I went on to the North Yorkshire Moors this weekend gone. The heather and ling were finished and a cool wind chased the shadows of clouds across the moorland. It was sere, and lonely and beautiful. This poem, hopefully, describes the moors in this season.

After news that a woman who had been abused as a child had murdered someone 30 years ago, had been kept on Death Row, unsure of her fate, for 30 years then failed to be killed by State doctors after 2 attempts in a circus execution by lethal injection. She survived but it seems that no one knows how much brain damage she suffered or whether the USA will try to execute her again. I do not try to write poems about the news - but this time , I had to.

It is usually timely to celebrate important milestones by posting something different. Up until now the website has been defined by the publication of new and original material created by myself. For this 200th post, I would like to introduce a Guest Poet for the first time.

It is usually timely to celebrate important milestones by posting something different. Up until now the website has been defined by the publication of new and original material created by myself. For this 200th post, I would like to introduce a Guest Poet for the first time.

Two years ago I woke in the middle of the night having just finished reading William Blake as my bedtime reading (odd bloke eh!?). I wrote the following on my bed-side pad: “I saw the world i…

One of my favourite poems from the 1600s is To Althea, from Prison by the Cavalier Richard Lovelace (1642). Lovelace's imprisonment was due to religio-political manueverings and is rather archaic and arcane. I thought it could do with updating to a more modern setting with the imprisonment being at work. The Cavalier Richard Lovelace becomes, in my parody, the cavalier boyfriend at work. Altheas remain the same throughout recorded time: loving and steadfast.

Two years ago I woke in the middle of the night having just finished reading William Blake as my bedtime reading (odd bloke eh!?). I wrote the following on my bed-side pad: "I saw the world in a grain of sand, then realised I am very short-sighted." Then, I turned over, knocked the pad under the bed, and fell asleep.

Here in the UK we have had a long, hot and dry summer – problematic for some and glorious for others. Autumn came almost a month ago with only a slight drop in temperature. Yesterday, I felt …

I was playing with aphorisms and here are a few of my own to add to the millions that already exist.

Here is the transcript of the statement of a man arrested for substance abuse. It speaks for itself. It amazes me that materials as strong as those described are freely available on most highstreet…

Yesterday the BBC reported the shooting of a Marsh Harrier near Westerdale in the North York Moors, near to where I live. These are wonderful birds and an important part of our local ecosystem. Whi…

I was pleased with the short parody that came out of my meeting with that lone angler who was the inspiration of Post 188. However, I felt I needed to capture some of the essence of fly angling in …

There is a small sea loch and settlement on Arran called Lochranza. Today its castle is attached to the land by a narrow spit of gravel, and is a ruin. While I was there I heard that there is a lon…

While I was in Islay I met a very pleasant man who was on a fishing expedition. His name put me immediately in mind of some of the novels of John Buchan. Since then, I have been working on this sho…

While on Islay we walked on Machair Bay’s remote beach. It was supposed to be a gentle walk after previous days excursions, but the showery wind blew hard at us. The strand was a moving carpe…

St. Columba landed on a small pebbly beach on Iona in AD563 . He brought with him 11 or 12 companions (the sources differ) and they travelled by curragh – a rather large corracle made from ti…

We were not much bothered by midges until we arrived on Jura, probably because of the previous blustery winds. However, Jura was midgy. I cannot underestimate the disturbance these beasts can cause…