This crab – where does it come from? From Tsuruga, a hundred towns away. Creeping sideways, how far did it crawl? It hurried to Ichiji Isle, to the Isle of Beauty. The dabchick plunges, Breathless and gulping: I plunged hurriedly Up and down the slopes Of the Sasanami Way. The maiden I met with On the Kohata Road – Seen from…
Citing a tight budget and the need to buy books, stools, art supplies, and enough ale so that the caretaker does not want over Christmas, a Catholic primary in Worcester has taken the barely precedented step of charging parents £1 to watch their children in the school nativity. And whether it is the cold leaving people at a loose end in front…
As cries of controversy continue to reverberate and the shock waves from an unexpected election result discombobulate us all and the tremors keep us on ever trembling and the twin senses of fear and anticipation only grow and grow and grow, and as the atmosphere becomes increasingly toxic and the situation threatens to take a nuclear turn, things have already…
The very air across Britain can seem polluted these days with political discourse of the vilest sort, and the stench only gets worse whenever we’re in the vicinity of the ballot box. Yet a recent YouGuv survey has suggested that the bad smell isn’t only metaphorical, because UKIP supporters – presumably in their endeavour to exercise some peculiarly British rights –…
Horse – lame, Sword – rusty. Who – he? Crowd’s boss. A step – an hour, A sight – an age, Eyes – down. People – there: Foe. – Friend. Thorn. – Laurel. All – dreams . . . He. – Horse. Horse – lame Sword – rusty. Cloak – old. Back – straight. 1921. Translation by Vladimir Markov and Merrill…
Tuning into the second series of Planet Earth for the sake of its wondrous small-screen lustre, the purview is soon apt to take a murky turn. For David Attenborough, venerable narrator, would have us all back to the dark ages through his incessant endeavour to make us protect and preserve. The mere thought of in anyway protecting the environment is anathema to…
It has been a turbulent few weeks for the British royal family. First Prince Harry felt compelled to issue a statement condemning the ‘wave of abuse and harassment’ which his girlfriend, the actress Meghan Markle, has been suffering at the hands of the tabloid press, as well as their comment sections and other forms of social media. Again and inevitably it…
It would be wrong to affirm that nobody at all wanted to see Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at Survivor Series, a rematch from the pair’s only previous encounter, which took place at WrestleMania XX more than twelve long years ago. Surely there were youngsters, somehow lumbered with the current product, who were eager for a glimpse of what a quirk…
If the mere thought of migrant corpses brings you immediately to orgasm, then you probably don’t need much privacy and you certainly don’t need no porn. That’s why Theresa May, the Tory government, and their abettors in the Labour Party this week were able to boast the long-brewing success of the Investigatory Powers Bill, which after passing in the House…
Boll-weevil’s coming, and the winter’s cold, Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old, And cotton, scarce as any southern snow, Was vanishing; the branch, so pinched and slow, Failed in its function as the autumn rake; Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take All water from the streams; dead birds were found In wells a hundred feet below the…
