Poem 42 of 230: IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON IN 1997
(TUNE - IN THE KEY OF G MAJOR:
E2 F#3 G1 G1 A3 G2 F#2 F#3
E2 F#1 F#1 F#1-G3 F#2 E2 E3
E2 G1 G1 G3 A2 A3 G1 G3
E2 F#1 F#1 F#1-G3 F#2 E2 E3)
Cabs all uniform in their shape.
Good galleries make one gape.
Hard-going people on the move -
Things matter much in this groove.
About the weather lots of moans.
Solicits stuck on pay-phones.
Summer weather - not bad, I’ve felt.
Lads giving a ball a belt.
Real estate is worth so much -
Tenants’ rent sky-high, as such;
Nice stocky buildings all around -
Will some have to hit the ground?
Cheek to jowl: council flats needed -
Stock by demand exceeded;
Building higher seems only way -
Unless less arrive to stay...
Beaut. looking girls from many lands -
Grace gone for capital plans;
Polite folks, from many cultures,
Do become money vultures.
Veiled women in platform shoes.
High-street beggars in the blues.
Privacy here costs so much -
Partnerships suffer, as such.
See movies and shows from way back;
Of good music there’s no lack;
All-day breakfasts at the good pubs;
An abundance of nightclubs.
Green groomed parklands: the best I’ve seen -
Their gardens kept neat and clean.
Geraniums in flowerpots,
On facades, make pleasing spots.
Floating pubs on the River Thames,
And its bridges - real gems;
Both ways, here, the water goes -
Still in range of tidal-flows.
Children, at park lakes, feed the ducks,
Or watch squirrels take some nuts.
Into ponds, weeping willows sag.
Sharp attacks on those who lag.
(C) David Franks 2003
Hear here - http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=28451
(TUNE - IN THE KEY OF G MAJOR:
E2 F#3 G1 G1 A3 G2 F#2 F#3
E2 F#1 F#1 F#1-G3 F#2 E2 E3
E2 G1 G1 G3 A2 A3 G1 G3
E2 F#1 F#1 F#1-G3 F#2 E2 E3)
Cabs all uniform in their shape.
Good galleries make one gape.
Hard-going people on the move -
Things matter much in this groove.
About the weather lots of moans.
Solicits stuck on pay-phones.
Summer weather - not bad, I’ve felt.
Lads giving a ball a belt.
Real estate is worth so much -
Tenants’ rent sky-high, as such;
Nice stocky buildings all around -
Will some have to hit the ground?
Cheek to jowl: council flats needed -
Stock by demand exceeded;
Building higher seems only way -
Unless less arrive to stay...
Beaut. looking girls from many lands -
Grace gone for capital plans;
Polite folks, from many cultures,
Do become money vultures.
Veiled women in platform shoes.
High-street beggars in the blues.
Privacy here costs so much -
Partnerships suffer, as such.
See movies and shows from way back;
Of good music there’s no lack;
All-day breakfasts at the good pubs;
An abundance of nightclubs.
Green groomed parklands: the best I’ve seen -
Their gardens kept neat and clean.
Geraniums in flowerpots,
On facades, make pleasing spots.
Floating pubs on the River Thames,
And its bridges - real gems;
Both ways, here, the water goes -
Still in range of tidal-flows.
Children, at park lakes, feed the ducks,
Or watch squirrels take some nuts.
Into ponds, weeping willows sag.
Sharp attacks on those who lag.
(C) David Franks 2003
Hear here - http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=28451
 |
| Buckingham Palace (or Public Hospital?), passed by some of London's cabs; 18/6/15 |
 |
| National Portrait Gallery; 26/6/15 |
 |
| 'Lads giving a ball a belt,' Kensington Gardens; 13/7/14 - actually FIFA World Cup final day! |
 |
| The Palace of Westminster's Big Ben clock, and "nice stocky" Portcullis House; 12/6/15 |
 |
| The Westminster Abbey facade, & Saint Paul's dome; June 2015 |
 |
| Old War Office Building, Whitehall; 8/6/15 |
 |
| To see a movie - Leicester Square; 19/2/16 |
 |
| To see a show - Shakespeare's Globe; 14/7/15 |
 |
| 1 of London's good pubs, Bayswater; 2/8/14 |
 |
| Hampton Court's 'green groomed parklands,' on a visit to the famous flower show; 3/7/15 |
 |
| Well groomed Wimbledon; 23/6/14 |
 |
| 'Geraniums in flower pots, on facades,' near B.T. Tower, Fitzrovia; 19/5/2014 |
 |
| Themes & Tower Bridge; 15/9/14 |
 |
| William Wordsworth's poem 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge'; 12/6/2015 |
 |
| Swans, geese & ducks in the Round Pond, within Kensington Gardens; 13/7/2014 |
 |
| 'Weeping willows' & a Grey Heron hunting at Regent's Park; 19/5/14 |
The above pics are closely linked to the lyrics; below is a more-random selection of my London favourites...
 |
| Minding the Northern Line gap! 6/6/2016 |
 |
| Big buoy! Thames from Rotherhithe; 12/6/16 |
 |
| With a view, Surrey Quays; 10/6/16 |
 |
| Wonderful windows at Saint Martin-in- the-Fields, Trafalgar Square; 30/5/2016 |
 |
| Primrose Hill view of London; 23/5/2016 |
 |
| Nice verdant trees trackside at Hampstead Heath; 16/5/2016 |
 |
| Highgate Men's (& ducks!) Bathing Pond - a popular pic on Google Maps; 16/5/2016 |
 |
| Gherkin, Cheese Grater, Walkie-Talkie, Saint Paul's, & Shard, from Parliament Hill; 16/5/16 |
 |
| Shard's view - including its shadow; 4/5/16 |
 |
| Harrods - should it be nationalised? 10/5/16 |
 |
| Hollow Pond, Epping Forest; 20/5/2016 |
 |
| Taken from Cross Rail's roof-top garden, Canary Wharf; 13/7/2016 |
 |
| Popular evening view of Canary Wharf and The Dome, from Greenwich Park; 12/8/16 |
 |
| National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; 12/8/16 |
 |
| The Painted Hall, Greenwich; 12/8/2016 |
 |
| The Cutty Sark, Greenwich; 12/8/2016 |
 |
| Well-lit Natural History Museum Ice Rink & surrounds, South Kensington; 29/12/16 |
 |
| Saint Paul's from Millennium Bridge; 14/7/15 |
 |
| The British Library, Boston Spa; 15/6/2015 |
 |
| Very London: red phone box, Big Ben; 12/6/15 |
Location on Google Maps (new tab)
