In wonder of the spring, again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fop’s blouse.

I will sew myself black trousers

from the velvet of my voice.

And from three yards of sunset, a yellow blouse.

Along the world's main street, along its glossy lanes,

I will saunter with the gait of Don Juan, a fop.

 

Let the earth, overripe and placid, cry out:

'You would rape the green Spring!'

I'll yell at the sun with an impudent grin

'I prefer to prance on smooth asphalt!'

 

Isn't it because the sky is blue,

And the earth is my lover in this spring

cleaning,

that I give you verses fun as bi-bah-boh

and sharp and useful as toothpicks!

 

Women who love my flesh, and you,

girl, looking at me like a brother,

toss your smiles to me, the poet -

and I'll sew them like flowers onto my fop's blouse!

 Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky

1883 - 1930

 

That makes two of us, drunk on spring.

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

Home:    helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.

Monday was the luckiest day – I spent the morning with my Tory dentist – we argue all the time although he usually gets the last word – because he’s got my mouth full of equipment.

Afterwards I spent a while in Hounslow. I never get to go there anymore, which is sad.  I used to work there and lived just up the road.

It’s a wonderful, vibrant Asian town. Full of life and hope. I wrote a Blog about the film ‘Bend it like Beckham’ last year – it was made locally and captures all of that feeling.

 I ended up looking at hats. Its spring, my hats were starting to look as sad and old as I do. I needed a change.

I bought two – big money proper new hats. Not from charity shops, not from discounters.

How about this for a hat:

 

That’s a real Pork Pie Hat, that hat.

It does mean that I could now have Charlie Mingus’s ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’ played at my funeral, except it’s not my favourite tune. Written to say goodbye to Lester Young, it does have a bit of class to it.

As does my new hat – I bought it for chemotherapy but then, when it came time for me to go to my Jazz Club I couldn’t resist wearing it.

 

That's Dave O'Higgins on Sax with Dave Green on bass.

In a world of Jazz Hats I have to say that mine was the coolest.

 

It's that cool. 

I said it was the luckiest day – it was. I phoned Impact Tours in the afternoon and they confirmed I have a booking for Saturday.

I AM GOING TO FRANCE!

A day trip to St. Omer!

The blog is going international!

Ever since I got ill, the one thing I dreamt of, the one thing I couldn’t do was to travel. This Saturday, I get a day in La Belle France. I can’t believe it.

If anyone can think of anything to do in St Omer I would like to hear from you.

As far as I know it’s an industrial town in Le Pas de Calais and its only claim to be a tourist attraction is that when you go to France to buy cheap lager – that’s where they make the cheap lager.

Mind you, there are worse things I could do than drink lager.

Wish me luck – it will be a long, long coach trip.

I am so excited.

(roadtrip)

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)