Warm Croydon Cheer

Warm Croydon Cheer

A cosy nest of creativity
We have woven here with
Our threads of fairylights
And friendly connections.
Glittering here in the midwinter gloaming
We share our lights and
Sparks of inspiration
In the glow of good company.
A flare of jubilant jazz
Shoots up into the Solstice sky
Scattering cascades of harmonies
Into the ears of dancing children,
Tiny dogs and adults who still
Believe in magic.
We offer up our songs
Our visions, our imaginings
With mindfulness of those
Left hungry by society's
Injustice in these cold days.
We dance, we drink and soak up
The atmosphere of eclectic celebration
Blessed by the gifts of
Warm Croydon Cheer.

Written at and for Cronx Midwinter Jam at the Oval Tavern 22nd December 2017

I light a candle

I light a candle

as a warm welcome for a friend, 

and to see them safely home.

I light a candle

For those who flickered and flew away 

Into the dark night sky

I light a candle 

And offer up my love, my hopes

My remembrance

I light a candle

To mark the passing through

The gateway of a another year

I light a candle 

To draw a ring around time

And mark a special moment

I light a candle

To welcome the new day

And see out the long night

I light a candle

To bring a little lightness

To a dark corner

I light a candle

To sprinkle a little magic

On lifes mundanity

I light a candle

When the power supply fails

And life seems in dissarray

I light a candle

To perfume an intimate moment

And scent a room with romance

I light a candle

As a simple act of solace

To focus on a heartfelt intent

I light a candle

Aware that across creed, class & culture

We all light candles to see our way by

#CreativeSprint 30 & 31 - Closing & Learning

Creative Sprint Day 30 - A trophy of celebration

Autumn leaf fanfare of gratitude for this month's CreativeSprint and all my co-sprinters around the world - thank you everyone! 




Creative Sprint Day 31 - Learning

I learned that I am missing songwriting and need to make more time for it again - so I am going to do a Song A Day Challenge in November  - ie play or write a new /existing song for at least 10 minutes everyday!

#CreativeSprint Day 29 - Take a Walk on the Scary Side

#CreativeSprint Day 29 - Revisions - Take a Walk on the Scary Side

Revision of Day 13 - Spooky Friday 13th revisited from the perspective of Samhain

Take a walk on the scary side 
To grow the inner lion louder
And vanquish self limiting jabber
That yabbers nasty nonsense

Take a walk on the scary side
To activate and adrenalise
The life force that moves mountains
And roars with creative liberation

Take a walk on the scary side
To redeem the truth of dreams
Left lingering in corners of hope
Still longing to sing

Take a walk on the scary side
To ease the coursing flow
Of life purpose through veins of
Joy, wonder and delight

Take a walk on the scary side
To find freedom beyond the borders
Boundaries, picket fences and lines
Of the old stories of oppression

Take a walk on the scary side
To invoke the mastery of magic
Summonsed from inner resources
That rise to meet a challenge

Take a walk on the scary side
And the curious child spontaneously
Awakens to imaginative play
In the intriguing shadows

Take a walk on the scary side
Remember those that walked before
And left their paths and flickering lights
To guide our way home.

Creative Sprint Days 26, 27, 28

Day 26 - Recipe For Happiness




Day 27- What's in Your Head
Getting ready for In The Jungle performance with Croydon Composers



Day 28 - Do something you've never done before
I visited Sydenham Wells Park for the first time

CreativeSprint Day 25 - Homage to Another Sprinter - Plant A Door

CreativeSprint Day 25 - Homage to Another Sprinter

I honour Kate McGee who first told me about Creative Sprint last year - this poem is inspired by her Plant a Door post

Plant a Door

Door - a place that hinges on the boundary 
Between one place and another
And opening and a closure
Protecting and welcoming
Those who pass through 
From one side to the other

A door is planted and we immediately
Imagine what could be behind it -
Do elves live behind this moss green door 
Nestled in the knarled face of tree bark?
How many letters cluster behind
The postbox door, awaiting delivery?

When a door appears we wonder
How we might approach it
Is Open Sesame the magic code
To conjure it open - or do we
Knock, call or ring the bell?
Or will it simply open with a push?

When a door is closed, we become
Outlaws, roaming free beyond
It's bounds, rebellious and wild. 
So we may plant an open door
Which makes wide the way to
Spaces of creative discovery.


Kate's Artwork and Post

Hello Sprinters. Open invitation from UK for you: doors of the world 🌍.

I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of days prompts and would like to morph them into a collaboration, if anyone is willing. I’ve made a blank plain doorframe that anyone can copy, customise and plant somewhere.

I’ve posted my last couple of prompt outputs to give you an idea of what I’ve been up to...

CreativeSprint Day 24 - #UnitedNationsDay

CreativeSprint Day 24  - UnitedNationsDay
I am always inspired by singing songs from South Africa 

aeee--- 
I hear them -
Songs of another world 
In this world -
Floating on the breeze.

I hear them 
And I try to go meet them
To dance with them
To harmonise gently 
And ululate joyfully.

I imagine the warmth of their
Patch of warmer earth
Under their warmed feet
And I feel our shared earth
Under mine.

I want to honour them
To sing friendship to them
To meet them in the otherworld
Of song where we are no longer
Other to one another.

CreativeSprint Day 23 - Listen Up

CreativeSprint Day 23 - Listen Up 
The sound that inspired me today and many other days in my life - the sound of people singing together in choir

I hear the sound of hearts stirring
Rising on waves of breath to touch each other
I hear the sound of minds meeting
Merging their thoughts in lines of lyrics
I hear the sound of bodies moving
As feet, hands, bellies fall into shared time
I hear the sound of the moment passing
As we mark the beats of our precious life in music

#CreativeSprint Day 22 - The Spam Box

In the Spam Box
Lives a multitude of fatty toxicity
Porky pies live here and multiply
And pinky pigs with curly tails fly
Across the virtual internet skies
With pumped up promises
Of immediate cash donations,
Death-defying beauty
And never-failing hard-ons.

Here in the Spam box
Forever friends come with
A Western Union pricetag,
Sexy chat can be yours for
A dollar a minute 
And casino wheels spin
To the racket of rampant
Consumer dreams coming
To a sticky, happy end.

We keep this grotesque parade
Safely tinned and filtered,
But just one crack in the box
And K-Y jellied innards
Start oozing slippery seduction -
Emoticons wink, stars flash, 
Hashtags blare the slogans 
Of an insane shopping world 
Fat on the belief that 
Anyone and anything 
Can be bought, bargained 
And boxed into Spam.

CreativeSprint Day 21 - Inspiring Story - Compassionate Neighbours

#CreativeSprint Day 21 - Inspiring Story - Compassionate Neighbours

I spent the day at the launch of Compassionate Neighbours in South East London which involved hearing people's stories of what a good neighbour is and how it feels to be compassionate.

An open hand
A naked hello
A warm heart 
Reaching across social divides
Crossing the lines demarcating
A lonely world

From behind closed doors,
Amidst the crowded bus
Or across the fence
A friendly face appears
With warmth, understanding
Food to share.

Invisible spaces 
Become neighbourly places
Full of gentle eyes
Observing both privacy
And connection between
Our intersecting worlds.

CreativeSprint Day 20 - The Space In Between

The space in between
.... you and I 
May collapse or widen
Depending on the wander
Of these words

You may draw closer or retreat
According to the warp and weft
Of word play 
That spins in the space
Between us

We may warm this space
With a connecting word,
Shatter it with a cold insult
Or both become cool castaways
Unmoved, unstirred in any way.

This is the space
A word can reach across
The space in which
You and I
Could become Us




Image Source - http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Caydeb/Space

#CreativeSprint Day 18 & 19 - Everyday Object & Light Source

A tissue becomes a rose...

 

Paper Lantern

#CreativeSprint Day 16 - World Dictionary Day - Polychaete

#CreativeSprint Day 16 - World Dictionary Day - Polychaete

I opened the dictionary 
And there it was 
Bristling amongst the poly- section
With many other multiple friends
Poly-carpellary, Poly-chroite
But it was definitely a Poly-chaete
I spotted wriggling it's way
Out of my granny's dictionary.
Luminescent rings glowing
Through bristly parapodia extensions,
This annelid anomaly has introduced 
Me to an underwater world of words
I never knew existed.

#CreativeSprint 15 - Nature Walk

#CreativeSprint 15 Nature Walk

Collage from Wandsworth Common

#CreativeSprint 14 - Superhero

#CreativeSprint 14 - Superhero

This is Super Gong - flying around the planet gonging people into peace :)

#CreativeSprint Day 13 - Spooky Friday 13th

Eek!! 3 headed scary Katie Monster


 

#CreativeSprint Day 12 - Childhood Toy

#CreativeSprint Day 12 - Childhood Toy

Everybody needs a bear
A snuggly bear
A cuddly bear
To hold tight
Through young nights

Everybody needs a bear
A loving bear
Who is always there
With a silent embrace
When nightmares chase

Everybody needs a bear
Who can handle the wear
And toddler tear
Of being a comforter
And stand in mother 

Everybody needs a bear
A lovely bear
A caring bear
Who can administer faithful cuddles
When the world is a muddle




Thanks to Pooh Bear for companionship from early to later days :)

#CreativeSprint - Day 11 - Collaborative Poem for #DayofTheGirl

#CreativeSprint - Day 11 - Collaborative Poem for #DayofTheGirl
I invited everyone in the  Creative Sprint Facebook Group to collaborate a line to a poem 

To all the girls everywhere, this is your day - Katie Rose
From the North, West and South, East and all places between - KL McGhee
...to shine! - Yvonne Kettner
Your beauty, wisdom, tenderness, courage is embraced by those you share with along the way - Denise Doyle Esmeraldo
You have the power to change the world with what you do and what you say - Rose Richey
As Clouds gather and rain may fall, stand your ground every day - Mc Hugh Sally
Speak up! - Kristen Ann
The power you have within must be expressed, not suppressed, for your value is immense.... - Neita Sudberry
You shine like the brightest star - Lynne Parker Hivick
Never doubt that you are enough - Mia Moreland Mitchell
Again and again you will feel small. You are not. - Jensin Eddins
May you always hear the supportive voices, especially your own; believe in yourself and be kind to yourself. - Joanne Hurt
Stand up for yourself, you have the power to make your mark in this world x - Emma Evans
You are unique.
You are an original - Meera Rao
You are our future! - Dawn Payne
You were perfectly formed to be you. Always cherish that fact and celebrate all that you are. - Ronda King Petillo
The day of the girl beckons all that is within you to manifest itself in the world - Hollee Freeman
Girl, you are strong! 
Girl, you are smart!
Girl, you are! - Mim Golub Scalin

#CreativeSprint Day 10 - Public Art

#CreativeSprint Day 10 - Public Art - An Oak Leaf Wreath left for anyone to find

Creative Sprint #Day 9 World Post Day

Creative Sprint #Day 9 World Post Day

A Tribute to the Postal Service In Lyrics

Hey Mr Postman

Please read the letter I wrote in my sleep
With help and consultation from the angels of the deep

Dear darlin' please excuse my writing, 
I can't stop my hands from shaking

This is my rock and roll love letter to you
I'm gonna sign it, I'm gonna send it
I'm gonna mail it right away

Remember I'll always be true and then while I'm away
I'll write home everyday and I'll send all my loving to you

Like a bird that's flying homewards
It's that Air Mail Special on the fly

Oh wait, please wait Mr Postman
Is there a letter in your bag for me?

I'm gonna smile and say 'I hope you're feeling better'
And sign with love, the way you do
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
And make believe it came from you

And darling then I read again, right from the start
Love letters straight from your heart

Signed, sealed delivered I'm yours

PS I love you, you you you
As I write this letter send my love to you




Songs
Please read the letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Dear Darlin - Olly Murs
This is my rock n roll love letter to you - Bay City Rollers
Air Mail Special - David Grisman, John Hartford, Mike Seeger
All My Loving - The Beatles
Mr Postman - The Marvelettes
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter - Fats Waller
Love Letters - Ketty Lester
Signed Sealed Delivered I'm yours - Stevie Wonder
PS I Love You - the Beatles

Creative Sprint #Days 7 & 8

Day 7 - Sincerest form of flattery - a hasty but sincere homage to Monet's Lilies



Day 8 - Mirror Mirror - artwork from the bathroom cabinet - in nail varnish :)

#CreativeSprint Day 6 - Palindromes

Palindromes

These palindromes are causing pandemonium

Words are reversing backwards

And rotating forwards 

Gulping their tails like endless serpents

As meanings revolve back and forth 

Dammit I’m mad!

Goddam mad dog

Gods a dog!

Go deliver a dare, mad dog!

Mirror mirror in the scrawl

I can’t make sense of you at all! 

#CreativeSprint Day 5 - Homage to Teachers

Homage to Teachers

Blessed are the dream catchers

The people who stop dreams 

Slipping through uncertain fingertips

Or dissolving in a tide of ‘I can’ts’

Blessed are the 

​w​

hispers that ride

The crest of waves and the tickle

Of breezes with their intuitive promptings 

To remember and act upon our dreams

Blessed are the teachers in this kaleidoscopic life 

Found in everything and every being -

From the mad wisdom of a crazed sage

To the gurgle of a newborn baby

Blessed are the reminders we can learn to read - 

The moment to moment signals and pointers 

That teach us to stay still long enough

To listen to the call of our dreams

#CreativeSprint Day 4 - Plastic Fantastic

#CreativeSprint Day 3 - Odd Bedfellows

​

Odd Bedfellows

At the end of each extreme

There is a melting meeting point -

Evaporating Water in hot places  

Makes firey mist of elemental division.

So how would it be to de-polarise

The dualistically trained Western mind

And get out of the boxes and boundaries

Into a wider sense of being?

Not simply morse code marking 1-0

Mathematics would explode in multiple connections 

Humanity would welcome its vibrant diversity

In mesmerising spectrums of infinite capacity 

And then we two odd bedfellows

And so many like us 

Might better understand our interface

As love rather than warfare 

#CreativeSprint Day 2 - What's in a name? - Katherine

Katherine

She broke the wheel

And spun her way through

The debates of cruel men.

Her eloquence turned heads

Rotating the minds of scholars,

Royalty and pilgrims alike.

She commanded hearts

From her faith’s centre

And lost her head for love.

She broke the wheel,

Spokes of silence became

Spirals of singing light at her touch.

She broke the mould

And breaks cold November nights
With a crackle of sparkling lights.

For Catherine of Alexandria

#CreativeSprint1 - In the Palm of My Hand

Word Wander

Word Wander

In Celebration of National Poetry Day 2017

They wander, these words

Along the heart tracks of my feelings

As I unfold myself to you

They wander into your hearing

Magicking up meanings I never

Meant or imagined possible

They wander out into space

Like drunken stars sizzling

With combustible possibilities

They wander, leaving a trail

Of wonderful connections

And perilous divisions behind them.

They wander, leaving me wondering

What will happen next along

Their wild wordy way in the world

They wander, taking a little 

Of me with them and leaving

A little more of me behind

They wander off and I wonder

At the wonderful silence

They leave behind them....

Lily Love

Lily Love

I want to lounge on your satin petals

And stay there until I bleed into

The stain of your passionately

Purple floral trumpet mouth.

Regal fanfare of perfumed glory

Regale me with intoxicating scent

Lure me away from life’s madness

Into the profound joy of beauty.