An Epiphany

Twas a few nights from Christmas
And all were in bed
Well almost all people
For so it is said
That three men on three camels
Rode the streets in the dark
Wearing crowns and their jimjams
As they rode to a park
Which to be honest would be normal
If it weren’t London town
So the camels afforded
A few scowls and few frowns
But the PJs raised no eyebrows
For no man and no mice
Turned their heads to gawp at them
For they were pleasant and nice

But the thing that was spooky
Was they’d come from afar
Carrying pots for a baby
Without GPS but a star
And then avoided the scrutiny
Of the Mi5
Who were completely oblivious
That a babe was alive
In a shed East of London
In Victoria Park
A babe with his mother
And step Dad in the dark
Where no questions had been asked
No investigation begun
No social services intervention
Surrounding this son

For though his parents declared
He was a King up on high
And that prophets foretold
He’d be murdered and die
Also claiming overtly
That the sky had been filled
With a whole host of angels
Who had sung they were thrilled
The assumption was simple
That it was all of a ruse
A story all made up
With nothing to loose
And thus none battered an eyelid
For it seemed too absurd
Or else they all had amnesia
Forgetting what they had heard

And so the men on their camels
In their jimjams and crowns
Arrived at the park
There in London town
Where they all paid homage
Gave their slightly odd gifts
In the back of a bike shed
Late on that night shift
Then they upped and departed
By the light of the star
But now in a Ferrari
Or other fast car
So that unhindered the story
Of Christmas could come true
To be told through the centuries
By both me and by you

And the camels – what happened
To each one of the three
Who went by the names
Of camel AB and C
For you might well be thinking
Were they ever seen
Again in the district
Near to Bethnal Green
Or did they disappear too
In the light of the moon
With no trace on their whereabouts
Anytime soon
But the answer my dear friends
Was they set up a pub
Serving great pie and mash
And other good grub

And so that is the story
An epiphany
Maybe not the one that
Is true history
But still a revelation
For truth, dare or lie
The wise men were once
Three kings or Magi
And be them there in London
Or in Bethlehem
That star still shines brightly
For you – not just them!
Right there twinkling daily
And is here to stay
A light in the darkness
Illuminating the way

  

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Off To Uni

Today he’s off to London
I feel a little sad
But may this Richard Whittington
Find gold and nothing bad
As on those cobbles nightly
He stumbles home to bed
With lager in his belly and
A thumping pounding head

Yet in the days let him be stretched
And filled up to brim
With nuggets of pure knowledge that
Will make him smart not dim
So that his future pathways will
Be made of all that gleams
So, go now my son and do your best
And live your wildest dreams

  

Canary Wharf

Silver meets silver high up in the sky
As arrows of metal soar up oh so high
And kiss the great folds that tumble on by

The A1

Long winding trunk road, what do you see?
Cars in their millions as well as lorries
Plodding along or zooming on by
As you stretch out ahead into the blue sky

Do you notice the madness; the huge traffic jams
The chaos upon you; the biffs and the bams
The sirens; the hooting; the screech of some brakes
That cling to your surface when they can’t overtake

Do you feel all those wheels that whizz over your head
The blue cars; the white vans and bikes painted red
Do you know what they’re doing; do you care or perceive
For the volume of traffic that wends and that weaves

Do you fathom the greatness of Britain in one
As you pass our great cities and country on your run
Do you lap up the sights and soak up the views
I wonder long trunk road what it is to be you?

And what do you think as you leave London Town
Heading north to the borders closing in on the crown
Of Gaelic descent; Edinburgh’s abode
Do you sense your achievement my dear Old North Road?

If It Happened Today: A Modern Nativity

I hear there is a census
And all folk should return
Unto the town where they were born
Which is of some concern
As sure enough the traffic
Is getting quite heavy
Particularly in South London
Just near to the M3

For there in middle carriageway
A donkey has been seen
With pregnant woman riding it
Next to a man in green
Who’s said to be a Chippy
Unmarried too they say
And out of work on benefits
Well that’s the claim today!

For so the rumour has it
They’ve travelled from Ascot
And she’s due any minute
To give birth to the tot
Who some are calling special
Saying he’ll be the next king
But if he is then MI6
Will have to do their thing

For Britain has a monarchy
And there is just no place
For an imposter to come in
Take-over or replace
The Queen and the Prime Minister
For that would just not do
Yet certain things are scaring folk
Up in Westminster too!

Reports say there’s an angel
In skies right near Heathrow
Causing quite a commotion
And blocking radar so
And word from Jodrell bank is there’s
A star they’ve never seen
That’s burning in the north so bright
Just where the woman’s been!

So the police are sat in waiting
Amidst these threats and fears
As this young mum is turning heads
As her birth draws so near
And the country is on red alert
To keep a watchful eye
Increasing their surveillance with
The army on standby

For facts are pure and simple
No-one should make these claims
Unless their mad or really bad
Or looking for some fame
And so as Mum on donkey
Heads into London town
The powers that be are on the case
To protect the Royal crown!

Bethlehem 1898. Description given at the source: “No Room at the Inn (…) photograph of a man and woman with Donkey entering Bethlehem. It was created in 1898. The photograph is reminiscent of Mary and Joseph.” (text from same source) Note: As the source shows a number of 1898 pictures “reminiscent” of the biblical story in and around Bethlehem (featuring a couple, a donkey, sometimes a baby etc.) it seems likely that at least some of the pictures were staged. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Summer School

You meet them all at summer school
They come from far and wide
Hailing from Scotland, Belgium, Spain
And even Merseyside
And London town and Basildon
From Kent and Middlewich
From Thame and Dorset, Grantham too
They come without a hitch!

They come with bags and books and stuff
By train, by car, by air
On foot or bike, arriving with
One mission – let’s be fair!
To study, work, improve their mind
For education’s might
Who are we kidding?  That perhaps
But also fun at night!

To mix their learning like a drink
A cocktail shall we say
With few parts gin, a glass of wine
For work combined with play
To have a laugh and seriously
Study behaviour too
The science of Psychology
Why we do what we do

And live it all – well let’s be frank
The practical’s the best
To analyse conditions in
Experimental test
To set it up. To see just how
Statistically it falls
Determine the significance
Of OU life in halls

Hypothesising that above
This week by Brighton pier
Will change all for the better good
Inspire each year on year!
And where the results surely show
A correlation true
‘Tween working hard whilst having fun
With no sleep for a few!

You meet them all at summer school
The good; the bad; the weird
The cool; the fun; the wacky and
Then those by Merlin’s beard
Who add in drops of pure surprise
As time goes flying by
Much learning done; much laughter had
To leave there on a high!

University of Sussex Campus in Summer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

London Taxis

No shortage of Black London cabs
This Wednesday afternoon
Yet too no hope of getting home
For none are coming soon
Instead they’re all at Westminster
In double rank and file
Twelve hundred strong to make a point
So maybe do not dial
To get a cab but walk a bit
Or hop on board a train
And thank your lucky stars that it’s
Not pouring down with rain!

London Town

What’s going on in London town?
The city that won’t sleep
So busy busy day and night
And traffic piled three deep

Even the pigeons congregate
In flights on Nelson’s hat
And ducks all gather in Green Park
For bread to get real fat!

In Leicester Square, the fun begins
In China Town, a feast
Save Piccadilly all lit up
With lights from west to east.

Still further field is Oxford Street
Tailed off by Marble Arch
Near Speaker’s Corner bubbling
With rallies and a march

Ahead the grass of Hyde Park spreads
To banks of Serpentine
Afore the rotund Albert Hall
And concerts rather fine

South still and to the river banks
Where water’s course; The Thames
Will kiss with Soho, Kensington
And hang off Chelsea’s hems

Then hark the peel of bells that chime
Of Big Ben and St Pauls
As eastern magnet from a far
Pulls to Barbican Halls

Amidst The City, bustling
As money markets spin
The wheel of fortune nine to five
All hoping for a win

A win in city spreading out
Right there in London town
The country’s capital alive
So why not come on down?

English: The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, colloquially known as “Big Ben”, in Westminster, London, England. Français : Tour de l’horloge du palais de Westminster, couramment nommée “Big Ben”. Londres (Angleterre). فارسی: برج ساعت کاخ وستمینستر، پارلمان بریتانیا در شهر لندن، که به «بیگ بن» مشهور است. 日本語: 通称ビッグ・ベンとして知られる英国、ロンドンのウェストミンスター宮殿の時計塔。 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A River Tale

The river is a bustling place
A busy water course
A harbinger of tales of old
Of man and fettered horse
Who lived on banks in ancient barge
With paintwork gleaming bright
And livery from olden days
Canal and other sights

A tale that tells a story that
He took his barge downstream
Towards the ports so bustling
With boats that sailed on steam
Where markets burst with worldly goods
From places near and far
Where work was given to the few
In dockland and in bar

And so the river man arrived
With fettered horse on lead
To haul the cargo from the ships
With help from trusty steed
To make a small yet good living
From work that he procured
With horse to help him lift and lug
As gold they then secured

And so he worked from dawn to dusk
Without a break it’s told
On docks during the summer days
To clear each cargo hold
Until at last he had amassed
Sufficient to go back
To home right on his river bank
With gold in his knapsack

A day and night and maybe more
He went right back upstream
With horse on towpath steadily
As man and beast in team
Back to the bank he longed to see
The place he loved the best
To settle down with feet aloof
To take a well-earned rest

But sadly that was not to be
For in the midnight air
Three robbers hung in a tunnel
Like wolves inside their lair
And in the light of misted moon
They jumped the man and horse
To steal his hard earned wages
And attack him on his course

They beat him hard and shot his horse
And left him as for dead
And took his barge, his bag of gold
His all; his daily bread
And in the darkness of the night
These villains fled from sight
To leave the river man to die
On bank; no future bright

And so the tale goes onto say
That there in tunnel’s mouth
Down on the river, by the bank
A little to the south
The ghost of river man now dwells
With horse stood on the tow
A sharp reminder to the rest
Beware just where you go!

English: Blisworth Tunnel, North Entrance from inside tunnel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tick Tock Greenwich O’Clock

I took a stroll in Greenwich Park
With tree lined avenues
Towards the Prime Meridian
Ahead such stunning views

Behind beyond the old iron gates
Blackheath spread far away
With ancient church sat on the green
Wild flowers in verge display

And in old Greenwich’s village clutch
The Cutty Sark at rest
Where spirits danced from men who once
Sung shanties in her nest

Ahead the Royal Observatory
Home to Greenwich mean time
Where from her beat the world has set
Her rhythm and her rhyme

English: Photo of Meridian at Greenwich. By international convention, the modern Prime Meridian passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in southeast London, United Kingdom, is known as the International Meridian or Greenwich Meridian. Category:Royal Observatory, Greenwich Category:GMTCategory:Time (Photo credit: Wikipedia)