A Poem for Thursday.

Once again we met at The Gateway Centre opposite the beautiful Golden Gates of Warrington's Town Hall.

The Bold Street Writers.

And the prompt...very apt for the moment... came from Pat who had introduced me to this wonderful group a few years before.

"The Unexpected"

Well there is so much unexpected at this moment in history...though maybe there may have been more before the days of media coverage of each and every tiny change of mood and tone but we will never know and that could have been a blessed bonus!

This is my offering.

Unexpected

Twice I looked  to find it true.

Not daring to believe my eyes.

The screen  flickered, night was old.

From my companion came sighs,

Disbelief. Fear tugged. Anxiously 

We watched. Numbers rose and fell.

The outcome boards were black

The names above were bold.

The list grew longer, stronger

Were the thoughts we shared.

Mouths tightened, eyes narrowed,

Or eyes wide, mouths agape.

You think you've seen it all

By the time your pension's drawn.

We made another coffee, sleep

Would have to wait 'til  results

Crashed the top line, powered

Through, above, over, beyond.

Whose dreams would crash? And

Whose would soar?

The band played on while the

Dancers danced. What should we do

At a time like this? Should we 

Laugh or weep? Some will rejoice.

Losers lose and winners win.

As it is in life, so in death.

And midnight makes you morbid.

So we crack open the brandy.

We plump up feather cushions

For the necessary comfort in

The long haul.In the small hours

As we wait for light to filter

Through net curtains, and brocade. Then 

When spirits are at lowest and

Souls dried of emotion comes

The long-awaited verdict after

Lonely days, and years

Have passed in the waiting full

Of hope, despair and longing?

A faithful partner at his side.

A shining spotlight  on him. he

Holds his head up high and ...Waits . 

But the Master of Ceremonies in

Red velvet jacket speaks. 

And we hold our breath in

Expectation. At last a result.

The mirrored ball is lifted high and

And Anton  claims his prize.

Now those of the distant shore.... Amerikay!... may not know how long and hard Anton du Beck has fought for the "Glitter Ball...the prize of Strictly come Dancing"...but at a time like this here and across the pond...we need some light relief in our lives.

Vive Le Anton!

Blue-booted Camels

...these fine ladies came out of the kiln this morning and into the sun ...

...all-singing...

...all-dancing...

...blue-booted...

...what more could we ask of them!!

...a swing to the left.... 

...curtsey to the right...

...and altogether now with a good ending!!!

Thankyou Ladies!

Jazz x 2 in Berlin.

We held a garden party on Saturday here at the Potters House...

"Jazz in The Garden" ...

It was fun, and we raised some money for our local church,

well actually quite a lot of money when realised it was made by selling cake

and what wonderful cake!

But I digress....

I sing a bit and when I do it's.... lets say ...jazzy!

So to be taken to two jazz events in one day by my niece in Berlin, on my birthday, was a truly double delight.

First we made our way to Tauro Restaurant where there was a shady garden, a non-stop buffet of the most wonderful goodies and

 !!!oh!!!!

 joy of joys...a jazz quartet playing all of those smooth listening pieces that just go to help the food

 go down easy!

Just look at that elegant man in his snazzy grey suit and his fabulous shoes!

His black hair swept back...with... could that be the Brylcream look?

I adore the way he holds the mike...and that great old fashioned mike as well.

The music was mainly from the 20's and early 30's and we could have been there in the days of 

"The Blaue Reiter" art movement.

I didn't know at that point that we could up the jazz stakes in the same day...

...but we did!

We walked along the river by the Bode Museum in the early evening...

...stopping only to watch the starlings perform a murmuration above the domes of Berlin.

 and admire the tango dancers by the bridge...

...and then as we crossed the bridge , the music floated out over the Berlin dusk.

There in the portico of the museum was the Kuba Stankiewiez Quartet.

What a setting and what sounds they made....a magic night!

It was my niece and her husband who organised our trip to hear the group, and I managed to take this pic of her as she crept up to the front to photograph them as they played. 

Jess is a professional photographer and Neil a football blogger!

We sat at the tables near the bridge with the dancers clicking their feet, and watched the stars come out.

It's taken me a while to get this together...trying to find where my pics are on the new "box".

But I'm getting there...as we say in the Snapes...

..."Little by little"..

or even

"Paulatim".