The October meeting

 The October meeting was at Phyll and Richards' lovely bungalow on Wed 28th .We had reached the letter R as our focus for the month's poems.The letter is loosely used; it can be the initial of the poet, in the title of the poem or in the theme of the work. Or we bring any piece we think the others might enjoy! As usual Phyll's 'staff ' served the coffee and bickies. Richard is such a 'treasure' ! ! David, Rosemary, Hazelle and I  shared all sorts for the delight of all.

  This month we meet there again, at 342 Woodlands Rd, Woodlands village, on Nov 25th, 10 till 12 noon.It will be our last meeting of the year. We will include poems with a Christmas flavour and any others with a strong element of S . Or not, if we fancy something else !

  We still welcome new members to try us for size. . .please 'phone Phyll on: 8029 2824.

myra metcalfe

Hanger Farm Poets' POETRY AFTERNOON

5 U3A members plus a local poet gave a happy performance to an enthusiastic audience.

David ranged from somnolent rural scenes to cheeky funny rhymes.

Pam read beautiful professinal works with her own about holidays and Wimbledon.

Hazelle chose 'The Glory of the Garden' and portrayed a naughty sleepy cat !

Michael gave us the seaside and very funny rules of cricket.

Sylvia read her childhood memories and conjured the sights, sounds and smells of our Steam Rally.

I did Pam Ayres' wicked 'Take me back to Old Littlehampton' and read about a tram ride at Seaton.

Just a few samples of the 50 very varied poems we offered singly, in duos, quartets or all together.

Cool elderflower cordial came with the tea and bickies on such a sunny afternoon ; flowers on the tables matched my poems.

Our thanks to Mike Adams for bringing his fine lectern.

An enjoyable time was had by all 14 of us !

.The subject of poems including O in the title or subject will be held over till July 29th  AT PHYLL AND RICHARD BARRETTS' HOUSE , 342 Woodlands RD, 10 till 12 noon.

April Meeting

Six members came along to recite, listen to and discuss some 22 poems with a wide variety of subjects and types of poems.

Curiously cats featured several times in gloriously funny verse such as 'Calling the Cat' by Elizabeth Coates, 'Cats' by Eleanor Farjeon and 'The Singing Cat' by Stevie Smith.

More sombre and serious contributions included 'Since There's No Help' by Michael Drayton which had the feel of an obituary, 'From a Distance' by Julie Gold, a WW1 poem of sadness and Oliver Goldsmith's tragedy 'The Deserted Village'.

But we also heard the cynical such as 'They Ask Why' by Maya Angelou dealing with 'womens' work' and the life of a kichen skivvy in Fiona Farrell's 'Charlotte O'Neal'.

These were balanced the beauties of Nature in 'Secrets of the Night' by Brian H. Gent and 'Colour Me Free' by Alex Forbes.

A significant part of this very enjoyable session was the diversity of the poems.

The next gathering is on 28th May at 10am. 

David Butcher.  

February gathering 2014

It was a full house at the February gathering, with some quite delightful poems recited, some humorous (Tom Cat), some topical (the recent storms with 'To the Fallen Trees, etc), and some with a dual message of sincerity and satire.

A wide variety of poets were read (Auden, Townsend, Goldsmith, DH Lawrence, Clare) and this gathering was also spendidly entertained by a live performance by Patrick who brought his guitar along and sang superbly several Irish folk songs including McGinty's Pig, adding a real atmosphere to the proceedings.

In all, a very, very successful meeting enjoyed by everyone present. 

David

May Meeting

The May gathering of the group had 6 members enjoying a very wide variety of subjects.

The theme was an 'Open' one so members could recite any poem on any theme.

This produced a fascinating and interesting mix of some 20 poems, that included thought provoking poems such as I Remember by Bill Thomson and Diary of a Church Mouse by John Betjeman.

Or the humourous lines from Pam Ayres (The Hair Curlers and After the Jubilee) and Mad Dogs and Englishmen by Noel Coward, or The Mystery Cat by T S Elliott to the dark, sombre The Lake by Edgar Allan Poe.

All agreed it was the diversity that made this session so enjoyable

John Betjeman "Diary of a Church Mouse"
Diary of a Church Mouse
 Here among long-discarded cassocks,
Damp stools, and half-split open hassocks,
Here where the vicar never looks
I nibble through old service books.
Lean and alone I spend my days
Behind this Church of England baize.
I share my dark forgotten room
With two oil-lamps and half a broom.
The cleaner never bothers me,
So here I eat my frugal tea.
My bread is sawdust mixed with straw;
My jam is polish for the floor.
Christmas and Easter may be feasts
For congregations and for priests,
And so may Whitsun. All the same,
They do not fill my meagre frame.
For me the only feast at all
Is Autumn's Harvest Festival,
When I can satisfy my want
With ears of corn around the font.
I climb the eagle's brazen head
To burrow through a loaf of bread.
I scramble up the pulpit stair
And gnaw the marrows hanging there.
It is enjoyable to taste
These items ere they go to waste,
But how annoying when one finds
That other mice with pagan minds
Come into church my food to share
Who have no proper business there.
Two field mice who have no desire
To be baptized, invade the choir.
A large and most unfriendly rat
Comes in to see what we are at.
He says he thinks there is no God
And yet he comes ... it's rather odd.
This year he stole a sheaf of wheat
(It screened our special preacher's seat),
And prosperous mice from fields away
Come in to hear our organ play,
And under cover of its notes
Ate through the altar's sheaf of oats.
A Low Church mouse, who thinks that I
Am too papistical, and High,
Yet somehow doesn't think it wrong
To munch through Harvest Evensong,
While I, who starve the whole year through,
Must share my food with rodents who
Except at this time of the year
Not once inside the church appear.
Within the human world I know
Such goings-on could not be so,
For human beings only do
What their religion tells them to.
They read the Bible every day
And always, night and morning, pray,
And just like me, the good church mouse,
Worship each week in God's own house,
But all the same it's strange to me
How very full the church can be
With people I don't see at all
Except at Harvest Festival. -- John Betjeman

April Meeting

The theme for the gathering of some 8 poets was Famous People or Places. The recitations covered a very wide lsit of subjects from King James to a famous church that didn't exist, from Winchester College to a past U3A walk, from  Stonehenge to a Palace. It also included several historical characters through the centuries. A most enjoyable and diverse session.

The topic for the May gathering is an Open one, any subject any poet or self written.

Dave B.