And poems

Soon after the first lockfown, inspired by Stanley Tucci (click here), I started filming drinks recipes (click here) for friends who missed our usual walking and canoe trips. Sometimes I added a poem. At the end of each week we zoomed, grumbled and had a cocktail.

One (click here) managed a hundred views, mainly because The Philip Larkin Society noticed it. The first verse of Sympathy in White Major is the best poem ever written about a gin & tonic. It may be the only poem written about a gin & tonic! The rest sank without trace.

Only one, the alcohol-free Nogroni (click here), deserves to be watched again, and that because my grand-daughter stole the show.

Last week, when Ukraine was invaded, I tried my hand at a Volodymyr Zelensky (click here) in honour of their brave president. Intending to be humorous, I ended on a serious note and choked up. Too lazy for a retake, it’s already had over a thousand views. A lot for me.

Yesterday The Dirty Ukranian (click here). The 5:1 ratio reminds us of Ukraine’s numeric disadvantage, and the salty pickle how bravery, morale and leadership will more than make up for it. The crocuses & daffodils supported, Tania filmed and Susie toasted. I forgot to read Auden’s poem on the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Za nas, za vas, i za Donbas!

August 1968

The Ogre does what ogres can,
Deeds quite impossible for Man,
But one prize is beyond his reach:
The Ogre cannot master Speech.

About a subjugated plain,
Among its desperate and slain,
The Ogre stalks with hands on hips,
While drivel gushes from his lips.

W.H.Auden