‘Make America Great Again’ – a meaningless Trump soundbite. Create a fairer society with decent jobs to heal a divided nation. But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard. Info: Make America Great Again’ is a meaningless Trump soundbite. The way to heal a divided nation is to create decent jobs for everyone (of whatever race or creed).
: COPD is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – mainly caused by smoking. Silk Cut led the way in ‘clever’ surreal tobacco ads. But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard. Info: Silk Cut led the way in surreal (‘clever’) tobacco ads. But thousands died because the ads lulled them into smoking those seemingly safe (and trendy) cigarettes, with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) as the main killer.
I am a Refugee – life and death from Syria. But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard.
Beer is Best - a rhyme with sound and music. Over two dozen beers are savoured.. But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard. Over two dozen beers are savoured in this pointless, woozy, ditty.
Slow Slips - a rhyme with sound and music. Life becomes time, and new lives replace old lives. But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard.
Farage, Gove & Johnson – the three politicians at the heart of the BREXIT campaign. And what lies were told! But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard.
The devastating loss of a loved one. But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard.
A Trustafarian’s tale – but set to a Caribbean dance beat by guest Music Arranger and Composer, Damion Anderson.
A tribute to the Black Lives Matter campaign. A protest song for the 21st century (not the ‘60s).
Repeal 8 - It’s a Sin for Sinners to Get Off For Free– a rhyme with sound and music about illegal backstreet abortion in Eire (the 8th Amendment, and Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, only allow abortion when it is needed to save the life of the woman). But relax: it isn't posh poetry. By John Pritchard. Info: An unpleasant tale based on an unpleasant law. In Eire, the 8th Amendment, and the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, only allow abortion when it is needed to save the life of the woman. ‘Social’ abortion is not possible - instead it is trip to a backstreet abortionist or a trip abroad. This rhyme is graphic and shocking because the reality of backstreet abortion is shocking – and the whole point of this story is to protest at the consequence of the Eire law. More information from the Repeal8 campaign. Please note that there are two versions of the audio. The ‘Standard version’ is PG-level and just unpleasant. The ‘Warning: Explicit version’ is very unpleasant.
‘Headless body found in topless bar’ is one of the best-lnown headlines in newspaper history. Written by Vincent Musetto for the New York Times in April 1983 it reported a gruesome Brooklyn muder by 23 year old Charlie Dingle; whilst snorting cocaine he killed a bar owner, took four hostages, raped a dancer, and then discovered that one of the hostages was a mortician. So he got her to cut off the bar-owner’s head with a steak knife (to get rid of the bullet that would tie the shooting to his gun). Hence ‘Headless body found in topless bar’.
A medieval tale of family love. The present of a downy rose (a type of English rose) on marriage day represents the couple’s Tree of Life. But the Black Death of 1563 brings death and sadness. The 1563 Black Death (a bubonic plague) plague killed between a quarter and a third of all Londoners.
A pointless, silly, exercise in bad-language? But why not? And why shouldn’t rhyme or poetry use everyday language?
We all love social media – it has transformed our lives. But, as always there are some weirdoes who misuse it and who seem to have lost the plot ('sad losers, nutters and trolls, venomous posters, simply lost souls'). Why aren’t the the likes of Facebook doing more to control these people (they have got the money; they have got the resources) and maybe they should be made more accountable?
Why is modern poetry so difficult, heavy, inaccessible, academic and elitist? Why do poetry people diss rhyme – which most ordinary people prefer?
A famous radio-commentary mistake occurred in a Test Match between England and the West Indies - although some say it was no mistake, and that the commentators had been waiting for the chance to come out with the punch-line. Either way, it is a famous cricket moment. The Test Match Special theme music is ‘Soul Limbo’ (from the album of that name by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released in 1968 on Stax Records).
Children are sometimes told that if they have a spot on the tongue it is because they have a told a lie. That is why small lumps on the tongue are often called ‘lie-bumps’. So this is the tale of a husband who puts that childhood knowledge to use.
The News of the World systematically tapped phones for many years. It was not just the phones of celebs, royalty, and the famous – it included the phone of a murdered schoolgirl. And it was accompanied by lies, deceit, and corporate misbehavior that threatened to engulf Rupert Murdoch and his empire. To the surprise of many, he and his senior staff apparently knew nothing about these illegal goings-on, and didn’t ask where these exclusive stories were coming from. But a Parliamentary select committee report concluded that Murdoch "exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications," and stated that he was "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company".
