom; dawn till dusk,
my delicate blessing.
All must be docile, kind, unfraught
for one fruit -
pomegranate, lychee,
nectarine, peach, the rhymeless orange.
And if an opening
was out of range,
I'd jump from my ladder onto a branch
and reach.

So that was my working life as a bee,
till my eyesight blurred,
my hand was a trembling bird
in the leaves,
the bones of my fingers thinner than wands.
And when they retired me,
I had my wine from the silent vines,
and I'd known love,
and I'd saved some money -

but I could not fly and I made no honey.

Aphasia by Brian Patten

This morning we munched on Maryland Choc Chip cookies and read poetry by Brian Patten and Pam Ayres. We loved the poem below, some of our friends have aphasia and this poem prompted a good chat and helped us all to understand it better.

Aphasia

I’m seven, and I’m dead bright,
But words give me a fright.
Words are bullies.
Sneaky things. They gabble and lie.
Sometimes trying to understand them
Makes me cry. Words hurt.
Words are all over the place,
They get shoved in my face.
I don’t know why but
Words make me cry.
I wish words were things
You could hug.
Or that they smelt nice.
I wish they came in bottles
Like fizzy drinks, or melted
Like ice-cream. But they don’t,
Words are mean. They bully me,
Lock me away
From what I want to say.
I can’t even ask for help
And I’m only seven
(And a bit).
Words spread nasty gossip.
They must. Otherwise why
Would people think I’m thick.
Words.
They make me sick
Inside.

Coronation by Spike Milligan

Today we feasted on All Butter Stem Ginger Cookies and ready poetry by Spike Milligan.

This one's our favourite:

Coronation

Said Prince Charles 

When they placed

The Crown on his head

I suppose this means

That Mummy's dead

Number 300

Today marks our 300th rhyming feat,
we've eaten our own body weights in biscuity treats!
Poems have been inspired by
Wagon Wheels, Ginger Nuts,
Jaffa Cakes and Lemon Puffs,
we've scoffed them all and can't get enough.
We've sampled interesting biscuits from distant shores,
squashed in suitcases from holiday tours,
and ventured towards the savoury snack,
but the lure of sugar drew us back,
today's biscuit is a posh pack for our special day,
contributing nicely to our dental decay!

Biscuits:Elizabeth Shaw Coconut and Hazlenut

Tasting Notes: Yipeeeee

Score:  300 out of 300

Flour Power

All over the world
people will be whisking up a treat,
with toppings of their choice,
savour or sweet.
We'll be flipping all morning at Headway
to celebrate Pancake Day!

All you need are eggs, milk and flour,
to give our self some pancake power.
Put the mixture in the pan,
and toss it until you get a golden tan,
if it lands on the ceiling or on the floor
you'd better get mixing up some more.

Sugar and lemon is our topping of choice,
or you could say 'Crepe Suzette' in a French voice.
Ruud prefers cheese, Olly likes honey and cream,
whilst Nutella and banana is Fiona's dream.

Those who fancy a pancake flambe,
just call the fire brigade and run away.
If our concoctions fail to make you merry,
you can always contact Mary Berry.

Biscuits:All Butter fruit and oat cookies

Tasting Notes: Delicious and buttery

Score:  8.5 out of 10

Did you know?

The unicorn only has one horn,
it feels forlorn,
on account of being extinct
since the dawn (of time),
this poem sucks,
these biscuits are yuck
and should be withdrawn

Biscuits: Flipz Unicornz

Tasting Notes: Awful and lilac, smell like unicorn poo

Score:  1 out of 10

To Bee or not to Bee

What would happen to our civilisation
If there was no bee pollination?
Because we're destroying their habitat,
There will be no food and that is that.

We need to stop using pesticides
or else the species won't survive,
if man can cultivate the land
bees will give a helping hand

Bees need our love
to stay alive in their hive,
With Valentines Day on the way
Give your honey some flowers that day.

Year of the Pig

Time to celebrate it's Chinese New Year,
Have a takeaway and a sneaky beer!

Do a little jig,
it's the Year of the Pig.

Pigs like to rout about and snuffle,
as they hunt around for a hidden truffle,

Do a little jig,
it's the Year of the Pig.

Pigs are clean and smart,
even though all they seem to do is fart.

Do a little jig,
it's the Year of the Pig.

Pigs are omnivores and love their veg,
they are often found rooting around in a hedge,

Do a little jig,
it's the Year of the Pig.

The verderers, the Forest they like to manage,
by sending out the pigs to pannage,

Do a little jig,
it's the Year of the Pig.

In China they'll be running around in the muck,
because in Chinese astrology pigs mean good luck.

Yeah, we are definitely going to dig
the Year of the Pig!

Biscuits: Hello Panda
Tasting Notes: Unusual and fun
Score: 8 out of 10

The Lonely Moon

It's a lonely rock in the midst of space,
full of beauty,
full of grace,
only 12 people have visited its cratered crust,
two dozen boots have stirred it's dust.

Like all of us it has a dark side,
it affects our water and pulls our tide,
werewolves will howl when they come out at night,
seeking victims to bite in its eery light.

The romance of the lune
makes everyone swoon,
heavenly satellite,
our eternal moon.

Biscuits: Lemon and Lime Jaffa Cakes
Tasting Notes: Tangy
Score: 7 out of 10

How do you eat yours?

We were excited to try
the new Jaffa Cakes flavour,
sadly the the taste of strawberry
was not one to savour.

The dark chocolate mix
didn't give us our citrus fix,
whilst the choice of fruit
did not suit.

How do you eat yours?
Are you a scoffer
with an impatient jaw,
or do you make a luna eclipse
by putting half between your lips?

Do you nibble round the edge,
and save the best 'til last,
or head straight to the jelly
and eat it fast?!

Biscuits: Strawberry Jaffa Cakes
Tasting Notes: Bleak (see poem)
Score: 4 out of 10

Beast from the North

Across Europe there's a magenta warning,
extra snowfall due to global warming,
there aren't many places to go,
when you're under 10 foot of snow,
if you get our drift,
to avoid the avalanches,
jump on a ski lift.

Even as the flakes are falling,
events across the globe are snowballing,
Donald Trump is serving unhappy meals,
and failing to do any wall building deals,
maybe he could use burgers as bricks,
to keep out the poor put upon Hispanics.

There's no snow here but Theresa May's frozen out,
in Parliament she holds no clout,
everyone's giving her the cold shoulder,
if she'd have listened to us we would have told her,
Brexit's snow joke!

Biscuits: Graze Protein Bites

Tasting Notes: Yuck, taste like hay.

Score:  3.5 out of 10

Builders' Biccy Break

We're eating builders' biscuits
We're drinking builders' tea
Everything's expensive
When they add on VAT
These biscuits didn't break our bank
Because we got them free
Katherine kindly gifted this treat
We're eating them with glee

Paul once built some houses
For the gentry in Romsey
Karl created Lego dwellings
Building made him happy
If builders hadn't fixed Mandy's roof
It would still be seriously leaky
Keep the biscuits coming
And they'll work much harder you'll see.

Feed your builders well
Whilst they're working on the job
A custard cream, a jaffa cake or a chocolate hob nob!

Biscuits: Family Circle

Tasting Notes: Short and bready. Thanks Katherine x

Score:  8.5 out of 10