May 31 On this day in 1669 English civil servant Samuel Pepys recorded his last diary entry. Due to poor eyesight, Pepys finally had to stop working on his famous diary. The diary covered about a decade of his life and is regarded as Britain's most celebrated diary.   The Last Word   A decade of faithfully recorded thoughts A life captured in a diary Rich in detail and scope Reached a premature ending When the writings of Samuel Pepys Hit a wall of darkness.   The final entry The last word Inked for posterity.   With eyesight failing And shadows advancing across the page His pen, he reluctantly laid to rest.   The writer found himself Out of sight Not out of mind. ©Alan j Wright

  May 30   Today, purr chance, is International Hug Your Cat Day! I don’t own a cat and I’m not likely to randomly pick up somone’s elses cat and give it a hug.  It is safe to say my personal history with cats is patchy at best. I'll leave it at that...  So, I’ll just share this poem about a cat named, Sir Fluffikins, who I assume received lots of hugs from his owner. Cat in the Window   Grandma’s cat Sir Fluffickins Sits on the windowsill Beside the floral curtains Like a statue ever still He stares at people On the street Slowly passing by And no one seems to notice His ever watchful eye So the cat sits by the curtains Curtains, faded by the sun He stares He purrs And gazes out Unseen by anyone. ©Alan j Wright

May 29 Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Today marks the 67th anniversary of the feat. They were the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest, and the first confirmed to have succeeded. The Top Of The Mountain They climbed to the top of the world The first to reach the summit Of Mount Everest A mountain named after Surveyor, George Everest A man who never saw it. Edmund Hillary Tenzig Norgay Finally succeeded in going the whole way To the peak. The ninth mountain expedition The first to reach the summit Hard to top that… ©Alan j Wright

  May 28  Today is apparently International Hamburger Day!  That's it... Sorry, I'm not participating in the fun in the bun day. At best, a very occasional 'food' for me. HAMBURGER HEATHEN It’s Hamburger day I’ll give it a miss I’m in no brioche To have one. Not one with lot Or a side serve of fries I don’t need cholesterol To be on the rise. Hamburgers Don’t suit me Just hungry crocodiles With enormous mouths. So, not one with the lot Or a side serve of fries I don’t need cholesterol To be on the rise. No compressed patty Dripping with saturated fat Fast food fanatic Is not my kind of role Start the celebration Without me... ©Alan j Wright

  May 27 Many celebrations involve the act of gifting to our loved ones. Now imagine where we would be without tape to wrap our gifts! Today is National Cellophane Tape Day in America and is celebrated annually on May 27 to commemorate this handy invention. The rest of the world remains grateful, but hasn’t stuck to celebrating the tape quite so formally. The Stuff That Sticks Some people choose to exult cellophane tape -that transparent, polypropylene-based, pressure-sensitive tape with a backing to which an adhesive substance is affixed for the purpose of joining materials in households and industrial situations.   No doubt a much sought after aid In the essential act of gift wrapping -invaluable in effecting running repairs at a moment's notice. Sticky and stoic. The tale of the tape remain something of a sticking point. No masking that fact. ©Alan j Wright

  May 26 On this day in 1864 the Territory of Montana in the USA was ‘organized.’ An interesting turn of phrase… Organizing Montana Montana’s territory Was a shambles All higgledy-piggledy   Dishes piled high in the sink No one was taking out the garbage Strange smells emanating From deep recesses.   Montana needed organizing -A modicum of order -A spring clean -A bit of spit and polish Montana needed a maintenance order An antidote for mayhem Lines of demarcation.   Montana’s territory Was suitably organized All spick and span Everything lined up Montana appreciated A newly defined border And a sense of sweet order. ©Alan j Wright  

  May 25 The Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru received a French patent on May 25, 1827, for the invention of a fountain pen with a barrel made from a large swan quill. While studying in France, Poenaru needed an instrument that ould save him time. Early incarnations of the fountain pen tended to leak at inopportune times. Eventually disposable cartridges came into use. The pen became more commonly referred as the cartridge pen. I remain a fan. I love writing with my beautifully balanced Lamy Pen. It gives the comforting illusion of being a relatively fast writer, such is its flow across the pages of my notebook.     Inkblot   Born into a world of blotting paper Ink wells and fountain pens A left hander In a writing minefield   Ink wells and fountain pens Held the black-blue liquid Providing shape to letters and words   A left hander- Forever scared of smudges Afraid of blots and blobs on pristine pages   In a writing minefield He remained forever nervous -And then along came Lazlo Bi

  May 24 On this day in 1830 the famous nursery rhyme  ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ was published by the Boston publishing firm Marsh, Capen & Lyon, as a poem by Sarah Josepha Hale.  It was possibly inspired by an actual incident. Today, two versions of the rhyme exist. A shorter version and the original onger version. This is my response which alludes slightly to the original.   MARY DINES OUT-The Punk Version   Mavis had a little lamb Then she ate some cakes Some Shepherd’s Pie A jug of milk And a bag of jelly snakes   The people in the café All feared she’d explode But, she let out a monster burp And landed on the road. ©Alan j Wright

  May23   On this day in 1701 William Kidd was hanged on the banks of the Thames River for piracy. The first rope put around this neck broke so he had to be strung up a second time. His corpse was placed in a gibbet at the mouth of the Thames River and left to rot, as an example to other would-be pirates. We know him better as Captain Kidd, the pirate. Kidd who was born in Dundee, Scotland became a privateer. Privateers enjoyed a successful trade around the world. Privateer ships were warships that were privately owned, but had government permission to attack enemy ships. The privateer would then share any booty with the government. Unfortunately for Captain Kidd, the rules changed and the privateer/pirate became an outlaw. Piratical Urges William Kidd Was a privateer A buccaneer A man with piratical urges He plundered ships Stole their treasure Then hid it away for personal pleasure Captain Kidd Captain Kidd You paid a price For what you did A public hangin

  May 22 In all the years I played cricket I never manged to take a hat trick as a bowler. I did once take a hat trick of catches while fielding, but that was as close as I came. However, on this May day in 1907, the charismatic cricketing all-rounder Albert Trott became the first man to score two hat-tricks in the same innings of a first class man. A particularly rare feat, it must be said. Trott played test matches for both Australia and England and till now is the only player to hit a ball over the top of the Lords’ dressing room. His test average for Australia is 102.50, even higher than Bradman. The match in question was also the benefit match for Trott played at Lords’. The teams were Middlesex, for whom Trott was playing against Somerset. The record came in the fourth innings of the match. Middlesex won the toss and decided to bat. They put up 286 in their first innings with Trott contributing just one run. Somerset conceded a 50 runs lead as their first innings concluded with 2

  May 21 On his day in  2017, the great era of the circus came to an end when two of America's giant cicus troupes  Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed their final show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. They had combined in a last ditch effort to stave off the inevitable end. Enormous costs, changing social attitudes and entertainment preferences had all played a part in the downfall of these huge circus organizations. Circus's persist to this day, but they are much smaller, leaner operations and the types of circus acts has also undergone significant change.   Circus Minimus When the circus left town for the final time And the tent was folded away -The clowns cried The lion tamer roared his disapproval The trapeze artist strugglrd to come to grips with the matter The fire eater contacted an old flame In search of a little warmth While the man they called the human cannonball Left with undue haste Like a shot from a - For parts

     May20 On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart accomplished her goal of flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean. An amazing feat, achieved under extreme conditions. Today, it's all about brave Amelia...   Amelia’s Aeronautical Achievement In a flight filled with danger And wild icy weather And a broken altimeter Amelia took off early one morning In her Lockheed Vega From Newfoundland With a copy of a local newspaper tucked under her arm Confirming her departure date And spreading local news far and wide Along the perilous flight path Flames shot out of the exhaust manifold And fuel leaked into the cockpit.   She pulled out of an unscheduled tailspin Before landing in a field in Culmore North of Derry, Northern Ireland   A farm hand asked Have you flown far? ‘From America Said an undaunted Amelia.   The first woman Flying solo across the wide Atlantic Ocean Amelia set her own course in aviation And received a standing ovation From a proud nation -But sadly, no frequent flyer points were a

  May 19 On this day in 1992 Englishman Dave Gauder, better known as "The Gladiator" in the UK, achieved the unthinkable when he pulled a jumbo jet, an amazing 7.5 centimetres He pulled an Air Canada 747-400 forward at London's Heathrow (LHR) Airport. The giant aircraft including fuel on board, weighed in at 200 tonnes. The event was reported in the media throughout the world. Say it louder for Gauder. Feat Of Strength With a special harness Strapped to his chest And attached to a mighty jet plane Strongman Dave Gauder -The gladiator Pulled and strained Strained and pulled Until the mighty jet Began to yield to his amazing strength The crowd sighed The jet Moving forward A miraculous 7,5 centimetres Along the Heathrow tarmac. Dave delivered Dave moved that mighty jet He moved the assembled crowd His feat celebrated all around the world.   Hope no one asked him to put it back When he’d finished with it… Alan j Wright

  May 18 National Notebook Day in  Americca - May 18, 2023 (Third Thursday in May) Okay, I don’t live in America, but I am a committed notebook writer. I have been gathering entries in notebooks for more than 40 years.  I’m just as excited about the role they play in informing my writing life now as I was way back at the beginning. So, here’s to notebooks!   Notebook Notions Notebook time begins Thoughts are pondered Ideas considered Fragments and phrases emerge Word gathering begins And those magical letters Nestle gently upon the notebook lines Clicking into place Like jigsaw pieces No longer elusive No longer hidden from sight. ©Alan j Wright