A postcard to the refugees

We are thinking of you,
We wish you were here,
Instead of fleeing your homes
in ever present fear.
struggling to reach us anyway you can,
by boat or on foot across inhospitable land.

The desperation and hardship,
tortured lives so hard to endure,
the realisation only hit us
when Aylan washed up on a Turkish shore.

Please be wary,
European streets aren't paved with gold,
beware the traffickers,
to whom your lives may be sold.

Our thoughts are with you,
we are all hand in hand,
we urge you onwards,
to your chosen promised land.

Biscuit:  Tutku
Taste test: 7 out of 10
Cost: A gift from Lee from his holiday in Turkey

All things Swiss

Mountainous heart of the Alps, Switzerland,
Landlocked land, no navy on hand,
Alpine flowers, Edelweiss and Gentian
Warrant a mention.

French, German, Italian are the resident tongues,
For their yodelling echoes they need big lungs,
Famous icons include Federer, Heidi and William Tell,
The brave St. Bernard and the clanging cow bell.

Biscuit: Kambly Coeur aux Noisettes

Taste test: 8 out of 10
Cost: Pricey from Waitrose in Lymington

Flapjack Jon

Unflappable Jon T
baked us some flapjacks
to inspire poetry.
He's tall and calm,
walks with a stick,
oozes kindness
but what makes him tick?
He's an enigma,
hard to define -
whilst his chocolate covered flapjacks
taste divine!
A picture of happiness
with inner charm,
a swooping eagle soars on his arm.
His canine friend Alfie
keeps him active and healthy,
for him it's claret and blue,
a Hammers fan
through and through!
Our Jon's forever young -
his football team
of grandchildren
promise him a lifetime of fun.

Biscuit:  Jon T's Flapjacks
Taste test: 9.9999 out of 10
Cost: Handmade by Jon T

Classics

Short and plain and round,

From Lidl and hardly more than a pound,

These biscuits claim to be a classic

But seem actually quite basic.

Eat too many and you’ll end up a fatty,

Not svelte like the chassis

Of a slim-line Bugatti

Or those other Italian sports car classics.

Nor slender like Margot Fonteyn,

Pirouetting round again and again,

Her audience deep in a trance

As she performs her classic Russian dance.

On his round, Aristotle

Drank one too many a bottle,

And Plato downed a short

As they discussed their classic thought.

Homer and Virgil chomp their lunchtime sandwiches

And chew on the complexity of classic languages

While we strain and struggle to rhyme

Asking, ‘Will our poems stand the test of time?’

We may wonder what their fate is.

Probably, we guess, not quite classic status. 

Biscuit:  Classic Shortbread Rounds
Taste test: 9 out of 10
Cost: From Lidl in Totton, hardly more than a pound!

Happiness

It's the simple things
in life that please:
sunshine, flowers,
a cool breeze.
Music, friends, dancing
and wine,
joining family - going out
to dine.

Lunchtime makes Brian happy
the 12 o'clock certainty of food
on his plate,
a sated smile - everyone's his mate.

60's music lifts Terry's spirits
shimmying with a gin & tonic
a gigantic grin,
his moves iconic.

Chocolate improves Paul's humour.
the whispered promise of a bite
a loud laugh
intimates his delight

Sunshine brightens Lee's mood
basking in the warmth of the rays,
a sun-kissed glow
Oh happy days!

Biscuit:  Deli Choc
Taste test: 7 out of 10
Cost: Buy one get one free offer (this was the free packet!)

Go set a clock

Should unpublished books
be left to rest unread?
Better not to disturb the dead?
Leave sequels to our imaginations,
don't disappoint our great expectations.

Shield us from the mental struggle
of accepting Potter's transformation to muggle.
Harry Potter at the Chamber of Commerce
would spell a literary turn for the worse.

Who'd want to read about
Lady Chatterley's mother
or George Orwell's little brother
James Herbert's gerbils wouldn't scare
and nobody cares for Euston Bear!

Biscuit:  Tim Tams
Taste test: 7.7 out of 10
Cost: Gift from Denis

11:30am 7/7/15

S I L E N C E

I S

L A M E N T I N G

E V I L

N O X I O U S

C R U E L T Y

E V E R M O R E