9th May 2016

Hi Everyone

Next Tuesday (17th May) I hope to see you in Stanmore Library at 6 pm where I’ll be hosting another of the series of Open Mic sessions for Harrow. No charge and it should be a lot of fun.

Also, this month’s subject for the Competition is Talent. Rules are 20 lines or fewer by 19th May.

As promised, I’m sharing a few of the runners up poems from our competition.

GADGETS by Carole Chapman

We use gadgets in our cars and in our houses too

And if we break a treasure out comes the Superglue

There’s a gadget to mend almost anything

But if they were really smart

There would be a gadget to mend a broke heart

Is there someone out there who can do the job

Stir the blood and warm a smile until it gently bubbles

Scatter in some hugs and love and maybe a few cuddles

Handle a heart with tender care

Sew up the torn bits that lay deep within there

If there was a gadget to reach deep inside a soul

Lift us to the sunlight far way from that dark hole

And if you have this magic touch, I hope you’re on your way

No appointment needed, just please come on any day

AN ODE TO GADGETS by Sukriti Bisht

Your lovely different lovely screens, Make me happy by all means.

If I were to lose you , my precious iPhone, I would always moan and groan.

You send my text messages near and far, The most most loyal servant. You are! You are!

My sweet Xbox, You make me greedier than Goldilocks,

My heart can never obtain The excitement when I play with you again.

And finally (do forgive me if I've left you out)

Something I would never do without,

You bake me food to sate My yearn for delicious cakes...

Oven the great!

GADGETS By Sally Fiber

My son is gadget mad

For every new device thats invented

He has to be presented

The latest computes, complexed watches, or drone planes

He masters the workings without shame.

My daughter on the other hand

Goes for kitchen gadgets of the very best

Be it saucepans, ovens, fridges 

Or just the latest  ceramic frying pans yet.

For me I suffice with more humble gadgets

Like my ceramic new knifes and vegetable peelers

Anything that makes life easer

God forbid if I mislay the peeler.  

Even the children have I Pads and Tablets

E books and Kindles have become a habit 

Hours playing games, waisting time some say

But we all know these are going to stay.

But the gadgets or remote that causes 

More arguments than most

Is one that operates the TV

Or maybe  its the mobile phone do you agree ?

So gadgets become a habit 

We are all mesmerised 

By these ingenious devices 

What comes next will surly surprise us.  


GADGETS by Win Wilkins

A gadget can be useful, a gadget can be fun

I’m sure if you search your home you’ll find that you have one

There are gadgets in the kitchen and sat nav in the car

Making fancy veg for salads or for travelling near or far

There are mincers in the kitchen but sometimes are obsolete

As you can buy from butchers already minced up meat

There’s computers, phones and tablets, letter writing’s’ almost gone

It’s a pity sometimes they were so neat, I wish folks would carry on

Children and adults use these gadgets all the time

But I worry if electricity is all used up they couldn’t go on line

People will have lost the art of conversation

And if we lose the written word there will be consternation

Hands and fingers will be painful and eyes will all be blurred

It really will be such a crime to lose the written word

Some gadgets are a blessing, some of them a curse

Before we have a power cut I’d better finish this verse …..

‘Cos for better or for worse - there’ll always be more gadgets!

GADGETS by Pattie Greenberg

There is a gadget for almost everything

But not one for a broken heart

Or a past memory buried deeply beneath

Buried beneath what you may ask

Beneath the minds of war torn heroes

Serving their country in nightmare conditions

Returning home with unspeakable visions

Waiting to unleash themselves

Caused by post-traumatic stress no less

We who watch the news and give our views think tragic

As we change the channel just one finger on the gadget

Have we all become immune to conflict war terrorism?

As we flick through stations on our television

Men and women risk their lives

So that we at home can survive

Many wounded some that die

We must help them now

You and I must not relent

A call to arms for help from government

WIZARDRY OF GADGETRY by Patricia J Tausz

Gadgets in the kitchen are there to make life easy

Seeing the mixer spinning makes me feel queasy

For years gadgets have filled our shelves improving our lives

They are so useful to us rather busy housewives

If mixing and proving dough is what you want to do

Then a bread maker is idea for you

Making a fool, smoothie or milkshake is an easy treat

Just blend fruit or veg together to get a neat drink or sweet

Use an electric carving knife for the thinnest slices of meat

And then buy a Lazy Sue - to lay them out Carpaccio style so very neat

Use a dryer or crimper for your hair -

There are countless gadgets out there

Perhaps a washing machine to keep your clothes clean

But remember our world’s now turning green

GADGETS by Alan Hinson

Blenders, food processors, computers, electric razors and drills

And all manner of other fantastic, futuristic, technological thrills

Including apps, i-pods, laptops and smartphones galore

All to ensure that life on the cutting edge is never a bore

But, I ask myself, is this really the right trend to set?

As this obsession with gadgetry claims our increased attention

So much so that friends and family seldom get a mention

Never mind some quality time and leisure with us, you can bet

Gadgets, alas, have quickly become our best friend, I regret to say

Just join the throng of passengers on the tube or on a bus any day

And we’re bound to find most of our fellow travellers busy at play

Nursing some gadget or other lovingly, never letting it out of their sight

Such behavior only confirms that gadgets are useful, but a mortal blight

On every life as we know it, not only in our country, but worldwide too

It has even affected our language, ‘cause I should have said ‘but globally too’

Gadgetry might be the way forward, but at what cost? So, it’s over to you!

THE GADGET by Neville Klein

As the one-o’clock sun hung easily

Under the azure clear sky

The heath stretched out

In white clover, rock rose and rye

The carefully placed box

Sat under the oak

Suddenly opened with a hand

Round the throat

Beads of moisture engulfed

The whole surface

Helpless I watched his

Deliberate purpose

A glint of steel

Sharp edged and menacing

Approached with speed

Plunging, twisting, wrenching

An elaborate POP

Cold contents flowed in a glass

‘Cheers’ they all shouted

On the blanket on the grass

SOMETIMES MACHINE IS OBSCENE   By J. M. Clarke    

For an eternity you whine and moan

In a loud voice on your mobile phone

Even in designated quiet zone

Spoiling my whole journey

You are thinking that you look much cuter

The sexy way you handle a computer

Some other may think “we’d better mute her”

And gadgets say “burn me”

Gadgets can be alright

I’m only half a Luddite

Technology can act like such a pest

When it’s making all that is good go west

Is the convenience always the best?

Where’s our humanity?

For me gadgets are now here to improve

It’s not really their function to remove

The earlier ways that can always soothe

And retain sanity.

Gadgets add a facade

So relations are hard

Have a good week!

Judy