London tales #5

For some it might seem strange to sit in a pub alone
especially in London when I'm several miles from home
but overhearing conversation, snippets caught as people chat
is a pleasant way to pass the time when with a pint in fact

London tales #4

Sitting in a London pub
waiting with a jar
seemed the right thing there to do
the meeting place not far
Carnaby Street and Kingly Court
around the corner there
where in a bit I'll wander
a lovely meal to share

London tales #3

Across the way St James' Tower
its clock face in the sun
as morning breaks in London
and the night time is all done

There's promise in that glow
of a lovely day to come
the sky already cloudless blue
the rain there quick to shun

London tales #2

Walking back through London
from a film at Leicester Square
the crowds now long dispersed
saw Nelson's Column there

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London Tales #1

I'd forgotten the five o'clock darkness
on these cool autumn days
comfortable in ignorance
I've become set in my ways

Thankfully though this daily trudge
this commute in darkened time
is something I can live without
as it is no longer mine

Rolling days

Sixty five thousand people gathered
and we were in the crowd
in London's Hyde Park in July
to hear the Stones play loud
A bucket list ticked off right there
sixty years of Rolling Stones
and Sal and I were part of that
before we headed home
Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and 'Keef'
all there for the hotspots
whilst all the crowd with one accord
raised hands for Charlie Watts

London in lights

I don't know of its purpose
but the Southwark hoarding new
down by the river Thames this morning
provided quite a view
as visible behind it
London's skyline proved the most
of its attraction to the many
this new hoarding playing host

Burning sky

East London early morning
and I turned and caught the sun
with burning sky across the Thames
just as the day begun
Gold shone from the high buildings
in the city 'cross the way
but, heeding Shepherd's warning
knew that rain would come today

Westminster Gold

Westminster sunset
the gold in the sky
makes for a wonder
as I hurry by
But just enough time
to capture the scene
on my iPhone a snapshot
my thumb on the screen
for something to look at
a memory to keep
as I head on homeward
at the end of the week

No clink in Clink Street

There's no clink in Clink Street at this time of day
Just the footfall of seldom trod feet
Occasional scuff on the cobbles down there
as we pass under night time's retreat
It's a moment of pleasure to seize and to hold
before all the tourists descend
to these streets of old Southwark which at this time of day
are simply a means to an end

Underneath Blackfriars Bridge

Perched on railings on Southbank
herring gulls they gather
with an interloper in between
absorbing all the blather
He really doesn't mind of course
although the language of the others
is hard sometimes to understand
he regards them as his brothers
Underneath Blackfriars Bridge
they wait beside the Thames
resting from a day of flight
these feathered seagull friends

Three Days

With darkness outside at the end of the night
I am tired and stifle a yawn
it is quiet and yet still I'm up with the lark
at this early hour shy of the dawn
And I have to say pleased it is only three days
each week that this I must do
as today I am feeling my sixty plus years
and would gladly these long days eschew
Just one more to master and then some respite
four days of a weekend in store
to chill and relax and slumber enjoy
before heading back for three more

Westminster Palace

The Thames of a morning
with clear skies a-glow
just a few folk around
and the water's down low
The tide's on the turn
so the moorings and sand
and old stones from the walls
are evident and
Westminster Palace
unveiled 'cross the way
is striking and golden
to blend in with the day

Commuting again

Tomorrow I'm back in London again
commuting up there on the train
leaving at dawn when no-one's about
travelling daily again
There's a bit of excitement but also a doubt
as Covid has not left us yet
but I'm boostered and jabbed and protecting myself
so I've really no reason to fret

Happy Place

First time to London
in two years or more
all Crouchers together
for good times galore
So this morning we all
are up with the lark
for coffee and toast
before we embark

We're heading for South Bank
Tate Modern no less
as we've all missed the vibe
we will freely confess
The company jocund
the excitement complete
we can barely contain
and keep still in our seat

Privileged

Looking out on grey water
from Lower Thames Street
to the Shard there on Southbank
architectural feat
I’m reminded the privilege
I share with the few
of working in buildings
which command such a view
of London’s surroundings
and tourist attractions
Oft taken for granted
with other distractions

Travelling West

It’s dark outside, this early hour
the night is not yet done
Yet I’ve been up for quite some time
For me the morning’s come

Ahead for several hours
a journey beckons me
Travelling down to Cardiff
from Sussex by the sea

The Wellington

Moored now at the Temple Stairs
where she’s been since forty-eight
The Wellington lies white and proud
A museum ship of late

Poetic

Moody skies above the Thames
on early winter morn
I’d shiver in the brittle chill
save for the coat I’ve worn
But Tower Bridge beneath the blue
with massive skies right there
Is such to take my breath away
That I just had to share

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro to the painter
contrast captured to the eye
To the poet though, his words
capture light for you and I

Stranger in a strange land

Ventured to a wall of glass
with suits and conversations
much of which just passed me by
such was my motivation
For I was as a stranger
in a land I didn’t know
London’s dockland business world
with money there on show

Tower Bridge

London’s skyline, Tower Bridge
viewed from way up high
You don’t see views like this most days
beneath a cloud-filled sky

The sunshine on the River Thames
The Shard across the way
This really is spectacular
on this lovely autumn day

Angel of the sky

16 of 16 in the Jemverse ‘Venetian Vistas’ series

Holidays are exciting
in lots of different days
For when you’ve finished cruising
then you take to the airwaves

And our Tui flight this morning
is the ‘Angel of the Sky’
From Dubrovnik in Croatia
to London Gatwick we will fly

To the river

There are steps to the water
and I don’t know why
Something with meaning
in times now passed by

Perhaps for a boatman
to access his craft
For trade on the river
to board fore and aft

Right time, right place

In London quite early
(I was up with the lark)
So it’s still very quiet
in St James’ park

And just there by the lake
as I happenchanced by
A picture of heaven
for a smile and a cry

Flat white to go

Flat white to go
by the Thames in the sun
best way by far
that a day is begun
Watching the river
flow silently by
beneath a pale blue
and promising sky

Ironic digging

Irony seemed appropriate
in Gordon Square today
Archeology under wraps
for sometime yet I’d say
I wonder what they’ll find in there
under London’s ground
especially whilst the expertise
is evident around

Oasis of Lovely

Amongst the towering walls of glass
the concrete and the steel
a sculpture hanging in the trees
is calming and genteel