Hello Tony, welcome back. Perhaps we can tempt you to resume the music quiz. It was an entertaining feature that most people, including myself, enjoyed. Congratulations on the pick for your very descriptive poem on sleep deprivation
Best, Luigi
Hi Luigi. Good to reconnect. Thanks for reading and commenting this poor old insomniac. I see a few of the old gang have featured lately; hopefully more to come. Yeah, re-establishing the music quiz would be great but I’m not sure how to set it up, technical tyro that I am. Perhaps Steve will reappear out of the wilderness one day to join in. Anyway, I’ll get back into the swing of reading and commenting in the new year.
Happy X’mas.
Did she read your tealeaves, Luigi, in the ‘varicoloured caravan’? I think it is only cockney rhyming slang, not a historical person? Gypsy Rose Lee was an Americal stripper I’ve been told… never seen her….. Your usual skilled rhyme, liked the humour, and the picture. No, to keep a sensual, wayward soul, you have to join the travelling folk.
Best, Trevor
The cockney slang reminds us of the Romany gypsies and their nomadic life and can be an inspiration to embroider a fictional tale of a beautiful Gitane whose name may be Rosie but not necessarily Lee, like the burlesque entertainer.
Well said, and you’re right Luigi, things happen in Nature, irrespecive of science trying to explain them, not only for simply understanding why and how, but in order to help counteract individual suffering and persecution due to non-factual ignorance (e.g. Alan Turing). With Freud’s hypothesis being proven as true, and accepted as such by society at large, including religion, then the biological variations in the compulsions to love and be loved in order to remain mentally healthy would be seen to be, not morally, which has no part in it, but biologically justified, that sexual disposition is not a matter of free choice, even while, in one particular case, it would still require legal control. The young and non-consenting need to be protected irrespecive of explanation?
An Interesting and informative poem, Trevor. I have read that Ophiuchus people are seekers of wisdom and knowledge. Also that the serpent associated with the 13th zodiac is symbolic of healing and the sign used to represent the medical profession.
I enjoyed it.
Best, Luigi.
Yes, different sites have different descriptions, Luigi. The medical profession is full of begrudging people, it’s the hierarchical system! With this 13th zodiac sign included, which many think would be justified, the zodiac periods would of course be shorter causing me, for example to leave Libra and become a Virgo, hardly believable! Haha!
Thanks for your comments, Trevor
I too remember Claire Nixon. She was also involved with Gold Dust magazine (which has now ceased publication) and, if I remember well, had a website on which she hosted work by other UKA authors but can’t recall any of mine reaching that page.
Nice to be reminded of the good old days.
Cheers, Luigi.
December diary insert put back by author:
I don’t think we’re doing Richard any favours here by not making an effort to start afresh, assuming he as well still wants the site to succeed, especially if helped financially? One can only actively contribute and comment on work that personally appeals in this newly-liberated, main section, the functional heart of the site, and hope it picks up again after months of neglect.
During the last year or so, the site continued to stagnate even while free from repelling negative activity, even while being friendly and sufficiently inclusive. Grateful comment takers who do not make any comments themselves will always reduce the gregariousness of the site to some degree, so hopefully not many fall in that category? Also, the site may be too difficult to use for some?
Forum discussions ad nauseum on why the site is failing, by mainly non-work contributing members, is just flogging the site to death? And, incidentally, my simple seasonal goodwill greetings in the relevant forum section posted last week has not been published due to ‘under moderation’.
It shows what an important and essential part Andrea played in maintaining site dynamics, being objective, flexible, and tolerant, and catering to all participants equally, maintaining the flow and interest, by keeping any moderating interventions down to a near invisible minimum. The site desperately needs this type of quality mainstay person again! A rare type of both literary and social engagement.
Today, the trend is towards running your own limited showcase site as some members have now done. My daughter, who is a web designer based in London, set up such a personalised site for me some time ago to activate when time allows, so if this site goes down, that’s where I’ll go. Showcasing work supplies the incentive to make the considerable effort to write, it’s therapeutic, and also, in my case, keeps the rust off my first language.
This eulogy will always carry the freshness of sentiment, being written from the heart, Jay, always serve it’s personal purpose. Thanks for posting! (Typo: ‘here’ should be ‘hear’).
Best, Trevor
Luckily I’m not a regular insomniac, but I do recognise, and have on occasion suffered, the descriptions in this, to me, excellent poem, Tony. A great read.
I do hope you’ve adapted to your new situation, and all is well with you. Enjoying summertime now too?
Best, Trevor
Hi Trevor. Thanks for reading and commenting. This one too close to home; I’m a shocking insomniac and refuse to take sleeping pills! As for summertime, it’s ben p****** down here for the last month. I’ll get around to reading your stuff soon now That I’ve reconnected to the site.
Cheers and happy X’mas.
Good to read your work again, Aurelio! I don’t think you’ll mind if I briefly go off post and tell others the strange story of how I quite by chance met you in person, after having read your work on here over twenty years. A neighbour of mine said he had a friend who was having trouble with his ‘Mac Pro’ and could I help. I cycled a coupe of times to you on the other ‘bohemian’ side of town, did the necessary repairs incl. to the software to get you up and running again (even if you still insist on keeping some old corrupted programmes, which still spook occasionally!) and it was only while you were trying your work to test the computer, that I eventually realised you were/are Aurelio! Very much a ‘small world’ phenomenon! I can also tell members on here that you are a very accomplished pianist, which can be seen here on YouTube.
My excuse: “I just compiled a small set of recordings made about 1988-91 at home, not very professional, you’ll probably recognize most of the pieces – I had a different grand piano then, that later was scrapped.
I can’t play like this any more, since unfortunately by age I have lost all precision, but the recordings could be of historical interest. I almost forgot to include the last two pieces (by Chopin and Beethoven), why they landed last.”
Forbear: not very professional, but honest though.
Cheers!
Interesting to read these short interviews with familiar names, Jay, of which most, as I remember were predominantly prose writers, with the exception of Michael (Shackleton) and Jolen, who continued on site until recently? As I recall, both Andrea and Sunken did similar interviews didn’t they, Andrea’s often with current well-established off-site writers, and the munkey in his own unique style mixed with his usual witty humour?
At 25, you must have been one of the youngest on site, which means I fear, a great many of the site originals are no longer with us. For me, the twenty-two years since the Millennium seem to have passed so quickly, and knowing that UKA started after that date seems strange to contemplate too? But I suppose it all depends on what stage of life oneself was at. I came here, when that great site BBC Poetry Corner was taken off, as did some fellow members incl. Shackleton, Kat, Elfstone, Bradene, and many others who unlike those four only continued for a short time. I remember you as James Hazlehurst (I had an aunt who married a ‘Hazlehurst’, who was a relation of a BBC music producer with that name, I believe). Thanks for posting, brought back many memories!
Regards, Trevor
I was one of the youngest. I know Linear who I interviewed was also my age, he may have been a year or two younger, but I probably was one of the young ones back then. Not anymore of course. Although i don’t feel any older in my head even if my knees and back disagree with that idea. I did write loads before I joined UKA but I did it all by myself at home and kept it all stuffed in a box underneath my bed. No one ever saw it and most of it has been lost. I have been able to keep most things backed up at home since the early 2000s on hard drives. I keep all of my writing now, even the bad stuff, because I always think one day I could dust it off and try again. I’ve got lots of bad stuff to go through and the pile has only ever gotten bigger. The job of going through it all might be a project for retirement if fate allows such a luxury to me. The BBC music producer you speak of is no relation to me, but I have been known to pretend he’s my uncle at parties in my youth. What a wit I used to be aye 🙂
Thanks for reading and commenting. I hope you enjoyed the interviews.
From ionicus on INSOMNIAC
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From Gothicman on Rosie
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From Gothicman on #2 - Perfect 10
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