Come walk with me to that tranquil place
That beautiful sunlit glade
Where we can sit and watch the aspen leaves
Dancing to the magic music carried on the breeze
There you will smell the freedom of the autumn scented air
Sit in natures solitude and peaceful thoughts to share
Once you've experienced that peaceful place
The magic will always call you back
Once more to see the aspen leaves
Dancing above the the place where once you sat

Early this morning drove my wife into work
Nothing unusual about that
What was unusual though was the clarity of the light
Was a beautiful sunlit morning and I was heading east
Straight into the rising sun
Then I noticed the leaves, reds, golds
In that sunlight they seemed almost translucent as the sun
Shone from behind
Every leaf edged with a misty white halo
I know, just a trick of the early morning light
But in all my 69 years I don't ever remember seeing such a sight

It started just like any other normal day
Parents at work,  children at play
Then in the distance a rumble was heard
As if by magic the sky clears of birds
I look up and to my horror I see
A seething ***** grey white mass bearing down on  me
AVALANCHE
Hurricane force winds now smash things aside
There will be little shelter for those who survive
Then like a demon it strikes with the force of a bomb
Trees, boulders,  ice and snow
For many trapped now an icy cold tomb
A few hours ago people were playing up there
But the side of the mountain has been swept clean and bare
Why did they build the village down there?
Could they challenge nature, did they really care?
All to often we challenge her might
And now another village has been swept out of sight
AVALANCHE

You know I got back from my beautiful Maltese holiday about 3 am yesterday
Today I sat and looked at my beautiful garden for the first time in a week
Tiny pastel flowers peer like little faces from dark green foliage
Lavenders vie for space with vibrant California poppies
Hollyhock ready to burst into summer colour
Stand next to shrubs of Rosemary
While sweet peas grow in wild abandon
Through the khaki green yellow branches and twigs
Of my twisted willow trees
The rose bush I planted over the grave of my old cat
Stands in her full glory of weeping red blooms
There is a magical perfume from French and English lavender
Offering their fragrance to bees
Who provide their own unique music to this wondrous panorama
Of wild and cultivated beauty
Yes, there are weeds as you might call them
But they also have there place here and so will be left to grow in peace
To live in harmony with other life
I see my garden as an ever changing work of art
Art that I will never tire of looking at

I left behind that place of dying
And entered the damp dark world of the woods
Sitting alone in the rain, dark thoughts in my mind
But then I realized, the forest was alive
The rustle of small unseen creatures in the leaves
Butterflies flitting in pale sunshine now breaking through the clouds
Best of all, birds singing their sweet refrain
It was then I realized that life has to go on
Even in your darkest moment, life is still worth living

I thought 4 gallons of petrol was just about right
To get my barbecue fully alight
On went the steak, the chops and some ribs
On went the corn and a couple of squid
Time to relax with a couple of beers
Glance round at my guests and wait for their cheers
But all I see is looks of dismay
As they blink and cough in the black smokey haze
The steaks are cremated the ribs are no more
The chops wont even be eaten by the old dog next door
As for the corn and the squid well they've gone up in smoke
Well its lucky I don't cook like that
I wrote this for a joke

The body now old and worn
But my mind is still sound
To many broken bones from my early years
Rugby the game that I loved
Still love
But rugby back then in army
Was a different game
The sly punch in the testicles
Punch in the mouth
Well that was all part of the game
Later you would share a beer with the guy
Who broke your fingers
No, no we'll never grow old
Until you wake one morning
And feel the pain
In long past shattered bones

The death of the Newfoundland Regiment*

They attacked after the Hawthorne mine was blown
But it never saved them
Newfoundland boys then crossed the line
And death was there to claim them
Most never made it to the starting trench
Now choked with dead and dying
For just four hundred yards away
German machine guns were barking
There is a place called Dead Tree
Where we were not to tread
For it now marks the place
Of so many Newfoundland dead
Beaumont Hamel now the resting place
Of boys so far from home
Beaumont Hamel now the place
Where heroic Newfoundland ghosts
Will ever roam

Born free
Free to ramble the rocky cliffs
Above the white capped sea
Free to roam wild moorland paths
Mid heather and golden gorse
To scramble over the mountain tops
In air so fresh and clean
Maybe I'll wander the forest tracks
Rest in sunlit glades
Content to be with nature
Glad that I am free

What a strange title
When I went to Aden (South Yemen) in 1964
It was to fight infiltrators from North Yemen
How to spot where mines had been laid
Where ambushes could take place
Trained in ******* at long and very close range
But nobody mentioned the bugs
Camel spiders almost four inches across
Now they gave us great fun because we would catch them
Then bet big money on the outcome of a fight with
Another spider or a big scorpion
Most times the spider would win but would then die
But by then the bets had been paid
Stephen E Yokum and Jonny Angel
And thousands of American and British ex military
Know about bugs
Centipedes 9/12 inches long and stinking like you'd never believe
Get one of those crawling on your skin and pull it off the wrong way and bingo
You end up with a permanent tattoo
Because their feet dig in
We did have the good ones though
Chameleons, we would keep them in our tents
And feed them crickets and in return they would keep the flies down

We learned to live with BUGS

I hate the ****** things
But I love them
Tangled round my feet
And I have to be so careful where I step
Midnight killers
The remains of night feasting on my conservatory carpet
To greet me in the morning
Who wants to spend hours with a ball of black fur sat on their lap?

Yes, that's me
Maxemillion, Merlin and Spartacus
My black shiny boys
Three brothers who I don't own
I don't own! Simple really, we don't own cats because they own us

I hate cats

The sun has left my south country hills
Now they are lashed by wind and cold rain
The birds that fly south for the winter
They have left my hills, they have gone
The once rich fields have been stripped of their crops
They now lie there wet, muddy and brown
No more bright flowers for butterflies and bees
No more the sound of birds summer songs
I miss the warmth of the sun on my face
I miss the bright summer moons
Its the change of the seasons in my south country hills
All to soon the winter will come
A time to sit down by a warm log fire
Think of the better times to come
A time to think, a time to write
A time to gather ones thoughts
To dream of the sun once more on my south country hills
To dream of spring and the new life it brings
The cold rains of winter will soon fade and pass
And once more we will greet a new year
Once more I will wander the pinewoods
And enjoy my south country hills

50 children will die in Africa in the next 10 minutes
From drinking ***** water
In Sudan a thousand children will die today from starvation
Your £3 pounds can feed a child for a week
Supply facilities to give a child clean water
Of course their government officials need no such thing
Give £19 pounds this Christmas to help feed a homeless drug addict
Oh and of course to make sure the directors of the charity
Get their 50 grand a year salary
Well I'm an old age pensioner
So please all you begging charities
Instead of asking me for money
Please give me a £1000 so I can have a better Christmas

Yeah I can do the Chefy stuff
Food art on a plate
It makes the perfect picture
And the flavors are so great
You can pay a fortune
To eat a meal like this
But
I'd much rather sit down
To a plate of fish and chips
Or
In these months of cold, of wind
Hours of sleet and snow
Nothing else is better
Than a nourishing bowl of stew
Rough diced meat
Ten kinds of veg simmered for hours on the hob
Thick rich gravy and potato mash
Now that really does the job
Now that is food to keep you warm
Keep winters assault at bay
Something to be eaten at any time of day
Yes I can do the Chefy stuff
And for you that might be just fine
But give me the rustic country foods
I'll take that every time...

That was the day the killing stopped
Beneath a wintery sun
The British stormed over the top
But also did the ***
But the only weapons carried then
Cigarettes and chocolate bars
For there was a common bond
Between those men who fought so hard
No language barrier then
Between the men, the men of opposing sides
Cap badges swapped and cigarettes
In memory of those who died
Silent Night sung in German
English Jingle bells
For a few hours death forgotten
In that small corner of hell
A scared and battered football
Soon was carried forth
Opposing teams were chosen
The Germans kicked off from the North
This was Christmas 1914
Enemies all but still just boys
Now playing the game all nations played
The game that brought such joy
All to soon the game was over as the sun sank in the sky
Tomorrow the guns again would speak
And more young men would die

I thought the full English breakfast was wonderful
But oh dear, oh dear
Sub Parr

The Xmas lunch, truly spectacular, turkey golden,
crisp skinned. Vegetables cooked to perfection
Xmas pudding flaming blue
Fresh cream and brandy butter
Log fire warm and bright
But oh dear, oh dear
Mediocre

The best of wines money could buy
Port, cheese platter
10 year old brandy following
But oh dear, oh dear
Sub par
Mediocre
Dreck

Oh oh oh

It's midnight in the city, a gently falling rain, just the odd car passing, the distant rumble of a train

I sit here and listen to the creatures of the night, listen because I can't see them, they stay out of sight

One sounds stands out above the rest, continually it's heard. Even in the darkest hours the singing of a bird

I know not what she looks like, is she colourful or drab? Well I don't really care that much because her songs are never sad

All night she sings while others sleep, her songs so loud and clear, bringing happiness in the darkness to all who are there to hear

Why does she sing her sweet refrain through the long hours of the night? Perhaps she sings for those of us who have to stay awake

Then come the early morning light and a mighty choir is heard, no human intervention just a choir of singing birds

It's with reluctance that I must leave this place with the coming of the light. But later I'll be back again to hear her singing through the night

And so on Tuesday morning I'm going to once more close the door
Me and Mollie dog are going to say goodbye
For a few sweet days in the woods
Days to sit and think beside a flickering log fire
Days spent in silence but for the sound of the birds
the breeze rustling in the leaves
A time to gather my thoughts
A time to sit and write...In daylight
Come the sinking of the sun out there to the west
That then is the time I probably love the best
I will sit and read the stories in the flickering of the flames
Think about tomorrow and the words that I will pen
Yes, yes I will write of the things that I have seen, done
The reason for my being here
Why I left the world behind
Will I miss them? Internet,  tv, microwave and shower
No, I wont miss them
Come early morning bleary eyed a cold dip in the stream
A few small logs on last nights fire then watch the kettle steam
And while the world is yet asleep I'll have eggs and bacon in the pan
How can I not sit in the splendour of this oh so pleasant land
In the background my hifi plays the music I love to hear
Hifi!!! No, its the singing of the birds
And so me and the Mollie dog do sit
In our tranquil retreat
you can live in your ratrace world
For me life is oh so sweet

Come walk with me on a high place
Where so few have ever trod
Where the air is chrystal pure
And majestic eagles soar
Listen, listen to the silence of this pure un-sullied place
Gaze upon the beauty
That man has not yet defaced
Yes walk with me in the splendor
Created by natures hand
Breath deeply of the beauty
Before it to is destroyed by man

Yes, come
Come walk with me on the high lands
where so few have ever trod.
Where the air is crystal pure
in this place where majestic eagles soar.
Listen, listen to the silence
of this pure un sullied place,
gaze at the beauty that man has not yet defaced.
Yes, walk with me in the splendour
created by natures hand
breath deeply of the beauty
before its to destroyed by man

A few small things in a bag
A good canoe and a paddle
A river unknown
That is all I ask for
My 10x8 tarp for my shelter
Fragrant pine twigs for my bed
My alarm the sweet dawn chorus
Of a thousand singing birds
The fragrance of the woodsmoke
As I watch the sun sink down
The messages in the moon and stars
Before in sweet repose I bid goodnight
BUT

So few places of Tranquility left

Give me an acre of forest
Beneath an acre of sky
Where a million stars look down
And the earth in contentment sighs

Country life is fine if you can find the time to go out in the early morning rain to feed the chickens
Traipsing round the yard is not so very hard but beware of dragging mud into the kitchen
On a freezing winters morn you can stay quite warm chopping wood to fuel the cooking fire
Be careful where you tread because that yard is full of dread and you might end up to your knees into the mire
Spring will soon be here and you can dig the garden through then sit and watch the birds eat the seeds you've sown
Summers hear again, you take off your shirt to catch the sun then complain about your red and blistered skin
You reap what you have sown wipe the sweat from off your brow and wonder why you chose to live like this
You sit down fore a beer,  ignore your nagging wife and put another hard won log upon the fire
You know its going to start again when you go out in the rain once more to feed the chickens in the yard
You chose this way to live you chose your nagging wife it's you who chose the country way of life

Courage

Courage is to face the fears and doubts within your mind

Courage is to answer when you hear your country call

Courage is the father who faces daily toil

Courage is the mother giving birth to yet another child

Courage is accepting failure when you know you tried your best

Courage is your conviction when you know you're facing death

Courage is never giving up when you know you'll lose the fight

Courage is dealing with your fears when protecting what is right

COURAGE