Liverpool again

Today I'm travelling further
since the pandemic started
than I have travelled recently
that pleasure long departed
But later Liverpool I'll see
again and better still
two good friends I have sorely missed
again to see I will
It'll take me six hours on the train
but I have all I need
good music to look forward to
and several books to read

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

Stations

With its long reach
this station clad
with many journeys
I have had
Over the years
to different places
some with airs
and some with graces
Quiet, it exudes
a charm
which here has never
done me harm

Normality

It's a first for me today
no trains for quite time
not since the first lockdown
have I braved the ridden line

And yet today to Worthing
I must venture yet again
for my first day in an office
and a journey on a train

Of this world…

A face lay there in eternal sleep,
No smile.
No frown.
I wonder,
“After all, smiles and frowns are of this world”.

A Coddiwompling Limerick

Road Trips are fun and exciting. Hopefully, soon we will all be free to travel again. I saw this
and knew it was a limerick waiting to happen.

The whimsy of a long moment

Took a moment yesterday
to smile and drift away
somewhere very pleasant
where once we got to stay

It was a special moment
and I wanted it to last
so I really took some time
to make sure it slowly passed

This time last year II

This time last year
our bags were packed
and excitement it was growing
as we both knew
what we would do
and where we both were going

The Bridge Hotel

Down the back steps is a courtyard
overlooking city walls
high above the valley
from where the Tyne it calls
Adjacent to High Level Bridge
its namesake for to trace
The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle
quite special to this place

Passing through

Of the places that I travel to
surpassing all the rest
I have to say with hand on heart
Newcastle is the best

It has a certain ambiance
a ‘je ne sais quoi’ I’d say
Can’t quite find the words
but it appeals in every way

Cold in Manchester

Awoke to a cold morning
But the rain had gone away
So putting on a braver face
I set out to greet the day
Unfamiilar are these streets
but my path is fairly clear
and the place that I am going to
is reasonably near

Raining

In was raining down in Shoreham
and in Sussex as we passed
with rain up into Surrey
by its leave but never asked

It was pouring down in London
with umbrellas everywhere
and as we headed northward
there was no let up there

There was rain in the Home Counties
and very wet outside
and rain into Northamptonshire
as if the world had cried

Miles Melting

And as I travel metal sings
cocooned here in the warmth
night passes swift outside
where winter chill escapes me

Slumber beckons but I resist
taking pen to paper instead
I while away time passing
as the miles melt away

Split II

12 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

Sitting on deck six
with Split across the way
Picturing all the things
that have made this holiday

It has been all we hoped for
and though we fly home on the morrow
It is with happiness we’re leaving
and not one tinged with sorrow

For we’ve criss-crossed the Adriatic
seen sunshine and some rain
Visited new places and
been back to some again

Rijeka

10 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

In Rijeka in the market
whilst making little fuss
a lovely lady sold us socks
hand-knitted just for us

Yellow painted buildings
suggested that this city
once held a lot more grandeur
now faded more’s the pity

Still, we had a little walkabout
soaked up the local flair
celebrating somewhere different
and simply being there

Venice II

9 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

We wandered Cannaragio
beside the Canale Grande
Over bridges, watching gondalas
heading for Rialto and
when we finally got there
we had pizza and a beer
in the restaurant beneath it
which we went to first last year

Venice (touch n go)

8 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

The fog came down, it was quite thick
and we weren’t moving far
and dropping anchor out at sea
was unspectacular
Then the captain on the tannoy said
Venice was closed today
which as you might imagine
was met with some dismay
But then out there to starboard
a pale sun made a show
and as the pea soup dissipated
the ship prepared to go

Koper

7 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

For our first time in Slovenia
we found Koper on the coast
originally an island
for the day to act as host

I climbed the old bell tower
two hundred steps for the unwary
and though the view was excellent
the drop was really scary

Ancona II

6 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

I sat on the sun deck with a cold beer
in the hot Ancona sun
watching the Superfast ferry unload
until the unloading was done

Hundreds of lorries off on their way
into Italy with cargoes intact
Like a well-oiled machine, facinating to see
from my lofty position, relaxed

So I watched as I waited for an hour or two
as all the time in the world here have I
Before Slovenia bound we disembark
which I think kicks off around five

Ancona Encore

5 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

Ancona encore
with a climb up the hill
to cathedral and Roman remains
The sun shone down bright
on this lovely sight
that Ancona in Italy claims

Ancona encore
for the Trajan gate
viewed from high over the sea
This Italian port
in October sun caught
A highlight for Sally and me

Hoorah for Hvar

4 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

Hoorah for Hvar
so pleased that we came
for it was hotter today that we’d hoped
But walking quite slow
with iced beers on the go
somehow we managed and coped

Hvar

3 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

Climbed up to the castle
overlooking Hvar bay
The views we saw when up there
quite spectacular I’d say
Cool olive trees and standing stones
with cairns on every wall
Balanced and precarious
those standing, still to fall

Dubrovnik Divine

2 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

A really fitting ending
to what has been a perfect day
and as golden sun sinks in the west
Dubrovnik has its say

We wandered ‘neath the city walls
enjoying lovely heat
had cold beers and lovely
giant ice-creams in the street

We discovered lovely places
we had not found before
and took photos to remember
all the wonders that we saw

Finding Summer

1 of 12 in ‘The Adriatic Affair’ series from Jemverse

We’re off to find the summer
for a little while at least
and from now til mid-November
all working has now ceased

Yet we shiver in our shirtsleeves
beneath cold English skies
before towards the summer
our big jet plane it flies

Dubrovnik in Croatia
awaits us basking in the sun
beginning here our autumn break
with eight more days to come

Yorkshire

So I’m back up in West Yorkshire
God’s own country so they say
But my preference is for Sussex
which I prefer ‘most any day

Yes, here there are attractions
unique to Yorkshire and the north
But home’s still where the heart is
when one travels back and forth

So I’ll gladly come for business
or to visit for a while
But take me back to Sussex
as it always brings a smile

Paris

2 of 12 in “The Bucket List” series from Jemverse

We climbed the Eiffel Tower
by the steps not by the lift
with energy and stamina
right there within our gift
And the view of Paris from the top
was worth the climb indeed
made better by the going down
we later did at speed

Twenty Hours

I’m on a train to Yorkshire
in bright sunshine for the day
Left when dawn was breaking
as it’s many miles away
Just shy of twenty hours
this working day for me
From the South Coast and then back again
by midnight hopefully

Airport

Airport bubble
that tinny echo
of voices