Excited

I’m on my way to Gatwick
to board a big jet plane
which’ll take me up to Glasgow
on my travels once again

It’s quite a way, four hundred miles
and sixty-six point two
so I’m pleased that I am flying
from home to my venue

And I’m really quite excited
as flying is a treat
First come first served at check-in
Hope I get a window seat

I’ve never been to Glasgow
so I’ll be writing there for sure
the experience to share with you
when I’m at home once more

©Jemverse

Photo – flying out of Gatwick over Southern England – Jempics

Cardiff

Made my way to Cardiff
on a Sunday afternoon
Six hours on a railway train
views from hotel room
The city streets below me
Welsh and English on the signs
Old and new in contrast
amongst the ancient lines

Put some music on my i-pod
Slumber called aloud my name
Resistance pretty futile
as tiredness swiftly came
Still there remained a moment
for some thoughts about the day
A few short lines reflecting
some words I had to say

©Jemverse

Photo – The GWR building, Cardiff – formerly a hotel, now a JD Wetherspoons pub – Jempics

Big blue double-decker bus

Heading into Worthing on
a big blue double-decker bus
My transport for this morning
as there are no trains because
the buggers are on strike again
No Christmas spirit there
No sparkle and no smiles as
Southern Rail just do not care

But I’m really not that bothered
for I get to see the sea
A ride along the coastal road
up here quite pleasantly
And yes it’s a grey morning
but the view is just as nice
and the chance to see the sea each day
is cheap at half the price

©Jemverse

Finding your sublime

Yes, I know it’s winter out there
and it’s miserable and wet
But with your imagination
A little summer I can get
It’s really not that difficult
your mind’s eye is what you need
and a willingness to just let go
and listen as agreed
Close your eyes and see the scene
a meadow full of flowers
Bathed in golden sunlight
for hours and hours and hours
You’re wandering there, but by and by
you lie down beneath a tree
and simply watch the world go by
A fine picture, you’ll agree
And the beauty of this journey
is that you can go there any time
Just close your eyes and drift away
and find your own sublime

©Jemverse

Fourteen hours

Five thirty in the morning
and I’m out and on my way
It is cold and pretty brittle
at this early time of day
On a train that’s bound for London
warm and cosy here inside
Though my journey takes me northward
to West Yorkshire there I ride

It will take me seven hours
before my travelling is done
The length and breadth of England
through the rain and seldom sun
Then later on this afternoon
I’ll be on another train
heading back to Sussex
on my way down South again

©Jemverse

Photo – the Leeds bound Virgin express – Kings Cross – Jempics

Gibraltar

To the Rock of Gibraltar
on Monday we came
The English weather
living up to its name

But the warmth in the air
although it was grey
gave promise of what
it would be like today

And it steadily climbed
to thirty or more
as the sunshine broke through
whilst we were ashore

We took a ride up
where the Barbary apes
were monkeying about
and up to their japes

And despite the grey weather
the view from the top
was just as spectacular
as you’d expect of the Rock

Then down to the town
where Nelson was brought
after Trafalgar
when a bullet he caught

Before back to the ship
to sit in the sun
and be pampered now that
our holiday’s begun

©Jemverse

Photo – a Barbary ape on the Rock of Gibraltar – Jempics
[‘Gibraltar’ is 3 of 14 in the Jemverse ‘Iberian Treasures’ series]

1. Departures (29/8/16)
2. Malaga I (30/8/16)
3. Gibraltar (31/8/16)
4. Gibraltar II (1/9/16)
5. All at sea (2/9/16)
6. Lounging (3/9/16)
7. Three sixty degree sea (4/9/16)
8. Vigo (5/9/16)
9. Atlantic Surge (6/9/16)
10. In from the fog (7/9/16)
11. Terracotta Rooftiles (8/9/16)
12. Lisbon 36 (9/9/16)
13. Seville (10/9/16)
14. Malaga II (11/9/16)

Malaga I

Boarding our Dreamliner
Thompson did us proud
For we had extra legroom
and the engines weren’t too loud
The outbound flight as always
thrilled us to the core
England disappearing
through the window there we saw
And just two hours later
as we woke up from a snooze
The wheels touched down in Malaga
for our Iberian Treasures cruise

©Jemverse

Photos (top) – flying over Hampshire, UK; (bottom) – The Thompson ‘Spirit’, Malaga, Spain – Jempics
[‘Malaga I’ is 2 of 14 in the Jemverse ‘Iberian Treasures’ series]

1. Departures (29/8/16)
2. Malaga I (30/8/16)
3. Gibraltar (31/8/16)
4. Gibraltar II (1/9/16)
5. All at sea (2/9/16)
6. Lounging (3/9/16)
7. Three sixty degree sea (4/9/16)
8. Vigo (5/9/16)
9. Atlantic Surge (6/9/16)
10. In from the fog (7/9/16)
11. Terracotta Rooftiles (8/9/16)
12. Lisbon 36 (9/9/16)
13. Seville (10/9/16)
14. Malaga II (11/9/16)