Just listening to PMQs. Oh my saints, what a ridiculous figure Johnson is now cutting! Bombastic, blustering, self-justifying: still pretending to himself as well as to us that his failures are successes, and still telling blatant lies! Over and over, the same bloody lies! Nothing seems to get through to him: he's like a charging … Continue reading PMQs 08.06.22
A Lesson In Criticism….
'You do not like this poem of mine,And you say so, loud and clear;You want to prove your brillianceWith a harsh, dismissive sneer.But all your knocking tells me isThat you have nothing to sayWhich I could usefully listen to:So please, just go away.' No artist expects their work to be liked by every-one. But they … Continue reading A Lesson In Criticism….
Name A Great Poet…
('Reading By The Brook' Winslow Homer 1879)Name a great poet.You have a very wide choice,But one name will do.Was there a time whenThat poet couldn't walk or talk,But then, wow! he could?And was there a timeWhen that poet couldn't write?But then, yes! he could?He learnt how to makeWords appear in front of himWhich others could … Continue reading Name A Great Poet…
The Fighting Temeraire
Living in North London, raised by parents who gave me a great deal of liberty, I discovered the Tate and the National Galleries when I was very young, and in my early teens they became among my favourite places to visit. I could not have wished for a better grounding in the subject of art, … Continue reading The Fighting Temeraire
Sunflowers
This is one of the many versions of 'Sunflowers' that Vincent Van Gogh painted. It's the one found in London's National Gallery which I visited frequently from my childhood on. It was one of those pictures I used to gravitate towards every time I visited; it was magnetic, irresistible.I loved it partly because I had … Continue reading Sunflowers
The Cornfield
'The Cornfield', John Constable, 1826: another of the pictures from the National Gallery that have come to mean so much to me.It's an odd thing about Constable, that while we think of him as a painter of decorative English landscapes, a little old-fashioned and traditional maybe, many of his contemporaries criticised him for his modernity, … Continue reading The Cornfield
A Gooner Speaks….
(Written 12.05.2022. Final result: Spurs 3 Arsenal 0) When I last dared to look, I saw that the Arsenal were being hammered by Spurs at White Hart Lane tonight. Really annoying, and always a bit saddening when that happens.Now I know it shouldn't matter, but it does.I appreciate that there are many for whom football … Continue reading A Gooner Speaks….
The Hill
These handsome. many-windowed housesand their pampered tree-sheltered gardenswere built to partner this steeply-rising road; for looking down on cool nights such as thisthose who live in them can observe at their leisurea sparkling city, a glittering mosaic of brilliant jewels. But do they ever look the other way, to where the roadreaches up towards a … Continue reading The Hill
THE BORIS JOHNSON DEFENCE
I listened to Boris Johnson defending himself this afternoon in the House of Commons. Having heard the many and various questions which the opposition parties asked him, and having witnessed the silencing of his party as those questions piled on, I thought I'd summarise, not the words, but the substance and the spirit, of Johnson's … Continue reading THE BORIS JOHNSON DEFENCE
Heritage: A Story
His mother lilts for the dancerswhen there's no musicians to play;she stands by the field sideon summer eveningsand faces themas they show off their ancient artto the darkening sky,while the old folk sit on chairswatching with critical eyesand the children,with fewer years than fingers,sit on wallslaughing, shoving. clapping;and he one of them,though prouder than theybecause … Continue reading Heritage: A Story
The Ethical Watchman 