Wonderful Poems from Hallsville School

On Friday I was privileged to pay my first visit as Patron of Reading to Hallsville School in Newham, London. The visit was the first of six scheduled for the 2018/19 academic year, and I had the pleasure of working with Years 5 and 6. I am excited to share some poems that emerged from my workshops. All the workshop participants should be extremely proud of themselves!

You by Layla

You are my swimming pool

Keeping me relaxed and calm

You are my house

Keeping me safe and sound

You are my Turkish food

Keeping me healthy and full

You are my rollercoaster

Keeping me happy and joyful

You are my TV

Keeping me interested and amused

Memories by Jayden

I sit on the plaster

Waiting to matter

As everyone starts

To chatter

I wish they knew

How I felt

As I waited for him

He was holding

His scooter handle

I wanted him

To blow out

My fire

He kept looking

At his computer

Until he puffed

And he huffed

And finally

My flame went

Away

Colours by Clara

Lavender purple describes me

Purple is a galaxy in the sky

It is a unicorn

Peaceful but cheeky

Lavender purple is a cupcake

It is a colour everyone would choose

It is as cute as a newborn baby

Purple is a heart no one can break

It is a colour you

Don’t see everywhere

Purple is a mix of blue and pink

Great in every single way

Because it is amazing

Like me

Colours by Raquelle

Black describes me

It is empty but full of emotion

It is the friend that is always there

It is the dark next to the light

Black describes me

It is the silent assassin of the night

The stranger to the morning

And the strange quiet that is usually there

Black describes me

It will always calm you down

In daylight or in the night

Black describes me

It likes isolation but hates being alone

It is the thing to take away your worries

And send you off

To a journey of sleep

Black describes me

FREE STORY #3 - THE GREAT PET AUDITION

This is the third instalment of free stories on my blog that assorted agents and publishers have deemed not worthy of publication. I am proud of them, so am happy to share them on this blog. Enjoy this one, entitle 'The Great Pet Audition'


For my sister’s birthday she wanted a pet – 
“I want a dog!” she claimed.
So she held an audition to see who to get
and the neighbourhood dogs all came. 

“You’re lively and fun,” Sis said to Dog One,
“your task is to run round those trees!”
But doggie was twitching, he couldn’t stop itching
because it turned out he had flees!

“Now sit in this shoe!” Sis said to Dog Two
who was sweet and remarkably small,
but doggie went hiding, and Sis couldn’t find him
anywhere at all!

“Now you lick my knee!” Sis said to Dog Three
and she laughed as he started to drool,
but doggie kept nibbling, he wouldn’t stop dribbling
and slurping away like a fool. 

“Now show me your jaw,” Sis said to Dog Four – 
“I’m after a powerful beast!”
The dog cocked his head, then went for her ted
and he turned the toy into a feast!

“Now fetch me this stick!” Sis said to Dog Six
and she threw the stick up in the air.
The dog made a dash, and then with a crash
the dog leapt straight into a chair!

“Nine, Seven and Eight – leap over that gate!”
Sis said to a trio of hounds.
They huffed and they wheezed, they puffed and they squeezed
but they couldn’t get up off the ground.

Now Dog Number Ten was last, but when
my sister told doggie to wait,
with one single bound he jumped up off the ground
and he bolted straight over the gate...

...Leaping up in the air he pranced over the chair
and he glided with purpose and ease.
With his powerful jaw, zipping like an outlaw
he darted his way round the trees...

My sister ran after with gales of laughter
and screamed “you’re the pet that I’ll choose!
You’re clearly the best!
You bet all the rest!
STOP RUNNING!”
...but doggie refused...

...He yapped and he growled, he snapped and he howled
and he shot down the pavement with glee,
‘til he found what he’d sought, and he stopped with a snort
and he barked at the foot of a tree. 

And Sis was astounded. “At last! I have found it!
She clambered up into the tree.
“I know who to get! I’ve found the right pet!
A CAT is the creature for me!”

sausages. 

Spaghetti Betty and the Spag-Bol Troll - FREE STORY

Several years ago I wrote a series of what I hoped would become rhyming picture book texts. They went through some edits at a major publisher, but they were not taken on. They have been hawked around various agents and publishers, but nobody wants to publish them. No matter! They are not doing much good festering away on some computer file, so I thought I would make them available on this blog for people to enjoy/ignore at will. Here is the first story, entitled SPAGHETTI BETTY AND THE SPAG-BOL TROLL. Lemme know what you think!....


There was a beast named Big Bad Betty
who really, really loathed spaghetti. 
If she saw some on a plate
she’d give a look of fearsome hate
and bellow with an angry howl:
“THAT IS NASTY! THAT IS FOUL!
GET THAT PLATE AWAY FROM ME!”
She couldn’t stand the stuff, you see.

The villagers, they loved spaghetti
but they were scared of Big Bad Betty.
They built a big room underground
where their stash would not be found.
They stacked it high upon the shelves
with help from their spaghetti elves
and locked the big door with a clink. 
But Betty said “what do they think?
Do they think I have no brain?
They’re hiding spaghetti yet again!”

So with her only friend, the Troll, 
she grabbed a spade and dug a hole.
By the light of the shining moon
they tunnelled down and reached the room
with the huge spaghetti stores,
and they destroyed it with their claws. 

When next the villagers wanted tea
they went to fetch their spaghetti
and found it torn upon the ground.
A better plan had to be found!
Then Harold had a bright idea:
“We don’t have anything to fear!
Let’s have Betty round for tea!
I promise it’ll work! You’ll see!”

So for Betty’s evening meal
the villagers prepared some veal,
and beef and pork and lamb and frog
and octopus and crow and dog.
They made a dusting of gnats and germs,
sprinkled it on a plate of worms
and invited Betty round to eat
from a tray of tasty treats. 

And Betty growled, “they know, the fools
that I am smarter than them all!
That’s why they’ve invited me
to sit and have a champion’s tea!”
So with her only friend, the Troll,

she went to eat the great big bows
of animals, and gnats and germs.
And her favourite dish – the plate of worms!
She ate the lot, she sucked and slurped
then settled down to eat dessert.
She licked her big bad lips with glee:
What have they prepared for me?

Then Harold coughed and cleared his throat
and served her up a little note:

“Those weren’t gnats, they were confetti!
And those weren’t worms, they were 
SPAGHETTI!”

At first Betty was very cross:
“How could they trick me? I’m the boss!”
But then she thought, “I love my meat,
and now I’ve found another treat.”

So every year, on that same date
the villagers prepare a plate
of oozing, slimy, slick spaghetti
and share it with ‘SPAGHETTI BETTY’.

And Betty loves her nice new name.
She thought the Troll should have the same,
so now when she sits down to eat
a plate of spaghetti with meat,
she always prepares a nice big bowl
for one of many  friends –
‘THE SPAG-BOL TROLL'