Not Warming,

My first piece of writing on here for a while, I have stopped travelling so much, and time is full of work and commute. I am trying to keep all my time together and use it well.

Storm Classification

What happens when we use up all the names
for storms that whipcrack race to us
across the Atlantic?

Ready to lift trees, roots and most of our life.
We weather the storm, the ground opened
and the push pull vacuum.

We weather the clawing at the windows,
scoured walls, pock-marked by debris
as the dust settles to a silence, a wait.

Here now the milk moon is clear sky bright
and full to drag the tides high, to drag us all
into pitiless grayscale light.

We are such poor shadows without the sun,
in the new silence of un-named storms.
We stand and watch on opened ground,

waiting for rain that clears the sky,
breaks the shadow hold on watchers
hidden in the doorways. Waiting for spring

and the tidal race we find the world 
has turned her back on us. The weather is coming,
and the world turns with the coming storm.

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A Little Bit of London

Just popping in to see how the world is turning. I thought I’d throw in some images from a recent trip to london. We went there to see a play called The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, it was a stunning show, highly recommended. Being run at the Duke of York Theatre.

The trip was a great short break, I also visited the Cartoon Museum, and the display by Magnum photo’s at the Saatchi Gallery called America in Crisis. Both also worth the trip.

I always enjoy a stroll around London. Normally I’d pick an area to explore but this time we spread ourselves around a bit more.

Stay safe out there, things can change so quickly. But remember to enjoy the small things on the way.

Wide Open

When the tide is out, there’s plenty of space to think. Exmoor in the haze, miles to walk, and because of the sharp wind, nobody about. Winter in a seaside town can seem bleak, but it has such views and sunsets here on the West coast of England.

On clear days like this you see across the Bristol channel to Wales, the Brecon Beacons, with this cloudscape for added drama. I love the shades of blue, the detail in the clouds.

After the three storms in quick succession, all rolling up the Severn, creating havoc, it’s nice to look back on quieter times. This past Saturday we had the first face to face meeting of our poetry group. You forget how good it is to listen, in person to people reading for the pleasure of sharing.

I hope your week is good, and you are staying safe out there.

There’s a Storm in the Air

Storm Eunice is heading our way, so we are bracing ourselves for the windiest day of the year. I know, it’s only February but hey. It’s going to be a big one. I took advantage of finishing early today to go get some images of an abandoned caravan on my way home. Just a few shots but I like them.

I’ve been slowly getting back to writing over the last few months and on Saturday we will be holding the first in person meeting of our poetry group since lockdown began two years ago, it will I hope be successful. I am struggling with my current piece, part the end of something, part cathartic, it comes and goes. Each change brings ideas and fears. Do I want to write this? Can I finish it to make it work for others as well as myself. We’ll see.

I hope no-one has any problems with Eunice. Stay safe out there.

Audience

Watching the audience, live music in Camden, London. Before lockdown when we enjoyed the proximity of people and music made us closer. Part of a set from my travels as an engineer, spending time away from home on a regular basis. Finding things to see and do in strange places. The camera had to work hard in this setting, but I love the result, digital grain and a softness I love, but with enough detail to keep the sense of what is going on.