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147 · Apr 2020
2 Metre Blues
John Bartholomew Apr 2020
You'll stand in line,
You'll smile,
You'll politely remark,
You'll wonder, are they infected,
You'll hold in that tiny tickled cough,
You'll look at your watch,
You'll kindly clap the NHS worker at the front of the queue,
You'll think to yourself, your glad that's not you,
You'll wonder if you really need more milk,
You'll ponder about the calories and the deserts not to eat,
You'll puff your cheeks, how much longer here on my feet,
You'll be grateful it's not rations during the war
You'll thank the girl who greets you at the door

For this is a time to be grateful for the key workers and the queues
And not to be dismissive of these lifesaving 2 metre blues

#staysafe
#stayhome

JJB
146 · Oct 2022
Luke Warm (lukewarm)
John Bartholomew Oct 2022
Coldish
Tepid
Slightly warmer than the fridge
Drinking from the garden tap back when we were kids
Can't have been much fun to have gained this world renowned name
For running my hand underneath the tap and pronouncing it all same
Don't touch my flannel and then onto face
Think you'd better call a plumber out if this is always the case
For its not quite hot
And it's not exactly cold
It's that kid who never done what he was told
Unenthusiastic
Indifferent
Slightly heated,
Just the way he was born
Warm
Luke Warm

JJB
146 · Sep 2020
Wrong Size Shoes
John Bartholomew Sep 2020
You can't make love fit
It is what it is
A mould
The occasional broken fold
Fakeness is always seen
Remove them quick, it's going to hurt
A broken heart, your ruptured spleen
They've come, they've conquered and they have been
Close that door and throw away that key
As you can't hold hands as the unfitted two's
Kick them off, throw them in the bin
Yeah you,
Wearing those wrong size shoes

JJB
John Bartholomew Aug 2024
Sometimes I look and its quite hard to tell
If Thomas was made a boy from it's creators at Mattel
As my daughter likes to drape him in a ***** black dress
Whilst Bluey and Bing both look on, quite simply unimpressed
His plastic heart now pounding, like the bell that is Big Ben
What have you done to me, from Stagg onto a Hen
From GI Joe onto a wide eyed dough
What places can I travel, to avoid the dollys that I know
Please take away this blouse and redress my leather jacket
Whack back on my 501's, because, as a girl,
I really could not hack it,
Sorry

JJB
#FreedomforThomas
145 · Mar 2022
Conundrum
John Bartholomew Mar 2022
We all undo and ***** into a pool or some kind of meaningless puddle
Where our thought escape, linger and dwell
When sometimes all we needed was a good cuddle
Starting at the end of a ready burst bubble
It shatters, it explodes into small catch-less pieces
Just what did it hold to make it suffer
That made it implode into a time with no buffer
And disapper like the Central Park guy, Gunther
We all have our thoughts of what comes next
All these Instagrams to share and get off our chests
Before they become non-fashioned in a time of manifest
Thinking of a money spinner to make our dreams come true
What could, what would and the Ikea enigma of mahogany or tained blue
Life throws us under a bus whether MENSA or just plaim dumb
Whatever way you look at it its always the same
Life is a conundrum

JJB
145 · Oct 2023
Queens Road
John Bartholomew Oct 2023
From buying my first guitar
To watching strippers in the corner bar
So much can happen
In a street not that well known
A name change now The Broadway
Even this cannot change its sodden ways
Rileys now a place to lose weight
Some games I had when I'd lost my stake
The dive bars now a place to skin up
A Caribean twist with a Guinness to sup
Installing the refit to the Clipso hairdressers
To having a row with the fella who worked there
As to most it will always be the Harlequin cut through
But to us kids in the 90s it was a place of scandel and curfew

JJB
144 · Sep 2024
Hope
John Bartholomew Sep 2024
I still wake up every morning, hoping this paraplegia has left me
Spinal paralysis a condition, with no get out fee
To walk, to run, even kick a football for fun
Are dreams I still crave, when doctors say I have none
But the brain will always desire,
for that day as I grapple and *****
As we all have our dreams in life,
and mine will always be that one thing,

Hope

JJB
143 · Jan 2022
74%
John Bartholomew Jan 2022
74%
Waking up and checking the battery on your unplugged phone
(why did I check Facebook at 3am and not plug it back in?)
74%
The start of any relationship at blistering pace then the brakes apply
(It happens to us all and we don't know why)
74%
That dream holiday, the arrival, the meet the people, the leaving to head home as youve just had enough now
(With the bragging that just ends up in a row)
74%
Discovering new shortcuts on that upgraded mobile phone, I'll never get bored of this!
(A month now gone and someting better already on the list)
74%
Augusts new car off the line and youre proud to say its yours
(January hits and its now become a bore)
74%
Netflix has a new hit and its grabbed the worlds attention
(It's now series six and its falling to bits and needs a formal suspension)
74%

We all seem to plod on at this number on a daily basis, and it does us all well.
You don't need to be one hundred percent all the time, or we'd all just mope and dwell.
So raise a smile when needed, and speak to those who sometimes need it.
For life is too short to for hang ups and woes, it's just led how you see fit.

JJB
143 · Aug 2021
Cups
John Bartholomew Aug 2021
A cupboard full of cups all of which are assorted
Some you like
Some you loathe
Some should just be aborted
Now I can't throw that away as it's not mine to drink
A present, a holiday place when at the time you didnt think
That football you team you despise but your partner just loves
Or their unicorn standing tall releasing turtle doves (come on)
But you frown and leave them to be
Pushed to the back so that no one can actually see
You pick the same 4 mugs on a daily basis
One for tea, one for lunch and your favourite, your secret
Its a sad state of affairs when you have your priorities
Which is best for a cup-a-soup over your mug of tea
But I think this is what makes us a total breed apart
We stop
We think
We look in the sink
As a cup of tea is the only way to start.

JJB
Tea is a part of daily life. It is as simple as eating when hungry and drinking when thirsty.” – Yamamoto Soshun
143 · Mar 2024
The Android or the Apple
John Bartholomew Mar 2024
First, we had Blackberry, whilst wearing Fruit of the Loom
Then that died out, time to change that mobile tune
Branches of technology picked the Apple from this technical tree
Do I stick to what I know, like choosing Chedder over Brie
The rivals now raise their heads, which one do I avoid
Apple, MacBook, there is no choice, I'm starting to like Android 
Macbook has the better look
But all that difference has no hook
And Apple is, you get what you see
But I'm afraid, its really just not me
Fine if you like the same and work for the corporate buck
But I'm different man, and I really don't give a...!
Due to personal opinion I like to swerve the trend
I'll turn right while you go left and brave those who offend
For my robot speaks the truth and not sways to the nearest breeze
As I'll bark a different hark away from your everyday tree
But if you really want to speak and have that personal touch
Then go on over, ring that bell, as hey, it doesnt take that much
Friendship is a thing that isnt that hard to grapple
As we all laughed and got on well, way before,
The Android or the Apple

JJB
143 · Jun 2019
Destination: Home
John Bartholomew Jun 2019
Kicking around these parts of life
Its where you finish that matters
Travel the circumference of the world and nowhere counts
That smile and warm smell of where it engulfs you
Chatter, a taste, this is where I feel safe
A passing whiff of a well known must
Everything you love and fear, yeah that's the stuff
Waking with a slumber of never having any fear
Nights out with people you love, the taste of home made beer
It doesn't matter where you go this is the place where you've grown
From the Post Box on the street to the walls made of stone
This is the place you will always love,
Because this place,
Is home

JJB
“The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back.” - Anon

“Home is not a place…it’s a feeling.” - Anon
142 · Jan 2022
Garage Food.
John Bartholomew Jan 2022
Those automatic doors slide aside
A nod from the cashier sat reading a TV Guide
You don't want food but it's always worth a look
Ten glass doors of refrigerated crap
Might have a bite and forget that diet book
From a Ginsters cheese and onion slice
To a Scotch egg with Coke, I wouldn't think twice
Still forty five miles from wife and my home
This'll plug that gap, from some microwave dinner and her everyday moan
A quick glance at the mags including Readers Wives and the over Sixty Fours
Hell, why look up there, that's what the mobile phones are for
So sat in my Volvo XC90 in the car park just stuffing my face
We've all done it knowing its a selfish disgrace
That secret pre eating of food which we all really and truly embrace
And of the self rightous it would really really annoy
But you only live once,
you naughty naughty boy.

Garage Food

JJB
"It requires a certain kind of mind to see beauty in a hamburger bun" - Pintrest

"I was approached to be the face of Ginsters pies, which is hugely flattering of course, but I had to turn it down because the sheer number of freebies would have been a death sentence." - Garth Marenghi:
142 · Jun 2021
A Storm is Brewing
John Bartholomew Jun 2021
If coffee is your pick me up
Some toast, brush your teeth and then a sup
of course, from your favourite cup
A little toing and throwing
Once that storms been brewing
Then stick the telly on for the daily stewing
JV with his band of ever ready journalists
Some too gobby, some too shy, the odd one taking the, ahem
All settled down by that voice from the Scottish mist
Men seem to sway to the sound of her calming charm
The women mainly agree after the wake up of their alarm
Still sat on the sofa in your quilt, just to keep warm
A pick me up for your everyday commit
Two hours of fun, frolics, politics and while you just sit
And think about how to keep going and just to keep fit

A Storm is Brewing

JJB
142 · Oct 2020
But Thats Where it Ends
John Bartholomew Oct 2020
One word, I told you not to say it
It's hurt
It's pain
It's it
This cannot go on with any purpose to it's relevance
I'm sorry but you have always known not to mention
It's tension
It's hold
But you had to be bold
I am so sorry
The love of my life,

But Thats Where it Ends.

JJB
141 · Dec 2018
Division
John Bartholomew Dec 2018
I voted out
You voted in
Who would have thought what a mess this ended up in

No rules just lies
Some even on the street having a public cry
All we can do now is just try

I love this great land for all that its worth
From its music and history to football and its birth
Now we just fight over a decision asked by DC and his smirk

All we hear on the news is a choice of which way to turn
Article 50 may as well have been burned
We now need a leader to guide this ship with a hand that is stern

Decisions, settlement, judgement
Still up in the air that needs some stable guidance
Who's to be next to blame and sail to safer climates

As for now we just don't know
Who holds the dice and who's next to throw
For this land needs to come together and head for a new vision

As the last thing we need is this now,

Division

JJB
140 · Sep 2024
Anchorman
John Bartholomew Sep 2024
It's hard to find a word that rhymes with the legend that is, Ron Burgandy
As that man lives a different life,
with his own selective philosophy
Men have a bigger brain than women,
And that is fact
But if you want to fight the News Team,
then watch them **** well react
Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland and Champion "Champ" Kind,  
They'll kick your *** and leave you with a sore behind
London Gentleman or Black Beards Delight
Those ladies deserve best, over which they'll probably fight
As these guys only wear the best, lets not be that chancer
It works 60% of the time, all the time, hell yeah, *** Panther
To sway these guys from the top, up steps Veronica Corningstone
Knowing how to rule the roost, and knock Ron from his thrown
Because, San Diego is a city that can only have one news team,
being proud of America's red, white and blue
And if you don't believe me, well, I will fight you...and thats no lie

Anchorman

JJB
139 · Jul 2020
Tatooine Queen
John Bartholomew Jul 2020
As hot as the desert wind
Emerging between the two suns
Her face covered from the blinding light
But when revealed she is always worth the wait
My Uncle and Aunt say that I chose wisely
From the schools of Mos Espa and over to Mos Eisley
She is the most beautiful figure that I ever have seen
She is mine
My only
Tatooine Queen
139 · Jun 2023
Beaver
John Bartholomew Jun 2023
An animal that we learnt to trust
Its cunning, its planning, a must
A lot of mammals are not a fan
But look at the potential after building that dam
The river now flows to a part of ruin
Let's celebrate this genius on the wood that they've been chewing
To build a habitat for this beast of some distinction
Who has made life for others without bragging on completion
Oh, and its also what men call their wife's nunny
Strange how words switch to mean something funny!

******

JJB
John Bartholomew Dec 2020
Its been a long night
The ones you fancied have left in fright
Anything'll do now
A fat one,
A badly dressed one,
A four kids at 22 one,
A Mackie Dees for breakfast one,
A ITV2 is my favourite channel one,
I just need reassurance and some fake love
Enough to just top me up
To keep me going from the break up I never saw coming
For this is now a kingdom with no rule,
So my love,

Get your coat (you've pulled).

JJB
137 · Jun 2022
Tired
John Bartholomew Jun 2022
I saw a tiredness in her face
Years of gossip
Some snide remarks
But a laugh I could not replace
What goes on
What went on
Is a tale she'll always know
If not subject to social smear
Just ask her (for) blow by blow
But don't get me wrong as she is a light not to diminish
She'd buy you a drink
Shot by shot
Under the table til the craic is all but finished
Not to leave a story unaccounted and two ends left unturned
She'd make something up on the spot
Even if future scorns and leaves her slightly burnt
For the word on the street is her everlong racing beat
What happened and where was her everyday scare
And for bones that unwrapped and to be laid bare
Had taken its toll on her face that now shows its tears

Tired

JJB
137 · Oct 2018
Undercarriage
John Bartholomew Oct 2018
Bowels of every life are made in this department
Think about it
The movement, the progression, the here after
From humans to dogs, trains on a track then the newt to the frog
This region is overlooked, so much can happen here
Its what makes us move, thrive on and even shed the odd tear
A ******, from some you don't trust, a night of lust
Needed by some, just a bit of fun, a kid hits you like a ton
For it is not just us who move on from this region
The engine, the hair pin, every corner a story
Keep the vehicle on track, life's journey does not lack
Those moments of grandeur that sometimes bore me
We rally on, just keep on moving, this machine always accelerating
Legs are running, if still not working, the brain always thinking
The depths of mortality, the human psyche, keeps on breeding
Even our mode of transport, the way we move, all has its engine
A beast that roars, if between our legs to a plane that can soar
Pipes that can fuel, carry this source to the brain that controls
Stephenson's the Rocket to the phone in our pocket
Machines that roll paper for the game that end up as our ticket
All have a base, a frame, what is known as the building blocks of life,
As we all stem from what is our essentially known as,

Undercarriage

JJB
Be less curious about people and more about ideas - Marie Curie

We're all where we come from. We all have our roots - John Guare

If we don't know where we are going, it can be helpful to know where we come from - Jostein Gaarder
136 · Apr 2023
Caring
John Bartholomew Apr 2023
Caring for the caring is a trait we should all be sharing
Be it a hug
A kiss
Or just a friendly pint for the craic
Their are some who have none and prey to have those back
This pandemic has hit the world hard
Dealt a costly hand to the weak and those in fear
But some have been angels who share a story with a friendly tear
So think of the few,
The help,
That lifeline belt
Who spoke those words that made you smile
For those are the ones who helped you fight on
And just take that extra mile

JJB

#Covid-19
#pandemic
136 · Nov 2022
The Pure
John Bartholomew Nov 2022
What is judged on those who live days so pure
Who lay awake wondering on life
If doing good now leads to a heavenly door
I might stop swearing
I might take more care
I might imagine a life not bearing
I might
I won't
I wouldn't dare
For those who abstain from the rough
The cautious
The caring
The rare
Are an animal of which there are few
And a life I couldn't bare

The Pure

JJB
136 · Sep 2019
Next Step
John Bartholomew Sep 2019
Ideas
So many ideas
Stemmed from the root of my brain
Many can be pretty boring but some are **** insane
A spiders web without any pattern
Some as small as Mercury but could be as big as Saturn
Life has no pattern on whom you may meet
From walking one day to being sat in this seat
But where do I start with a thought oh so new
There is no God I can trust to speak words that are true
It's just a stroke of luck as to what direction
No rota can guide you with a choice or right rotation
It's always down to the person who has the next best thought
For this life and its guidance is something that can never be taught

JJB
John Bartholomew Aug 2019
Chasm
That's the space you want to fill
Looking out of the window whilst serving on the till
People buying those tickets for a load they only dream
Lotteries around the world letting off that mystic steam

Waiting
Maybe they'll pick you up that unknown multi millionaire
Living a life now in a dream without a single care
Your thoughts of a dramatic career basically now a flop
So why would that man of influence be shopping in co-op?

Dreaming
Looking at the Cava thinking its only cheap Champagne
What should I wear to Sharon's party as that top is now stained
Who's going to be there I suppose the usual bunch of boys
Then he pulled up in front of my door, a Silver Rolls Royce

Hello
Older but not by much he stumbles through, such a panic
Do you have anything to get this stain away from such fabric
Hot water, a good scrub as he ripped it off down to his tum
I took it, soap and then some, you'd be the kind of girl to meet my mum

Someday
Dried under the blower in the ladies toilet
I'm sure if I got with him he'd have my life summed up
So thankful he threw it on and told me I was his hero
I blushed, felt good for a while but then back down to zero

Again,

Someday

JJB
135 · Jun 2024
Above the Fold
John Bartholomew Jun 2024
HEADLINE NEWS!

That first glance catches the eye
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Rarely too happy, a story to make us cry
GET YA STORIES HERE!
Could catch us out in more ways than one
A terrorist plot or some fool just having fun
We soldier on, our face in the cracks
Ignoring what he says from the media hacks
But a quick peep up and you see the most beautiful face
On the front of a chinwag, you really are to my taste
Without meeting I would do as I am told
As you are the most beautiful of beings,
and definitely,
Above the Fold

JJB
134 · Jan 2021
One Sock Tom
John Bartholomew Jan 2021
And why do you wear just one sock Tom?
Hey, that's for me to know, and for you to find out.

The other sock?

That was worn by his brother, Ronald.
And his nickname?
Go figure

JJB
134 · Nov 2019
Graceless
John Bartholomew Nov 2019
Silence is sound I sometimes crave the most,
I sit in another room,
With stillness,
Just light,
Not a creak to be heard or angst within sight

Such passion, such roar
Let me just feel my softcore
As those clatterings can carry on elsewhere
Empowered in such grace
Sometimes you do not have to see it's face
To just know it's the kind of future for you

As I lay down here just looking up at the sky
The fields all surround me with their beauty
A natural aroma that sometimes can hold you
Can warm you,
Can charm you,
And now have seen you through,
Away from the surrounds that have just become,

Graceless

JJB
“When you don't know where you're going, you drive on the highway.”
― Roger Hedden, Bodies, Rest and Motion.

“the costume of the nineteenth century is detestable. It is so sombre, so depressing. Sin is the only real colour-element left in modern life.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

“What a lovely thing, to shut up and listen and not broadcast anything back. There’s a certain serenity in it and even a kind of light grace.”
― Michael Harris
134 · Jan 2024
A Permanent Love
John Bartholomew Jan 2024
Thoughts -

The stuff you bought 
The language you taught
Those fish you caught
Your balance stuck at nought 
All will change, all are temporary 

Love -

A proposal on the Nile
That night you went wild
Ended up on the tiles
And those times you both get riled
But from all these emotions comes one thing,
Love

Your child

❤️
#purecheese #parenthood
133 · Feb 2024
Odd Couple
John Bartholomew Feb 2024
We see them and think a thought
Is that really what you sought?
She is tanned, tight top, an old fashioned Dolly Bird
He's just scruffy, unshaven, wearing a top you have never heard of
But whatever is your thrill, than thats what fits the bill
And then there are those who wear their matching jackets
With way to much money, probably a horse, shop in Hackett
These are the strangest of beings
In their partner themselves they are seeing
No mould needed to shape their prey
Butch, brazen and depending on the mood, a bit gay
For no seed is planted to grow our exact tree
In most cases its a matter of what will be will be
If you see a looky-likey of what deems to be yourself
Look somewhere else please, further along the shelf
Why date a replica of you and dressed in the same fashion
You may as well kiss the mirror or marry a shop mannequin
But hey, its not my call to who or what you might be kissing
Just to know you read my notes first,
and in future, you might just listen

Odd Couple

JJB
#bewhatyouwant #oddcouple #matchingsocks #matchingjackets
133 · Nov 2018
Through the Storm
John Bartholomew Nov 2018
I've been hit
All of us have but in different ways
Depends on how you recover
Waking up and that feeling of utter dread
Where do I look, are the answers in some book
The wife may know or do I ask my lover
A turning point where all is seen in a brand new way
The justice, the injustice, the must have must haves
I'm only here once
A front bigger than Brighton, always on the blag

Maybe I deserved that thump of unfair life
As been a naughty boy and relished in the past
God has his ways, I'll catch you one day you *******

But the hill has a summit as for which I now climb
I toppled, I lent to far, I took my eyes from the prize and crashed that ******* car
But these matters are just a hiccup, a step in the wrong direction
Strive on young man,
Having eliminated those who now do not care
Throw at you what they want, spread your tales online,
For social media is there for us all to bear

But no,
Hold that light of what really still can come
As you ignore those mutters from the downtrodden and those on the everyday rat-run
The horizon has a future yet to be discovered now feeling almost new born
Hold your head up high, banish the clutter that really doesn't matter as you carry on,

Through the Storm

JJB
“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” –Charles Bukowski

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” –Emma Watson

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” –Buddha

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” –Bob Marley

“Every flower must grow through dirt.” –Laurie Sennott
133 · Nov 2023
Life Goes On
John Bartholomew Nov 2023
Mr Bartholomew - it's unlikely you will ever walk again 

Hard-hitting
Forever sitting
A life too young for me to be fitting
Twenty-seven and I just swerved heaven
Who knows if it's a place I'd get in
We've all done naughty things
But not too much to dance nor sing  
From six foot five to me now hardly seeing
Now to contemplate me forever being
Self-evacuation, front and rear
Uncontrollable accidents, my biggest fear
The loss of real friends and those who can trend
An easy decision to make to those who wouldn't watch me mend
But life goes, Jeez does life roll on
My amazing wife and daughter who I adore
Who gave me fresh life and opened closing doors
But I won't go all soppy and repeat as a bore
For life is an adventure not a governed guided tour.

Life Goes On

JJB
133 · Jan 2024
Favourites
John Bartholomew Jan 2024
We all have our favourite something 
Be it a piece of jewellery, probably your wedding ring
Some even a favourite parent
One from hell, the other heaven sent
Sometimes its a piece of fruit
Strawberrys on cereals? Blueberrys are a better suit
Or even a best friend
Some go on but others fit the trend
Whats your favourite film?
The one and only North by Northwest
Hitchcock also done The Birds, its hard to pick the best
Football has its one and only's
Once Premiership winners Blackburn Rovers or the mighty Burnley
Go on then, pick a colour that suits you
Depending on the weather, a nice bright pink or a moody dark blue
Your 'go to' shop or you fancy a change in perspective
Look at you go, a fighter that never quits
Hell, we could go on forever in picking our bestist habits
But its what suits now, not a forever in our all-time-favourites

JJB
132 · Jul 2019
Unfinished Everything's
John Bartholomew Jul 2019
There once was a time when the time was now
Make this your plan, your goal, your forever be
But it lapsed
It'll come round again you say
Thinking of that smile and joy
Laughing because they actually liked you
But know its on relapse and that time is gone forever
Seize the minute, the hour, the non forgotten past
Embrace what it was and never let it go
You may meet again in a time when now is no good
Or hear a song reminding you of how they did sing
For there will always be,

Unfinished Everything's

JJB
131 · Jun 2022
Punching Water
John Bartholomew Jun 2022
No reaction, just a ripple of shudder
Nearly 30 years, could of done less for ******
Maybe paper, a pen and then just write to her
As a guy once said, its now dead in the water

Remember those days when I finally caught her
Hearing old songs as Waterloo Sunset and Paperback Writer
Now worlds apart with no connection to light here
As I dwell with thoughts just sipping my can of cold beer

Time is an unseen evil in disguise
Falling in love then can't wait for goodbyes
I honestly thought she was the one and I'd finally caught her
But, in the end, she trickles away
Just like punching water.

JJB
130 · Feb 2019
It's Everybody Else
John Bartholomew Feb 2019
I sit and think, is it just me?
I say a sentence which makes perfect sense to be hammered down again
I try to stay positive but my thoughts are never on trend
Sometimes I stray as this life's not all it's cracked up to be
I wander into my unknown, a place where I start to see
My thoughts and my vision see a different kind of light
It's just not one that others like, a mentality they try and fight
As I like another kind of state, where people are kind and free
Not the hang ups and the moanings all barking from the same tree
To hear a song and get its rhyme and rhythm
Let your mind settle, drift away in the clouds while I sit back and listen
Don't start with your patronizing along with those why's, what the hells and woes
Let go of those worries as well as the past, remember when I swept you off of your toes
Then you think back and there were good times that we once had
So why all the complaining now, times move on from the good to ever approaching bad
Maybe it's not you as this is how it's now spelt
It's the everybody disagreeing with you and what's right now, hence,

It's Everybody Else

JJB
130 · Aug 2023
The Cafe
John Bartholomew Aug 2023
They come, they go, they order what they know
Some dressed in hi-vis, pin stripe,
even those in miniskirts, hi heels with their toes on show
A hard night's graft, taken in from the draft
Five minutes they'll never remember
From the morning rush
Some late without a brush
A breakfast forgotten in the depths of hangover
Old biddies sit and chatter
The price of life now their natter
And their tea now costing a small fortune
But to socialise and talk
To just sit and then a walk
Is the highpoint to some people's day 😉

The Cafe

JJB
130 · Jul 2024
Forgetful Faces
John Bartholomew Jul 2024
I could speak to you tomorrow for an hour or two
See you next week and wouldn't know it was you
Any distinctions go right over my head
From a great big nose to something you said
You could stand out in the crowd
With a rainbow telling the world you are proud
But to me you are just another forgotten face
No recollection of time nor place
You could be the nicest of guys or a bit of a ****
No matter what, we should all wear a name tag

#IthinkIhaveaproblem

JJB
130 · Jun 2024
Goodbye England
John Bartholomew Jun 2024
The Turkish barbers are moving in
We've left it too late, better take it on the chin
Like sharks circling blood with that killer fin
Soon to be tarred trash as it falls into the bin
What has this once great land now sadly become
As I count down wearily from my finger to my thumb
And how the WOKE brigade have dampened our cheeky fun
Whilst migrants land daily and straight on the run
I repeat so sadly
Oh, my England 
I say goodbye my old chum
Oh my Lord, what have you become...
Goodbye England

JJB
130 · Mar 2019
Wits End
John Bartholomew Mar 2019
I think the title is a little less than needed
For you live a life begging from daddy,
For more I've always pleaded
Grow up stupid girl as your balance is always red listed
As you flick through those sites so fast on things you can't afford
Your fingers now have blisters
Dreaming of a life fulfilled, good food and well bred horses
Now stuck in a house in the middle of nowhere, teaching her kids the same of a times that she endorses
For her car is a Range Rover with a spate battery in the footwell
Advertised on Exchange and Mart as a car that
129 · Jul 2024
Buffet
John Bartholomew Jul 2024
Any food to suit your taste
So always wear an elasticated waist
The calories pile as you seal your own fate
Christ I love it on a Sunday
The all you can eat extravaganza
Curry for breakfast followed by scones and tea
It says it in writing, eat all you can see
Leaving so full that will do you for the day
I'll be back same time next week,
at the all you can eat buffet

JJB
129 · Jan 2022
Up and Atom!
John Bartholomew Jan 2022
Split!
Now I aint talking bananas
I'm relating to the time that the Yanks just ended it
Not of Gods nature to mess around like this
Scientists should look for all cures
Not dabble in the extreme whilst taking the p*
It's not an episode we want to ever see again
The spread of its explosion
Of which still leaves some in pain
No megalomaniac could start again with Eve followed by Adam
Unless they went utterly delirious,
Yes,
Up and Atom!

JJB
Mankind invented the atomic bomb,
but no mouse would ever construct
a mousetrap. - Albert Einstein
129 · Jul 2023
Broken Flowers
John Bartholomew Jul 2023
Ripped from stem, like we had no life at all
Our petals just in bloom, now never to be seen fall
Yellow, red, or blue
It's life as true as you
Giving pollen to be carried out by the bees
To impregnate the hay-fever sufferer along with the trees
Just a passing phase once summer has gone by
To be planted in the shade by novices who do but try
But we regrow, we divert, we regain new powers
So never underestimate the strength we have,
us,
Broken Flowers

JJB

💐
129 · May 2023
He/She/Him/Her
John Bartholomew May 2023
Fitting in was never the problem
It's for what you stand and to show that emblem
For I am real and not some concept
Not a freak of nature that looks inept
You have mayonaisse at a sandwich party
Just rise above the rest because you're a bit arty-farty
Wearing a leotard sat on top a double-decker
Shout at the judgementals like you're Boris Becker
Forgot to shave but still wear that skirt
Look at the men with a mind just filled with utter dirt
Never mind my on show Adams apple
It's just another man in me that I'd love to blindly grapple
But the world is coming to this way of thinking
Instead of hiding in a hole where I once was sinking
Struggling with a size eleven stilleto in Next
Jazz up my shoes to whatever suits best
Stood outside the club, cold, smoking my ***
This is what I was born to be, I'm just a young hag.

He/She/Him/Her

JJB
#trangender #transisbeautiful #transgendermale
129 · Dec 2022
Madame Palm
John Bartholomew Dec 2022
Awake with no memory of where nor how
Ah, home sweet home
That cab driver, please take a bow
They come in patches of time
Of where
Of when
Of go on then, just pass me down the wine
Sporadic I think is the word to use
Of who I spoke too
Of who I copped off with
Of who I abused
And now I look down to a mess of lettuce and kebab
At the time, the best I'd ever had
Stained on the bedsheets, mum'll whip out the Daz
And now to celebrate the night with a touch of self pleasure
Locked door leisure
Release from the tethers
Just roll me in feathers
As I grab that reliant sock to wipe up the measures

Madame Palm (and her 5 lovely daughters)

JJB
#sorry
#notsorry
#yeahsorry
128 · Jul 2023
Midlife County Crisis!
John Bartholomew Jul 2023
She broke my Hert in Beds
So time to get my own back onto which this spree it led
I spread my love all around the Shires
With some still left hanging on the wire
From Dorset to Devon were the ones from heaven
Losing count in Cornwall but sure it was near eleven
Never crossing the mire to the depths of Wales
And not considered the trip across the channel,
I prefer a fry-up to a plate full of snails
Through the Sexes onto God's garden Kent
Posh girls aplenty so time to build my tent
But the North was always great and a whole lot of fun,
from the bland to the bold and even up the...Oh Matron!
Glasgow slid to Edinburgh and then onto Perth
I tell my friends that these are the cities to unearth
Now time to delve back south to the places I know best
I just needed a midlife crisis to get it off my chest
Now to add the county back to the Shires I forgot
Jeez, there was a fair few, Bucks seems like a fair good shot!

JJB
#midlifecrisis
John Bartholomew Sep 2019
What to wear on that specific day;
Smart
Skinny
Super Skinny
Bootleg
Oh what the heck
Should they be trousers, jeans, combats or chinos
What if the crowd are all smart come casual
My Converse boots or my polished Italian Tino's
I don't want to stand out like a sore thumb
A shirt and blazer is how I think I should come
The tail end of a wedding can be a confusing matter
As you don't want to be seen as the talking point of their chatter
These tartan cotton threads can be worn on any occasion
Dark yet understated, I'm not one for too brazen

JJB
127 · Sep 2019
Live with being poor
John Bartholomew Sep 2019
I look, we all do, how much are you worth?
No really, how much?
That car, finance?
That house, inherited?
That holiday, a friends villa?
That flight, Ryanair?
I'll carry on judging until I am corrected
And it is what it is as I rightly suspected
Your as rich as me, it's just a smoke screen and a false front
No wonder they say what they say as you really are a ####
I'm happy with what I've got and not living like the encore
As I can get on with this life and live with being poor

JJB
127 · Oct 2022
Our Liz
John Bartholomew Oct 2022
Our Liz

I really don’t care if you like Royalty or not,
But our Queen was always too hot to trot
Not a Royalist myself but I still know right from wrong
When I heard her song last play, I knew her time had come
Seventy years doing a job only she knew best
Find me another soul who could take this time, this underserving, Godlike test
From an **** horriblis to her poor husband dying
She kept our spirits high even through lack of trying
When jumping from a plane with 007
You still looked cool and to even outwit your agent from heaven
So, thank you Ma’am as you have been that servant to us all
That you promised us even after just leaving what seemed your time at school
You showed them how, and showed them what, in times of deepest peril
As you will never be replaced
Always the time, always the place
To be our leader in any such haste
For you kept you chin up, kept this ship afloat and never left us in a fizz
As you will always be our Queen, our guide,
Our never forgotten Liz

JJB
#queen
John Bartholomew Jul 2024
Records played, records sold, hard copy, not download
But the more I rattle on and raise my brow, I now sound really old
The pennies drop at the play of a song, mainly through Capitol Gold
Some still tour, Davies, Stewart and John
But no Rocketman could lift these boots, those days are long gone
Royalties from film now keep the bills ticking over
The price of fuel and heating costs, still driving my 2012 Range Rover
The odd bit of cash is always nice, if guest on Lorraine or The One Show
But I'm happy watching those days of the past,
as I have taken my last and final bow.

JJB
#rocknrollneverdies
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