You fed me with a spoon that day,
For the first time. A tear in your eye,
Delight at that memorable milestone,
And all those yet to come –
Such as learning to talk and handle a fork.
Then, I’d make that walk to school and see
My world open up in the blink of an eye.
All guided by you, my loving mum.
…
Politicians know how to duck and weave,
Which is how we got to Remain or Leave.
Brexit – our time to ‘take back control’,
Solve all our problems with one simple poll.
…
A morning drive in the Maasai Mara. Hard to beat. Yet more wonderful sightings of animals enjoying life in the wild. For most of our time in the Mara we’d been pretty much on our own; just us 4 friends in a jeep with an excellent spotter and guide. Finding us regular sightings. Sometimes even on request. Another leopard, please. No problem.
This day there were a few more jeeps about. Some were rushing along at speed, all going in the same direction. Probably to see a kill. That sense of excitement. Check camera settings ready for action.
It all looks so different today,
that smoking charcoal block,
now pale, swathed in creamy
covers rippling in the breeze.
At the top, the banner of green:
Grenfell Forever in Our Hearts.
The words descend in silence,
stirring memories of that night.
…
People sometimes ask me where they should go to view wildlife. That rather depends on what they want to see! Most of us think of the Big 5 and that’s certainly a great place to start. Many different destinations in Africa tick that box. But what next? In the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to see orangutans in Borneo, lemurs in Madagascar, bears in Canada and those truly amazing polar bears (and walruses) up in the Arctic. So, how would a trip to the Brazilian Pantanal stack up? Would we see jaguars? 
Sally was the second to be born. Her beautiful sister, Sam, emerged on time, perfect in every respect. Sally’s journey was harder, she arrived all battered and bruised. Sally was very large and, it’s true to say, very ugly. People tended to smile at Sam and sigh at Sally.
I’ve recently been to an animal sanctuary in Thailand and a family outing to Dudley Zoo. Comparing the two experiences has been fascinating and once more made me ask what zoos are for.
May made a snap call for Polling Day,
time to mark man’s hard won right,
women’s even longer fight, for that
fiction called Democracy. Cast away!
Candidates call from opposite sides:
Strong and Stable, Fairness for All.
Empty promises, sit on fences,
fiddle expenses. Brexiteers collide.
We’d rather vote for TV stars,
sports personalities, latest evictions,
B list celebs (ignore their convictions).
So we got Trump and risk a war.
…
Here: morning rush hour, stand still,
bands of lorries, cars, vans,
red lines, yellow lines, white lines,
zebra crossing.
I’d never seen a bear in the wild before, then all in one summer I saw three different types: Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears and Black Bears. Mind you, being in the right country did help.