In Vino Veritas - Donald Keyman

Did your grape expectations wither on the vine?
Were you undercut by supermarkets every single time?
Or have people changed their ways - only drinking kombucha tea
I don’t know what it is either but it sounds good to me...

Was it the lack of parking, or business acumen
Perhaps you did not cater for the beer drinking men?
Did you stock Prosecco, the flavour of the month
Or just shelves of Côtes du Rhône and dusty Crème de menthe?

Donald Keyman

Buy Local - Lester Queripel

Support it or lose it
You have the power to choose it
Buy local or it’s bye bye local

Lester Queripel

Competition Winner - February 2014What We Did - Stephen A. Roberts

When they ask us what we did -
Will we tell them that we hid?

From questions, answers, truth and lies
From the bullets, from the knives -
From the unseeing stares of wives;
Keening over shattered lives.

If you peel back the mind of Man -
(Like a rusting Cola can)...
You'll see the brain is set to repeat
Every victory, and defeat
That same old slew of broken dreams,
A widescreen view of silent screams.

So when they bring us all to book,
They'll know exactly where to look -
And when they ask us what we did,
We will tell them that we hid.

Stephen A. Roberts

Competition Winner - January 2014The Return Of Birdsong - Stephen A. Roberts

A pretty tune I think we made
Us 13 notes, upon a crooked stave.
Ready to leave our crowded perch
to fly across this blasted Earth.

On stateless wings we'll take our chance
against the sparrowhawks and nets in France;
We'll soar upon the Earth's magnetic tide
and with nameless brothers will we ride.

Spurred on by vicious avian gods
we'll follow Nature's hidden roads.
When journey's done we'll do the same,
we'll return to face the risks again.

Meeting up in the same old place,
an anxious search for a familiar face;
as we line up in our summer coats
and sing our song - with fewer notes.

Stephen A. Roberts

Competition Winner - December 2013A Universal Truth - Ian Renouf-Watkins

A bubble so clear, a small roundel of tear
Glass-like yet fluid, it shimmers and slides
Dripping and dropping it’s so full of light
Sliding down gently, it’s the water of life.

Ian Renouf-Watkins

Competition Winner - November 2013Caught - Lyndon Queripel

Caught between red rock and a hard place
I'm looking back up into a distant space
Now I've disappeared without a trace
And I’m lost forever to the human race

Caught between high water and Hell
I relied on my foolish pride and fell
Down into this hole and now I smell
The acrid smoke of a burning spell

Caught between devil and deep blue sea
With all my sins suddenly surrounding me
Wound just like a coil of my own mortality
And here there is no key to set me free

Caught between all the seeds I have sown
And thrown into the cracks of broken stone
I'm trapped by the harvest that has grown
And now it can only be reaped by me alone.

Lyndon Queripel

Competition Winner - October 2013I'm Not Looking For Nemo - Andrew Barham

I'm not looking for Nemo,
Just a safe haven to lay my eggs –
A bit of sand in a warm land
I can scoop out with my legs;

I'm not looking for Nemo
As I follow Ocean currents –
A clear stretch of sea that's free
Of driftnets and plastic debris;

I'm not looking for Nemo –
I've been around too long for that!
My ancestors were strong, my lineage long
Stretching back millions of years ago:

What need have I to look for Nemo?

Andrew Barham

Competition Winner - August 2013A British Summer - Jenny Hamon

Image Source:  John Buchanan

The image above is called 'British Summer' and was created by John Buchanan.

Competition - August 2013 - A British Summer - Jenny Hamon

Miles of beach at low tide
Bodies laying out to be fried
Buckets and spades, castles and holes
Children playing football, scoring goals

Brightly coloured deckchairs, Dad is asleep
His son is digging, burying his feet
Knotted hankey on his head
Mum lying out on the sun bed

Everyone slathered in factor fifteen
Hats are the order, sunglasses gleam
The donkeys are hot, they look for the cool
And stand up to their knees in a shallow pool

The scene is idyllic, but will not last
As a big grey cloud scuttles past
The rain begins falling and everyone runs
Carrying all of the beach gear, oh there is tons!

Now this is what we come to expect
From a holiday in Blighty, how can we forget?
The weather will break, a storm will occur
Because that’s what we know as “A British Summer”

Jenny Hamon

Competition Winner - July 2013Don't Go On - Adrian Osborne

"What's that in your hand?" she said,
I told her, "it's a gnome",
"an ugly lookin thing" she said,
"you can't keep that at home"
I told her "He's an armless thing"
She said "you liar", "he's got two"
I told her, "your not hearin right",
she said "oh shut up you".
She asked me, "what's that in "his" hand"
I told her, "that's his mate"
She told me "they can't come in doors",
"just leave them by the gate"
I told her " we should keep em luv"
"I think they're very rare",
She shouted "just get rid of them"
"and how?" "I do not care",
she looked once more towards my hand,
and then pondered what she'd seen,
Myself? by now, I'd had enough ,
of the way she'd been so mean!!

"What's that in his mates hand then?"
"is that a smaller one?"
I looked at her with angered eyes
and said "don't you - go on and on !!"

Adrian Osborne

Competition Winner - June 2013Memories - Jenny Hamon

Image by; John Buchanan

The image above is called 'Baby Steps'. It was taken by John Buchanan.

Competition - June 2013 - Memories - Jenny Hamon

Pictures in my baby books
Are such a joy to me
They hold so many memories
Of all my family

Those happy baby days
The milestones achieved
Recorded here on the page
Happy memories indeed

The tiny hands and feet
Imprinted in the book
So perfect but so small
I must take another look

Those days have passed so quickly
And now that they have grown
Soon they will have their babies
And memories of their own.

Jenny Hamon

Competition Winner - May 2013The Signs of Indecision - Adrian Osborne

Image Source: John Buchanan

The image above is called 'Rude Awakening '. It was taken by John Buchanan.

Competition - May 2013 - The Signs of Indecision - Adrian Osborne

Sometimes ? You'll reach a crossroads in your life,
To the left ? the grass seems greener,
To the right ? unwanted strife ?
You can't continue straight ahead ?
You're unable to U-Turn ?
You're standing at a crossroads,
and your "choices" seem to "burn" ?
These are just the "shattered signs"
of the fragile human mind !!
We forget, sometimes, the simple truth -
"Be Good, Have Fun, Be Kind" !!

Be careful when you choose your route,
Apply those "Golden Rules"
A road walked any other way ?
Is a path that's trod by fools !!

Sometimes ? it's hard to do what's right,
and that awkward question ? "begs" -
"Can you make an omelette,
without the use of broken eggs ?"
In reality ? That question makes "A crossroad within choice" !!
In reality ? we simply need to seek our calmer "inner voice"...

The answer ?
discard all questions "at the crossroads in your mind",
it doesn't matter which route you choose !!
Just "Be Good" - "Have Fun" - "Be Kind" !!

Adrian Osborne

Competition Winner - April 2013Optimist Primed ~ Tranformed - Adrian Osborne

Image Source: John Buchanan

The image above is called 'Just Resting'. It was taken by John Buchanan.

Optimist Primed ~ Tranformed - Adrian Osborne

So many eyes behold the change,
the awesome transformation seems to be somewhat complete
but look, a thousand variations are now presented to our minds
each one of us that views the process? Sees a very different end..
for some ? the warmth of flame comes roaring forth.
for others ? the promise of a stylish furnished room.
for me ? a place to charcoal scribe my optimistic thoughts
deep within the giants very heart,
for you ? the process flows with you to where ever you’ll imagine,
But for most ? it’s just a fallen tree, that crashed upon the ground.

Adrian Osborne

Competition Winner - March 2013Quest Of The Canine Enigma - Jenny Hamon

Image Source: John Buchanan

The image above is called 'Autograph'. It was taken by John Buchanan.

Quest Of The Canine Enigma - Jenny Hamon

You left your mark to show
You passed along this way
Maybe the world was different then
To what it is today

I wonder did you stop
And look around you here
Was it something that you saw
Or maybe you could hear

You did not linger long
As just one pawprint shows
Maybe you paused a while
Catching a scent upon your nose

How long ago was this
When the ground received your mark
Now we will always know you passed
But never hear your bark

Jenny Hamon

Competition Winner - February 2013Alone ~ Three Perspectives - Stephen A. Roberts

Image Source: Marcus Buchanan

The image above is called 'Alone'. It was taken by Marcus Buchanan.

Alone ~ Three Perspectives - Stephen A. Roberts

The Chair

You've brought me down, John,
You've brought me down
to the beach
and left me, your exoskeleton
waiting for the tide
with the clam shells and echinoids
the grit has mucked up my wheels
and their shine has been dulled
by Nature's salt tears
It's alright for you, but
I will be removed
by the beach clearance team
while you and those seashells
float away on the next ebb

The Son

You've brought me down, Dad,
You've brought me down
to the beach
collecting pebbles
you linger over the bigger ones
the sea spray wet on your face
I can see that you're tired Dad
but you can still teach;
let's do photography tricks
some fast motion shots
then I'll fetch the chair
as we've come all this way
empty your pockets Dad
and I will take you home

The Poet

I've brought myself down,
I've brought myself
down to the beach
it's never easy
on your own alone
weighed down
by a coat full of stones
sometimes I'm submerged
in my thoughts;
drifting off until I realise
I've got work to do -
poems don't write themselves
now where did I put
that blasted chair?

Stephen A. Roberts

Competition Winner - January 2013Too Hot To Handle - Lyndon Queripel

She was too hot to handle
a real miss deal spitfire
with her flaming lips
and burning with desire

She was too hot to handle
with gazing blazing eyes
her low key smokey voice
rekindling stolen lies

She was too hot to handle
like the devil's daughter
with a scorching soul
dancing across the water

She was too hot to handle
many men have tried
but their blood just boiled
and their passion fried

She was too hot to handle
like a lightning flash
turning hearts to stone
and rash love into ash.

Lyndon Queripel

Competition Winner - December 2012A Winters Night - Ian Duquemin

Suspended smile on Lunar high
Brightening darkening dormant sky
Velvet heavens, moonbeam bright
Captured on this winter's night

Ian Duquemin

Competition Winner - November 2012The Fairy Ring - Andrew Barham

There's a ring around the sun
After the rains have come and gone;
Later, I see it reflected on the ground
On a knoll within a circle of stones.

Where are those Elven Folk
Who once peopled these ancient hills?
The stones around the ring are soaked
With the light which spills
From the sun dying across the sky
Just above the World Edge it lies on
Where Sky and Earth meet to try
To form a new horizon.

This forsaken place is empty now,
Forgotten – a remnant of a past time,
Not even the abode of a stray sheep or cow:
Man has moved on – and that's fine –
Science has brought us greater wonders.
The Moon is a goddess no more
And Apollo's chariot no longer blunders
From skyline to skyline on the new day's shores,
For we have set foot on Diana's soil
And probed the heart of the Sun;
Through creative blood, sweat and toil
We have met the gods and won.

Andrew Barham

Competition Winner - October 2012Autumn Colours' - Yasmin Mariess

Turned Red,
leaves dead.

All green,
now unseen.

Leaves brown,
floating down.

golden hues,
light defuse.

orange leaves,
summers thieves'

at last, my dear,
Autumns here.

Yasmin Mariess

Competition Winner - September 2012Flight - Yasmin Mariess

As well I might, consider flight,
for I have wings, not feet.
For who needs feet to fly?
Legs that were once strong still there,
now in the confines of my chair.
I am unstoppable, the heart beats strong
It is the will that pushes on.
And upwards, to fly unfettered, free...
Hear me shout "I am still ME!"

Yasmin Mariess

Competition Winner - August 2012The S.O.S. Man - Jenny Hamon

Poor old man
What a burden he bears
Repairing shoes for people
He peddles his wares.

Cobblers, you say
But not him, just a man
Providing shoes for the poor
As only he can.

He stitches and glues
And repairs what he can
To make shoes to wear
The Save Our Soles man

Jenny Hamon