Bored Game

 

Seen and Heard

My aim in waxing lyrical 

is not simply satirical.

Do check out the written word

to separate the scene and herd.

Tony Noon

HS2 Rethink

 

HS2 was promoted as the " Must Have" rail system for the 21st Century. A high speed train which would not be able to run on existing lines , it cost billions to design and buy up property to enable a brand new infrastructure to be built...except it wasn't.

Towns , villages and woodland would have been devastated in South and West Yorkshire to provide a Leeds to London rail service which would be twenty minutes quicker than currently available...

Although it will eventually be completed between London and Birmingham , and at some point on to Manchester , the so called eastern leg from the Midlands to Leeds has been cancelled.

Had it gone ahead , houses and trees visible from my bedroom window would have been replaced by a fifty feet high viaduct carrying passengers through South Yorkshire without stopping , several times a day.

It was inevitable in a way that this part of the line would hit the deck as over priced projects often do , but I don't think many tears will be shed locally.

My cartoon offers a compromise ... but shouldn't be taken seriously. The government will have plenty of time to find a suitably controversial alternative... 

TYPEset ROTHERHAM Completes The Circle

Way back when we all did it. To have any hope of the poems we had written on beermats and bus tickets being taken seriously by a publisher , we needed to get them typed , one per page, properly spaced with our names on the bottom.

All of the amendments had to be completed before we hit the typewriter , because , quite frankly , we got one shot at it , and whatever we managed to type before the paper or ribbon ran out , or our nerves frayed beyond repair was the final edit. Set in Stone.

We all heaved a sigh of relief when technology gave us word processors which enabled us to amend work as many times as we , or editors felt necessary to present the best version of our work for publication.

But like life , writing is not perfect. As music lovers missed the crackle and hiss of their favourite records with the advent of CDs , it was inevitable that we would eventually view the imperfections of the old typefaces with nostalgic affection . 

So when Typeset , a new Rotherham bookshop and coworking outfit offered the opportunity to see work typed in the old way and displayed in their window , I just had to have a go.

As part of the National Poetry Day activities on 7/10/21 , they offered " Five Quid for Quintain" and would select five per day from submissions to the shop , or online. If selected , they would also receive a five pound voucher to spend in the shop.

I'm pleased to say , the shop liked my effort and displayed it as shown above. For purists , my original submission is shown below , but it was great fun to see it typeset as I might have struggled to do when I first started. Like completing a circle .

FITNESS AND PURPOSE

 

What price the characters in this play,

Which landing from fallen fingers

Must abstract, assemble and display

Their best interpretations of intent;

Feigning allegiance to the things I say

 

Tony Noon

 

ENA'S LAMENT

ENA'S LAMENT

The life was in them clouds you know. Mingled it was and teeming in and out of coal black back yards . It coalesced on corners and in cafes and although it's taste were bitter we knew it were a local brew. Tony Noon

ON THIS DAY IN 1956

 

POSTCARD FROM THE PAST 

                            PUT NORTHERN MAGIC ON THE MAP

When seven enthusiasts put their names on the back of a postcard at the Scotch Corner Hotel one April evening in 1956 , they were lighting the touch paper to an explosion of magic and mirth in the North of England .

Those seven people had travelled from all over the north to meet at the landmark hotel , near  Richmond , to discuss whether there could be a role for a new magic society in the United Kingdom.

Northern Magic Circle celebrates sixty five years not out on April 15th 2021. 

Famous for it’s Easter parades and annual conventions , it continues to justify the decision of those founder members to proceed , promoting friendship through the magical arts. 

Not only has the society survived but it welcomes new members and actively encourages young people who want to develop their interest and skills in this fascinating art.

The last year has been a difficult one for anyone involved in performing arts but Northern Magic Circle has risen to the challenge and this year it’s convention , complete with a Gala Show , was an on-line event on April 10th. 

For more information , including how you can join the NMC can be found on their website at  www.northernmagiccircle.org.uk.

 

The Jupiter Perspective

If you could see these lines
in three dimensions
you would see the space
between thoughts composed
in thick air and hung out to dry.

You would see my drafts hanging
like post-it notes on branches,
sunlight charming life or burning
them to illegible crisps and
discarded from the harvest.

Comprehension requires four.
Meaning may need an effort.
You have to juggle perspective
in space and time to see
the small things are big. Huge

like a morning star. Like Jupiter.


Tony Noon

ENCORE 2.1

Still waiting for that encore.

Halls empty, furloughed

critics mean candid views

stay underrated. Forever

a rebel without applause.

Tony Noon