Sunshine Bright

Dawning bright, I know you well
you are a friend of mine
Always welcome, never shunned
the warming bright sunshine

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Sea Lane Surfers

By afternoon the wind was up
And the tide was really high
So we drove down to Goring
To watch the surfers fly
Sitting in the cafe there
With a coffee on the side
We had a perfect view
Of the rough and surging tide

Parham Deer

Parham House was closed today
and the deer they knew it well
For they were out and evident
and contented, you could tell
Grazing ‘neath the leafy oaks
in groups and sometimes more
It was quite magical to see
and well worth coming for

Caryopteris

With delicate blue flowers
Caryopteris in the sun
Brings a certain cheerfulness
Enjoyed by everyone

Sunshine back

The week had rained consistently
But when Saturday morning came
Drying all the puddles up
The sunshine came again

Summer’s End

I’m told that come September
England’s summer’s at an end
But I’m not ready yet, I’ll tell you
To say goodbye to my good friend
And I’m pretty sure the sunshine
Is having none of that
As the heat I felt at lunchtime
Made it clear where it was at

The Pigeon Traveller

Met a pigeon on the tube
on the Metropolitan line
Wondered where he might be going
at this rather early time
Several stations sprang to mind
Canary Wharf was one
And Peckham was another
which rather seemed like fun

You can never have too much yellow

You can never have too much yellow
for it’s the colour of the sun
And I’d challenge you to disagree
it’s not loved by everyone

For me that’s going to be the case
for as long as I can see
For it’s synonymous with summer
Where I so love to be

Pavilion Gardens

In Brighton there’s a cafe
in a garden with a view
Overlooking the Pavilion
(to some, the palace new)

It’s famous for its rock buns
(though today we did decline)
as we are on a diet
with an eye on our waistline

Beach Breakfast

Saturday morning came and
the sun was nice and bright
A beach breakfast was beckoning
so we rather thought we might
And just as luck would have it
not that far from home
there’s a restaurant right on the beach
(no need to book by phone)

Down by the seaside

Spent two hours on the water
beyond the outer buoy
Half a mile or so from shore
moments of pure joy
A gentle swell from rising tides
bobbed me around a bit
Watching sailors from the club
out there enjoying it

A place in the sun

Our new bench sun trap captures the sun
right at the end of the day
Surrounded by lavender, it’s just what we need
for a rest from the frack and the fray

Tangible

I was only away for just over a week
But that’s enough to get used to the heat
And enough now I’m home to feel at a loss
And that somehow things aren’t quite complete
It was tangible there, like something you touched
and present by day and at night
But back home in England, there’s a chill in the air
even though the sunshine’s still bright

Sealegs Wobble

We’ve been back home now
for almost two days
with parts of us still out there
in many different ways

It’s called a ‘sealegs wobble’
after a week at sea
A strange but lovely feeling
from a place we love to be

Sixteen hundred

Part 20 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

And of the sixteen hundred
just one-thirty occupied
Five this week we’ve been to
many more of which we’ve spied

Corfu, Kefalonia
Crete, Santorini, Rhodes
Five islands we’ve just been to
Though Greece, of course, has loads

Three Fortresses

Part 19 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Corfu and three fortresses
to complete our holiday
The sea one and the land one
in the old town on the bay
And then through cobbled streets
to the new one on the wall
(The amount of steps I’ve climbed today
I’d rather not recall)

Sunrise

Part 18 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

The sunrise in Corfu
was the best I’d seen so far
And with sunlight on the water
it was quite spectacular
Islands in the bay provided
context for the scene
A rather perfect ending
for the great week this has been

Argostoli Bay

Part 17 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Walked up Antoni Tristi
on the wall beside the sea
Watched the turtles playing
as they swam around quite free

Approaching Kefalonia

Part 16 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Islands in the distance
across the azure seas
A force five blowing from the east
feels like a summer breeze
Kefalonia looming
on the horizon through the haze
For a seven-hour stopover
on the last but one of days

The Corinth Canal

Part 15 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

The boat was somewhat smaller
but the view was just as fine
Confirming that our choice today
was a wise one made this time

Traffic into Piraeus

Part 14 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

A traffic jam into Piraeus this morning
Many ships all in a queue
The Pilots letting one in at a time
As I watched from the prow with a view

Over the hills to the east the sun rose
Cast a golden glow everywhere
As each found its berth in the harbour here
(Though some were needing to share)

Twelve months nine

No. 2 of 12 in the ‘Twelve Months’ series

One-day respite for September
the month of nine is here
A birthstone of pure sapphire
and a message which is clear
It’s flower of birth – Forget-me-not
and Morning Glory too
Synonymous with sunshine
Summer’s end here to bestrew

Perfect Day

Part 13 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Today has been just perfect
with walks beside the sea
Here upon the isle of Crete
in the sunshine, Sal and me

And the clarity of the water
as it captures glinting light
Ever present as we sail
makes everything just right

The Venetian Lighthouse

Part 12 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

To the Venetian Lighthouse
on the old harbour wall
with the breeze from the sea
to cool down one and all
As usual we timed it
with no one about
as it’s only much later
that they all come out

Chania

Part 11 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Past a little wooded island
down a Cretian estuary
To the Venetian port of Chania
sheltered from the sea

Leaving Rhodes

Part 10 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Another first not seen before
Leaving Rhodes tonight
A big red tug at either end
exerting all their might

Moved the ship out from the berth
into open water
Allowed us to get underway
and moving as we ‘oughta’

A decade, a shirt and an island

Part 9 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

It’s ten years gone since last I walked
on this ancient cobbled stone
Yet familiarity presides
and it feels like coming home
I even wore the shirt I bought
all those years ago
For I could find another one
I might, you never know

Mandraki Harbour

Part 8 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

On Rhodes, the ancient city
build in medieval time
reflects the yellow of the sun
in every way, divine

Windmills on the harbour wall
once caught the southern breeze
Their ancient sails now still of course
beside Aegean seas