A good year with celebrations properly honoured – Guy Fawkes, turning on of Christmas lights, Christmas day – as well as a funeral.

2006

Bi-weekly swimming
Relearning French
Poetry Surgery
Published in New Welsh Review and Smiths Knoll
Arts Council grant
Tuscany
Taught four-week literature course (and one to one literature lessons)
Teaching once a week in Greenwich
Beard
Move to 1656 bakehouse
‘How’re you going?’ reconciliation with Liam.
Two readings – of my work, and Fivemiletown by Tom Paulin (w Sarah, Ali, Tania, Gen, Agnese in attendance.)
Greenwich teaching once a week.

Readings

Glyn Maxwell
Michael Longley
Deryn Rees-Jones (Oxford)
Greta Stoddart
Penelope Shuttle (Bath)
Tim Liardet
Gerard Woodward (Bath)
David Harsent
Fiona Sampson (Bath)

Low points

Preston teaching

Books of 2006

Horse Latitudes, Paul Muldoon
Robert des noms propres, Amelie Nothomb
On the Contrary, Miroslav Hollub
Collected Poems, Cavafy

Music

L'Histoire de Melody Nelson, Serge Gainsbourg

Films of 2006

Eric Rohmer’s Four Seasons
Little Miss Sunshine

RIP

Ivy Maud Cooper
Jean Palmer

26 lengths BOA pool (none front crawl.)
Targets with the fibreglass thighs of swimmers.

Promo copy of new Fall LP Reformation Post TLC is astounding.

Live footage

Salsa dancing with Kathy at Sarah's farewell party.

Helen Moore - Dreaming Green

Dilettante cans

Those constant hands

Bluebells, Lords and Ladies

Wilding woods

Passport Photo Anomalies

Too close

Too far

Shows another person

Busy background

Blurred or too light

Shadows across face

Looking away

Portrait style

Mouth open

Hair across eyes

Dark tinted glasses

Wearing a hat

Face covered

After walk to canal
no Kingfishers spotted
Mr Salvatt's Coffee Room:
tomato and coriander soup,
hot apple juice with cinnamon.

20 lengths BOA pool (no front crawl).

It won’t slip into your drink
like an assiette from your lap.
Your voice must still
face down
a barman, barmaid
meet a mirror,
cross a line.

Unaged

Those lines sunk deep and thin
declare an interest
keen as the wind,
a white shirt sail
at your exit
(to see something fit).
They speak of a not taking it in
for fear of being taken,
scooped walls that –
quite apart from your endeavours –
leave you looking down,
slowly to find yourself crumbling,
unanswerably
and grateful for the leveling.

–

This search for open premises
to assuage a thirst, open yourself
(though breast feeding) jacketed,
wet to receive.

LATINO
EATING
LIFTING

Afrikans don’t name their children
before the birth.

/too polite to say/

Living on a moving surface.

Reading - Greta Stoddart and Penelope Shuttle

(Finsbury Park)
Nostalgia = homesickness

‘ like lovers come
to an end.’

Look at things more – taxidermist shops, paintings.

Ange mentant
Ange mauvais

22 lengths BOA pool, (no front crawl).

Submissions

The Frogmore Papers: 'Neighbour', 'Half Term', 'Discipline', 'Ration', 'Fall', 'Ichthus.'

Smiths Knoll: 'En Route', 'Pedigree', 'Chicago', 'An Irish Girl', 'Obsessive', 'In-Flight.'

Recipient of South West Arts Council grant to complete my first book of poetry.

20 lengths, BOA pool
Last Monday - 20 lengths, BOA pool

NOTICE - from the new year, references to lengths swum will discontinue on this site. It can be assumed that twenty lengths will be swum at BOA pool twice a week, often comprising one length of front crawl, nineteen breaststroke and none en papillon.

Fiona Sampson, David Harsent reading


Fiona Sampson

I feel intimidated by my competition.
(tawdry street theatre.)

You have to play a violin in.

Those loosening thighs
could just as easily have been
a father's eyes.

David Harsent

He wears black to accent his grey hair.

Jean de Buffet spilled the outline.

'She kicked off her shoes' (opening of poem).


Peter Reading - 273.15 degrees (Absolute Zero)


The great conveyor

extirpate

capstan

Jeffrey the ship's cat can't comprehend the complexity of the situation.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The future predicts itself, animals gone.


The Seasons


Romulus (753-715BC) devised 10 calendar month.
Numa, his successor, added January and February.

January

ianua - door
Janus, the two-headed God.
Perhaps the dead days of winter were not at first counted.

Last fortnight of winter, 1st of Spring.

Scots Gaelic - faoil teach
faol = 'wild' or 'wolf' (in compounds)

am mios Marbh 'the dead month'

February


februa - 'means of cleansing' because of rituals.
Last month of year, short.
Cut short each year for addition of embolism.
Even number of days (odd = more auspicious):
Virgil - numero deus impare gaudete (God rejoices in the odd number.)

Hornung (German) 'The bastard begotten in the corner" (stunted according to folk wisdom.)

Scot's Gaelic The gelding.
y mis bach (Welsh) 'the little month.'
Irish Mi na feile Bride the month of Bridget's feast.

Feburier le court, est le pire de tout - worst weather month.

Yet rain and snow fill reservoirs and ensure good crops.

All the months in the year curse a fair Februeer.

A Welshman would rather see his dam on her bier than a fair Februeer.

March


Mars - God of war (campaigning season began in Spring.)
Agricultural deity.
Old English 'Hlyda' loud (winds)

Eat leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,
And all the year after Physicians may play.
Proverbial rhyme
April


Aperire - to open.
Aphrodite.
More likely - other as 2nd month of year.

May


maiores (old) and juniores (young.)
Maia - Goddess of growth.

June


Juno, young woman ready for a man.

July


Rhymed with truly till mid-18th century.
(5) Quinctilis till 44 BC.
Changed to honour dead Julius Caesar born 12 July.

Welsh a 'Mhadhrail - canine (the dog days.)

August

(6) Sextilis till 8 BC.
Irish / Scot's Gaellic - harvest in honour of Lugh (God of Light and Genius.)

September

(7) Welsh reaping
Scott's Gaelic abundance / cheerfulness of harvest.

October

(8) Welsh lowing of cattle.
Scot's Gaelic rutting time.

November

(9) Welsh slaughter

December

(10) Scots Gaelic the darkness

In the lift, my father hands me £180 in notes – sur la blanche.

I left Ji stranded in the centre of my world

He relied on me

I'm his soil

He was my flower

But I betrayed


(Amy, Taiwanese student)